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Nima Brush Artistic Collection My Picks

Nima Brush by the lovely Niamh Martin. They are an irish based company creating gorgeous makeup brushes. I have known this brand and Niamh for quite a while. The company have really being going from strength to strength.

The Artistic Collection is the latest launch from Nima Brush. They say they are a “range of brushes designed for the professional artist in mind, using precisely shaped brush heads and the softest fibres, but which are also suitable for the everyday wearer with step by step instructions on how to use each brush”

The handle of the brushes are a lovely duck egg colour with a velvet, nearly rubber feel and a gold ferrule which I am in love with. The handles on these brushes can be difficult to keep clean due to the material they are made from so they need a good scrubbing with warm water and baby shampoo to get them clean.

There are 20 brushes in the collection. You can buy them in customisable sets or you can buy them individually. Each brush is named after supporting female figures in Niamh’s life. Prices range from €10-€22. You can shop this collection or any other collection from Nima Brush on www.nimabrush.com

I picked my favourites from the collection to talk about.

I decided to pick the 3 brushes out of all the ones I own from the collection that I have been picking up religiously everyday since I have gotten them. They have quickly just become part of my routine.

First up is “Blaithin”

“Blaithin” is a tapered brush, that I have been loving for contouring. The end of it picks up the product, gets it into the hollows of your face and then the bristles around the tip blend it in seamlessly. It is also so soft on the skin, so you don’t mind spending all of that time making sure your contour is blended 🙂 The “Blaithin” retails for €16.

I have been loving the eye brushes I have, but this one in particular has really become a favourite in my collection.

This brush is called “Patricia”. It is a duo fibred brush, and like “Blaithin” is tapered at the end.

This is a smallish eye brush, and the domed head makes it great for diffusing your transitional colour in your crease. It can also be used to distribute colour all over the lid, and I love it from blowing out colour on my lower lash line. It’s a soft brush but stiff enough that you don’t end up with shadow where you do not want it. It is multi functional, and I get alot of use out of it 🙂 The “Patricia” retails for €10.

My last choice from the Nima Artistic Collection is the “Grace”

When I saw this brush I knew exactly what I wanted it for, under eye concealer! The “Grace” is a like a foundation brush in miniature form.

Again I picked a tapered brush, this wasn’t on purpose I promise! This brush is perfect for getting around the contours of your eyes or your face in general and blends cream products beautifully. It is small but it is big enough to get the job done quickly and that is what you want in the morning. The “Grace” retails for €16.

So there you have some of my fave picks from the lovely Artistic range from Nima. They are fab and it is great to see an Irish run company doing so well.

Thanks,

Gemma

xxx

January 18, 2015/by Gem

Makeup

Chanel Vitalumiere Loose Powder Foundation

As you may have read in my post about what I got for Christmas here, I picked up the Chanel Vitalumiere Loose Powder Foundation in Brown Thomas with a voucher I got off my brother (thanks bro)!

With a price tag of €65.00 I did not want to like this product, but alas I fell in love from the get go, I apologise in advance 🙂

First off I will quickly mention the mini kabuki brush the foundation comes with.

This is the softest little synthetic brush I have ever come across, oh my god, it’s like rubbing a kitten on your face. Dramatic maybe, but it does a fab job at applying the product. It is the perfect density for it and it is very pretty, so a lovely addition to my makeup brushes. I have never owned a Chanel brush before and I feel very fancy indeed using and owning this one 🙂

The sifter on the pot is made of a textile/mesh material rather than plastic which is rather refreshing as you can just bounce the brush of it to get the product onto it. You do have to be careful, the brush can pick up alot, so be sure to tap before you dab onto your face.

Onto the main event, the foundation. I have used a few different powdered foundations in the past, and have always ended up just using them as setting powders as I never really got my desired coverage out of them.

This stuff has changed my mind. I feel comfortable wearing this as just my foundation with some concealer underneath (I have crap skin!), hallelujah!

The Vitalumiere Powder Foundation has an SPF of 15. It is finely milled and blends in very well. It does a good job at covering light imperfections, veins and redness and gives a lovely velvety finish to the skin. You definitely need something more heavy duty underneath for proper breakouts or under eye circles.

I have oily skin so for me this is the perfect kind of product for me. I think if you have dry skin or dry patches this foundation might cling and enhance them, so air on the side of caution and test it out at the counter.

I find this powder lasts really well on me, and looks natural and satin like. It does not oxidise which is brilliant too.

Overall, for such a lightweight powder it ticks so many positive boxes for me. I am nearly sad at this because lets face it, 65 quid is a pretty hefty amount of money to splurge. I suppose it is nice for a treat now and then though. When I enjoy a product like this I add it to my present list, so when family members are thinking of something to buy me, there is always a few reliable things on the list that I will be delighted with. How thoughtful am I? :p

Tell me, have you any favourite mineral foundations?

As always, thanks for reading.

Gemma

xxx

January 13, 2015/2 Comments/by Gem

Haul, Makeup

I Did Some Affordable Makeup Shopping

Over the past couple of weeks I have picked up a few affordable makeup bits in between Christmas shopping for friends and family. I got some really nice goodies so I thought I would share them with you in case you need some shopping inspiration 🙂

First up I went to Boots, one of my favourite places to be. The waft of perfume as you walk through the door just puts me in a good mood.

I picked up Rimmel’s Lasting Finish Nude foundation.

This is a new version of their normal Lasting Finish which is a firm fave here at Chatterbox. This is a lighter version of it. It has a good medium coverage and an SPF of 20 which is great for an everyday foundation.

So far I have been loving this, it’s not cakey, the 100 Ivory shade is a good match for my pale skin and it has been lasting really well on my also oily skin. So far a good buy. This set me back €8.99 in Boots

I got one of Maybelline’s new Color Tattoo Leather Effect Cream shadows to give a go next.

This is in the colour “Vintage Plum 97”.

I have so many of the Color Tattoos and love most of them. This one is nice, I really like the colour, it makes a great base for plum, brown or purple eye looks. It is matte with no shimmer in it at all. I cannot say it really looks like leather though.

The Color Tattoos are €7.49 in Boots.

Another cream shadow creeped its way into my Boots basket…ooops 🙂

This is the Max Factor Excess Shimmer in “25 Bronze”. I am in love with this, let me tell you that from the getgo.

Oh my god the pigment is amazing, a tiny bit of this goes such a long way. The texture is so cool, it’s soft and nearly whipped to the touch unlike the Color Tattoos. It is so easy to blend also.

I can wear this just on its own without a shadow on top. I love the colour too, it’s bronze but with a coppery feel, right up my street. These cost €9.99 from Boots

Last thing I picked up in Boots was the Maybelline Instant Anti-Age, The Eraser Eye in “Nude”.

This is a sponge applicator under eye concealer for cancelling out under eye circles.

I’m on the fence about this product so far, I think I need to keep using it before I give a true opinion. It costs €11.99

Soooo, then I did some damage over on Cloud 10 Beauty They had 20% off their whole site for black Friday, I could not resist!! I firstly picked up the cult product that is The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer.

So many of you told me I needed this over on social media, so thanks 🙂 It is such a pretty gold toned highlighter. It is ridiculously shimmery but there is not lumpy sparkle in it which I think is what makes it so pretty and wearable.

You don’t have to look like a disco ball to get a highlighted effect. You can pick this up from Cloud 10 for €19.00

I picked up a Blank Canvas Cosmetics brush.

This is the E30 eyebrow brush. I wanted an angled eyebrow brush with a spooly on the end and this fit the bill, also the ends are purple how cute 🙂 This cost me €6.95

I got one of the Sleek Eye and Cheek Palette in “See You At Midnight 028”.

I have only gotten my hands on this today so I have yet to try it out properly, but on first look and swatch I really like it.

It is very winter appropriate. Plums, purple,cranberry and gold galore. There is two blush shades “Antique” in the top left corner and “Pomegranate” in the bottom right and then 4 eyeshadows from The Vintage Romance iDivine palette. Can’t wait to get stuck into it 🙂 I think this is the best deal out of everything at €12.95

I got another Sleek product from Cloud 10 Beauty.

Another Eau La La Liner to add to my collection. This is the shade “Cocoa 327”. Nothing much to say about it, it’s a matte chocolate brown eyeliner.

I love these liners, I have them in so many colours, but not in dark brown so I picked one up. This will set you back €5.99

I also got a couple of other random things so I thought I would throw them into the list too for good measure.

I got this when I was buying the other bits on Cloud 10.

This is the Daniel Galvin Junior Hangover Hair. My hair needs a bit of TLC and this was cheap and organic so I thought I would give it a go, no real thought process there. I will report back if it is any good. It is €4.49

Lastly, these are definitely not beauty based, but they are beautiful 🙂

These are New Look heels that I ordered from Asos when they were having 20% off for black Friday. I just thought they were so festive and sparkly and also the heel is thick and respectable not a look I go for very often 🙂 Full price, these are €39.99, so not bad at all, I am sure I will get alot of use out of them over the festive season.

I think that’s it, if you have made it to the end of this let me know, I know it’s a rambly one 🙂 Did you get any amazing bargains in the sales yet?

Thanks so much for reading and for the support.

Gemma

xxx

December 8, 2014/by Gem

Kevyn Aucoin- The Sculpting Powder

I have spoken before in passing about my beloved Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting Powder in Medium, but I really think it deserves it own blog post!

I have not been blessed with anything angular on my face (or anywhere for that matter). I know contouring is not a necessity in everyday life, it is a complete choice, and for me it’s a choice I make everyday. I have tried many different products for the “chiselling” process and to date the Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting Powder has been the best one I have personally used. Now, I will say I only use this in the cheek bone department, I tend to use bronzer around the perimeter of my face, this is just what I feel comfortable doing. If I am dolling up for a night out, then I may put some under the double chin region to help it look less…well double chin like but that would only be if I’m really packing on the face!

The Sculpting Powder really is a luxury item, this set me back just under 42.00 euro from Mise Beauty, madness I know as it’s nearly the size of an eyeshadow, 3.10grams to be exact.

However, I have had this for maybe 6 months, have used it everyday and there is just barely a dint in it.

This powder, unlike alot of bronzers on the market has no red tones to it at all, it has a grey undertone. This makes it perfect for contouring, particularly I think for pale gals like myself. The purpose of contouring is to create a shadow like appearance wherever you add it to the face tricking the eye and making your features appear slimmer or more angular, as highlighting is used to enhance features you want to draw more attention too.

This little box is magic, it contains the softest and most pigmented powder ever, you need such a light hand with it. It blends so beautifully and can be built upon depending on how much cheek bone you are going for 🙂

I tend to use a a dense small brush with it. It is not for warming up the face, use your bronzer for that. I have been enjoying using the Nima Brush called “Blaithin” from their Artistic Collection to apply it of late, as it is tapered at the end, dense but still soft enough to blend the product in. And less face it, it’s pretty too 🙂

I do the well known “fishy face” in the mirror to myself and that shows me where my “cheekbones” are, then I add a little of the product directly under the bone concentrating most of at my ear and bringing the brush out, not too far though, I stop just around where my nostril is. Then I blend, the cardinal rule of makeup. The Sculpting Powder doesn’t disappear from blending it just gets more faint and natural looking. Add as much as you want, I usually just add a little for day to day.

And I can safely say that it lasts the whole day, it’s not something I would every bring with me in my handbag unless I was going to redo my whole makeup.

Before Contouring

After Light Contouring

It’s an investment I know, but I think after buying it and using it for a long time, it was worth it.

What do use for contouring, be sure to let me know, there could be lots of hidden gems out there 🙂

Thanks,

Gemma

xxx

October 9, 2014/6 Comments/by Gem

Hair

Battle Of The Brushes

Long hair means tangles. Wet long hair equals disaster! I have flashbacks of my mam trying to get all of my hair into a pony tail in the mornings before school, my eyes still water at the thought.

As a grown up, and brusher of my own barnet, the Tangle Teezer has been my go to brush for a long time now, I’ve been through 4 or 5 of them in my life.

It’s basically a hollow plastic brush with different sized plastic bristles that you hold in the palm of your hand and it gets through the knots in your hair with, ease wet or dry. You can get them in different sizes, different colours and different textures, and are easy to avail of in Boots, other pharmacies, or Sally’s Salon Services.

So then onto a similar item that is much newer to me, The Wet Brush. I have heard alot about this brush online. I know America loves it, so if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for us right?

You can see this looks more like a traditional brush. It’s light in your hand with plastic casing, bristles and handle. Like the Tangle Teezer, The Wet Brush comes in different shapes colours and sizes. For example you can buy a paddle version of the brush if you have a lot of unruly hair to get through. It glides through knotted hair painlessly and without too much effort. Adults and children alike will be happy about that 🙂

I like both of these brushes. They both do their job and do it well. I think the buying decision comes down to preference. I feel like I am cheating on my beloved Tangle Teezer ( I kind of am). But for me, I think The Wet Brush comes out on top. I am old fashioned and I like the way it has a handle first and foremost, it just feels more comfortable in your hand. I have alot of hair and I shed like a dog…attractive I know, I get alot of fall out. But I did notice after using both brushes for a good period of time when comparing them, there was less hair left over in The Wet Brush than in the Tangle Teezer. This makes The Wet Brush the winner in my books!

The PR company never got back to me with a list of stockists, but people on our Facebook page have told me you can get it in Terrisales and I know it is in Sally’s too. Keep an eye out though, it won’t be long until it is stocked everywhere.

Which one would you choose?

Gemma

xxx

September 13, 2014/2 Comments/by Gem