Real Techniques Archives - Vesna en violet

Beauty

Real techniques brushes & purple, my favorite combination

17. 3. 2017

I’ve been a daily user of several Real Techniques face brushes for years, so their eye makeup brushes were an obvious choice when I decided to try something new. And they were purple, who wouldn’t want that! Well, I didn’t buy the them just for their color, but because I wanted a set and this one basically includes every single brush you need. The Real Techniques starter set for eyes consists of the following five brushes: deluxe crease brush, base shadow brush, accent brush, fine liner brush, and brow brush.

So far I’ve tried three of them, both base shadow and crease brush as well as the accent brush. My first impressions are just like I imagined them to be: they are soft, precise and efficient. They complement my current eye shadow brush collection nicely and I really enjoy using the deluxe crease brush, it is much easier to blend everything together and create a smoky eye look now! And the accent brush is great for applying a highlighting eye shadow in the inner corner of my eyes and blending the eye pencil out.

The set also comes in a white panoramic case that is useful for travelling. The case is not the nicest I’ve seen in my life, but it serves its purpose. The right inner part has enough space for five brushes and the left side has two bigger compartments that can be used for storing two additional brushes. I find this amazing, because I can easily add two of my favorite face brushes, the blush and the expert face brush.

However, I have yet to try the fine line brush and the brow brush, first I have to buy a new gel eyeliner and a brow pomade, ha! We always find a way to buy new things, don’t we? :)

♥

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Favorites

November favorites 2016

28. 11. 2016

The end of November is fast approaching and before I get lost in the Christmas atmosphere, let me tell you all about the products I’ve been obsessed with throughout the month.

The most used product of this month has to be without doubt the Zoeva Cocoa Blend Eyeshadow Palette, one of the must-haves for all makeup lovers. The whole review is on its way, but for now let me just express my deep love for this gorgeous warm eyeshadow palette. I’ve been using it all the times in all combinations possible and I can’t wait to maybe show you some of my favorite looks in a few weeks! For now, the best way to blend the eye shadows out is using the Zoeva Bamboo Crease Brush 228.

There are another two November favorites as far as applying makeup goes. These are the Real Techniques Miracle Sculpting Sponge and the Miracle Mini Eraser Sponges. I’m actually not using the Sculpting Sponge for contouring, but just to apply my foundation as usual and it works great. The only thing that bothers me now is that the Scuplting Sponge tore in the middle when I was washing it up to take the photos. That really surprised me as they seem really compact, but this is obviously not the case. I may be cleaning it too harsh, who knows. I also love the mini sponges, they are great to apply the concealer under my eyes and on other areas in need of extra coverage.

Another favorite product is the universal day cream DermEden DD Cream which moisturises and corrects the skin with small pigments. I’ve been using it after my serum and before my foundation, but I also love it because of its SPF 25 protection which is a good thing to have even during winter. Its scent is bothering me a bit, though, as it is quite artificial. But nevertheless, it’s a great all-around cream and I’m really glad I got it to try it out at the beauty conference! The second one is the Alverde hand cream with pomegrate and shea butter, an essential item in winter. I’m really trying hard to prevent my hands from getting dry and really I like this one because of its gentle scent and the soft feeling it leaves on my hands!

♥

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Beauty

January Favorites ◊ 2016

1. 2. 2016

It’s time for monthly favorites again! Some of these could easily be part of a new-in post, but I haven’t had time to do one so I’ll just mention those that were used the most in the past few weeks here. I’m a huge fan of Real Techniques brushes and you can imagine that I’m obsessed with my new Expert Face Brush. I’m using this one for applying foundation now and it is much better than the stippling brush I used before. The foundation looks so natural – it’s easier to achieve an even finish and there are no lines left as they sometimes were with the previous brush. Next is the Lush hand and body lotion Sympathy for the Skin, one of the best multi-purpose lotions yet. I wrote an extended post about some of my recent Lush buys here and dedicated a huge part to this little gem at the end. As far as I know, it is not available at their store at the moment, but you can still get it on their website – this is definitely a treat every Lush&vanilla lover should get!

Another perfect beauty product is the Natura Siberica Energizing Facial Mask that my best friend actually got me for Christmas, she knows me (and my obsession for face masks) so well! Siberian Pine oil soothes and moisturizes the skin, Siberian Ginseng is meant to awaken and revitalize it, whereas Artic Ashberry gives a fresh and healthy glow. This product is a real life-saver in these cold months that make my skin incredibly dry.

I finally found myself a new organic foundation that actually provides some coverage! This is the Bottega Verde Skin Voile, Moisturizing Foundation that I bought just at the end of the year. I’ve been meaning to write a whole post about it – for now let’s just say that this is the best natural ingredients-based foundation that creates a matte finish and lasts for the whole day (plus I got so many compliments since starting to wear it that I just can’t even!).
Lippy-wise, I got my first Maybelline Color Sensational lipstick and it’s amazing! The shade is 470 Red Revolution, a perfect red that evolves in a hot pink after some time (and is not as bright as in the picture). Its wear-time is amazing and I’ll definitely buy some more, to say the least. Staying in the lip department, winter means chapped lips and this Figs & Rouge Pomegranate lip balm has been saving my lips (and my nose!) throughout my most-recent cold. And its pot is just gorgeous, what can I say!

I love my organic deodorants, but one cannot fully rely on them in stressful situations. I’m so happy that I found a more effective alternative – the 8×4 mild&soft deodorant with musk, rose and iris does the job pretty well. I know this is far from perfect, but just the fact that it doesn’t contain any aluminium compounds makes me a happy camper!

♥

A little update: The past few months were quite difficult for me, I was under a lot of stress because of my studies and I fell sick probably for the fourth time since October, so you can imagine how frustrated I am at the moment. I haven’t got rid of my sore throat – turned sinus infection – turned trachea infection (+ I sounded like a Terminator and then I sounded.. NOT) – turned general cold that will hopefully be the last stage of my 2-week immune system crash (hence a lack of posts). I’m doing my best at drinking lots of water and tea with honey as well as consuming every superfood that could boost my immune system naturally. I have lots of plans in the following weeks so I have to stay focused – and healthy!

I nevertheless hope you’re having a great time and are enjoying this beautiful spring weather! ♥

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Lifestyle

Get creative – DIY makeup holder

15. 9. 2015

Candles are usually thoughtfully designed and sometimes I buy them just because the jar is so darn cute. However, when the candle burns out I find it difficult to part from them as the jar was the main reason for the purchase! This is why I decided to be a bit more creative and make my own makeup holders, let it be for mascaras, brushes or just random bits and pieces that are lying around.

You only need a burned candle and a knife, it is that easy! The candle wax may be difficult to get out, so there are two possibilities to remove it – you can either put the jar in the freezer for a few hours (and the wax is supposed to fall out immediately) or just carve the wax out chunk by chunk like I did. Because there is always a bit of wax residue on the glass, just fill the jar with hot water and some soap and try to scrub all the residue. Then just dry it with a paper towel and that’s it!

I have high hopes for my current candle from Ikea – besides smelling like freshly baked cookies, the jar is insanely cute and will probably serve as a bobby pin container in a few weeks. :)

♥

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Beauty

An early birthday present: Real Techniques

6. 6. 2014

Well then, I succumbed to the their charms. The charms of the Real Techniques brushes, obviously. I’ve been resisting buying them because I was pretty satisfied with my old blush brush and foundation sponge. Since my sister ordered the Stippling Brush and was completely thrilled about it, I tried the “outstanding” brush myself. The result? Now I have my own foundation and blush brush. ;)

No, pa sem tudi jaz podlegla njihovemu šarmu. Šarmu Real Techniques čopičev, namreč. Kar dolgo sem se jim upirala, saj sem bila zelo zadovoljna s svojim čopičem za rdečilo in gobico za nanašanje pudra. Ker pa je sestra naročila Stippling Brush in je bila popolnoma navdušena, sem ta “izjemni” čopič poskusila tudi sama. Rezultat? Zdaj imam čopiča za nanašanje podlage in rdečil tudi sama. ;)

I managed to get a great coverage with only one application, which is way faster compared to a sponge. And not to mention the fact that the sponge absorbs a lot of foundation over and over again. Let me just mention that I save at least one third of the foundation at each use. I apply the foundation on some parts of my face with my hands and then use the stippling brush in circular movements.

Z zelo malo podlage sem dosegla super prekrivnost z enim samim nanosom, kar je v primerjavi z gobico trajalo celo večnost. Da sploh ne omenjam dejstva, da gobica vedno znova veliko podlage vpije. Za primerjavo naj povem, da porabim vsaj tretjino manj podlage kot prej. Meni je najlažje, da z rokami podlago nanesem na nekaj predelov na obrazu, nato pa podlago s čopičem in krožnimi gibi nanesem na kožo.

I am not entirely sure how much I like the Blush Brush, however. It applied a bronzer in powder wonderfully. But since it is extremely soft, I had difficulties with a harder blush − it was seen only on the brush and not on my cheeks. It seems like I will use my old blush for a bit harder blushes :)

Nisem še čisto prepričana, kakšno je moje mnenje o čopiču za rdečila. Bronzer v prahu je sicer prekrasno nanesel na lička. Ker pa je zelo mehek, je bilo malo trše rdečilo vidno samo na čopiču, na ličkih pa ne. Očitno bom za trša rdečila še vedno uporabljala stari čopič :)

Vesna

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