My monthly make-up basket - July 2016

Originally, I was planning on doing two make-up baskets per month, but let’s face it, even I don’t have that much make-up to constantly swap items, so I am afraid that it would become rather boring. Instead, I’ll be doing this once a month and doing some additional reviews on the Monday I now have free to post whatever I like :)

So here are some of the products that I’ll be using and hopefully loving for the next few weeks.

Starting with the face, I’ll still be using the L’Oreal Infallible primer, but I actually bought the foundation to go along with it – the L’Oreal Infallible 24h-matte (in shade Sand). I hear that the combination works well together so I’m excited to give it a go.  The shade of foundation is perhaps a tad too dark at the moment, but as I’m typing this from my seaside vacation, I’m sure that will probably change in a couple of days or so.

FRIDAY SUPERSTAR: Freedom ProStudio Brush Bath

Dear beauties,

I am guilty as charged. Of what, you ask? Of buying overpriced brushes and not taking care of them enough. Of preaching about skincare but at the same time not making sure that the brushes that daily touch my face are super clean. Yes, I am guilty on both charges.

Before I received the Freedom ProStudio Brush Bath, I used the Makeup Revolution brush cleaner to give my brushes proper care. It did the job well, but soaking the brushes and giving them a nice clean used to take me an hour or more which is why I regularly procrastinated on the topic.

A few months back, I was sent the Freedom Brush Bath by the online store Licila.si and at first I wasn't too sure about it since I haven't had too much good experience with the brand Freedom so far. This brush bath is a solution that is supposed to instantly sanitize, cleanse and condition the brushes.

 The packaging is nice and sturdy and closes well. It contains 100ml of the product. The solution itself looks and feels like soap and has a light scent to it. The directions state to wet the brush and swirl it around in the jar, then work the brush on the palm of your hand to really lather it up (you could use any kind of brush cleaning gizmo here, such es BrushEgg etc.), rinse and squeeze the brush to remove access water. Simple enough.

On the left photo you can see that the surface gets quite messy during the whole procedure. I make sure that the brush I'm putting in the jar is not to wet so I don't waste the product. Once I find the whole thing too dirty, and obviously at the end, I simply rinse it under water and it instantly becomes clean again. There are no dirty cups needed - the jar is the only tool you need. 

For this post, I washed five of my Real Techniques brushes: blush brush, powder brush, eye blending brush, concealer brush and a smaller brush I generally use to apply powder to my under-eye area. As you can see, they were quite dirty and really needed a good wash.

The cleaning took me about 30 seconds per brush with the exception of concealer brush which was so dirty it took about a minute. I could easily also wash a couple of eye brushes at the same time this way. 

In all, I am really impressed with this brush bath. It's inexpensive (get it here for just under 11 € - if you own a reasonable amount of brushes, it will probably last you a year to get through it), super easy to use and leaves my brushes nice and soft. I would definitely recommend this product to everyone who finds washing brushes a hassle and wants to get it over with quickly.

Until next time, stay beautiful!

Freedom Makeup London - review & swatches

A couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to receive a couple of Freedom Makeup products from the online store Licila.si. In the package, I found the following three products. 

I was most excited about the bronzing trio, since I'm always on the hunt for the perfect bronzer/contour. This is the Bronzed professional Pro in Shimmer lights (you can get it here for 5,95 €). 

The packaging doesn't seem the sturdiest, but for the price, a bit of saving on that front can be expected. I am also not particularly happy about the fact that there is no mirror on the compact.  The three colors can be used mixed together in a shimmery bronzer or used separately, which is how I use them. I normally prefer the colors to be physically separated in the compact, but each of the shades is big enough for my brushes so I don't pick up the shades I don't want to. 

The swatches on hand don't do complete justice to the product, since the brush picks it up a bit better, but this is more to give you an idea about the colors and shades. I really like the pink shade of the blush and the warmth of highlighter, but the actual bronzer has very poor pigmentation. 

The next item I received is the Pro Conceal Palette in Light/Medium (get it here for 6,95 €). 

Again, the packaging is nothing special, but I like the variety of the shades in this palette a lot, since I don't own anything like this at all. 

From the entire palette, I've been using the right two shades the most so far – the beige for actual spots and imperfections and the yellow toned shade as an under-eye concealer. The consistency of these concealers is quite soft, so I would definitely suggest putting a setting powder on top if you want them to remain in place for the entire day. Still, I think that regarding the amount of product you get in one palette, this is really good value for money. 

The last surprise gift was the Pro Lipstick in 109 – Red Wine (available here for 1,95 € along with numerous other lovely shades).

This lipstick is right up my alley since I'm trying to step out of my comfort zone a bit with some bolder colors. It swatches quite lighter than it appears in the packaging, so it's not a dark red, but rather a light red with a bit of fuchsia undertone. I love this lipstick and I'll probably get some darker shades for the upcoming winter months. 

I would like to see your reviews or opinions on the Freedom products as well, so leave them below!

Until next time, stay beautiful.