So I had a bit of a short, spontaneous & much needed vacay down south to America (Chicago) a few weeks ago with the fam. LOTS of eating out & shopping sums it up! Though I thought I'd go HAM on the shopping, I decided to be more for a stingy shopper this time around. I decided to ONLY buy beauty products that were either a.) not easily available in Canada or b.) were just cheaper to buy there. As my fellow Canadians already know, there are TONS of beauty products/brands available in America that we are simply deprived of here in Canada. #CanadianPainsMuch.

I wish I could've brought back some of Chicago's deep dish pizza back with me too. WAH :' ( But Anyways...

These are all my USA beauty related buys:

Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay: 
 This Clay is INCREDIBLE! I've used it only once so far and it made my skin look and feel so much more clean, clear and bright. It pulled out all that blackhead gunk around my nose all in 1 use. It truly DOES live up to the hype. It is meant for deep pore cleansing and is described as the "World's Most Powerful Facial" (don't know about that but it did work amazingly with my first use). So glad I picked up the biggest jar they had. (Purchased from Whole Foods)

Real Techniques Powder Brush: 
 I’ve literally waited ALL year to pick up this brush! I’ve only ever spotted the RT brush sets in Canada (Walmart, Winners), so I waited it out until an America trip to pick up some  individual brushes. It’s so big, fluffy, super-soft and picks up the perfect amount of powder to apply. (Purchased from Ulta)

Real Techniques Stippling Brush: 
Another RT brush I’ve been eyeing for just about EVER. I’ve used it a few times already to apply my foundation (MAC F & B) and it blended in so flawlessly. I also used it to apply powder blush and my gosh! It’s the perfect size for blush and picks up just the right amount (perfect to save yourself from over done blush). (Purchased from Ulta)

Not Your Mother's Girl Powder: 
I’ve been desperately wanting (& needing) a hair powder to get even an ounce of volume in my hair without the tease. I've heard tons of rave reviews on this powder so I picked it up, as this brand is not available in Canada (BOO!). Anyway, my hair is limp, lifeless and lies very flat to my head so I need all the help I can get. I used it once already and it did instantly lift my roots and add some volume. Not it wasn't' that va-voooooom kinda volume (nor was I expecting it) but it did give my flat hair a boost. Excited to use this more often and update. (Purchased from Walmart)

Tangle Teezer Compact Styler: 
My hair is always a knotty mess. It's so prone to tangles even an hour after thoroughly brushing through. De-tangling is always a painful process. I’ve wanted the tangle teaser since ever but I thought it was “just hype”. But oh boyyyy, does it work! It is meant to easily detangle hair. I've used it a few times already and LOOVE IT! No pain, no tugging and no significant hair fall and yes it DOES detangle your hair. It even works well on slightly damp hair too. (Purchased from Target)

Spornette Little Wonders Teasing Brush:
I’ve never been one for “teasing” my hair out of fear of damaging my brittle hair further. But I still really wanted one to use for special occasions and such. I have not used this brush yet, but I have heard great things about this particular brush. Looking forward to try it and fake some big, voluminous hair. (Purchased from Ulta)

JR Liggets Shampoo Bar (Damaged Hair Formula): 
I’ve wanted this shampoo bar ever since FarahDhukai suggested this months ago! It’s a natural and simple shampoo bar mainly made up of a number of quality oils (better/healthier than your average shampoo). I've used it a few times and it's already a love. It did lather up a bit and cleaned my hair thoroughly. I had deep conditioned my hair with Almond Oil before using this and YES, it washed it all RIGHT OUT. Ps. You can read a bit about my No-Sham"poo" Experience here. (Purchased from Whole Foods)

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Brunette/Dark Brown:  
After some debate, I decided on the brow wiz over the dip-brow pomade and super glad I did! I’m more of a “on to go” makeup kind of girl and so this brow product is perfect for me. After using it a few times I can say its so easy to use, a little goes a LONG way and the spoolie a tht end is so convenient. The brow wiz has been on my wishlist since ever and since it was cheaper to pick this up in America, I did. (Purchased from Ulta)

Inglot Eyeliner Gel 77: 
My asbolute favourite purchase of all from my USA Haul has got to be this! This gel liner is ALLLL OVERRR the beauty world & for a GOOD reason. Smooth, creamy, matte, blackest black and long wearing liner are a few things I can say after using this a few times already. Inglot is only sold in Montreal in Canada (or online) so I’m SO happy I picked this up in America. Full Review to come! (Purchased from Macys)

...And I’ve already started putting together another USA wish list (It never ends!).

 Have you tried any of these products? What's on your America Beauty Wishlist?

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Artist Brushes | Dupes for Eye Makeup Brushes

Did you know you can use Artist or "Paint" Brushes as eye-makeup brushes? Oh, YES, you can! My other eye brushes have literally taken a backseat ever since I've got these babies in my life. Artist brushes are EXCELLENT dupes for higher end "pricey" eye brushes. Same great quality (if not better) without breaking the bank. Now, I don’t think artist brushes can replace every makeup brush for your face, but it definitely can replace a few for your eyes!

A single, high quality eye brush can be very pricey and the “cheaper”, lower end ones tend to be really flimsy. Artist brushes are MADE for the precise & detailed work of an artist. These brushes are nowhere NEAR cheap! I am so impressed that they out-perform some of my other eye brushes. These brushes are really high quality, precise, sturdy and soft. Even after washing them several times, they have not lost any bristles or their quality.

From Left to Right: Artist Loft Scrumbler #8, Artist Loft Mop #2, Simply Simmon 5/0  Spotter, Simply Simmons 1/4 Angle

WHERE TO BUY?

I bought my brushes from Michaels' which is a Arts & Crafts store here in Canada and the States. Artist brushes should also be available at any other arts and crafts store as well. Michaels' carry a HUGE selection of brushes! I’d recommend shopping when Michaels' has a sale (they do very often) and take advantage of their COUPONS! (there's always an active coupon, check here). The “regular” price range is $1.99 to $15.99 CAD for a single brush depending on the brush & brand. With discount/sale/coupons, each brush cost me around $1 to $7 CAD (TOTAL STEAL!). I love that when shopping in-store you can touch & feel each brush, compare them and find exactly what you are looking for.

 PS. I had trouble finding decent links to purchase these exact brushes online, therefore I'd recommend just browsing your local Art store for them (Apologies!).

So here we go! These are my current top 4 Artist Brushes:

Flat Angled Brush: 

Simply Simmons 1/4 Angle:

This brush has made WINGED LINER POSSIBLE for me! Not even kidding, I have always STRUGGLED with winged liner & thus would never dare to attempt it, but this brush makes it SO easy. The brush is sturdy and stiff yet the bristles so soft - no tugging!The angle is perfect for creating a sharp and precise wing. I also like using it for lightly defining my eyebrows and filling them in. You can achieve the most defined brows with this brush because of the angle. the  As you can see below, the Simply Simmons Angle Brush is SO fine and flat compared to the Real Techniques Brow Brush.

Left: Simply Simmons 1/4 angle brush | Right: Real Techniques Brow Brush

Fine Eye-Liner Brush:

Simply Simmons Spotter 5/0:

 Every other “ultra-fine-precise-pointed” eyeliner brush I’ve ever owned has basically LIED TO ME or they were really meant for a GIANT. This brush is by far the most FINE & PRECISE pointed brush I've ever used. It does look "pointy and prickly" but it is actually so soft and glides on so smoothly when used. It is absolutely perfect for achieving a very thin line (especially for the inner-eye) and also great for drawing out a winged line. You can see below just how incredibly fine & pointed this brush is in comparison to other "eye-liner" brushes I own.

Left: Simply Simmons Spotter | Center: Real Techniques "Pixel Point" Eyeliner Brush | Right: ELF angled eyeliner brush

Blending/Crease Brush:

Artist’s Loft Scrumbler #8:  

Perfect brush for crease work and blending. Other “crease” brushes are far too big, get all over and make things messy. This one is perfect just to concentrate on the crease and blend it in beautifully. It is slightly tapered and not at all “floppy”. This is especially perfect if you have "smaller" eyes or not a lot of lid space to work with. For comparison, you can see below that the Real Techniques "crease" brush looks absolutely ENORMOUS next to the scrumbler brush.

Left: Real Techniques Crease Brush | Right: Artist Loft Scrumbler #8

Eye-shadow Packer Brush: 

Artist’s Loft Mop #2: 

This brush is great for packing on colour on the eyelids. It isn’t too big, so you place colour exactly where you want it. It picks up powder shadows really well for easy placement on the eyes. It is perfect for an all-over lid colour or just to concentrate colour on 1 spot. Just like all the other artist brushes mentioned, the bristles of this one are also very soft yet not at all flimsy. You can see below that the mop brush is a lot smaller in size in comparison to the Real Techniques eye-shadow brush.

Right: Real Techniques Eye Shadow Brush | Left: Artist Loft Mop #2

 

Without a doubt, I'd recommend Artist Brushes as dupes for eye brushes! Have you tried them?

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