The Blushing Giraffe

2017 Beauty Favourites - highend and drugstore

Sunday 31 December 2017

Hell everyone, not to do things by halves, this year I filmed TWO loooong videos talking you through the best of the best, from my makeup collection! I wanted to do two versions, cause I genuinely love both sides of the spectrum. Unfortunately youtube didn't let me save the products and links to reviews under the drugstore video, so all that information can be found below.

High-end favourites:

☀️The drugstore/highstreet favourites:

💞Foundation - wet’n’wild photo focus in golden beige $6! : http://fave.co/2ClfmdR (this is the site I have been using for years and as long as your order is below £15, you won’t be hit with customs.)

💞UK foundation - nip & fab foundation £12.95: http://fave.co/2joxNCP

💞 Special occasion foundation - Mehron H.D £11.95: http://fave.co/2ClhgLx

📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/2017/03/review-mehron-celebre-hd-pro-cream.html

💞 Corrector - soap and glory kick ass concealer in medium £10: http://fave.co/2fYV8Kn

💞 Concealer - LA girl pro conceal in creamy beige £5: http://fave.co/2C2GeM2

📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/2014/06/review-swatches-la-girl-pro-conceal-hd.html

💞 Wet’n’wild contour duo in caramel toffe £5.99: http://fave.co/2ClPChp

📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/2016/09/this-or-that-marc-jacobs-instamarc_22.html

💞 Topshop bronzer in Mohawk £9.00: http://fave.co/2hofOOa

📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/2016/08/top-three-topshop-beauty.html

💞 Sleek blush by 3 in sugar £10: http://fave.co/2CrzcEl

📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/search?q=sleek+blush+by+3

💞 Sleek blush in suede £5: http://fave.co/2C0o5yv

📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/2015/11/top-three-drugstore-bllushers.html

💞 Rimmel lasting finish blush (on sale atm!) £2.75: http://fave.co/2ClinLd

📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/2015/11/top-three-drugstore-bllushers.html

💞 Nip & Fab liquid gold highlighter in rose gold £12.95: http://fave.co/2C1pQeZ

💞 Lashes - these are some of my FAVE from eBay and aliexpress😍

pack of three - £1.65: http://fave.co/2lZqEJl
Faux mink lashes $2.33 each! And soo many amazing styles to choose from: http://fave.co/2C0mxom
99p - love these but they do need curling: http://fave.co/2BZRDfz

💞 Zoeva cocoa blend eyeshadow £18: http://fave.co/2CqfQzd

💞 Certifeye tropical wonders palette £30: http://fave.co/2izUgMQ

💞 Topshop magic liner £6.50: http://fave.co/1HEULyZ

📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/2015/09/requested-battle-of-drugstore-liquid.html

💞 collection extreme felt tip liner £2.99: http://fave.co/2CqTYnc

📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/2015/09/requested-battle-of-drugstore-liquid.html

💞 Essence mascaras £2-£3.30: http://fave.co/2C23GZW

📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/search?q=essence+mascara

💞 Sleek precision liquid eye colour £6.99: http://fave.co/2CmO4DU

💞 Freedom makeup duo eyebrow powder £2.60: http://fave.co/2CqpKB2

💞 Essence make me brow £2.50: http://fave.co/2rNHDBr

💞 Kiko eyebrow fibers mascara £7.20: http://fave.co/2Cqvk6e

💞 Colurpop brow pencils in banging brunette, dope taupe and blacknbrown $5: http://fave.co/2CqwjTY

💞 Topshop glow highlighter in gleam £9: http://fave.co/1NfCz0O

📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/2016/08/top-three-topshop-beauty.html

💞Topshop highlighter in horizon and sunbeam £12: http://fave.co/2bpi6HN

📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/2016/08/top-three-topshop-beauty.html

💞 Rimmel 1000 kisses lip pencil in tiramisu and spice £2.99: http://fave.co/2BnMgXu

📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/2014/12/review-rimmel-london-1000-kisses.html

💞 Jordana easy liner in tawny £4: http://fave.co/2C0TIb3

💞 Primark setting powder mixed with MUR banana powder £5: http://fave.co/2AZkaBw

💞 colour pop ultra satin lips $5: http://fave.co/2ClVsPR

📝 review: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/search?q=satin+lip

💞 colour pop ultra glossy lips $5: http://fave.co/2C0G2No

💞 ELF Alissa Ashley gloss £7.50: http://fave.co/2AcUNfW

💞 Ecotools sponge £7.95 (currently reduced!): http://fave.co/2C1ToZW

I hope you enjoyed this video!

Here is my 2016 affordable makeup starter kit, for even more top beauty faves: http://www.theblushinggiraffe.com/2016/12/makeup-starter-kit-affordable-edition.html

Happy New Year everybody 🎇 in'sha'Allah 2018 is a better year in all ways ^_^ do keep me in your duas and you are all in mine 💞

2017 Beauty Favourites - highend and drugstore

Goodbye 2017

Thursday 28 December 2017

It is currently 6:18am and I am feeling incredibly nostalgic about the year that we've just had. In some ways it flew by, but when I scroll through my camera-roll and my instagram account I realise how much has actually happened. 2017 was the year I trained to become a teacher and graduated with 'outstanding'. It was also the year that I managed to secure my first real adult job, earning enough to be taxed and of course most importantly having my own class of children to teach!

Teaching
This has been the aspect of my life which has been the biggest change. I went from being a student myself, to a trainee, to an educator all within a couple of months and it was such a whirlwind! Alhamdulillah I feel so blessed to be able to say that I have achieve my childhood ambition to become a teacher and I am on the whole, really really loving it. However theres a small part of me which wonders if I did dive into this a little too quickly. I had no break between A-levels - uni - working full time and YES we teachers do get a lot of holiday, but it isn't really classified as a proper break, especially the ones between half terms. I'm really enjoying teaching and although it is stressful and tiring, it's actually not as scary as I had imagined during my training year. Will I be teaching solidly for the next decade? Probably not. I think I will definitely be taking a break of some kind, even if thats half a year to travel and get myself sorted and the other half of the year supply teaching. I mean I have to get through my NQT year first! So let me slow down and walk, before I gallop haha, however that is where I'm at with my thoughts on my career. Yes of course your career is important at the age of 22, but I do wonder if this need to be chasing the next goal constantly is really healthy for anyone and I knows its taken a toll on myself, emotionally, spiritually and to a certain extent mentally. I hope I'm not just jabbering out nonsense and that at least one of you will be able to relate!

Youtube + blogging

Starting my channel was another huge life change in 2017 and to some people that might sound ridiculous - life change?! But honestly it was a decision I made after YEARS of building up the courage and confidence to do and it wasn't an easy one to make. However, I am absolutely loving it. It's no secret that I was becoming pretty complacent with my beautiful little website that I genuinely love. This corner of the net is where it all began when I was just 18, and now 4 years later I can say I have video content to go alongside it. I'm not going to make promises about how often I will be blogging - it would be easy to set unrealistic targets just after x-mas, when I still have a whole week off from work and the business of full time teaching actually seems pretty far away! However I do want to still continue and I am going to carry on planning posts for here and hopefully, eventually crossing them off my to-do list. I will be most active on youtube now, at least for as long as I can be...but sometimes theres nothing like properly writing out your feelings, with your feet up and your hair tied in a messy bun!

Self-image and confidence
I was looking over my goals that I set in January 2017 and one of them was 'to lose my muffin top'. I have to say, getting the flu at the end of this term was probably the best thing to happen to my muffin top, because I had zero appetite and couldn't eat even a quarter of the amount of junk food I usually consume. Honestly I think I've realised that the gym life is not compatible with my full time work schedule - I'm too demotivated and exhausted to drag myself there after work and the weekends are now filled with either sleep, marking, catching up with loved ones and more sleep! I think this year I've really embraced what I look like, more than ever before and I honestly believe my job has a big part to play in that. Yes I'd like to be a little fitter, but being a role model to the children I teach has genuinely changed my mindset so much. I would hate for any of them to be hung up about how they look on the outside, because the reality is, their character is so much more important and then more times I found myself saying and thinking this, the more I realised that it applied to me too. It's bizarre how the simplest of things, stuff you already know, can suddenly make a whole lot more sense when you're saying it with real sincerity to children half your age.

The importance of reflecting | one line a day memory book
If you're all caught up with my videos (high-five!), then you would have seen an adorable little memory book in my ASOS haul, which is titled 'a line a day'. Though I've always wanted to purchase a book similar to this, I massively under-estimated how much peace and happiness it would bring me. I initially wanted to wait till January the first, but then I just had a change of heart and wanted to document a particular day and it's so odd, how literally writing 2-3 sentences (if that) to summarise the day, my feelings, emotions, a key quote or nice little moment just brings so much content to me. It really makes me feel more collected and calm and already I'm enjoying looking back at the previous days...and I've only been using it for around a week and a half - so you can imagine how awesome it's gonna be to look back in a year or two i'a! Anyways I just wanted to say that it is such a small thing that has really uplifted me and I highly recommend it.

Alright that is enough rambling on from me, I just want to say a massive thanky-you if you're reading this, because that means that you stuck around despite my very infrequent posts. Also if you've already subscribed to my channel - thanks! And if you haven't, I'm going to leave my 2017 high-end favourites as well as a little vlog to give you an idea of the kind of content I'm making. I am CONSTANTLY trying to improve it btw and it really is a massive work in progress, from the lighting to the audio, to how I look and sound...making videos is not as easy as it may seem haha, but it's what is keeping me sane inbetween the constant thoughts about work right now - so I'm going to embrace the creative challenge ^_^

I plan to be posting a little more than 1-2 times on my little website in 2018! And I really hope you all have the best start to the new year. I'm feeling a lot of different types of ways right now - hopeful, confident, determined, ready for hard work and ready to set myself goals that I am going to strive to achieve in'sha'Allah. I've never felt quite this way before at the end of the year, and although I can't pinpoint quite what it is, I cannot complain ^_^

Thank-you for reading ♥

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Goodbye 2017

Huda Beauty Warm Brown Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette Review + YT Video

Sunday 19 November 2017

Hello everyone! Todays review is on the new Huda beauty mini 'obsession' eyeshadow palettes...well specifically the one in warm brown. She has four palettes, all with a distinctively different theme and they cost £25 for 10g of product.

This is my first ever experience using her shadows and in general I've not tried a lot of the products from her brand. I own the mini liquid lipstick set and I was very pleasantly surprised by the formula and the shades. However, to me her brand is more on the luxury side of things, which means I'm not going to pick up an item here or there on a whim, I want to be really sure that my money is being well spent. Her previous two palettes have had mixed reviews, but the main reason why I didn't purchase them was because of the price and the guilt! When one owns as many single shadows as I do, you might be able to understand...😅

The £25 pricetag felt a lot more affordable, and when you do the maths each shadow is costs you £2.77, which really isn't too bad. One MUG single shadow is £4.95 and one ABH shadow in any of her latest palettes cost around £3. So technically you're getting good value for money, when compared to similar quality shadows.

My full review can be watched here:

And the swatches of the palette are below -

As you can see, this is a very warm toned palette. Perhaps only the slightly cool toned shade is the middle darker brown, however even that has clear warm undertones! I like that she has given us a few different transition/crease shades and I can definitely achieve more of a deeper look from the two darker shadows too. The 'red' shade as you can tell by the one on the far right, is a lot brighter than one would expect, so that is a little disappointing. My favourite shadow is the central gold one, which has her 'textured' formula - it is so buttery and creamy! I'm sure, when worn with a base, it'll look absolutely gorgeous. I'm also particularly happy with the cream shade, because I actually don't have enough in my collection, despite it being a shade I reach for a lot as a base and for under the brow bone - the pigmentation is applaudable!

Packaging, is okay, nothing special - but the mirror inside is very much appreciated and the magnetic closing seems very secure, so overall it gets a thumbs up from me.

I think this whole mini colour theme is really smart, because in reality her options for colour combinations are endless! I can imagine a greens, blues, yellows version of this and since the price point is semi-affordable, I know it'll be a success - Huda is one smart lady.

Overall rating: 8/10

Pros: Pretty affordable and decent value for money, pigmented, buttery, creamy, pigmented, blendable, colours I'm actually going to use often! Mirror, sturdy cardboard packaging, cutest most portable size ever.

Cons: I think it would have been nice to have two textured shadows, since 1/9 isn't super versatile....but that's about it!

Repurchase: Yes, since I don't have many of these shades which surprised me, plus I know I'll get a lot of use out of it ^_^

Have you tried out any of her shadows? Larger palettes or smaller? What are your thoughts?

Blog links!

Thank-you for reading ♥

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Huda Beauty Warm Brown Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette Review + YT Video

Light Up Skincare Review + Discount code! | Autumn Skin Survival Kit

Sunday 12 November 2017

Hello everybody, it feels fantastic to be sitting here and writing another blog post for you all! This one is about a subject dear to many of our hearts', it is on skincare, and not just any old drugstore brand mind you, but a beautifully natural organic brand which has really caught my attention the past few weeks. When the owner of Light up skincare, reached out to me on instagram to review their autumn skin survival kit, I was more than a little bit excited. Products made with zero chemicals, plenty of oils and promising to help my dry dehydrated skin as the weather changed for the worse? Yes please! I've been testing these out for a good couple of weeks now and I'm ready to share my thoughts.

So first of all, this kit was so beautifully packaged, it really did feel like a gift for my skin, and I LOVE it when brands go the extra mile to perfect their customers' experience! Talking about superb packaging, the kit also contains an adorable, yet super handy, mini booklet which has important info about each and every product - from ingrediants, to use-by date (since there are no chemical preservatives in any of the products). I was really impressed by this, and I wish other brands would do the same. The autumn skin survival kit contains five of their products and it literally has you covered from forehead to toes. You get the following:

Lip balm (2 ml)
Heel balm (30 ml)
Patchouli Hand Lotion (30 ml)
Sugar scrub cube
One mini lotion bar

So I was happy to be able to test out so much from the range and get a real feel for their products.

I'll start off with my absolute favourite from this kit, the lip balm! It has been my absolute go-to in the past couple of weeks and I've been choosing it over previous favourites like my blistex, and it performs much better than the over-priced nuxe one too. I apply this at night time and it doesn't feel greasy or sticky in the slightest, it just makes my lips feel very hydrated and when I wake up in the morning they have retained that hydration which is pretty much all I can ask for! I also love popping this on when I moisturise my face, so that by the time I'm ready to put on my lipstick, my lips are prepped. It contains cocoa butter, shea butter, coconut oil and vitamin E oil, so theres no wonder my lips have been a huge fan. But best of all? No chemicals at all! And it's only £3.50, which is fantastic value for a really really great balm. This has impressed me so much more than I expected and I've already shown it to you all in my October favourites video - in which I said I would repurchase this again! It's one of the best I've tried!

You can purchase the balm separately here.

Moving on to a newer kind of product for me, their lotion bar is another item I am a huge fan of! First of all, I can't believe I've never tried anything like this before, but thats the beauty of smaller independent brands you get to trial out newer things that the giant companies have made yet. The idea of this lotion bar is that you literally rub it into the hands and body and it melts into the skin, providing much needed hydration. I particularly liked using this for my elbows, knees and areas which are quite rough and not best looked after, because the blend of oils and butters were perfect for my dryer skin. This is recommended for people with dry and sensitive skin, but also for those who have eczema and I think that's fantastic, to have a product which has such gentle ingredients but still does what you need it to do, and in a more fun way than the conventional bottle! The beautiful varity of flowers available also makes me happy ^_^

If you want to purchase this individually for £5, you can do so here.

Another unique product from this autumn kit is the sugar scrub cube, which is this funky green colour! I have to say, the amount of uses this cube has is fantastic and for just £2 it is one of the best body care items I have tried in a while. This bar moisturises, exfoliates AND cleans. It contains brown sugar, poppy seeds, and an abundance of essential oils which leaves the skin feeling and smelling delightful. I am very picky with my exfoliators because I do have very sensitive skin on my legs especially, so anything with large granules can irritate and aggravate my skin. This stuff works really well and I'm guessing its a combination of the natural ingredients and the texture overall combined, which allows it to work so well. The only thing is, you'll need to store it in a tin (similar to the Lush shampoo bars), otherwise it'll most likely dissolve/get over other products.

You can purchase the sugar scrub bars individually for £2 here.

Now I'm pretty sure this is the Patchouli hand lotion, although the cute little booklet above says this is the regular one! Anyway this is probably the only product in the kit that I'm not crazy about. It's a solid balm in a nice cute little tin, so portability wise it's fantastic. However as it is so solid, I find myself spending much more time 'warming up' the product to get some onto my fingers and then applying it to my hands...its just a lot easier to use a balm in a bottle! If this had a creamier texture, I'd love it, as like I said the ingredients are fantastic and the size of it is super handbag and pocket friendly. It's just too much of a firm texture for me personally.

You can purchase the full size for £7.99 here.

And finally, a similar looking product, but one I definitely prefer - the heel balm which contains: Coconut oil, Shea butter, Beeswax, Vitamin E oil as well as Wild orange essential oil and Peppermint essential oil is just lovely. This has a slightly more creamy texture and this is what I've been using for my dry hands, cuticles, heels and elbows. Again the packaging is fantastic and I love how there are no mineral oils, animal preservatives, artificial fragrances or colours. It's just naturally great stuff which the skin LOVES!

And that's the full autumn skin survival kit summed up! I am so happy with my experience of this brand and I think that some of the products will replace my typical drugstore ones for sure. The price of this autumn survival kit is £18.50, which in my eyes is a bargain because you get to try out so many goodies for a subsidised price. The things that you then end up loving you can repurchase individually, and to make matters even more fantastic the lovely owner has kindly given my readers a discount! If you use the code BLUSH15 purchase anything over the next two weeks you will receive 15% off 🎉🎊🙌🏽 which is soooo kind of her ^_^ So you can pick up the autumn skin survival kit for just over £15, which is SUCH A BARGAIN! Alternatively you can get any of the other products and still apply the discount, I know I'm going to be stocking up on some of those lip balms and scrubs myself hehe😍.

Please make sure you check out their site here: https://www.lightupskincare.com/ and also have a read of the owner's blog here. She has posts on skincare tips, as well as myth busting which made for very interesting reads.

A massive thank-you to light up skincare once again for the generous discount code, and for sending me this lovely kit to review ☺️ All opinions were my own as always, and I really am pleased you found me on insta, because otherwise I'd have never discovered the beautiful products you have so carefully handmade!

Blog links!

Thank-you for reading ♥

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Light Up Skincare Review + Discount code! | Autumn Skin Survival Kit

Fenty Beauty Olive Skintone Review + Sponge and Highligher (Mean Money and Hustla Baby)

Sunday 8 October 2017

Fenty beauty foundation review olive skintone 260 stromboli nars, mean money highlighter, hustla baby highlighter, sponge review

Hello lovely people! You may already be aware that I have ventured into the ominous and slightly daunting world of YouTube....and I am planning on creating corresponding blog posts for each video where possible. I won't link my first video, (horrendous angle. sound quality, camera settings and SO nervous haha). But in short, I have been wanting to extend my blog for a while now and I've always been so on and off about the idea. Putting yourself out there, is not easy at all. The lovely thing about blogging is you can remain as annonymous as you please, however with Youtube you're liteally on the platform speaking and sharing. I now feel like I'm confident enough to handle any rude/hateful comments and I also feel like my blogging obsession has slowly died down...not that I'll ever stop completely, but I did need something different for my creative outlet, alongside my blog if you will. Some posts I've always felt are way easier to talk through, things like favourites and hauls. I have no intention of making money from the platform, I'm hardly making anything from my blog four years later - the sole purpose for starting my channel is to carry on with my passion, in a slightly different way.

I thought I'd start with the Fenty beauty review and I'll add some more of my thoughts to this, in case you've already watched it (and if you have, thankyou).

Here is the video ^
And it was filmed after about a week's worth of testing out the products and I've now had a couple more to test the products out. My opinion on the foundation hasn't changed at all - I'm currently using the shade 260, but I know when I next repurchase I'll go for the shade 240 since it's more warmer in tone.

As for the sponge, I've realised that although it's good, I definitely wouldn't repurchase it, since my beautyblender still comes out on top. I think, the fact that its soooo sort just doesn't quite have the same impact as the original BB...am I surprised? No not at all. And it's certainly not a bad product, I'll continue to use it, but when it comes to the end of it's usability, I won't be repurchasing.

My opinions on the highlighter haven't changed either - 10/10!

As for her newest collection, the fenty holiday line, I watched Desi's video on it this morning and whilst she did an amazing job (as always), nothing is really tickling my fancy. The colours aren't for me and although I am now working full time, I am being more savy with what I purchase. There won't be anymore makeup bans, since I'm no longer a student, but instead it'll be items I'm missing or running low on and then the splurge things that I REALLY want. Rather than picking up loads of new things every other week, just because I have a disposable income now.

I hope you enjoyed the video review and thanks for being patient as I get the hang of this whole YouTube thing (especially the awkward moments and that awful outro lol).

Have you tried anything from Rihanna's new line? What are your thoughts?

Thank-you for reading ♥

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Fenty Beauty Olive Skintone Review + Sponge and Highligher (Mean Money and Hustla Baby)

My Morphe Brushes Collection

Tuesday 3 October 2017

Hello everyone! WOW, it has been a crazy amount of time since I've blogged, I won't get into it here but expect a post soon with some exciting news...anyway jumping straight into this post - brushes are a really important part of applying makeup and its hard to progress if you don't have a decent collection. I've loved building my collection for years now, and a brand that has slowly taken over in the past two-three years is Morphe. I know they have quite the reputation on social media, especially with the bigger U.S beauty gurus and their constant sharing of money off codes etc...which has lead a lot of people to speculate if the brand is any good at all. I decided to try out one eyeshadow brush from them, since they became easily available from beautybay, two years ago and I quickly become addicted! Now I own around 17 Morphe brushes, and today I'm finally going to be reviewing each and every one in depth, so read on for the must haves and also the ones to avoid...This post is roughly split into three sections, but bear with me, something went wrong with the photography order and I don't think I have close ups of every brush (which is why it has taken me the longest time to write this up 🙄) I've labelled everything anyway, so it should hopefully be clear enough.

Face Brushes

Let's start with the five face brushes - surprisingly each of these has the green light! I use them ALL on a regular basis and have been impressed with the durability of them too. Now I have to just point out, the second brush isn't actually a Morphe one, it looked so similar when I grabbed them from my brush basket! However I do have the actual one photographed and reviewed below (and yes, it looks like an eyeshadow brush, but just trust me on this one).

So starting with the two that I do not have an individual photo of:

M164 | £5.50

This is the newest brush in my collection and probably the most unusual of the bunch. It is called a small angled contour brush and I picked it up to help me improve my nose contouring. The brush isn't too big, but I did expect it to be a little smaller...however it serves it's purpose well. I can easily dip this into my favourite contouring powder and use it to neatly apply contour. It hasn't magically transformed me into a master nose contourer, I still have a way to go, however I do think that it helps. Do I think it's a must have though? No. I could definitely create a nose contour without this, but for just over a fiver I'm glad I didn't dismiss it.

Repurchase? No. Rating: 3/5

M501 | £8.00

The fluffy brush next, I LOVE this and I think my highlighting skills were immediately enhanced when I decided to purchase this brush. I did own fan brushes and ever the sigma tapered highlight before this, however nothing really does the job as well. The size of this brush is perfect, too small for blusher, but great for highlighting all over the face and I like how it is kind of tapered, but not super precise. I think it is the natural haired bristles which makes this brush what it is, not the softest to touch but because of the texture it picks up product really well and distributes it even better. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a new highlighting brush, it is wonderful. Also I don't think this is the super hyped up brush lots of youtubers use, I haven't purchased that one but I think its very similar!

Repurchase? Yes! Rating: 5/5

E6 | £15.00

This is the first foundation buffing brush that I purchased after being absolutely smitten with the R.T buffing brush for years and years. Then of course came the beauty blender and that is a love affair which I doubt will ever end! However I did was to try a couple of different blending brushes for foundatuon as I was getting more and more bored of the RT and sometimes, certain formulas just work better with a brush. Especially foundations which have a lighter coverage, like the MUFE F&B for example. I picked up this brush and absolutely loved it straight away! It's got a flat top and is fairly large, so I find that I can quickly blend my base with no streaks and it hardly soaks up any product (something which can't be said for any beauty sponge). I typically like to use this brush to stipple my foundation on first and then blend it out and I am a big fan.

Repurchase: Yes, it's my go-to brush for foundation! Rating: 5/5

E8 | £6.00

Another brush from their 'elite' collection, which is as the name suggests, the most premium from their line and this one is AMAZING! I've actually just picked up a second one, because it is just that fantastic. The size of this brush is what makes it so versatile, it has a fluffy head and usually I wouldn't bother to try this with liquid products because looking at it, for me it just reminds me of a powder brush for applying onto particularly small areas. However it is infact, a wonderful brush for both powder and liquid. I have used it to blend out concealer beautifully, as well as apply powder strategically on only the areas I needed to. I can also contour with it and when if I'm ever working really hard on my base and I have that extra time, using a little brush like this will perfect my foundation application (as this brush gets into all the nooks and crannies!). Also THE PRICE IS A STEAL! Must have 🙌🏽

Repurchase: Yes, I already did ^_^ Rating: 5/5

M421 | £3.50

You may be wondering why such a small brush has ended up in the face brushes section, however if you’re a watcher of Wayne Goss, you will understand. I have tried to use flat brushes to pack shadow onto the lid and for the most part they aren’t my favourite, I much prefer a denser smaller brush which picks up product better. So this little brush, labelled as a mini concealer brush, is indeed fantastic for all things concealing. I love using this to spot conceal redness around the nose and discolouration around the mouth, but mainly I have become obsessed with using it to ‘clean up the brows’ when I have the time. Honestly the first time I used it I couldn’t believe how different my whole face looked, my brows fitted so much better and they looked sharp but not too bold - VERY pulled together. I really don’t know where this brush has been all my life, but I need back ups cause I cannot risk losing it (and at this price, I can afford back ups too!).

Repurchase: YES! Rating: 5/5

M153 | £3.50

Now this brush is technically supposed to be in the second category, but I accidentally photographed it with the 421, so on we go. Unfortunately this one does not have such a glowing review, and yes its just as cheap but its one I rarely reach for. The 153 is a flat shader brush, much wider than the above and it has super soft bristles too. However it's not as good as packing colour onto the lid, as a smaller crease brush would be and that is mostly due to the size. I have medium lids, they're not super large and so packing on shadow with this would be very clumsy and messy, unless I'm going for that super basic one shadow look...and even then, I'd still have to pick up a blending brush as well as this one, which kind of defeats the whole base look, am I right? Wayne Goss dislikes flat shaders for eyeshadow and so does Charlotte Tilbury apparently, and since I purchased this brush, I totally get why. Anyways the best use I have found for this is for swatching...so not one I'm a fan of at all.

Repurchase: Nope. Rating: 2/5

Detail/Miscellaneous brushes

These brushes are the ones that I think most beginners wouldn't think of first when they're trying to pick up some decent brushes. However, a lot of them are also the brushes that have upped my makeup game SO much, and I really don't know how I was applying shadow without them before. Again, some 5/5s and some eh ones. I think what Morphe has done really well, is created brushes that are affordable (more so than Zoeva and higher end brands), but also purposeful (most of them!). I've already reviewed the M153 above and that was NOT a fave, so lets move on to the rest of them.

E18 | £6.00

Another brush from the elite collection, this one is really useful, especially if you have a smaller lid space. I use this to pack on colours in smaller areas of the eyelid, as well as blend shades into my crease too. The unique thing about this brush, compared to the other smaller and detailed brushes in my collection is that I can actually use it to blend very well. It's not the smallest, but it is excellent at crease work and I reach for this when I want to blend a light shade under the lower lashline too. Not for a stronger colour as I prefer to use a smaller detailed brush for precise colour - however again, its super for blending out smaller areas! And if you know anything about eyeshadow, you'll agree with me that blending is key. I wish it were a little cheaper, but I use it regularly so I can't complain.

Repurchase: Yes ^_^ Rating: 4/5

M431 | £5.50

I would describe this as a pencil brush and I have several uses for it, with the first being a lower lash line brush. I primarily use this with lighter brown shades, as it’s a little bigger than the usual ‘detail’ brushes, which means it can actually blend out shadow to a certain extent. The other use is for inner corner highlight, especially if you’re going to more of an obvious look - it works a treat!! And finally for a brow bone highlight, the M431 is the perfect size. Also this brush is a great dupe for the Zoeva 230 pencil brush, which costs £9. The only difference is that the M431 is just a little smaller, which allows for more precision, so I tend to reach for the Morphe one much more often! You can see that in size, this pencil brush is more narrow than the crease one and I love the pointed end because it allows for a decent amount of precision. The bristles are made from goat hair and so pick up shadow very well - and its not scratchy either!

Repurchase: Yes, my inner corner highlight wouldn't be the same without! Rating: 5/5

M507 | £6.00

One of the BEST brushes I have ever used, I love this brush SO much. Its slightly pointed and pretty small, which makes it perfect for anyone with small-medium lid space. I adore this for blending in colour, or adding specific colour to the outer/inner v or the eye and sometimes when I'm in a real rush, I use this to blend out a lighter shade under the lower lashline too. It is just the perfect size for blending or adding simple details. For example, I'll use a large fluffy brush for all over the lid and then go in with the M507 and a deeper shade into the crease, using the end to flick out the shade and add that special touch...the best £6 I could have ever spent - and I've not seen a better brush from any other brand out there. Honestly I strongly suggest you go and place this in your basket now, you will not regret it.

Repurchase: YES!!! Rating: 5/5

M575 | £6.00

Unfortunately this particular brush isn't one I’ve been too impressed with. On the beauty bay website, it is described as a brush that can ‘soften colour’ and it has a VERY tapered point, which is the main reason why I picked it up. However the bristles are far too long for any real blending (hence why I put it in this category). I have tried to diffuse colour out with it, but I much prefer using a smaller brush like to 507 to get a beautiful blend. I’ve also used this for adding colour to the crease, however its just a little too clumsy and difficult to manoeuvre. I wish I'd just picked up a second M507 instead (or maybe the 506!), but hey - we live and we learn.

Repurchase: Naaaah. Rating: 2/5

Blending brushes

And on to my favourites - the brushes that we need to take a look from 0-100. They are such an essential that I own several and I'm constantly using them. Often these are great brushes for simple looks, as well as the more intricate and there are a lot of loved brushes in this section.

M521 | £6.00

Now I know I just went on and on about how much I love blending brushes, but this is actually one of the ones I DON'T recommend - they can't all be awesome hah. The reason I'm not a fan is because the whole brush is quite stiff, which means that it just isn't great for blending out product. It is designed to be a shader brush, but even applying shadow with it feels too rough and harsh on the eyelid, so I don't find myself reaching for this often at all. I'm going to try and use it as a highlighter brush maybe...I'm not sure if it's just too small for that to be honest! Bottomline - I don't use this and wish I could have spent my six quid on something better.

Repurchase? Noooooooo. Rating: 1/5

M504 | £6.95

Firstly I'm very confused because this is currently nowhere to be seen on the beautybay website...I hope they are planning on bringing it back! I did find it on another site, but its out of stock :( The 504 is one of my favourite super fluffy blending brushes, the bristles are the perfect length to really buff shadow out and I tend to reach for this when I am setting base down and also applying one colour all over the lid. It's a little large to be a 'one brush wonder', and if I'm ever doing a 3-4 colour look I'll always use smaller brushes alongside the M504, however this is an essential part of the mix. And for the days when I have less than 10 minutes to get ready, a bit of peach smoothie with this brush is all I need and I'm good to go! I've heard this is similar to the famous Sigma E40 and I definitely use it for the same purpose.

Repurchase? Yes! Rating: 5/5

M502 | £6.00

This is the little sister to the M504, it is literally the same brush but just a smaller size and I love it! Because I don't have the biggest eyelid space, I really enjoy using this whenever I'm doing a look which requires more precision, as it is perfect for blending out smaller areas. To be honest this is the best crease blending brush I own, it fits perfectly and I find myself using this so so often. I'm genuinely struggling to describe WHY its my favourite, IT JUST WORKS SOOOOO WELL! Highly highly recommend!

Repurchase? Yes!!! Rating: 5/5

MB23 | £5.00

This brush I picked up on a total whim and it was only around 3 quid when I got it (and probably due to the lower price tag!), but it's actually one I reach for more often than not. With its longer than the norm, bristles and the soft fluffy finish I find it great for softly blending out shadows. Is it a must have? No. But it is nice to have in the collection and this is usually the brush I use when I need a clean blending brush inbetween shades. I love how soft the bristles feel on the delicate eye area and it gets the job done. Not the most versatile and not really one I'd purchase again and again, but I can't fault it.

Repurchase? Probably not, because for a fiver I'd rather repurchase an absolute fave. Rating: 4/5

E21 | £4.00

This is weird...I feel like I purchased this for more than four quid...but anyway! The E21 is a slanted blending brush and it has quite a large head, so I tend to reach for it when I'm setting my concealer/base on my eyelid and also for the crease shade. I think for the price, the quality is fantastic, and it is a more versatile brush as I have used this for liquid products as well as powder. If you're looking for a precision blender, then this isn't for you, but in terms of a general good brush - it ticks a lot of boxes!

Repurchase? Not now that I've found a brush I prefer for concealer...no. Rating: 4/5

M139 | £3.50

Moving back to more blender type of brushes, this is probably one of my all time favourite brushes in my collection and the fact that it costs the same amount as a coffee makes it just that much sweeter! The size of this brush is what makes it so fantastic, like I've mentioned before, I don't have the most eyelid space but I still love applying shadow and playing around with colour, so brushes of this size are perfection. It is great for blending out concentrated colour in small areas and for applying creases shades too. I love it and I'm waiting for it to come back into stock so I can purchase a back up!

Repurchase: YES!!!! Rating: 5/5

M330 | £6.00

And finishing off this awfully long post with an absolute FAVOURITE - the 330 is again amazing if you have small/medium eyelid space and you're looking for a soft blending brush which has the slightest taper. It is such good value for money, I use it almost every single time I do my makeup and that is why I actually have two of these. The versatility (and the fact that I can both apply and blend shadow with this), is what makes it even more fantastic and it is one of this 'one brush wonders'. If I HAD to only take three brushes with me travelling, this would be one of them, so I think everyone and their auntie should own at least one, because it is a total must have!

Repurchase? Already have! Rating: 5/5

THIS POST HONESTLY TOOK ME MONTHS TO WRITE. Somewhere inbetween starting this, I got way too busy with teaching prep and then I lost all motivation to blog and then I just got too busy with the actual NQT life. It does feel lovely to be blogging again though, even if it is stupid o'clock and I have a morning full of diary writing and P.E to face! Anyway, I hope this post was helpful for you all, honestly morphe is a brand that is worth trying out - it definitely rivals some of it's competitors and beats the price too. Obviously there are hits and misses, but everything that I've rated a 4-5/5 is worth trying...especially if you're looking to update your brush wardrobe ☺️

Have you tried Morphe brushes? Any recommendations?

Thank-you for reading ♥

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