Studio 35 Double Sided Foundation/Concealer Brush

Hi everyone!

Quite a few years ago I went to Walgreens and bought my first set of makeup brushes. As far as I am aware Studio 35 is a Walgreens brand and/or only carried at Walgreens. I bought the Studio 35 brush set. I am pretty sure that I bought a package which included 4 brushes for somewhere between $7.00 and $10.00. The brushes are double sided which to me means that each handle has a brush on both ends of it. For example the brush that I am reviewing today is the brush that has on one side a foundation brush and on the other side a concealer brush. I got four different brushes, but with eight different styles of brushes.

I just tried to go to Walgreens.com to look up this product and even though the style of the brushes are the same with the black handle with silver tips, but the packaging variations have changed. You can still buy 1 brush that is double sided, but all the rest of the packages include 4 individual brushes and one brush set has magnetic changeable brush heads which is actually kind of cool. So you get I brush handle that magnetically clips the different brush heads on to the end of it.

I am going to say it is safe to assume that these brushes are no longer available for purchase. That may also mean that the quality of the brushes may have changed.

*Fair Warning: the Studio 35 brushes that are mentioned in this blog are no longer available as seen, but Studio 35 still makes some brushes, has the same packaging with the black/silver, and can be purchased in different variations of the product seen in this blog, but the quality is unkown*

Continuing on to the review...

Rating:

Price: 9/10
Packaging: 8/10
Quality: 7/10
Longevity: 9/10
Application: 10/10
Design: 9/10
Bristle fallout: 9/10
Bristle feeling: 10/10
Blending ability: 9/10
Overall rating: 8/10
Would I buy it again: 3/10
Total rating: 91/110=82.72%=82.7%=B

My personal rating: 7/10=70%=C

Comments:
I don't remember exactly how much I paid for it, but I do remember thinking that it was quite expensive for brushes, especially for my first set of brushes which means they had to have been around $10.00 for the packaging. For the brand of brushes it does seem a bit high. But $10.00 for 8 brushes is a fairly good deal. I remember I was not thrilled with the packaging options that they had and I can still say that I am not entirely a huge fan of the double sided brushes. It is quite annoying to use. It would be great for traveling where you don't want to pack your expensive brushes or multiple brushes, so the concept is good, but I'm just not a fan. I think it would be better for quick re-application purposes rather than actual application use, if that makes sense. I think that the quality of the actual brushes is good. The bristles are soft enough that it does not feel like they are scratching your face. The bristles are not too stiff so they have some movement to them. I had to knock some points off because I don't feel like these are the best brushes that one can buy and one of the handles one of the brushes fell off when I tried to wash it. The longevity of the actual brushes has been quite a few years. They have gone through many uses, many washes, and many years without the actual bristles being damaged or falling out. The brush tips are somewhat stained from the makeup, but that is expected. I still took a point off for the concealer brush falling off the handle, but I still use it. I feel that the brush evenly distributes the product, especially when used all over the face. I don't think it leaves the face looking streaky like you used a brush on your face. If you use the brush correctly by laying on the foundation in even strokes then it works fine. I didn't like and still don't like the design of the brushes because I don't like how the brush is double sided. It does make it a bit awkward to use. I feel that with double sided brushes the quality does go a little bit. I noticed that the first couple of times I used the foundation brush I did have some fallout from the foundation brush where I would be trying to apply foundation and find some brush bristles on my face. The other brushes I didn't really notice that happening. I think that the bristles of the brush feel soft, but are put together well enough to give it a bit of stiffness to be able to be used. This brush does a good job of blending the foundation well, but I don't think it creates an absolutely flawless face. Overall this brush isn't bad, but it's definitely not the best that one can buy. It works well enough to use. I probably would not repurchase this product because I can't even if I wanted to, but also because I would want to branch out and try other brushes.

Sincerely,
Marina

Covergirl Eye Shadow Brush

Hey everyone!

A while back I bought the Covergirl Exact Eyelights Eye Brightening Eyeshadows for blue eyes. The packaging came with 4 eye shadows, an applicator, and an actual eye shadow brush. I thought it was so cool that they included the brush with it and I actually really like the brush so I wanted to give it a shout out. I use it a lot to apply eye shadows because I like it so much. I'm keeping it as long as I can. I do feel that the brush eats the eye shadow a little bit.

Unfortunately, the product has been renamed and repackaged so I'm not sure if they still include the brush or not. I didn't see the brush on the Covergirl website so I don't think you can buy it individually. I'm not going to do a review on it, but I figure since I like it and have it, I might as well mention it.

Sincerely,
Marina

E.L.F. (EyesLipsFace) Products and Random Products

Hey everyone!

I know I have been MIA for about six months, but I'm back. I recently signed up for Ipsy of which I am currently on their wait list and I signed up for Lip Monthly of which I think I am going to receive my first box some time this month and if not then definitely next month. I signed up for a four month subscription with Lip Monthly because I am a huge lip gloss fan and because there is currently no wait list when you sign up. I may or may not cancel my Lip Monthly subscription once I start receiving Ipsy. But I will have Lip Monthly for the next four months which is exciting!

While I was going through my makeup I found a bunch of E.L.F. products that I bought a few years ago around the time I started my blog. At the time I meant to go through my E.L.F. hauls that I had before and after I started blogging, but I completely forgot. Now I can't remember which hauls I bought the stuff with so I am just going to go through all of my E.L.F. products and review them. I also found a couple of random items that I have had, but have not reviewed yet. I hope to review these products in the next couple of weeks, but realistically it will probably take me a few months.

Since then I went through my blog and realized that I have a lot of mini-hauls of products that I need to review so I will get to those as soon as I can.

Sincerely,
Marina

Ulta Mini-Haul 03/23/2014

Hello everyone!

 Last Sunday my local Ulta was having a sale and I had some extra money to spend so I decided that I needed to buy some makeup besides lip products because I wanted to try out some new foundation and some new makeup products that I wanted to try from different brands. I was looking for a drugstore brand foundation that was cheaper that I could wear and purchase often, but a lot of the drugstore brand have really bumped up in price. It was super frustrating because Ulta was pretty much out of all the foundation in all the different brands in my skintone. But I found a foundation from L'Oreal Infallible that I decided to try out. I have been seeing a lot about the NYX Wonder Pencil so I decided to give it a try because I bought the NYX Jumbo Pencil in White for my waterline, but it is difficult to work with due to the size of it and I also wanted a more nude color because it brightens and opens up the eyes without being too much. Ever since my hubby and kitty destroyed my favorite MAC bronzer I have been looking for a cheaper good version of a bronzer that I can use on a daily basis. I bought a Maybelline fit me bronzer. Ulta was having a sale on straighteners so I decided to buy one because even though my hair is already super straight my hair does tend to look poofy for some reason so I am hoping that it helps my hair look more put together rather than flying all over the place.

Ulta Mini-Haul:
Revlon Straightener $11.49
Nyx Wonder Pencil $4.49
Maybelline Fit Me Bronzer in Medium Bronze $4.99
L'Oreal Infallible Make-up [Advanced Never Fail Makeup] in #603 Classic Ivory $13.99

Sincerely,
Marina

Walgreens very Mini-Haul Revlon Lipgloss 03/16/2014

Hi everyone!

My local Walgreens was having a sale on Revlon lip products so I couldn't resist, plus I got a register reward and I had points to spend. I bought a Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss in Pinkissimo. My local Walgreens did not have a huge selection of the product so I only had a few to choose from. I saw Pinkissimo and I had to have it. The color was super cute! Although, I need to stop buying lip products because that is pretty much all I have been buying when it comes to makeup and I already have too many lipglosses/lipsticks. But I couldn't resist this.

The Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss in Pinkissimo sale price was $6.99, but I technically did not pay that price because I had enough Walgreens balance points to make it free which is one of the biggest reasons why I could not resist buying this. The second reason was because the color is just super cute! I am really excited to test it out.

Walgreens Mini-Haul:
Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss in Pinkissimo sale price $6.99

Sincerely,
Marina

MAC Paint Pot in Soft Ochre

Hi everyone!

I finally did a review on the MAC paint pot in Bare Study in my previous blog. I thought that since I really enjoyed the MAC paint pot in Bare Study that I would like to venture out and try other products in the paint pot line. I was looking for a paint pot that was not shimmery and a lot of people on Youtube recommended Painterly, but when I went to my local MAC counter they were out of that one so I decided to try the Soft Ochre. I was not very pleased with this specific paint pot because I think the MAC paint pot in Soft Ochre feels more on the dry side, is harder to apply, and it does not last as long as the Bare Study one. I get really disappointed when you really like a product and you try other products in the same product line, but they end up not having as good of a quality as the others. If you can I would definitely test the different paint pots before buying them because the quality seems to be different with each paint pot.

Back when I was doing my dicontinued/repackaged series in my blog they still had the paint pots. I just went on the official MAC website and they appear to be renamed and reformulated. That must be a recent development. They are now called MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pots. They do appear to still have Bare Study and Soft Ochre, I think it would be safe to assume that they have been reformulated. As a side note the price also went up by a few dollars.

*Fair Warning: last year when I did my repackaged/renamed/reformulated/discontinued/etc. products they still had the regular paint pots on their website. But it appears the paint pots have been renamed and probably reformulated. The price went up by a few dollars.*

On to the MAC paint pot in Soft Ochre review.

Rating:

Price: 10/10
Packaging: 10/10
Amount of product: 10/10
Longevity: 8/10
Application: 8/10
Smell: 9/10
Bringing out eye shadows: 9/10
Creasing: 7/10
Different types of lids: 8/10
Overall product rating: 8/10
Would I purchase this again: 5/10
Total rating: 92/110=83.63%=B

My Personal Rating: 7/10=70%=C

Comments: I don't remember how much I actually paid for this product, but I think it was some where around $17-$18. I don't think that is a horrible price for a MAC paint pot because it is like a primer and eye shadow in one. It is sold as an eye shadow, but people on Youtube recommended it as a primer and I think that it works. The paint pot comes in a glass round case which I think looks adorable! I think that you get a decent amount of product for the price. I have had the MAC paint pot in Soft Ochre for about a year now. I don't think that this product lasts as long as the Bare Study paint pot. I would say it lasts about 2-3 hours on my oily eye lids. I don't think that this specific paint pot applies very well because it does feel more dry and it sticks a bit more. I don't feel that I get a smooth even application at least not on the first try. There is a slight chemically smell to the product, but once applied to the eyes it shouldn't be noticeable. I think the paint pot in Soft Ochre brings out the color of the eye shadows decently. I have not noticed an issue with dull looking eye shadow. I had to knock off major points for creasing because I think that this product when used as an eye shadow primer does not even out the lines/wrinkles on my eye lids. I also think that this product doesn't last as long so the eye shadow creases quicker. I would probably not recommend this product for dry eye lids because I feel that it would be too dry. This product does not seem like it applies smoothly or evenly on my oily lids so I'm pretty sure it would not be a good product for dry eye lids. Overall I would not buy another MAC paint pot in Soft Ochre if I ran out, but since MAC did reformulate it, I might try it out for that purpose.

I hope this helps!

Sincerely,
Marina

MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study

Hello everyone!

I have been meaning to do a review on the two MAC paint pots that I have had for a while. The first one that I bought and tried as an eye shadow primer was the MAC paint pot in Bare Study. It is a  very light pink color with tons of shimmer. I have had this for a couple of years and I use it for special occasions because I trust it. Since I really liked the Bare Study paint pot I decided to try another paint pot for those occasions I didn't want all the shimmer because it does get to be a bit much. When I went to my local MAC counter they were sold out of Painterly so I decided to go with Soft Ochre. I will admit that I am not a big fan of the paint pot in Soft Ochre, but I will get to that in my next blog when I review it.

I am thinking that the MAC paint pots vary on how good they are from product to product which I am not a big fan of. I don't like when you buy a product in one color and then you try to buy another color and they turn out to be not as good as the one. You get really excited about it so you want to try out the entire line and it falls flat. It's really disappointing.

Back when I was doing my dicontinued/repackaged series in my blog they still had the paint pots. I just went on the official MAC website and they appear to be renamed and reformulated. That must be a recent development. They are now called MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pots. They do appear to still have Bare Study and Soft Ochre, I think it would be safe to assume that they have been reformulated. As a side note the price also went up by a few dollars.

*Fair Warning: last year when I did my repackaged/renamed/reformulated/discontinued/etc. products they still had the regular paint pots on their website. But it appears the paint pots have been renamed and probably reformulated. The price went up by a few dollars.*

On to the MAC paint pot in Bare Study review.

Rating:

Price: 10/10
Packaging: 10/10
Amount of product: 10/10
Longevity: 10/10
Application: 10/10
Smell: 9/10
Bringing out eye shadows: 9/10
Creasing: 8/10
Different types of lids: 10/10
Overall product rating: 9/10
Would I purchase this again: 10/10
Total rating: 105/110= 95.45%=A

My personal rating: 9.5/10=95%=A

Comments: I don't remember how much I paid for this product, but I want to say somewhere around $17 or $18. My MAC recent has the products listed as numbers and not names so I have no idea. That sounds about right. For the Bare Study quality the price is definitely worth it. The paint pot comes in a glass case. I think it looks cute. I have not had any problems with the product leaking or anything. I think that you get a decent amount of product for the price. The bare study has lasted me a couple of years using it for special occasions. I think that this particular paint pot in Bare Study lasts on my oily lids for about 6 hours if not longer. I have not noticed any major issues with it not lasting a while. The product applies smoothly and evenly on the eye lids. It does have a slight chemically scent to it, but it's not overpowering and will not be noticeable once applied to the eye lids. I think that this product helps to bring out the color of the eye shadows. Some primers seem to dull eye shadows, but I feel this specific product enhances eye shadows, although, I would not wear shimmery eye shadows with this primer because the combination of the two brings a lot of shimmer. I'm not sure how to put it into words, but it does not look very good being used with shimmery eye shadows because it gets to be a bit too much. I don't have smooth eye lids and I feel that this product somewhat smooths out the lines/wrinkles on my eye lids, but not as much as I would like so I had to take a few points off because it leaves a fairly smooth surface to apply eye shadow on. As far as the eye shadow creasing I think that this product does not crease the eye shadow for at least 6 hours. I think that this product works well on my oily lids and because it is so creamy I feel that it would work well on dry eye lids also. I would definitely repurchase the MAC point pot in Bare Study. Now that it is actually advertised by MAC as a pro longwear I will have to when I run out of mine.

Thank you so much for reading. I hope this helps!

Sincerely,
Marina