Beauty and the Packaging
During the past years I have been utterly seduced by beautiful high-end products and innovative packaging designs, I splurge with the idea of using all of them although clearly I won’t manage to use up everything !
I did rave about these products in the past but there is also a dark side to them that I sometimes only notice afterwards, when facing a more intense daily usage. If I didn’t care about the product itself, I would simply not repurchase it. However, the items I will show you below are items that I will repurchase no matter what -providing I can still find them and I can afford it- because the product is so good that I am ok to compromise and I will find a way to live with the inconvenience incurred. But, love doesn’t always need to come with pain !!! so if there is any way for the Companies to neutralize this pain, I certainly encourage it ! 
The purpose of this post is to :
- share some tips and tricks in case you are experiencing the same situation with similar products, if you do and you have some advice please also share back with us!
- marketing teams are sometimes scanning for reviews or for feedback from customers, if you have an opinion on these items, either agree or disagree, please also kindly share !
Below some incriminated products that make me question their design, you may recognize some of them :
The new Rae Morris Radiance
I was already very much in love with the Rae Morris Radiance brush that was released previously, I believe beginning of 2012 and I actually reviewed it in March 2012.
I used the old one automatically on a daily basis, either to apply the foundation or just to blend the whole application afterwards. Since I was washing it very often I got two of them, I was afraid they would not last very long with that intense usage. After one year they are still in one piece and even though they don’t look that solid they still perform like on the very first day.
Today I will show you the new Radiance that is now being released and that is replacing that first version of it. You may not need such a huge foundation/blending/finishing brush, for me it’s simply HG, I don’t think there is another brush that makes the liquid or cream base makeup application look so airbrushed. I don’t use it with powder but it’s also meant for that. 
My HG brushes and more
My reason fails me when it comes to makeup brushes, I have this unrestrained curiosity to discover more and more and I don’t think I will ever have enough of them. The worst part is that it’s not going to end soon and due to the newest acquisitions that keep on coming my favorites may change on a regular basis.
When I finally calm down and my wallet gets some peace and quiet you then send me new links and trigger my inner beast again ! I don’t know if I have to thank you or blame you, probably both, but I do enjoy it, a lot.
I am creating this post due to high demand, I received a few emails recently about brushes and thought that it was time for a new post on that topic, it will certainly help me address these questions a little bit more in detail.
Your questions were related to my favorite brushes: whatever the price, whatever the brand. After a few days, weeks actually, of deliberation I came to the conclusion that it would not be easy to answer and the result would involve a lot of them, more than 140 actually, 140 is not the total amount of brushes I have, it’s just the number of brushes that made it into my very top favorites. I did my best to narrow it down to just a very few by category but still, too many.
These are most of my HG brushes :
My 2012 brush awards
I thought it could be a fun idea to start the year with some pictures of the most exceptional brushes I have come across during 2012. I have tried to narrow down the list to the minimum but there are still so many of them !
I wanted to pick the most exceptional and unique, the ones that have surprised me the most, not exactly the most necessary. I will make sure I share at least one link where you can find them in order to get more details on the brushes. They are not in preference order, just brand by brand. You will see the picture of the brush(es) and below the picture a small comment on each.
The most lovable brush !
Koyudo designed the most creative and tempting brushes I have seen this year, I am nearly scared when they release new brushes because I know there is a big chance than an order will follow. This macaron has been released in 3 colors, there is also an orange and a purple, it’s adorable, incredibly soft, tiny, very densely packed and firm, not the most necessary brush I admit but I have to say that this one is one of the most beautiful brushes to look at.
I use it to apply powder or blush, the surface covers approx 4cm and it’s only 5cm tall.
My current favorite makeup brushes
Makeup brushes is actually the main reason why I started this blog. I was often reading beauty blogs and the comments and suddenly I thought that having so many brushes could actually be helpful to others, the questions were often related to their size and comparison to similar ones and that’s something I thought I could provide.
I am easily tempted when it comes to brushes, I mean easily. If I can, I will. Sometimes I know I am making a huge mistake but I need to see by myself…
It’s only my opinion that I will share here, not the one of a Master in makeup brushes, but I will always give you my humble and honest opinion and experience, whatever the brand. I also want to mention that if these are my HG, they may not be HG for everyone and I haven’t tried all the brands available today – thanks God ! The prices are also often high and paying a high price for a makeup brush is not always something that everyone can or want to do, I don’t mind doing it, but it has to be worth it.
I have tried to narrow down the list to the very top favorite brushes for each usage, I clearly cannot select all of the brushes I love otherwise I will make a post a mile long, so here you will only see the ones that have seriously blown my mind.
In this first picture, I have just gathered together the very top selection of all the brushes mentioned in this post, I will very briefly cover them under each category, these few have been serious great discoveries for me, some are just insanely beautiful, others are incredibly efficient and often unique.
Rae Morris – my thoughts on the new set
As you may already know, I had several quality and design issues with the first set I bought from Rae Morris. I talked to them and they were really kind and sent me a new set to replace it, I also have to say that since this time it came from Australia, I had to pay an extra 200 usd only as additional taxes. These taxes have been added although the set already included 65 usd worth of taxes in its price. A total of 265 usd of taxes on a set worth 650 usd… that hurts.
Here is the link for the pictures of the first Rae Morris set I bought some time ago.
There is a follow up review of the first set here, and I also reviewed the Rae Morris Radiance brush if you are interested.
Today, I will show you the first pictures of the second set I received yesterday, the one I was hoping to get the first time I ordered with Rae Morris. It’s a shame I did not receive that first set before, and it’s sad I had to pay an additional 200 usd for it. Other than that, I am happy with this new set, I will start using the brushes as of today and will update this post or create a new one once I have had the chance to use these new brushes a bit more.
If you look at the pictures, you can see tiny little white labels that I have put on the old set, I did that in order to distinguish both sets. Well actually, I could not mix them because the quality difference between the two is just high enough for me to immediately recognize which brush came in which set ! There is only one brush that is of similar quality in the two sets.
In the pictures, the brushes with the tiny labels are the ones from the old set, the brushes without the label are the new ones.
The main reason why I am happy today is because the shapes of these brushes are now the same shape as the ones on her website, which was not always the case before. I totally understand that these are handmade brushes and from recycle bamboo handles, therefore each brush is different but when you want a special brush shape, even made by hand, you should get the design you were specially looking forward to.
24. All over powder
The shape of the new brush is bigger, fluffier, it just looks better. The only problem is that it rattles, the old one didn’t.
An overview of my current favorite make up brushes
I am not a make up artist and my opinions are only based on my personal experience with the brands I tried. I love make up brushes and after a few years into make up, I have gathered a few of them. The day I discovered that a good make up brush could make a significant difference in a make up application I was intrigued and started to build my collection.
I have taken pictures of the brushes that I love the most and that I use regularly, for each category I highlight my very favorites and tell you why I love them so much. The same brush may be pictured in different categories since I try to get the most of each one of them. I apologize it’s a bit long and mixed up…
My profile
I have extremely dry and sensitive skin, only a few moisturizers work for me and of course the ones that work are extremely expensive. On a daily basis I use the Laura Mercier Repair creme without SPF. Before discovering this moisturizer I could not wear foundation at all, even foundations for dry skin, I had dry patches and flakes within 2 hours of application.
I prefer to apply my foundation with a sheer coverage, sometimes medium coverage but either way I always aim to achieve a glowy look and I don’t usually powder afterwards.
When I wake up, even after the shower, my skin is still really sensitive, using a soft brush on my eyelids and my face made a big difference in my daily routine, the application is so relaxing and smooth, and that’s why I love soft brushes so much.
These are the make up brands that I use the most :
- Rouge Bunny Rouge
- Tom Ford
- Chantecaille
- Le Metier de Beaute
- Guerlain
- Chanel
- By Terry
- Suqqu
- Shu Uemura
- Mac
I will always try to use products and techniques that don’t emphasize my wrinkles or that don’t look heavy or cakey, I am not a make up artist, my opinions are only based on my personal experience.
Foundation, buffing and stippling
In the picture below, you will see my favorite foundation brushes :
Favorite foundation brushes
I’ll try to give you some examples with some of the foundations I love to wear :
- For mineralize cream foundation (Mac) : Real Techniques stippling brush or RM Radiance
- For liquid foundation (Tom Ford, Burberry, BB, Laura Mercier, By Terry, etc) : RM Radiance, Hakuhodo G5556 4mm, Sigma F80 or Coastal Scents Bionic. With the Radiance, no need to buff afterwards but with the others I still like to buff with the Mac 187 or any other similar stippling brush, even though it’s not really always necessary.
- For very liquid foundation (Mac or Make Up For Ever face and body) : LY 34, I noticed the bristles suck a lot of foundation but with a very liquid foundation that’s the one I would reach for, mainly for body foundation.
- For mineralize powder foundation (Bare Escentuals) : Coastal Scents Bionic for a flawless and heavier coverage and Chanel 1 for a more natural sheer to medium coverage.
My top favorite is the Rae Morris Radiance, the finish is like an airbrushed application. The price is high but worth it and I could live only with this brush.
Rae Morris, n° 27 Radiance brush review
I have previously reviewed the 26 pieces brush set and as you may know I am not satisfied with the quality. Today I will be reviewing the 27 Radiance brush and my opinion on this particular brush is going to be completely different. Unlike the brushes released in her big set, this Radiance is a gem.
When I saw how thick it was, I was in shock, how am I supposed to use this brush for foundation on the face ? But that was easy. I washed it, it shed a fair amount of hair but I considered that shedding reasonable for a new brush. I have tried it with Burberry’s foundation, I was so happy that I wanted to make sure : I removed everything and I started all over again… the result was as good as the first time !
The application was a bit clumsy at first, since the brush is so big you don’t know how or where to start… I placed the foundation on my face with a flat foundation brush, then I blended with this Radiance from the nose towards the borders of the face and buff either in circular motion or straight lines, depending on the zone. I also tried it with contour and blush, the result is flawless with all the products. Before this brush I was using the Sigma F80 and buffing with a Mac 187.
Size of the Radiance :
- Total length : 9.2 cm
- Hair length : 2.7 cm
- Thickness : 3 cm
- Width of the ferrule foot : 6.5 cm
My make up organization and some fun ideas
At some point, my collection grew out of control and I am not very proud of that, but that’s another story…
I had to find a way to make it faster and easier in the morning rush… and also to use everything and not only the same products over and over again. If I see them I will use them, if I don’t, I will forget about them.
I started putting labels on my palettes, then the blushes, then nearly everything else… and that helped, a lot, today I can spend more time enjoying the application and less looking for the items.
I also don’t have a lot of space or a place to sit to apply my make up, today I have a nice Ikea Malm dresser with a mirror and my boyfriend added some nice little lights on the sides, I also have 3 more drawers in another bigger dresser and everything has to fit in there.
Rae Morris 26 piece set … my follow up review
Before you read the following review, please be aware that I have received a replacement set : please click here for some more info
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A long time ago, probably maybe 15 years ago, I remember my IT teacher talking about computers and electricity, he told us “it’s not because it fits that it works… “ that’s right, but that does not apply to make up brushes, as long as it fits and the results are great, it will perfectly work I may use an eyeshadow brush for highlighting, a highlighting brush for eyeshadow, a concealer brush for the lips or an eyeliner brush for concealer… Some brushes are not made for cream or liquid products but most of them can be used for several purposes and it is just a matter of preference. My brush collection is huge and I don’t need so many brushes but I just cannot resist getting new ones to try !
This is the follow up review to my first post on Rae Morris 26 piece set. I have only been using the brushes for a week, therefore my experience with them is not based on a long term use, if any of my opinions change in the future, I will update this post accordingly. I admit one week is not enough to thoroughly test them all.
In this review, I will address these topics :
- The general experience with the order and their customer service
- The packaging and the 26 piece brush set
- The quality of the brushes
- The brushes I love
- The brushes I will use from time to time
- The ones I will probably not use
- Conclusion
Rae Morris brush set, finally !
I have finally decided to get this wonderful brush collection from Rae Morris.
These are my first impressions and first pictures of the Rae Morris brush set freshly arrived, a more detailed review will be available soon. Since there isn’t a lot of information online, I hope this already gives you an idea of what you are getting if you order the big set.
I ordered mine directly from Rae Morris web site, when you click on “Brushes” you can see the “27 piece professional brush range personally designed by Rae Morris”. In the listed brushes, there is also the Radiance brush and you may think it is included in the set, unfortunately it is not. In the shopping bag page the Radiance is also shown, but I have received 26 brushes in total, without the Radiance brush.
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