Sale Score - The Sonia Kashuk 15 Year Anniversary Brush Set

Sometimes the shopping-fu is with me.

I was on my way home from physio when I had the sudden and overwhelming urge to check Target for a bath mat I had been thinking of purchasing. As is my usual practice, I did a quick walk-by the beauty department, on the off chance there was something new and/or awesome.

AND BEHOLD.

This is the 15 piece Professional Brush Set that came out recently, to celebrate the past 15 years of Sonia Kashuk as a brand. When I saw reviews popping up on Youtube and fevered posts on Instagram, I relegated this to the "Aw, that's nice" part of my brain, as I never, ever assumed I would have the luck of stumbling upon one.

And then the shopping-fu. Not only were two of these prime sets sitting on the shelf, happy as you please, but they bore that most of exciting of signs: the red liquidation sticker. Already reasonably priced at 39.99$, I snatched this one for a mere 20$. The purple and gold was perhaps a tad more gaudy than I'd generally like, but math won over aesthetics in this case, as fifteen brushes for 20$ worked out to about 1.33$ per brush. I figured if I liked 5 out of the brushes, I would still consider it money well spent.

I have yet to put these through their paces, but based on very superficial first impressions of how they feel, I am doubly pleased with my score. The powder and blush brush are full and silky soft (not Chikuhodo, obviously, but better than the Sigma and Quo in my collection). The round buffing brush feels a touch too stiff in the centre, but a good wash may soften that up. I think it'll work for cream contour products. The foundation paddle brush is smooth and evenly tapered, with no scratchy bits (often an issue with drugstore paddle brushes - I'm looking at you, Real Techniques).

The narrow contour brush is soft but dense, and I'm really curious to try this one out, as I don't have anything like it. It's a big part of why I bought this kit, hoping it wouldn't suck. The angled buffing/foundation brush is really nice, very dense and silky.

For the face brushes alone, I am impressed.

Onto the eye brushes:

The crease brush is too full, firm and dense for me to use for that purpose, except to really soften and blow out an eyeshadow over the crease, but it's a nice enough brush. I could see myself using it for concealer or specific contouring. The second crease/blending brush is also too big for me, except to maybe apply brow bone highlight. It's quite a bit denser, as well. I need to play around with it to figure out how I would use it.

The lay down brush is interesting - it's almost a cross between the MAC 217 and 249 in terms of the length and shape of the bristles, though it has a narrower profile and a slimmer shape. It's a little too slim and precise to blend the crease, but for laying down product and getting a tight shape in the crease or the outer corner, I suspect it might be perfect. If it picks up powder as well as the 249, I have a feeling this will be the sleeper hit of the set.

The bullet brush feels a little stiff for me, as does the pointed brush and the tapered smudge brush. I think they'll wind up feeling scratchy when used closer to the lash line, but I'll have to try them to be sure.

The concealer brush is basic, like pretty much every concealer brush ever included in any set ever made. (I really wish they would start including fluffier version, which is the way a lot of people apply concealer these days). Same "basic" comment applies to the angled brush and spoolie. I'm also assuming the angled brush is meant for the brow, and not eyeliner, as it's too thick and not quite evenly cut on the edge.

So overall? Strongly positive about 6, potentially positive about 3, unimpressed but no qualms about 3, and wary about 3. I think that's not a bad breakdown at all, especially since the ones I'm most confident about are the brushes that would be more expensive anyway. So...super pleased!

Have you guys seem this at your local Target? Are you thinking about tracking it down? Or have you scored anything else on sale that you're thrilled with?

(I purchased this item. This post is not sponsored or compensated.)

Shu Uemura Brave Beauty - Green and Orange Eye Palettes

(Press samples. Affiliate links.)

I don't know if Shu Uemura has made better palettes than the Brave Beauty ones. I think sometimes the concepts behind the Shu collection don't always translate to an immediately accessible product...and that's cool. That's sort of to be expected with a brand that is grounded in both makeup artistry and the art world in general. I like that there's a brand on the makeup field that's in it for the risks and the high concept and the artistic vision. (Much in the same way that I appreciate the existence of Prince.)

And when all that comes together with great performance and top-notch execution? Perfection.

The packaging is the classic hard plastic casing with an abstract print that somehow looks vaguely botanical. I personally love the packaging, because it is sleek, simple, and practical. It's also completely convertible, as the pans can actually be removed by pulling on the piece on the left side of the palette. Each pan then slides out and can be added to a z-palette or what have you. (You can also theoretically mix and match your shades in these palettes if you so choose.)

Exteriors aside, it's all about those colours.

It all starts with the incredible evergreen matte shade in the Green Eye Palette.

I have a vast and varied collection, but I can honestly say that I don't own anything that comes close to the intense and utterly gorgeous depths of that green. I'm a bit of a dramatic gasper by nature, but when I opened this palette I think I knocked myself back by a pace or two. 

The texture is firm and almost a touch dry feeling, but it puts out the pigment like nobody's business. Due to the opacity it can be a bit tricky to work with in terms of blending out, but no more so than the mattes in the Lorac Pro 2, for example. 

The olive shimmer right next to it is actually my second favourite, and it has the kind of rich, smooth texture that immediately telegraphs both high-quality formulation and artist-friendly functionality. Very lovely to work with, and great payoff as well. The third colour is a interesting variation on the classic shimmery beige, with that slight khaki undertone. Smooth and soft, slightly sheerer but easily built up. The very pale, slightly minty frost is also dense, with a high-gleam intensity. The chartreuse and forest green shades have a more subdued shimmer, and a similarly smooth, easy texture with great pigmentation.

The Orange Eye Palette is no less awesome, and includes an incredibly vivid tangerine orange. I like that they went with complimentary shades of coral and plum rather than more orange tones (as they did with the Green palette), because it can take some serious stones to rock a blazing orange eye. This palette actually winds up being the more versatile one, strangely enough.

The orange has that same matte finish as the evergreen, and can build up to equally amazing pigmentation - but best represented over a primer. Otherwise it can look dusty.

The mahogany shimmer is gorgeous, and also follows along with the formula of the olive in the Green palette - smooth, dense, rich, easy to blend. The beige shimmer and champagne frost are similarly textured, though the beige is more sheer and can apply a bit flaky. The light coral pink satin is very smooth, though also a bit sheerer. The plum shimmer at the end reiterates the texture and pigmentation of the mahogany, and actually leans almost metallic. It's definitely my favourite from the palette.

Compared to the wondrousness that is the palettes, the Lasting Gel Pencil Eye Liners do, unfortunately, feel like a bit of an afterthought. The formula is waterproof and smudge proof (though not quite the 12 hours claimed, at least not on me), but I find the pencil doesn't apply all that smoothly or opaquely. It requires several passes and still looks a little feeble, yet the formula is firm enough to make that a little uncomfortable, especially on the waterline. If you're a completist and want to have the eyeliners to go with the palettes, then by all means - but I think if you're in the market for a long-wearing eye pencil there are more impressive options out there.

Top to bottom: Lasting Gel Pencil Eye Liner M Green and M Violet

Top to bottom: Lasting Gel Pencil Eye Liner M Green and M Violet

Availability: Currently on the shuuemura.ca site, as well as at Shu counters. The palettes are 90$ CAD, and the eye pencils are 36$ CAD.

In all honestly, my jaw did drop a little when I saw the price for the palettes. The individual eyeshadow pans available on the site are 19$, so the palette is 24$ less than buying six pans would be (plus the cost of the empty case). Still that's not an insignificant amount of money, certainly placing it in the realm of extra-fancy for a lot of people, me included. If I splurge, I tend to go for a top-notch formula in conjunction with the kind of packaging that could knock someone's teeth out. As lovely and practical as the Shu casing is, it doesn't fall into that latter category, so I'm left wondering if I would spend that much money on the eyeshadows alone. If I consider the great balance of textures and colours in each palette (especially those incredible mattes), and weigh it against the cost of each pan (12-15$ each, depending whether you take the cost of the case into account), then I definitely think the value is worth the price, despite the initial sticker shock. (Though I do recommend signing up for the newsletter, as there are the occasional promo codes that can lessen the sting.)

(These items were provided by the brand/PR to be considered for review. All opinions are my own, this post is not sponsored or compensated. Contains affiliate link.)

Decluttering My Makeup: Part 1

In a long overdue fit of organizational frenzy, I've decided to systematically go through my stash and purge the things that I'm not using or otherwise enjoying. No worries, I'm still a hoarder collector at heart, but sometime in the last few months I actually reached that point of feeling overwhelmed by my collection. I'm not interested in downsizing specifically, and I have absolutely zero shame or embarrassment about my collection, but I do the beauty thing for the joy of it, and when pleasure is replaced by anxiety, it's a good sign that some reassessment is required.

I wanted to be really thorough in my process, so I'm literally going drawer by drawer. I've opted to put this to film, and to hold myself accountable - literally - by putting numbers down for everything I own and am passing on. If you're interested, the first three parts are now up on my youtube channel.

(I will be giving a first run at things to my family and friends - including a care package to Poland -  and then I'll be doing a blog sale/pass-along post, which I will update as I go through further portions of my collection.)

(If you do watch, let me know if you prefer music or no music over the title at the beginning of the video. I'm still undecided.)

It feels like there's a wave of decluttering happening on youtube right now. Are any of you guys doing this? I know Latoya from Beauty Obsessed is in the middle of something similar on her blog, if you haven't seen her latest post it's here and definitely inspirational.