Royal and Langnickel Silk Pro Brushes Review

Before I start... Excuse the images as my camera lense has been acting up on me lately, as well as the dirty Stippling Brush I have displayed on my images! Slightly embarrassing! I should've cleaned it before taking the photo but oh wells! Anyways, I'm going to be reviewing the Royal and Langnickel Brushes which I purchased at IMATS a few weeks back. I don't have a full set but this is a selection of brushes I picked up!

First off, these brushes are affordable and they're pretty decent quality. I mean you get what you pay for and a few were are beyond my expectations and some didn't quite make it. They ranged from as cheap as $5 (I believe) to $15-20? for a single brush. There were brush sets and rolls at IMATS but they didn't appeal to me since I wouldn't planning on getting a large amount of brushes. 

I purchased the Silk Pro brushes, which I think is relatively new. These are the first time I've purchased the R&L brushes and seeing how affordable they were, why not!? There was also the Revolution brushes from the R&L range and also these other ones which I don't remember. 

I bought these as back up brushes as I always find that some of my eye brushes are dirty and it would be useful for a back up and have a clean brush handy for those days when I want to switch or blend some colours around without spot cleaning the brushes and waiting for them to dry since I am always in a rush in the morning when applying make up. 

I purchased a total of 7 brushes I believe, and  it cost me $44 (from memory) I don't remember exactly how much each brush was but they were roughly around $5-$7. The stippling brush I believe was $7? I think... or $7.50 and the metal lash comb was $5. 

The stippling brush isn't anything new to me. I've gone through 5 stippling brushes (many of which were purchased on ebay) and I had a MAC 187 brush but I've seem to misplaced it. (Sad life! Gah!)

Anyways, it wasn't the best stippling brush I ever used... in fact it was really bad. I did use it as a blush brush at some times so hence the pink on the image. Nevertheless, I needed a new stippling brush and I was planning on getting the real techniques stippling brush but I picked this up cause it was cheap and I wanted to see how it was and see if I could use it temporarily. Overall, I was really disappointed with this brush (which I will explain real soon and why!)

The metal lash comb has been a huge lifesaver and I'm glad I picked it up! Though I haven't found myself using it so much... I'm so glad I bought a concealer brush and this one from R&L is pretty awesome! 

Okay, now to the brushes and my thoughts on them. I feel like I'm all over the place with this post but excuse my writing! 

The brushes that I really like the most are the concealer brush (4th brush down on the image above) and the eyeshadow smudger brush (7th/last brush pictured on the bottom of the image above). I use these everyday and so far they're awesome. No complaints and for around $5-6 a brush, I'm loving it!

The brushes that I least like are most definitely the stippling brush, it has fallouts everytime I use it and it's annoying. If it didn't have fallouts at all I would like the brush. To me the brush felt flimsy and also didn't work as well as the other brushes which were more sturdy  As for the stippling brush itself it's mediocre, I wouldn't say it's the best and I would definitely not purchase this brush anymore. I'm definitely going to find a new stippling brush. 

The crease brush (or the fluffy brush I would like to call it - which is the 5th brush on the image above) it's an a-okay brush I don't love it or hate it - it's kinda in the middle. I like the brush in terms of blending and blurring out the harsh lines when I do my eyeshadow, but I wish the brush wasn't so big and so fluffy! Look at the fluffiness! My sigma E40 is the right size for blending and I wish it was a bit smaller, other than that no complaints. 

As for the metal lash comb, I adore it! Great for getting rid of clumps and also get for separating lashes - though I haven't used it on a daily basis lately but I do like it! 

The travel brushes, I also bought two travel brushes that I stash in my bag for on the go makeup application. One is a Dome Powder brush and one is a lip brush. The Dome Powder brush would have to be the most expensive out of the lot coming in at $11 for the travel size. It's exceptional quality for that price, and I love the sleek black packaging. The lip brush was $4 and it's pretty good as well. 

I hope this post wasn't all over the place as I'm trying to fix up my horrible grammar within my post, let me know if there's anything I need improving on! Last weeks #bbloggersoz chat on twitter really opened my eyes about blogging and I'm feeling a bit skeptical about my posts! Hahaha! 

Have you tried any R&L brushes? If so, which one are your favs? 

Love, J 

MAC Me All Over!

So my order from America came today in the mail! I was only expecting my MAC Make Up (Eyeliner, Gel Liner & Tinted Moisturizer/Foundation) from my dear cousin Lila, who lives in Texas! 

So i was walking to my front door at around 1pm and i saw the postman like 4 houses away and i just sat in front of my house, waiting til the mailman arrived and hoped that my parcel from America would arrive today! In which it did!!!!! Unexpectedly my MAC Brushes from Hong Kong arrived as well too! So DOUBLE SCORE!

I was so excited to try MAC's Fluidline Eyeliner Gel, I've heard so many good things about it and finally got my hands on it! Thank god i got this sent from America, cause i only paid $15USD?!

It glided onto my eyes very well and i was so surprised to see how 'wet & shiny' it looked when i opened it. It looks like ink! Hence why it's called Fluidline

Next was my long awaiting, MAC Studio Moisture Tint in Medium Plus

I've probably blogged about this like nearly 3 times already.... and i finally.. HAVE IT IN MY HANDS. The actual full size. This was $30USD ($48AUD) at the MAC Store. I'm not a huge fan of having my face in full coverage when it comes to foundation, i love light and minimal use of foundation on my face - because i only use it to even out my red patches and cover up any visible blemishes and all on my face! I never put anything over the amount of a 5 cent coin of foundation on my face so... most of my foundation will last me up to 2 years! And the shelf life for this foundation is... 2 years! Perfect! But i'll probably use this before 2 years because it's more of a moisturiser than a foundation - definitely my everyday go to!

To me, it has this sunscreenish smell with a mix of foundation.. (weird) but it's the only way i can subscribe it. 

I'm not saying it has a weird smell though!

The reason why i love it so much is that it's light weight on my skin.You can say it's kind of like a BB cream (though i'm not a huge fan of BB creams because they tend to make my face look ghostly white and my skin is lightly tanned) I suggest if you really want a natural finish and something that doesn't weigh your face down. Go for this, try it at the MAC Counter and find the right colour for you! I'm a MAC - NC25 in most foundations but if you're like me you might go for a Medium Plus or just a Medium. 

Next on the list as MAC Penultimate Liquid Eyeliner 

I was a bit skeptical about the application tip? brush? pen? I don't know, but when i applied it on my eyes it was alright... Maybe it's the fact that i'm not a huge fan of Liquid Liner's since i have so much trouble applying them on but to me this was good as i like the Pen Liquid Liners more than the brush on ones... If that makes sense. 

In Comparison to Maybelline's Line Definer Liquid Liner (Discontinued) (it's old and you can see how the letters have rubbed off!)

MAC's Penultimate (Left) & Maybelline's Line Definer (Right)

MAC (Top) & Maybelline (Bottom) - It's a bit more lighter since i've ran out of it. 

I really did like Maybelline's Liquid Liner but i have oily eyelids so it tends to smudge and crease when i have it on, making my upper eyelids look cloggy and yuck. When i applied MAC's Penulitmate it was just a nice dry and precise formula and very pigmented and just stayed put! The brush was easy to maneuver around with so i really liked it though, i say if you're really skilled at applying Liquid Liner; anything goes!

Though i really REALLY dislike Maybelline's Lash Stiletto Liquid Liner & also their Mascara, which i'll probably one day make a review on them!

Bottomline: Overall, the MAC products i purchased was pricey but it was worth every cent. I was over the moon when i tried them and how they we're on face. I can't stress how much i'm in love with these items. 

As for the brushes mentioned before, i bought myself another set as i needed proper eyeshadow, eyeliner, blush and also back up foundation brushes when ones like really dirty and i have a clean one to use. 

I have previously owned a MAC 187 stippling brush which i got as a present from my cousin. I do use it  and that was $85AUD - I cherish it like no tomorrow LOL but honestly, i wouldn't spend $85 on just ONE brush alone - i could get a whole set! In which i have and... had a look at! Sigma Brushes, apparently are just as the same quality as MAC and are much cheaper! A whole set is $109 when 1 MAC Brush is like $85. LIKE CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT. I CAN BUY A WHOLE SET. But i got these brushes for the fraction of that price. If they do start fraying and also being crappy and all i know i can chuck away these and save up and buy those Sigma ones i've been lusting about! 

For those who ask, why i would use brushes instead of my fingers and etc. In my opinion, when i use a particular brush it disbursts out the foundation evenly and also i don't have to use too much product - also because i love how the application is on my face. I rarely use my fingers to apply make up as it might be unhygenic and might cause breakouts and all but - it's all up to how you apply your makeup! 

Anywho, i hope you enjoyed reading about my new love for these MAC products i've recently purchased! I'm still awaiting for my Urban Decay and Sephora packages from America in which i can review as well as try out for myself! 

Love, J.