Nina Nagel, Author at mamabella

Here are our favourite eyeshadow looks for different eye shapes from the cut crease to a smokey eye

Nina Nagel — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 20:00:06 +0000

There are literally millions of eyeshadows looks being shown off on a daily basis by beauty influencers across YouTube, Insta and Facebook, yet many of them fall into one of six main techniques.

From sharp-cut creases to soft smokey looks, once you’ve nailed these basic eye makeup looks, the only limit is your imagination.

We do, of course, use the word “basic” loosely because these techniques are far from easy. If they were, there wouldn’t be as many tutorials as there are teaching people how to master them. Remember, there’s a reason why people are called makeup artists.

We should also point out these eyeshadows will look different depending on your eye shape. There are six eye shapes and certain eyeshadow looks are easier – or harder – based on which you have. This also influences how you do eyeliner, among other things, so it’s worth reading our What eye shape do I have? guide to find out which will suit you best.

Below we’ve outlined some of the main eyeshadow techniques from some of our favourite influencers and brands to help give you some eyeshadow ideas and to help you nail the techniques, we recently spoke to leading makeup artist Victoria Howe to learn how to apply eyeshadow for different eye shapes. Plus, check out our best eyeshadow palettes list and our What eyeshadow goes with your eye colour? guide.

Eyeshadow looks

Feel free to scroll through these eyeshadows looks, for inspiration, or you can jump straight to the desired look via the links below:

Cut Crease: Jump to Cut Crease
Half Cut Crease: Jump to Half Cut Crease
Halo: Jump to Halo
Smokey Eye: Jump to Smokey Eye
Rainbow Eyes: Jump to Rainbow Eyes
Ombre: Jump to Ombre eyeshadow looks
Feline: Jump to Feline Eyes
Cat Eye: Jump to Cat Eyes
Lower lash line looks: Jump to Lower Lash Line Looks
Liner looks: Jump to Liner Looks
Very Peri eyeshadow looks: Jump to Very Peri looks

Eyeshadow looks: What you need

Before we dive in, we wanted to talk a bit about what you need to nail these eyeshadow looks. We’re not saying you should buy all of these items, but if you want to really get to grips with eyeshadow, there are a few things it’s great to have.

Eyeshadow is the main one (obviously), but don’t think you have to stick to traditional eyeshadow palettes. We love cream eyeshadows and pencil eyeshadows – especially if we’re in a rush. Sweep it on, blend it out and you’re done. The Charlotte Tilbury eyeshadow range has a number of cream versions, in shimmer, glittery and matte, and The Body Shop does some great eyeshadow sticks. Take a look at our best eyeshadow palette list for more inspiration.

Eyeshadow brushes. It is possible to use your fingers to apply eyeshadow and if you want to get a deep shimmer, sometimes this is the best way to apply the pigment. It’s certainly the easiest way we’ve found to apply cream eyeshadows. Alas, fingers don’t bring a huge amount of precision, and that’s where eyeshadow makeup brushes come in.

We use the rule that the darker the colour, the smaller the brush. We don’t get too bogged down in the shape of those brushes, just that the smaller ones are more precise for packing on pigment, while larger brushes can be used for lighter, sweeper colours.

Blending brushes. These are typically larger, fluffier versions of eyeshadow brushes and are softer. They’re used to soften the edges of any harsh lines you’ve created with your eyeshadow and to blend two colours into one another.

Eyelid primer. If you’re already on the primer bandwagon when it comes to your face, you’ll know what a difference it can make in terms of how well your makeup stays applied. The same goes for eyelid primers. In fact, they’re even more important because your eyes are the part of your face that moves the most during the day, and it’s covered and surrounded by creases. We recommend the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Potion (£19), or the NYX Professional makeup Pigment Primer (£8). We also swear by the P.Louise bases. You can either use the skin tone-coloured bases to create a blank canvas, or use the coloured bases underneath corresponding shadow, in order to make the colour pop.

Concealer. Concealer plays a big role in a number of these eyeshadow looks and it’s worth buying one that is a shade lighter to really lift your look. Check out our best concealer page for recommendations, or our how to find a foundation match to discover what shade you need.

FURTHER READING: Our fave pink eyeshadow looks for all budgets and skill levels, from beginners to pro

︎ Eyeshadow Looks: Cut Crease

Jessicarose_makeup

No matter if you’re going for the soft cut crease look or the full shebang, this is one of the hardest, but most impactful of eyeshadow looks.

It is especially great for people with hooded eyes or monolids as it creates the illusion of a deeper eye socket by drawing on a fake – and if you really want it to pop, then exaggerated – crease.

Not sure what eye shape you have, check out our What eye shape do I have? guide.

The technique behind this look involves applying eyeshadow all over before using concealer to block out certain parts of the eye.

You then put a lighter, or different colour, eyeshadow where you’ve put concealer to create a sharp definition between the two colours.

The stronger the contrast between the colours, the bigger the impact, but this look can also work with more subtle shades – particularly if you’re looking for something a little softer for work, or a date.

You can cut the crease with concealer straight on top of your eyelid, or you can clear the lid of any and all product before going in with your new shade. The latter usually creates more impact, but it’s a little harder to do.

MAMABELLA TIP

If you don’t know where your natural crease for these eyeshadow looks is, there’s a simple cheat.

Apply concealer along your upper eyelash line.

Look up, so this lash line and concealer touches your eye socket.

This will transfer parts of the concealer onto your eyelid where your eye naturally creases.

You can then use that as a guiding line for your cut crease.

P.Louise is the master of cutting the crease and the brand swears by using Vaseline on a tissue that is then placed over the end of a flat eyeshadow brush. You can then stamp the brush and pull it along the crease line smoothly before applying concealer, or a P.Louise base.

On YouTube, Nikkitutorials is the queen of the cut crease technique and uses it in a lot of her videos, so we thought you should learn from the best.

In the eyeshadow looks video below, she also only uses affordable products which is a bonus. Check out our guide to the best cheap makeup brands if this is something you’re interested in.

Nikki’s looks are pretty full on and if that isn’t up your street, you can just tone down the colours by using nudes and browns instead.

We’ve listed an easy way to find out where to naturally draw your cut crease in the box to the left, yet one of our favourite cheat products for this eyeshadow look is The Crease Piece.

It acts as a template for you to nail this look and makes it easy to get started with this technique. You can also use the side of a spoon…we haven’t managed to master this technique but there are tutorials all over TikTok!

︎ Eyeshadow Looks: The Half Cut Crease

Angela Bright/YouTube

If a full cut crease is too much, the Half Cut Crease is a great alternative. It’s also a good way to get used to the crease cutting technique involved in a full cut crease for when you want to take the leap and go all in.

The Half Cut Crease is our go-to eyeshadow look for almost any occasion because, no matter how many tutorials we watch, we’ve never managed to nail the full cut crease. We get the inner eye part looking great, yet the outer eye part always looks odd. The Half Cut Crease offers the best of both worlds!

As the name suggests, you start the process in the same way, and you cut the crease in the same way, but instead of taking the contrasting colour all the way to the outer edge of your eye, you blend it with a darker colour at the edge.

This is why this eyeshadow look can also be referred to as a Half Cut Crease and a Half Smokey eye. You don’t need to smoke out the edges, of course, but the overall effect is stunning. As the video by Angela Bright linked below shows. It’s a long tutorial but it’s worth watching because it teaches a number of hacks that we now can’t live without!

︎ Eyeshadow Looks: Halo

An Nook/YouTube

If you’re not quite ready to get to grips with the cut crease eyeshadow look just yet, try the halo. The image above is from the fantastic tutorial by An Nook.

It uses similar principles but is a little easier and less fiddly to deal (in our opinion) and it’s a fantastic way to make eyes appear wider and larger.

Start by defining the crease of your lid with a neutral tone. Apply a medium, and then a darker colour to the inner third, and outer third of your eyes and blend each time. Put concealer down the centre of your eye and apply a shimmer, or a lighter colour just down the middle. Repeat along your lower lashline, and ta-da!

mamabella tip: With any of these eyeshadow looks, you’ll likely need to apply concealer. Whether it’s along your brow line, or as part of your cut crease and halo.

For this, you’ll need a flat concealer brush. We highly recommend the Spectrum Collections Oval Concealer brush (£5.99), or the Huda Beauty Face Conceal & Blend complexion brush (£22). Even though the latter costs a fair amount, it doubles up as a foundation brush so you may save yourself money buying an all-in-one.

︎ Eyeshadows Looks: Rainbow Eyes

Smitha Deepak/YouTube

Blending your eyeshadow can be a make or break when trying to achieve a smooth and stunning eyeshadow look. However, if you’re a beginner, blending can be a little daunting.

We think this bright colourful rainbow eyeshadow look is fun and eye-catching and it uses such a great method that should have you blending like a pro in no time!

Start by neutralising your eyelids with a nude shade, we opt for using a concealer this gives a clean neutral canvas. Grab the most colourful eyeshadow palette you have and, instead of reaching for a makeup brush, apply these shadows with a sponge applicator.

With each colour you want to use to create this look, apply it at an angle from the top of your lid to your lash line. The lines will get increasingly shorter as you move from the outer to the inner corner. Don’t worry about the colours touching each other or overlapping. Keep doing this until you reach the outer part of your eye.

Now, grab a large and fluffy eyeshadow brush and blend two colours together at a time. This means simply tapping at the centre of the two colours, softening the edges of each until the colours leak into each other and there is no distinguishable line between them. Repeat for each colour pairing until you reach the last colour on the outer part of your eye.

The best thing about this eyeshadow look is you don’t have to have the seven shades, this can be a versatile look with using four or five shades. There is also a chance that even if you don’t have a full makeup brush set, you’ll have a sponge applicator in an existing eyeshadow palette, and you’ll have at least one eyeshadow brush. However, if you have neither we recommend this sponge eyeshadow makeup applicator (50pcs) (£3.99) and the Morphe M441 Pro Firm Blending Crease (£8)

mamabella tip: It’s all about being gentle and soft, make sure your blending brush is soft but still firm so that dabbing the shades together becomes a breeze.

︎ Eyeshadow Looks: Deep Smokey Eye

Litcosmetics

Let’s face it, there are so many variations of the smokey eye, and even a sexy bronze smoky eye can be either edgy and glam or more of a blended golden look.

Regardless of which style you prefer, a sexy bronze smoky eye complements almost all eye shapes. It is an especially great technique for hooded eyes as it doesn’t have to be super precise and can be smudged as much as you prefer.

Use matte shadows and a good eyelid primer to make sure the look stays in place. This style also does wonders for monolids, to give you more definition across your eyelid.

The eyeshadow tutorial below will give an idea, but don’t be afraid to use it just as a starting point and make the eyeshadow look your own.

We’ve also got expert advice from our resident makeup artist, Victoria Howe. Her step-by-step guide to the ultimate smokey eye is below:

Primer is very necessary for this eye look, critical in fact. This step will help to make sure that dark shadows and liners don’t smear away from where it is intended to go.
Use complementary shades for added dimension. For example, if you are using a black eyeshadow, mix in a bit of warm brown or deep burgundy for extra depth and intensity. Make sure the two colours are blended well together and take it underneath the eye also for good balance.
The idea of a smokey eye is to concentrate the colour close to the lash line, really pack it on darkly. As you move away from the lash line, the colour should be diffused and very well blended – no harsh lines. And don’t go too high up! Otherwise, you will be walking around like something out of Halloween movie.
A smokey eye doesn’t necessarily mean black eyeshadow, you can create a smokey eye with any rich dark colour and even some of the jewel colours can look beautiful.
Smokey eyes are meant to look smudged and blown out – no sharp lines. However, you can intensify the lid colour with a pencil liner smudged across the lid first. It cuts your application time and gives you the biggest bang for your buck.

mamabella tip: We find using a large, fluffy blending brush on the outer corners helps create a deep and sweeping smoke. It’s not particularly precise but you can either leave it fully smoked out, or use concealer to create a sharp line that lifts the eye and accentuates the colour.

We highly recommend the £8 Morphe M518 Crease Fluff brush. In fact, we highly rate Morphe brushes generally.

︎ Classic Nude Smokey Eye

Kiko Milano

Everyone loves a classic nude smoky eye. It’s probably the first of these eyeshadow looks that many of us first started to experiment with.

The classic eyeshadow look is achieved by adding a medium brown shade – or any dark shadow – in either a matte or shimmery finish (depending on your personal preference) to the entire eye-lid plus a slightly darker shadow in the outer corner of the eye.

Now blend, blend, blend with a blending brush to open up the eyes and accentuate your beautiful shape.

Almond-shaped eyes best complement this look, but really anyone can rock the classic nude smoky eye. If you’re unsure which blending brush to buy, check out our guide to the best makeup brushes.

You can accentuate the effect by putting a white eyeshadow or highlighter along the brow bone.

It differs from the deep smokey eye because the transition is more subtle. This makes is suitable for work or daytime events. You can then increase the intensity of the smoke for the evening to have a true day-to-night smokey eye.

︎ Ombré eyeshadows looks

L'Oreal Paris

Ombré looks are one of those eyeshadow looks that seem really tricky but they’re much easier than you might think. Ombré simply means when one colour blends into another. It’s a common term in hair and is equally found in makeup. You can have ombré lips, for example, as well as ombré eyeshadow looks.

The key to this look, as with almost every look in this list, is blending but at its most simple – brush a single, lighter shade across your eyelid and then add a darker shade in the outer corners. You can put an intermediary shade in the centre of your eyelid, but this isn’t always needed.

Once the two colours are in position, take a blending brush and blend where the two colours meet. Et voila!

This eyeshadow look isn’t too dissimilar to smokey eyeshadows looks and they can be paired with a cut crease, and a cat eye.

︎ Eyeshadow looks: Cat Eye

Hindash

Sometimes a simple clean-cut perfect cat eye is all you need to make your make-up stand out.

Although finding the right-winged liner shape for your eye takes practice as it really depends on every single detail of how your lids are formed, it is a staple technique it is useful to master.

A cat eye with a darker colour in the corner of the eye definitely benefits close-set eyes the most as it balances out the eye shape.

For downturned eyes (that is when the outer corner droops slightly), it is best to go for a pearly shadow paired with a matte medium tone to blend and to top it all off the liner.

The cat-eye really complements downturned eyes as the eyeliner flick lifts the outer corners if angled well.

The video below might help, and one of our favourite cheat products, called The Quick Flick, takes the hassle out of the whole thing.

mamabella tip: If you can’t get on with liquid eyeliner, but you find pencil liners don’t offer a sharp-enough line, try using a flat definer makeup brush and a dark eyeshadow. We recommend the £6 Morphe Pro Flat Liner Definer. Dip the brush in your eyeshadow of choice and simply press the flat edge on your eye to create a straight line and build your wing. You can then smoke this line out, or use concealer to make it super sharp.

︎ Feline Eyeshadow

L'Oreal

This may not be a classic eyeshadow look but it has been growing in popularity in recent years and is a major trend for 2021. It’s called the feline eye because of the shape of the eyeshadow.

It resembles the Feline Flick created by eyeliner (which get its name from the shape of a cat’s eyes) and while it looks easy, it can be a bit tricky.

It’s a lot less fiddly than others in this list but you need to make sure you manage the shape and the blending.

Using a small, precise eyeshadow brush or applicator, dab the single colour in the shape that you want it before using a blending brush (such as the Morphe M441 Pro Firm Blending brush) to sweep and soften the colour around the edges.

︎ Lower lash line eyeshadow looks

Marycarlettimakeup

Let’s get real: do you sometimes forget about your bottom lashes when it comes to an eyeshadow look? Or do you even choose to neglect them on purpose?

Well, for this eyeshadow idea you definitely won’t forget about them as it’s all about making the bottom half of your eyes pop with colour.

This is particularly powerful if you’re opting for a strong eyeshadow look (like the cut crease or the deep smokey eye) as it helps draw attention to your eyeballs.

If you use a colour that suits your eye colour, this will also make your eyes look bigger. Read more in our What eyeshadow goes with your eye colour? guide.

Making your lower lash line stand out with, for example, a tropical teal liner or a neon tone is especially great for people with deep-set eyes. If you don’t have much experience with experimenting with colour, we recommend watching this eyeshadow tutorial.

︎ Very Peri eyeshadow looks

This is not so much an eyeshadow look in terms of technique, but more a section dedicated to eyeshadow looks inspired by the Pantone Colour of the Year 2022. A colour that has been named Very Peri.

Very Peri is said to have been inspired by the rising popularity in gaming, the metaverse and “rising artistic community in the digital space” and is a mix of blue and violet-red undertones. This makes it perfect for green eyes, while also helping blue and brown eyes pop. You can read more about this in our What eyeshadow goes with your eye colour? guide, as well as our explainer on colour theory.

So far, our favourite looks using this colour have come from our absolute fave makeup influencer, Mikayla Nogueira.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Beauty by Mikayla Jane (@mikaylajmakeup)

And if you want to give this look a go, we’ve also found a tutorial that uses the Mikayla x Glamlite palette.

Sadly, the Glamlite range isn’t easily available in the UK but we’ve found three alternatives that range in price – the Morphe x Pony Constellation palette (£36); the Beauty Bay Bright 42 eyeshadow palette (£23) or the Morphe 9L Lavendaze palette (£12).

︎ Simple liner and white on waterline

Jelena Stajic

Round eyes can wear any eye makeup, but what looks especially good is some simple liner and white kajal on the waterline.

This is where a white pencil is used on the inside of your lower lashline. Prime your eyelid with a nice nude tone shadow beforehand and you’re good to go.

This doesn’t just work on large, round eyes. This is a look that suits any eye shape, especially if you’re feeling a little extra tired because that white waterline really will make you look fresh and awake instantly. You can also use a cream or beige eyeliner to make the impact less noticeable.

This tutorial is useful to help nail this look:

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Nina Nagel

Raised between Germany and Italy, Nina is currently living in London studying towards a Masters in Human Rights at University College London and working as a freelance writer. She recently graduated from Bournemouth University in Multimedia Journalism where she wrote her dissertation on the representation of female political leaders in the tabloid media. Politics aside, she has a passion for everything fashion and beauty related

The post Here are our favourite eyeshadow looks for different eye shapes from the cut crease to a smokey eye appeared first on mamabella.

Best mascara: From Too Faced’s Better Than Sex to Lancôme’s Hypnose – here are our fave lash lifts

Nina Nagel — Fri, 22 Apr 2022 09:26:41 +0000

Choosing the best mascara is one of the hardest choices makeup fans can make – after finding the best foundation, of course.

There are literally dozens of mascara wand shapes, hundreds of formulations and thousands of makes at wildly varying prices designed to lift, elongate and give your eyes a false-lash effect.

READ NEXT: The best cheap makeup brands

Below we’ve created a shortlist of the best mascara on the market from the best Benefit mascara to the top picks from Maybelline and Dior.

There’s something to suit every budget but if we’ve missed out your favourites, let us know in the comments and we’ll give it try and give you our verdict.

We’ve also handpicked what we consider to be the best drugstore mascara brands, each one coming in under a tenner.

FURTHER READING: Best mascara for short lashes

Best mascara

Editor’s Pick: Maybelline Colossal Volum’ Express Mascara – £6.99
Bargain Buy: Essence Princess Lash Mascara – £3.30
Luxury Buy: Dior’s Diorshow Pump ‘N’ Volume – £28
Best mascara for a false-lash look: Benefit mascara Roller Lash – £11
Best for conditioning: Eyeko Lash Alert Mascara – £17
Best mascara for length: Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Push Up mascara – £23
Best for an eye-opening effect: Too Faced’s Better than Sex – £22
Best dual-ended mascara: Huda Beauty Legit Lashes – £24
Best for a clump-free appearance: Urban Decay Perversion Mascara – £21
Best for volume: Lancôme Hypnose Mascara – £22.50
Best for sensitive eyes: Happy Go Lash Mascara – £12
Best for moisturised lashes: Hourglass Caution Extreme Lashes – £29
Best for do-it-all: Fenty Beauty Full Frontal Mascara – £23

1. Editor’s Pick: Maybelline Colossal Volum’ Express

£6.99 | Buy now from Feelunique

Maybelline

Why we love it: This Maybelline mascara is a classic.

It has long been a popular choice for beginners, due to its accessible price and great formula.

For just £6.99, the pigmentation and wand shape means you only need one, maybe two coats, to get fantastic lift and separation.

We love this mascara!

Buy now from Feelunique

2. Best mascara on a budget: Essence Princess Lash

£3.30 | Buy now from Wilko

Essence

Why we love it: Maybelline’s mascara is more than affordable for most budgets but if you’re looking for something cheaper that delivers a similar look, try Essence’s Princess Lash.

For just £3.30 (when bought from Wilko) this fan favourite, which regularly tops Amazon’s most wished for lists, will grace your lashes with length and volume without having to spend a fortune.

Its special fibre brush is shaped like a cone, providing you with a false-lash effect that will make you feel like a princess. True to its name.

Buy now from Wilko

3. Best luxury mascara: Dior’s Diorshow Pump ‘N’ Volume

£28 | Buy now from Feelunique

Dior

Why we love it: For our Luxury Buy we struggled to choose between Dior’s Diorshow Pump ‘N’ Volume and Chanel’s Inimitable Mascara. They both come in at £28 and are both cult products from two of the most iconic beauty brands on Earth.

READ NEXT: Best eyeshadow palettes

They both succeed at giving you that perfect curl with each lash separated from its neighbour, leaving you with a clean sophisticated and yet intense look. If we had to pick one, we’d opt for Dior’s version purely because the wand holds slightly more product meaning you need fewer coats.

Buy now from Feelunique

4. Benefit mascara Roller Lash

From £11 | Buy now from Look Fantastic

Benefit

Why we love it: Benefit mascara consistently delivers and an all-time favourite across the beauty community is Benefit’s They’re Real! It launched back in 2011 and now a bottle of this product is sold every 15 seconds in the UK alone.

We had previously included it in this list of the best mascara but wanted to put it to the test with other mascaras in the range to see if it really is the best Benefit mascara on sale.

READ NEXT: Every Benefit mascara ranked

We can now confirm that it is…not.

In fact, it came third in our Benefit mascara ranking behind BADgal Bang in second and the fantastic Roller Lash in first place. As our writer explained in her group test, Benefit’s Roller Lash mascara is a new lifelong commitment.

“The curling effect combined with the volume and definition it gave just couldn’t be beaten. Not just by any of the other mascaras in this list, but by any mascaras we’ve ever used.”

As we mention in our best cheap makeup list, Benefit sells mini travel-sized versions of most of its flagship products meaning you can try this fantastic Benefit mascara for half price at just £11.

Buy now from Look Fantastic

5. Eyeko Lash Alert Mascara

£17 | Buy now

Eyeko

We have blonde, short, straight lashes so few mascaras ever live up to the promises made in their marketing.

One exception is the Lash Alert mascara from Eyeko.

Not only does it coat the lashes well on the first application, but the curved brush actually helps to lift and add volume.

At the same time, the formula contains caffeine, biotin, castor oil and arginine.

This combination leaves lashes feeling nourished and conditioned, which prevents flakiness, while also encouraging growth when used every day.

If £17 is a bit much to spend on a new mascara and it feels like too much of a gamble, Eyeko also sells a mini version for £10.

FURTHER READING: Best mascara for short lashes: We’ve tested drugstore and premium mascaras to see which are best for short, straight lashes

Buy now from Eyeko

6. Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Push Up mascara

£22 | Buy now from Charlotte Tilbury

Charlotte Tilbury

Why we love it: The Pillow Talk Push Up lashes is the first mascara to launch from iconic British makeup artist, Charlotte Tilbury in years.

The Pillow Talk Push Up mascara features an “injection-moulded, micro pro-precision paddle brush” said to offer “load, comb and lift” technology and inside the formula are lash-lifting polymers and natural waxes. These push up (as the name suggests) the lashes while conditioning them and adding body and texture.

Our main criticism of this mascara is that this waxy formula can feel a little gummy.

The benefit of this is that it does as promised – it grabs and lengthens lashes. The downside is that it takes a while to dry in comparison to its rivals, and it can be difficult to remove at the end of the day. You can read more in our Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk mascara review.

FURTHER READING: Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk mascara review

Buy now from Charlotte Tilbury

7. Too Faced Better Than Sex

£22 | Buy now from Look Fantastic

Too Faced

Why we love it: Too Faced’s Better Than Sex doesn’t really need much of an introduction; the name says it all.

This product will give you long length and thick volume, basically everything your lashes desire, and this is largely due to the curvy shape of the mascara brush.

This brush manages to coat the lashes in enough formula to make a difference, but not to weigh the lashes down.

We can’t promise you that it’s better than sex (and frankly we hope for your love life that it isn’t) but for £22 you can transform your whole makeup look without needing a lash curler or falsies.

If £22 is too pricey, then we can highly recommend Maybelline’s Falsies Lash Lift. It’s a great Too Faced rival thanks to its fibre-infused formula and almost identical brush shape and size, yet it costs just £9.99. You can read more in our best drugstore mascara guide.

Buy now from Look Fantastic

8. Huda Beauty Legit Lashes

£24 | Buy now from Boots

Boots

Why we love it: Earlier this year Huda Beauty launched its first mascara – a dual-ended product that delivers both curl and length with one wand, and volume with the other.

Called Legit Lashes, it’s not cheap but considering you’re effectively getting two mascaras for the same price as some of the single wand mascaras elsewhere in this list.

We recently spent a month testing this mascara for our Legit Lashes review, where we awarded it four stars. It really does lengthen and curl and its volume formula was decent, however, it does have a tendency to smudge so bear this in mind.

Buy now from Boots

9. Urban Decay Perversion

£21 | Buy now from Urban Decay

Urban Decay

Why we love it: Sticking with innuendo-laced product names (compared to Too Faced’s version), Urban Decay’s Perversion is another of the best mascaras on the market.

For £21, this is the perfect mascara for layering several coats to achieve that full-blown false-lash look.

Moreover, the bristles are twisted, so they can reach every single lash for a clean clump-free appearance. Pair it with the Urban Decay Subversion primer for an even bigger eye-opening look.

Buy now from Boots

10. Lancôme Hypnose

£22.50 | Buy now from Look Fantastic

Lancome

Why we love it: Next up is the Lancôme Hypnose Mascara.

This product promises, and delivers, buildable volume, meaning you can get a soft day time look with just one swipe or use a heavier hand for a night out, all without clumping!

You can get your hands on this all-rounder for £22.50.

Buy now from Look Fantastic

11. The Body Shop Happy Go Lash Mascara

£12 | Buy from The Body Shop

The Body Shop

Why we love it: How fun is this packaging? It makes you feel like you’re in the tropics and The Body Shop does a great range of natural, cruelty-free makeup and they uses fair trade ingredients in them too. This mascara has 99% ingredients of natural origin.

Happy Go Lash Mascara is an ideal, everyday mascara that won’t irritate your eyes. Not only does it define your lashes, it doesn’t compromise on thickening them too. It lasts the whole day without flaking or fading and the best thing about this is that it’s easy to remove at the end of the day. All for just £12.

The main ingredient is enriched with Community Trade beeswax from Cameroon and Community Trade organic virgin coconut oil from Samoa. This helps to protect and enrich your lashes for a fuller-looking flutter.

Reviews have mentioned that it’s a bold black in colour and the wand size is great to coat all lashes – even the short ones. It doesn’t clump your lashes together and is very buildable, leaving your lashes soft and gentle.

If you have sensitive eyes this could be your everyday go to and not to mention it’s buildable enough for your evening look.

Buy now from The Body Shop

12. Hourglass Caution Extreme Lashes

£29 | Buy now from Feelunique

Hourglass

Why we love it: If you’re a fan of Luxury then Hourglass is the one brand that provides luxury quality. This mascara has a high impact that gives length, extreme volume and if you’re looking for an eye opening mascara, this is the one. We love that it is buildable and the brush is wider at the base to pick up the outer lashes and the end of the wand is thinner and pointed to pick up the smaller inner lashes.

It has a wax feel to the mascara but it holds the curl to our lashes beautifully, it is clump-free and we love it contains panthenol to keep our lashes moisturised. We also like the feel of this in our hand, the tube feels heavy, luxurious and the triangle shape of the tube and handle gives a good grip when applying the mascara.

Buy now from Feelunique

13. Fenty Beauty Full Frontal Mascara

£23 | Buy now from Boots

Fenty Beauty

Why we love it: The fact this mascara has won ‘Best Mascara’ from Elle International Beauty Awards and we see why. Fenty have named it as the do it all mascara, it gives full fanned out lashes that provides volume, lift, length and not to mention curl. The brush has a flat side and fat side. This is a very black mascara and does feel very light on the lashes.

We realised quickly that the fat side of the brush is to load mascara on to your lashes and gives life to the lashes, while the flat side of the brush gives definition and curl to the lashes. It is a buildable mascara that is water-resistant.

Buy now from Boots

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Nina Nagel

The post Best mascara: From Too Faced’s Better Than Sex to Lancôme’s Hypnose – here are our fave lash lifts appeared first on mamabella.

Best conditioner for all hair types and budgets

Nina Nagel — Sun, 20 Feb 2022 06:30:23 +0000

While there is an ongoing debate about whether you should use shampoo or not, due to the fact critics believe it can strip essential oils from your hair, few experts will deny the need for using the best conditioner.

Below we’ve picked our favourite conditioners from the best conditioner for dry hair to the best luxury conditioner and the best vegan and cruelty-free brands to hopefully suit all budgets.

If your hair is particularly dry or lifeless, you can also give your conditioner a helping hand with a weekly hair mask – check out our best hair masks guide for recommendations – or alternatively, an overnight hair mask can help revitalise your locks.

What does conditioner do?

While the best shampoos will cleanse your hair of dirt, impurities and excess sebum and grease, it’s your conditioner that leaves it looking and feeling its best.

Conditioners contain ingredients designed to flatten and seal your hair’s cuticle. This protects the shaft from damage and pollution, it gives your hair its shine, it also stops the individual strands from rubbing against each other creating friction and leading to frizz.

The best conditioners don’t just coat the hair in silicone (or similar). Instead, they target weak spots and work to prevent damage while helping strengthen the hair and its protein structures.

Beyond all of this, better-conditioned hair is easier to manage and style so even if you’re lucky enough to have healthy hair, using a conditioner should still be a given.

FURTHER READING: What does shampoo and conditioner actually do to your hair?

Which conditioner suits my hair type?

Not all conditioners are created equal and, depending on your hair type, you’ll likely need a different type of conditioner. The best way to know which is the best conditioner for you is to check the ingredients.

Thick and natural hair: Look for conditioners labelled hydrating and moisturising
Thin and/or flat hair: Volumising conditioners are your best bet
Dry/damaged hair: Conditioners labelled strengthening and fortifying are great for all sorts of damage, including over-processed, highlighted, weak, and brittle hair
Curly hair: Buying products designed specifically for curly hair are often more expensive but are game-changers for these hair types. You need products that moisturise and reduce frizz
Straight hair: These hair types suit smoothing conditioners

If you’re not sure what hair type you have, check out our What type of hair do I have? guide.

How to use conditioner

No matter what hair type you have, conditioner should only ever be applied to the lengths and ends. Never the roots.

If you have short hair, or layers, it can be difficult not to get it on the roots when you’re applying in the shower or bath but, if you can, we highly recommend taking a wide-tooth comb into the shower.

After shampooing, remove the knots and brush your hair into a centre parting. No smooth small amounts of conditioner to just the lengths and ends. This makes it easier to avoid the roots but also means that every strand – or as close to it as possible – is coated because they’re not bunched up after shampooing.

We also like to use a lightweight leave-in conditioner after the fact, too. To add to the hydration and protection.

FURTHER READING: Best leave-in conditioner: Our fave hair treatments that are part-conditioner, part-mask, and all-round hair saviour

Best conditioner

1. Editor’s Pick/Best all-rounder: Olaplex No. 5 Bond Maintenance Conditioner– £24
2. Bargain Buy: Herbal Essences Hello Hydration – £3
3. Luxury Buy: Kerastase Resistance Fondant Extentioniste – £24.80
4. Best for dry hair: Toni & Guy Cleanse Dry Hair Conditioner – £6.50
5. Best conditioner for thin/lifeless hair: Grow Gorgeous Intense Conditioner – £18
6. Best conditioner for natural hair: KeraCare’s Humecto Crème – £14.40
7. Best vegan conditioner: Garnier Ultimate Blends Coconut Water – £3.99
8. Best cruelty-free conditioner: Aussie Miracle Moist – £6

1. Editor’s Pick: Olaplex No. 5 Bond Maintenance Conditioner

£24 | Buy now

OlaPlex

Why we love it: This product is currently Amazon’s #1 conditioner and it’s clear why.

All the Olaplex consumer products – there are eight for everyday people and two for licensed cosmetologists – contain its patented and proprietary bond-building science.

This means the Olaplex No.5 conditioner will repair your split ends by relinking broken bonds in your damaged hair and, having used it exclusively for the past few weeks, we can confirm our hair has never looked and felt so good. The product is colour-safe, benefits all hair textures and will leave your hair stronger than ever!

The only, very small downside, is that the formula is quite thick so you only need a very small amount and if you typically have greasy, flat hair, make sure you’re only using this conditioner on your ends.

FURTHER READING: The ultimate Olaplex guide | K18 vs Olaplex: Is Olaplex No. 3 or the K18 hair mask better for repairing your hair?

Buy now from Cult Beauty

2. Budget Buy: Herbal Essences Hello Hydration

£3 | Buy now

Herbal Essences

Why we love it: Let’s face it, when it comes to smell, Herbal Essences’ products are the crème de la crème. You can tell right away if someone has washed their hair with these products and the Hello Hydration Conditioner is no exception.

It is packed with coconut essence, which on top of immediately teleporting you to Hawaii does wonder for your hair.

The formula also contains orchid flower that restores moisture to dry hair. Say hello to super soft hair without it feeling heavy as the texture washes off easily and leaves no residue.

Buy now from Boots

3. Luxury Buy: Kerastase Resistance Fondant Extentioniste

£29.50 | Buy now

Kerastase

Why we love it: Kerastase is the hair salon brand par excellence, and you can’t go wrong with any of its products. This Resistance Fondant Extentioniste conditioner was created to strengthen your hair and make it look healthier.

Filled with a blend of ceramides and maleic acid, this creamy goodness will detangle your locks and fortify the natural hair fibre from the inside out, improving elasticity and encouraging growth.

The price is on the more expensive side and isn’t that much more than our Olaplex Editor’s Pick, but trust us when we say, it is a great investment. You don’t have to use much, so a little goes a long way in making your money stretch further.

It’s also more lightweight than Olaplex’s version so if you can stretch to the extra money, and you have flat hair, this should be the option you go for.

Buy now from Lookfantastic

4. Toni & Guy Smooth Definition

£7 | Buy now from Amazon

Toni & Guy

Why we love it: Whether you prefer sleek, defined curls or shiny straight hair, the Toni & Guy Smooth Definition Conditioner will tame your frizz and moisturise your mane.

It gives your dry hair the intense nourishment it needs for a smooth and silky look and gives your locks definition and high shine from root to tip by smoothing the hair fibre.

Toni & Guy products are inspired by the catwalk backstages of London’s top fashion events, so the brand really knows what it’s talking about.

Improve your hair’s manageability like a pro and feel catwalk-ready.

Buy now from Amazon

5. Grow Gorgeous Intense Conditioner

£18 | Buy now

Grow Gorgeous

Why we love it: The Grow Gorgeous Intense range is ideal for fine and thin hair.

It’s full of ingredients that add volume and density and make your hair look thicker. It’s particularly great if you’re going through menopause and your hair is thinning, or you’ve recently had a baby and your hair is falling out. This range will help to restore it.

The ingredients include biotin, which is renowned for its hair benefits; niacinamide to help support the scalp’s natural protective barrier and caffeine to wake up the roots.

There is then the addition of rice protein, which improves manageability, shine and visibly increases volume alongside amino acids.

These are a vital component of keratin which is found naturally in your hair. By replacing these acids, it helps to promote healthy-looking hair.

FURTHER READING: How to manage hair loss and make hair grow faster: Expert tips, advice and what NOT to do

Buy now from Lookfantastic

6. KeraCare’s Humecto Crème Conditioner

£14.40 | Buy now

KeraCare

Why we love it: Natural hair is typically thick with varying levels of curl so it needs a conditioner that detangles and relaxes the hair without weighing it down.

KeraCare’s Humecto Crème Conditioner ticks all the boxes, infusing natural hair with long-lasting hydration that soothes and protects your hair against breakage.

It particularly helps correct and prevents moisture loss caused by chemical and thermal styling, making it easier to manage and softer to the touch.

FURTHER READING: Curly hair products 101: The must-have products for curly hair types to fight the frizz and tame their tousles

Buy now from Lookfantastic

7. Garnier Ultimate Blends Coconut Water

From £2 | Buy now

Garnier

Why we love it: Garnier’s Ultimate Blends range is perfect for curly and frizzy hair.

It is an ultimate treatment for dehydrated hair containing coconut water and aloe vera, which also gives it that holiday-in-a-bottle smell.

This blend of ingredients will leave your hair feeling soft, smooth, and full of shine, without weighing it down.

To top it off, the bottles are 100% recyclable and the products are produced in factories committed to sustainable production as well as having an all-vegan formula.

Read more in our pick of vegan makeup brands and the difference between vegan and cruelty-free.

Buy now from Boots

8. Aussie Miracle Moist Conditioner

£3.99 | Buy now

Aussie

Why we love it: Australia is home to some of the world’s leading beauty brands, from Pump Haircare to Sand & Sky, and one of the most popular in the UK is Aussie.

This miraculously moisturising conditioner is packed with Australian Macadamia Nut Oil, making your dry locks become a long-forgotten memory.

The all-Australian, all-natural ingredients leave your hair intensely conditioned and hydrated.

What’s more, this bottle contains 25% recycled plastic, is 100% recyclable and Aussie never tests on animals being proud to be a PETA certified cruelty-free brand.

For an extra dose of hydration, you can use the Aussie Deep Treatment 3 Minute Miracle Moist Hair Conditioner Treatment (£4.99).

Buy now from Boots

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Nina Nagel

The post Best conditioner for all hair types and budgets appeared first on mamabella.

Spotlight on e.l.f Cosmetics: The vegan boss of the makeup and skincare world

Nina Nagel — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 16:07:19 +0000

e.l.f. is an American company based in Oakland, California. Its name stands for eyes, lips, face and it really delivers on making anything you might need; from makeup brushes and various tools to skincare and of course makeup. The brand is well known for its amazingly cheap products, which are sold in 18 countries worldwide.

It’s one of our favourite cheap makeup brands and, as a result, is the latest to feature in our Brand Spotlight series.

READ NEXT: Best discounts for NHS workers

Over the coming weeks and months, we’re going to be shining a light on brands that represent and align with what we stand for at mamabella – brands that offer great products at low prices; brands which champion inclusivity and diversity; clean, sustainable and ethical beauty brands, and brands that are challenging the beauty industry hierarchy.

We’ve previously taken a look at The Ordinary and Carbon Theory, both affordable but science-led skincare brands offering fantastic products. Elsewhere, we’ve taken a look at makeup brands Revolution and NYX also outlined what we consider to be the best cheap makeup on the market.

e.l.f: A brief history

e.l.f

e.l.f. was founded by Joseph Shamah and Scott Vincent Borba in 2004 after meeting at a party two years prior. They connected over the mutual feeling of there being a gap in the market for high-quality yet super-cheap cosmetics.

READ NEXT: How to get flawless skin

More than half the company’s sales come from its website, which doubles as a social networking site with more than two million members. Its products have appeared frequently in top-class publications and websites including Glamour, Allure, Self, InStyle, The Telegraph and Good Housekeeping.

Why we love e.l.f

All e.l.f cosmetics are 100% vegan and cruelty-free, globally. The brand also supports PETA’s no-fur campaign and was recently crowned PETA’s top cruelty-free cosmetics company in the annual Libby awards.

https://twitter.com/peta/status/1204112810977976321?s=20

On top of that, its products are free from anything bad for your skin – that is free from phthalates, parabens, nonylphenol ethoxylates, triclosan, triclocarban, and hydroquinone. All its skincare is also free from sulfates.

READ NEXT: Is your makeup a health risk?

The best e.l.f products

For affordable glam: Bite-sized eyeshadow – £3
For perfect pamper nights: Beauty shield magnetic mask kit – £30
For the beginners: Professional set of 12 brushes – £14.50
For quick and easy application: Flawless concealer – £5
For on-the-go hydration: Jet Set hydration kit – £16
For a flawless base: Poreless Putty Primer – £8
For matte-looking skin: Oil Control Regimen – £26.80

︎ e.l.f Bite-sized eyeshadow

£3 | Buy now from e.l.f

e.l.f

Who’s it for?: Anyone looking for a purse-sized answer to eyeshadow on the go.

Why we love it: Not only is the packaging of this eyeshadow palette bite-sized, but the price is too! With four different shades, you are paying less than £1 for each! They’re available in eight different colourways, so there’s a set for everyone and every occasion. Plus, they’re amazing cheap alternatives for the pricey Natasha Denona Palette 5s.

READ NEXT: The mamabella guide to colour theory

How to use it: Use a primer to prep your eyelids for application. Mix and match colours and apply to your eyelid using an eyeshadow brush.

Buy now from e.l.f

︎ e.l.f Beauty shield magnetic mask kit

£30 | Buy now from e.l.f

e.l.f

Who’s it for?: Anyone who wants to lie back, relax and give their skin a good pampering session.

Why we love it: This is one of the only few e.l.f. products on the “pricy-er” side (if you want to call it that), but have you seen how cool it is? It literally lifts impurities out of your skin with the help of an iron-based formula and magnetic tool. No wonder it was the winner of the 2018 Glamour Beauty Awards!

READ NEXT: What does clean beauty actually mean?

How to use it: Use the scoop provided to apply the mask to the face, avoiding the eye area. Leave on for 5-10 minutes and then use the magnetic end of the tool to slowly lift the mask away from the skin. For top results, use twice a week and follow with serum and moisturiser.

Buy now from e.l.f

︎ e.l.f Professional set of 12 brushes

£14.50 | Buy now from e.l.f

e.l.f

Who’s it for?: Anyone just starting out with makeup, this has the basics covered.

Why we love it: The set includes seven brushes for eyes and brows, four face brushes and one lip brush. They are made with all synthetic bristles and are perfect for beginners who are looking to get some basic tools.

READ NEXT: A beginner’s guide to makeup brushes

How to use it: Use the eye brushes to apply different styles of eyeshadow and eyeliner. Look to the brow brushes to define and perfect those brows, while the face brushes will make blush, bronzer and contour a breeze. Finally, look to the lip brush to apply liquid lipstick or to even out and neaten up previously applied lip colour.

Buy now from e.l.f

︎ e.l.f Flawless concealer

£5 | Buy now from e.l.f

e.l.f

Who’s it for?: Anyone looking for a satin-finish concealer that blurs imperfections.

Why we love it: Available in 18 shades and a range of undertones, this concealer is super buildable, which is great if you are someone who doesn’t really use foundation and trust your concealer to do all the heavy lifting. Its satin finish is especially great for all of us oily skin gals. It’s infused with squalane, which helps to moisturise and hydrate the skin.

How to use it: Use the doe-foot applicator to apply directly onto areas you need coverage and proceed to blend out using warm fingers, a sponge or stipple with a brush. Finish by setting with powder.

Buy now from e.l.f

e.l.f Jet Set hydration kit

£16 | Buy now from e.l.f

e.l.f

Who’s it for?: Anyone looking to restore some of that much-needed hydration lost during travel (not that we’re doing much of that at the moment!)

Why we love it: Not only is it super affordable, but this kit is ideal for on the move, with each product in easy-to-transport, mini sizes. It means there’s no panic at airport security when you realise your bottles are too big. E.l.f’s skincare is reliable and kind to the skin, formulated using cruelty-free and nourishing ingredients.

READ NEXT: What’s the difference between vegan and cruelty-free?

How to use it: Use the cleanser to remove dirt and impurities with warm water. Use the prep and hydrate to tone the skin and follow with the moisturiser. Gently dab the eye cream over eyelids and under eyes to relieve any tiredness and apply the night cream just before bed. A perfect routine for long flights.

Buy now from e.l.f

︎ Poreless Putty Primer

£8 | By now from e.l.f

e.l.f

Why we love it: Odd to think that such a weird formula could set your makeup so effortlessly, but e.l.f’s Poreless Putty Primer really works. Giving your skin the perfect blurred soft-focused look, this primer be worn alone, as well as under makeup.

The putty primer grips everything you put on top of it, for an all-day wear and to give that flawless finish. It’s also infused with squalane that gives your skin the hydration it needs.

e.l.f has created three putty primers to match different skin types: Poreless Putty Primer is for all skin types who want a flawless complexion, Matte Putty Primer is for shine-free matte complexion, and Luminous Putty Primer is for a radiant glowing complexion.

e.l.f recommends you apply a thin, even amount to moisturised skin prior to makeup application or scoop a 10p size of the primer and rub between your fingers to warm it up before applying it to your skin. Allow the primer to set for 30 seconds before applying foundation. This can also be used on eyelids prior to your eyeshadow.

Buy now from e.l.f

︎ Oil Control Regimen

£26.80 | Buy now from e.l.f

e.l.f

Why we love it: Skincare sets are great. Not only do they save money but each of the products in the sets are designed to work flawlessly together to achieve what you want from your routine.

The Oil Control Regimen contains four skincare products that keep oily/combination in line:

SuperClarify Cleanser

Remove makeup, dirt, and oil with ease with this gentle, effective cleanser designed to supercharge your skin. Being a gel cleanser, it leaves skin fresh and refreshed. The gentle foam lifts impurities while niacinamide helps prevent clogged pores and strengthen your skin, and lavender soothes redness.

Pore Toner

A solid toner stick to help purify pores that instantly tones complexion, leaving the skin feeling refreshed. Without clogging pores, the stick contains Green Tea and Witch Hazel which both help detox impurities.

Oil Control Liquid Lotion

This product is Allure Magazine Best of Beauty Winner and we know why. It’s a lightweight liquid lotion that absorbs quickly and gives a long-lasting matte finish. This liquid lotion formula helps hydrate the skin and balance oil, with a shine-free complexion.

Mattifying Clay Mask

A great treat for the skin, this clay facial mask gives a deep cleanse, helps mattify and reduce pores. Ingredients contain French Clay to absorb excess oil and clean pores without over-drying the skin.

Buy now from e.l.f

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Nina Nagel

The post Spotlight on e.l.f Cosmetics: The vegan boss of the makeup and skincare world appeared first on mamabella.

Best lip gloss: Our favourite lip glosses from Fenty, NYX, Glossier and more

Nina Nagel — Fri, 03 Jul 2020 19:00:18 +0000

Matte lips are so 2019. This year, it’s all about choosing the best lip gloss with glitter and shine.

Yep, the 1990s glossy lips are well and truly on-trend and we have selected our pick of the best lip glosses on the market to suit different styles and budgets.

Before we dive into our best lip gloss list, we do need to address one particular myth that seems to follow lip glosses around on the internet…

Is lip gloss whale sperm?

We can’t believe we’re writing this sentence, in 2020, but to be absolutely clear – no, lip gloss is not made of whale sperm, nor does it contain it as an ingredient.

There’s a very strong chance that this myth has originated from the fact that part of a sperm whale – not whale sperm – was used in the early days of cosmetics but not only has that practice stopped, it means that it was never the actual sperm of a whale used for such beauty products.

Today’s lip glosses and lip balms vary in what they are made of, from natural oils to vegan waxes and synthetic ingredients, but none of them, not a single one, contains whale sperm.

Best lip gloss

Editor’s Pick/Best lip gloss for all tones: Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb Universal – £17
Bargain Buy: NYX Filler Instinct lip gloss – £6.49
Luxury Buy: Dior Addict Lip Maximiser – £28
Best for everyday wear: Glossier lip gloss – £11
Best moisturising lip gloss: Rimmel Oh My Gloss! – £5.99
Best for colour choice: MAC Lipglass – £16
Best all-day lip gloss: Marc Jacobs Enamored Hi-Shine Lip Lacquer – £22

1. Editor’s Pick: Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminiser

£17 | Buy now from Boots

Fenty Beauty

Why we love it: All of the products in Rhianna’s Fenty Beauty range have been designed to be inclusive and cater to different skin types and tones, and her lip gloss doesn’t disappoint.

Originally available in three shades, this lip gloss is now sold in five variations – Diamond Milk (a milky pearl colour), Fenty Glow (rose nude), Fu$$y (soft pink), Glass Slipper (clear), Hot Chocolit (shimmery brown) and Sweet Mouth (pearlescent peach).

You may think this makes this lip gloss range less versatile than others in this list yet Rihanna’s team reportedly spent a vast amount of time making sure that across the line, there would be a colour to suit every lip shade.

A truly one-size-fits-all formula.

That’s not to mention the fact that each of these lip glosses contain shea butter to condition and hydrate the lips, and the formulation is not sticky. A rarity in the best lip gloss circles.

You’ll be hard-pressed to not suit these flattering nude-roses, so get yours now for £17.

FURTHER READING: How to get bigger lips naturally

Buy now from Boots

2. Best lip gloss on a budget: NYX Filler Instinct Gloss

£6.50 | Buy now from NYX

NYX Professional Makeup

Why we love it: NYX Professional Makeup is one of our absolute favourite cheap makeup brands and you’ll find many of its products in our Best Buy lists.

Its Filler Instinct lip gloss is both cheap – at just £6.50 – and available in five shades including champagne, rose gold, bronze gold, copper gold and plum rose gold, plus a clear version. Each one serves sheer to medium coverage due to its built-in tint.

The shades vary from vibrant to more subtle, but they all promise to leave you with soft, kissable lips.

And if you’re not sure which one you need, or which one best suits your skin tone, you can use the Virtual Try-On tool available on the NYX Professional Makeup site.

Buy now from NYX Professional Makeup

3. Best luxury lip gloss: Dior Addict Lip Maximiser

£28 | Buy now from Boots

Dior

Why we love it: An absolute classic that will never go out of style is the Dior Addict Lip Maximiser.

Its formula contains hyaluronic acid – one of the most en vogue, versatile ingredients in cosmetics and skincare today – to keep your lips moisturised and plumper, which gives this lip gloss a volume-maximising appearance.

There are seven colours to choose from, including:

01 Pink: light pink
04 Coral: bright coral
06 Berry: plum
07 Raspberry: pink raspberry
09 Holo Purple: light purple
10 Holo Pink: bright coral pink
12 Rosewood: rosewood

This lip gloss isn’t cheap but if you’ve been thinking about investing in some higher quality products lately, this is a great, multi-purpose lip gloss to start with.

See our science of moisturiser article or our What is hyaluronic acid guide? for more info.

Buy now from Boots

4. Glossier Lip Gloss

£11 | Buy now from Glossier

Glossier

Why we love it: Glossier is staying true to its minimalistic style with its best lip gloss, which the brand claims to be the glossiest!

Available in just three shades – red, holographic and clear – you do sacrifice versatility for its lower price but it contains Vitamin E to help your lips stay soft throughout the day and it’s perfect for any occasion, especially when worn over your favourite lipstick.

It also uses conditioning Jojoba oil to help the gloss go on smoothly, and spread evenly, without feeling overly sticky or gloopy.

You can buy this best lip gloss for £11 individually, or pay £28 for a limited time for all three shades.

Buy now from Glossier

5. Rimmel Oh My Gloss! Oil Tint

£5.99 | Buy now from Boots

Rimmel

Why we love it: Another brilliant lip gloss that doesn’t break the bank is Rimmel’s Oh My Gloss! Oil Tint.

Its name comes from the fact it contains a blend of coconut, pomegranate, Abyssinian and daikon radish seed oils and because it tints your lips with one of six colour options – Glossaholic (coral pink), My Eternity (deep rose pink), Ooh La La (bright pink/red), Purrr glossy cat (light pink), Snog (orange/red) and Stay My Rose (pale pink). Plus there’s a clear version.

It has a non-sticky, lightweight formula that gives a cushiony-soft feel that lasts up to six hours. All for just £6.49.

Buy now from Boots

6. MAC Lipglass

£16 | Buy now from MAC

MAC

Why we love it: MAC’s brilliant Lipglass is an OG when it comes to lip glosses.

Available in a wide range of highly versatile shades – 38 in total from coral to nude to holographic and shimmery purple – there is something here for almost every skin tone and not for an extortionate price, either. You can also filter this selection by hues, choosing between berries, nudes, pinks and reds.

It has a glassy high-gloss finish – hence the name – without feeling too sticky, which is always a plus.

Buy now from MAC

7. Marc Jacobs Enamoured Hi-Shine Lacquer

£22 | Buy now from Harvey Nichols

Marc Jacobs

Why we love it: You wouldn’t really expect a lip gloss to be one of the most long-lasting products within your makeup routine yet that’s exactly what Marc Jacobs’ Enamored Hi-Shine Lip Lacquer achieves.

Its unique formula makes it last on your lips longer than your regular ol’ gloss – that promises all-day wear – and it has a subtle mint scent which is both pleasant and a little tingly, in a good way! This, coupled with its range of 27 shades, goes some way towards justifying this lip gloss’ price of £22.

Also FYI, this lip gloss has won a series of beauty awards.

Buy now from Harvey Nichols

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Nina Nagel

The post Best lip gloss: Our favourite lip glosses from Fenty, NYX, Glossier and more appeared first on mamabella.

What eyeshadow goes with your eye colour? We pick the best palettes for blue, green, brown, hazel and grey eyes

Nina Nagel — Sun, 10 May 2020 10:59:40 +0000

Charlotte Tilbury recently launched her Eye Colour Magic range of eyeshadow palettes and eyeliners, each one curated with individual eye colours in mind. It was received to great fanfare because it helped people know immediately what eyeshadow goes with blue eyes, brown eyes and everything in between.

You can read more about this launch – including a review of her Luxury palette collection – in our Charlotte Tilbury eyeshadow palette guide.

READ NEXT: How to do eyeshadow like a pro

However, while Charlotte Tilbury made the process easier, she is not the first makeup artist or brand to use colour theory. Far from it. Colour theory underpins everything to do with makeup – from finding a foundation match to enhancing your features; hair colour, as well as skincare when it comes to balancing redness and rosacea.

And colour theory is based upon the colour wheel (see below). Complementary colours – colours that go well with each other – are those found directly opposite each other on this wheel. In the image below, orange and blue are complementary colours, are green and red and so on.

iStock

When two complementary colours are placed side-by-side they create contrast, and – in the case of eyeshadow – this is what makes your eyes pop and look more noticeable. Alternatively, when complementary colours are mixed, or placed on top of each other, they help to cancel each other out.

Using this as a guide, the following list will tell you what tones to look for when shopping for eyeshadow for your eye colour. Click on each eye colour to jump to your section, or browse the full list.

What eyeshadow goes with blue eyes? Orange, copper, coral, bronze,
What eyeshadow goes with blue eyes green eyes? Red, maroon, violet, lavender purple
What eyeshadow goes with brown eyes? Blue, teal, green, olive, lime, champagne and gold
What eyeshadow goes with hazel eyes? Olive, khaki, gold, brown
What eyeshadow goes with grey eyes? Iced whites, silver, platinum, black

We should also mention that one colour that is almost universally flattering is pink. We’ve separately listed the best pink eyeshadow looks and explained which kinds of pink to go for.

With this in mind, and inspired by the Eye Colour Magic collection, we also thought we’d list other eyeshadow palettes that suit specific eye colours.

That’s not to say that if you have green eyes, you can’t use an eyeshadow palette we recommend for blue eyes, but hopefully these recommendations will make choosing the best eyeshadow palettes easier, without having to just stick to Charlotte Tilbury’s somewhat pricey options.

What eyeshadow goes with blue eyes?

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To complement your blue eyes, make them pop through the use of warm colours like copper, bronze or coral. These shades will work well as orange and red are opposite to blue on the colour wheel. This means they create the perfect contrast.

If you want to keep it light, or subtle, use champagne colours or swap matte coppers for shimmery shades to add sparkle and lift the look. We recommend:

On a budget: W7’s Life a Peach – £6.20

Low mid-range: Morphe 35O Nature Glow – £24

Morphe

High mid-range: MAC Mischief Minx Palette – £33

MAC

Luxury: Charlotte Tilbury Copper Charge palette – £40

Charlotte Tilbury

What eyeshadow goes with green eyes?

https://www.instagram.com/p/B9ZvRZQIn-m

For a daytime look we recommend shimmery brown and nude colours, as your green eyes are already bright and don’t need vivid shadows to attract attention. Red-purple and yellow-green are complementary colours, therefore violet, lavender and purple will also work really well with your eyes, if you want a more colourful pop on a night out. Try it out with these:

What eyeshadow goes with brown eyes?

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The majority of people globally have brown eyes and their neutrality makes any eyeshadow colour look good. This is the fact that if you mix all the colours together, you get brown, so all colours suit this hue. To really make them pop, we recommend warm, earthy shades for a day time look by creating a subtle smoke. If you want a night-out, dramatic finish, then opt for a striking green or bold teal. These eyeshadow palettes are some good options:

On a budget: Rimmel London Magnifeyes eyeshadow palette – £7.49

Rimmel

Mid-range: NYX Ultimate Shadow Warm neutrals – £16

NYX

Luxury: Charlotte Tilbury Super Blue palette – £40

Charlotte Tilbury

What eyeshadow goes with hazel eyes?

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Metallics and pastels are the shades you should go for if you have hazel eyes. To draw attention to your eye colour use delicate silvers, metallics and dusty pinks as they will make the light brown in your eyes sparkle. We recommend:

On a budget: e.l.f Bitesize Pumpkin pie – £3

e.l.f

We love e.l.f makeup and you can read why in our e.l.f Brand Spotlight. This palette is also included in e.l.f’s Virtual Try-On feature, which allows you to virtually experiment with makeup, including foundation before buying.

Mid-range: Smashbox Cover Shot Petal metal – £25

Smashbox

Luxury: Charlotte Tilbury The Rebel eyeshadow palette – £40

Charlotte Tilbury

What eyeshadow goes with grey eyes?

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_m_cJbjlQL/?igshid=mckd7thejsxx

People with grey eyes make up less than 1% of the population worldwide, and while this makes them a rare beauty, it also means that few products are tailored and targeted with grey eyes in mind.

To enhance grey eyes, use smoky shades to contour your eye socket and add depth. You can try to subtly play up your eye-colour by using similar shades, such as misty greys or a silvery blue. Similar to brown eyes, though, grey eyes suit a lot of eye colours but dark hues and tones make them pop most.

Check out these suggested eyeshadow palettes:

On a budget: Rimmel London Magnifeyes Smokey Edition – £7.28

Rimmel London

Mid-range: Smashbox Cover Shot Eye palette Matte – £25

Smashbox

Luxury: Charlotte Tilbury The Rock Chick palette – £40

Charlotte Tilbury

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Spotlight on…Sleek MakeUP’s highly pigmented, inclusive and affordable makeup range

Nina Nagel — Sun, 19 Apr 2020 06:00:33 +0000

Sleek MakeUP is sold across 15 countries and in more than 2,200 stores worldwide, making it a household name when it comes to high-street makeup. It’s considered a pioneer in beauty trends, including contouring and matte lipsticks and is one of our favourite cheap makeup brands. As a result, it’s the latest to feature in our brand spotlight series.

READ NEXT: Best makeup and beauty of 2020

We’ve previously taken a look at The Ordinary and Carbon Theory, both affordable but science-led skincare brands offering fantastic products. Elsewhere, we’ve taken a look at makeup brands Revolution and NYX, and we’ve also outlined what we consider to be the best cheap makeup brands on the market.

Sleek MakeUP: a brief history

Although Sleek MakeUP is now a globally recognised brand, its beginnings were far more humble – only starting to sell globally in 2009. It was founded in 1955 in east London, before quickly gaining popularity due to its products’ high pigmentation. After proving itself on the UK high street with its on-trend and high-quality products, Sleek MakeUP was acquired by the Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) in 2015.

READ NEXT: Best mascaras on the market

Why we love Sleek MakeUP

One of the reasons behind Sleek’s strong reputation is its focus on inclusivity and diversity. These values are at the heart of the brand. In 2019, Sleek MakeUp launched the #WorkItYourOwnWay campaign, which revolved all around showcasing the unique meaning of self-expression and celebrating the different ways in which each individual chooses to live their life.

The best Sleek MakeUP products

For on-the-go: Highlighter palette – £9.99
For reliability: Blush – £4.99
For longevity: Matte Me Liquid Lipstick – £4.99
For intensity: Cream contour kit – £10.99
For bold colours: I-Divine eyeshadow palette – £8.99

Sleek Highlighter Palette

£9.99 | Buy now from Sleek MakeUP

Sleek

Who’s it for?: Anyone looking for blinding, but glamorous, cream and powder highlight shades.

Why we love it: Great for the woman on the go, these four beautiful highlighter shades will make your cheeks pop. With gorgeous sheens and shimmers, they add a subtle glow and radiance to the high points of your face. Add to your inner corner and across the cupid’s bow for a fresh look.

READ NEXT: Best makeup brushes for all steps of your routine

How to use it: Blend using fingertips to the inner corners of the eyes, across the brow bone and along the tops of cheekbones. Use an eyeshadow brush for precision and to build up intensity. Use a bigger, fluffy brush to apply to shoulders, the centre of the arms and across collar bones. You can learn more about what kinds of tools work best for this in our beginner’s guide to makeup brushes.

Buy now from Sleek MakeUP

Sleek Blush

£4.99 | Buy now from Feelunique

Sleek

Who’s it for?: Anyone looking for a long-lasting blusher in a range of shades to suit all skin tones.

Why we love it: Highly-pigmented and long-lasting – this blush won’t let you down with its gorgeous but subtle colour. For an easy on-the-go look, sweep across your lids too for a natural eye.

How to use it: After applying your base makeup, take a big fluffy blush brush and sweep the product along the apples of your cheeks. Blend and then return to the pan for more product to build up the intensity.

Buy now from Feel Unique

Sleek Matte Me Liquid Lipstick

£4.99 | Buy now from Lookfantastic

Sleek

Who’s it for?: Anyone looking for a solid but comfortable-wearing matte liquid lipstick that doesn’t need too much maintenance.

Why we love it: Easy to apply, Sleek’s matte liquid lipstick only needs one coat, making it super lightweight on your lips. Not only great in quality, but highly pigmented, long-lasting and super affordable. It comes in tonnes of shades to suit every occasion.

READ NEXT: Makeup sale roundup

How to use it: After applying a similar coloured lip liner, use the applicator provided to layer colour and intensity as you go. Part your lips, and gently blot using your fingertip or a tissue to remove any excess product.

Buy now from Look Fantastic

Sleek Cream Contour Kit

£10.99 | Buy now from ASOS

Sleek

Who’s it for?: Anyone looking for somewhere to begin in the contouring world.

Why we love it: One of the most iconic products in both the Sleek back catalogue *and* the wider contour world, this contour kit is perfect for beginners as it includes highlighting shades as well as contouring shades. You can play around with the intensity by building up the product or keep it light and simple by applying small amounts blending thoroughly.

How to use it: Use an angled contour brush and remember to blend, blend, blend! Create the illusion of refined features, high cheek-bones, a soft jawline or a slimmer nose.

WANT TO KNOW MORE? How to contour your face

Buy now from ASOS

I-Divine Eyeshadow Palette

£8.99 | Buy now from Sleek MakeUP

Sleek

Who’s it for?: Anyone looking to get creative with super-pigmented eyeshadow.

Why we love it: Available in seven different versions, featuring all manner of colour palettes from subtle berry shades to natural, warm browns or bold and bright shimmers, the I-Divine eyeshadow palette range has everything you could ever need. Create entire looks using the 12 creamy, highly pigmented pearlescent shades.

How to use it: Using a big fluffly blending brush, sweep lighter, neutral shades in your crease and build up intense shimmery shades on the lid using a flat brush or your fingertip.

Buy now from Sleek MakeUP

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Nina Nagel

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Does makeup go off? How to tell when it’s time to throw your old beauty products away

Nina Nagel — Sun, 29 Mar 2020 12:01:32 +0000

We all know food has a shelf-life but when it comes to cosmetics, we might be more reluctant to chuck it away. Especially when most makeup doesn’t come cheap.

It’s also tricky to know when makeup has reached, or exceed this expiration date because makeup products tend not to manifest the same obvious signs; your lipstick won’t go mouldy, your mascara won’t sprout hair – but that doesn’t mean it’s still good to use. And it can cause health issues.

READ NEXT: Are your makeup brushes making you sick?

As we explained in our Are your makeup brushes making you sick? article, the combination of leftover makeup, skin cells, oils from your face and whatever else might get onto your makeup brushes, and into your palettes and pots, means your makeup bag is a hotbed for bacterial growth.

A study that looked at two brands of mascara found bacteria including Staphylococcus epidermidis. Strains including Streptococcus, and E-coli have been found on makeup brushes, and remains of dead mites can sometimes be seen on makeup under the microscope. Vom.

How to tell your makeup has gone bad

As a general rule, most products will have an indicator of how long they’ll last once you opened them, so once the actual product is exposed to all the germs in the air and inevitably on your skin. The symbol looks like a little pot with an open lid and will have a number on the inside. This number refers to the number of months the particular product is safe to use, see below.

mamabella | mamabella

But what if the product you bought doesn’t have that info or you can’t find it? Or what if you’ve used your favourite product so much that the label has rubbed off? Don’t you worry, we’ve got you!

Here is a list of how long each category of cosmetics lasts. Individual products may differ, depending on the formulation, but this chart should give you a guide.

Shortest lifespan: 2-3 months

Mascara
Face peels and masks
Pads soaked in product, e.g. acne pads

6 months – 1 year

Serum
Face wash
Eye cream
Acne cream
Acne wash
Concealer
Liquid Foundation
Liquid Eyeliner

1-1.5 years

Eyebrow gel
Shower gel
Bar soap
Sunscreen
Face cream (jar)
Cream eyeshadow
Lip gloss

2 years

Lip pencil
Eye pencil
Lipstick
Nailpolish
Blusher
Eyeshadow
Powder foundation
Body lotion (jar)
Scrub (jar)

3 years

Shampoo
Conditioner
Body lotion (pump)
Perfume
Hairspray

What about beauty tools?

Many people know makeup has an expiry date – even if they don’t follow them – but you also need to be aware that your beauty tools don’t last forever.

The loofah is possibly one of the most well-known examples. A lot of bacteria can get stuck on it, therefore you should change them out every 2-3 months. Same goes for nail files, as the hands are the parts of our body most exposed to germs, get a new one every 2-3 months.

Your makeup brushes and beauty blenders will last much longer, but only if you take care of them. This is why it’s vital your clean your makeup brushes and blenders at least once a week. This also helps avoid bacteria and can control breakouts.

WANT TO KNOW MORE? How to clean makeup brushes and how to clean beauty blenders

As much as we understand the need to want to make the most out of your money and use cosmetics until nothing is left, health does come first. Using expired products puts you at higher risk of infections. That’s especially dangerous when it comes to eye makeup, as our eyes are one of the most delicate parts of our bodies.

Recycle old makeup for new

If you’ve got draws full of old makeup that you didn’t realise had gone past their best (or you have no idea how long you’ve had them!), it can be disheartening. Particularly if it’s not that easy to just go and buy replacements.

We recommend you focus on replacing your eye products first, as they’ll likely cause the biggest health concerns, and then skin products. In all of our Best Buys lists, we include makeup and skincare products that cover a range of budgets, including Budget Buys – the best products from the best cheap makeup brands. You can also check out our dedicated cheap makeup round up. Everytime we find a great cheap makeup or skincare product, we add it to the list.

Alternatively, an increasing number of brands now let you swap old makeup for new. These include MAC, Kiehls and Lush.

For the MAC reward, swap six old MAC products for a free lipstick.

For the Kiehls reward, you can collect a stamp for every old product you return and once you get 10 stamps, you’ll get a free travel-sized product.

For the Lush reward, swap five old Lush products for a free face mask.

Aveda, Garnier and Origins are among the brands who offer a free recycling service, but they don’t give you anything in return. Origins will also recycle packaging from other brands, too.

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Nina Nagel

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Makeup brushes 101: How to use different types of makeup brushes

Nina Nagel — Fri, 21 Feb 2020 20:16:58 +0000

Makeup brushes come in various shapes, sizes and prices. Some are versatile and can be used for multiple tasks, while others have very specific uses. Even within a single makeup brush category, there can be a number of different types – foundation brushes, we’re looking at you – and the whole thing can get a little overwhelming.

To help you understand what to look for when shopping for makeup brushes, which brushes are best suited to which tasks and how many makeup brushes you really need, we’ve explained the main types below and linked out to an example below each entry.

Makeup brushes 101

This makeup brushes list is far from exhaustive, and we’ll be adding to this guide over the coming weeks and months, but as a starting point, we hope you’ll find this guide useful. You can also read more in our best makeup brushes list and learn how to clean makeup brushes on our How To page.

Classic Foundation Brush

Best used for: Foundations, BB creams, primers and other liquid-based products with a creamy consistency

NYX Professional

As its name suggests, this brush is used to apply foundation. It’s flat and resembles a paintbrush. The beauty community is split on which is the best foundation brush for applying your base; some love this classic design, whereas others prefer brushes with shorter bristles or a flatter surface (continue reading this guide for more on this).

Some experts – including our resident makeup artist Victoria Howe – aren’t fans of foundation brushes generally and believe you get a much better base using damp sponges and beauty blenders. You can even use your fingers.

READ NEXT: How to apply foundation like a pro

The reason foundation brushes are sometimes seen as a little controversial is that, depending on the quality and shape, they can leave streak marks. Especially if they’re also not used with the right type of foundation. The classic foundation brush works best with creamier formulas than thin, liquid ones.

We own a classic foundation brush but actually use its flat edge to apply translucent powder below our contour lines and to pat the powder onto our forehead.

Mamabella recommends: NYX Makeup Pro Flat foundation brush

Stippling Brush

Best used for: Foundation, or any other liquid product and to blend contour lines

Real Techniques

The stippling brush is another type of foundation brush and is easier to use than the classic version because its flat surface can be used to really buff and blend products into your skin without leaving marks. It’s great for light coverage, but you can also build up the layers if you want fuller coverage.

READ NEXT: Best foundation brush

The stippling brush is much more versatile than the classic foundation brush and it can be used for applying and blending all matter of liquid, powder and cream products.

Mamabella recommends: Real Techniques Stippling Brush

Kabuki brush

Best used for: Powder, controlling oil, and blending

Fenty Beauty

The Kabuki brush is a popular all-rounder. Some people use it for liquid foundation, while others prefer to use it for powder products only. On face value, many of these types of brushes look similar to stippling brushes but Kabuki brushes tend to be softer and denser. They can also come with flat tops, angled brushes or rounded bristles.

We think they’re amazing for applying full coverage powders as their large, dense surfaces give them a similar texture to a sponge. We have oily skin and our Kabuki brush is great for getting mattifying powders into the skin, and the creases around our eyes and nose, but we also use it for blending contour lines and softening the effect of blusher.

Whereas you can take or leave some of the other brushes in this list, the Kabuki is one brush we highly recommend you add to your collection. They come in several different sizes, which makes them super versatile and they can really be used for anything your make-up heart desires.

Mamabella recommends: Brushworks HD Complexion and makeup kit

Angled brush

Best used for: Powder, controlling oil, and blending

Sigma Beauty

There are typically two types of angled brushes – although they come in various shapes and sizes with the bristles fitted in different angles. Firstly, there’s the angled blush brush, which is a fluffy brush that’s perfect for applying and blending blusher and applying highlighter.

Mamabella recommends: Beauty Bay Rose Gold Glam Bake Off Angled Brush

Then there are the firmer, denser angled brushes, Kabuki or similar, that are used for getting dark contour shades into the hollows of your cheeks, for example, and which add more precision to your application.

Technically, both will do the job of the other but if we had to choose one to add to our collection, we’d opt for the firmer of the two due to the higher level of precision. There are more recommendations for Kabuki and angled brushes in our best makeup brushes list.

Mamabella recommends: Sigma Flat Angled Kabuki Brush

Big Powder Brush

Best used for: Loose powders and bronzer

Real Techniques

Large, round, fluffy powder brushes are the most basic brushes you need in your collection. They’re not as dense as the Kabuki brush and are therefore perfect for loose powders. Powder granules cling to the soft bristles and their size means they can cover large areas of your face; giving it a gentle dusting. We tend to use this brush to complete our look by applying mattifying powder in one sweep. We especially love it for generously applying bronzer giving us a natural glow rather than an orange fake-tan finish.

Mamabella recommends: Real Techniques Powder Brush

Blush/Highlighter brush

Best used for: Highlighter and subtle blusher

Beauty Bay

The Blush/Highlighter brush is effectively a smaller, thinner version of the powder brush while being softer than the angled blush brush mentioned above. Its reduced size gives you more precision to apply highlighter but still applies a soft, dusting of shimmer and powder to give you a natural glow. This soft application is also great for soft, subtle blush, common in natural makeup looks to lift your complexion.

Due to its similarity to the firmer, angled blush brush, you can get away with only buying one of these two brush types and using it for all your subtle makeup needs.

Mamabella recommends: Beauty Bay Rose Gold Glam Glow Up highlighter brush

Fan Brush

Best used for: Sweeping away excess powders and eyeshadows and applying highlighter

Morphe

Before we explain what it does, how cool does the fan brush look? It’s not a must-have brush but it does have a number of uses and since we’ve added one to our collection, we’ve used it for more than we thought we would. In particular, it’s absolutely ideal for sweeping away excess eyeshadow that falls onto our cheek but it can also be used to apply highlighter. Due to it being very loose, you won’t pack as much product on your face as you would with other, more denser brushes so it’s perfect for enhancing daytime or minimal makeup looks.

Mamabella recommends: Makeup Fan Brush from Superdrug

Eyeshadow brush

Best used for: Applying eyeshadow across your lid and in the crease of your eye

Wet N Wild

As you would have likely seen, even if you’ve done a quick Google search for make brushes, there are so many different sizes and shapes of shadow brushes but, like the angled brushes listed above, there are really only two types: Large and precision.

Large shadow brushes are fluffy and super versatile but are mainly used for applying shadow all over your eyelid. They’re also great for applying highlighter in those areas where your highlighter brush is too big for, such as the tip of your nose or your cupid’s bow.

Mamabella recommends: Wet N Wild Large Eyeshadow Brush

Precision shadow brushes are denser and therefore great to really pack those pigments onto your eye. Whenever you want the colour to pop even more, dip it into water before application. If you’re a beginner or on a budget, and can only choose one, we definitely recommend getting a precision shadow brush as you can use it in the same way as the large shadow brush.

Mamabella recommends: Morphe Pro Oval Shadow Brush (M167)

Blending Shadow Brush

Best used for: Blending and softening eyeshadow colours

Morphe

We’ve separated out the blending shadow brush because, while it technically falls in the category above, it’s a must-have for anyone looking to experiment with any more intricate eyeshadow looks.

As its name suggests, this brush is designed to blend different colours together and soften the lines between them. It’s not really used for applying product – and it probably sits somewhere between the large and precision shadow brushes in terms of size and shape – so isn’t a necessity for every collection but it has its uses as you get more adventurous.

Mamabella recommends: MAC 224S Tapered Blending Brush

Angled liner Brush

Best used for: Applying eyeliner and scultping eyebrows

Sigma Beauty

The angled liner brush is great for two techniques: applying eyeliner (particularly eyeliners that don’t come with an applicator such as gel or cream eyeliners) and filling in your eyebrows. If you’ve got thinning eyebrows, or you’re just interested to know how to get thicker eyebrows generally, you need an angled liner brush for adding brow pomade.

It also helps you achieve that perfect arched look. If you can get an angled liner brush with a spoolie on the end, it’s more versatile for completing your eye looks, or for even greater precision, opt for a brush where the handle is angled as opposed to the bristles – such as the NYX Professional Pro Brush 11.

May we also recommend you pair whichever angled liner brush you choose with the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade which will make those eyebrows look on fleek.

Mamabella recommends: Wet N Wild Angled Liner Brush

Lip brush

Best used for: Softening lip liner and applying lipstick

Zoeva

The lip brush is probably the least necessary brush in this list as most lipsticks and lipglosses can be applied without one. The exception is those lipsticks found in palettes.

However, the best lip brush is great for when you’re using really strong and/or dark lip colours where precision is key. If you’re doing a classic red lip for example, a lip brush will make your life so much easier and will lower the chances of you needing to go back and correct the outline with concealer.

What’s more, if you’ve ever found your lip liner lasts longer than your lipstick – and you end up having a 90s-style pout – you can use a lip liner to soften and blend the liner into your lips to help your look last for hours.

Mamabella recommends: Zoeva Precision Lip Brush

How many makeup brushes do I need?

As we’ve explained a couple of times throughout this piece, not every makeup brush in this list is necessary. If you’re just starting out or want to be a bit more adventurous we recommend the following as staples you should have:

A foundation brush: These brushes can also be used for contouring and applying concealer
A powder brush: These brushes can be used to apply all forms of powdered makeup, from setting powder to blusher and highlighter
A precision shadow brush: One eyeshadow brush is enough to complete a basic eyeshadow look – just make sure to clean it in between uses. You can read more about how to clean makeup brushes here.

Makeup brush sets are also a great way to kickstart your collection but they are, ultimately, a luxury. If you want to go down this route, the Sigma Beauty Travel Kit features most of the brushes listed above.

If you prefer using your fingers, then that’s absolutely fine too. Just make sure they’re clean! And if you’ve got a makeup brush that you just can’t live without, let us know in the comments.

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Nina Nagel

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