BECCA Jaclyn Hill Champagne Collection Face Palette - First Impressions

S$80 from Sephora.sg 
US$52 from Sephora.com
Will be launched at Sephora ION, Singapore on 22 July 2016
Made in USA

This palette is one of the most beautiful I've seen and own!  The palette feels solid, looks beautiful and I love that its so shiny.

The product are all extremely pigmented, both highlighters are very beautiful with fine shimmers, you will definitely love them.  On the other hand, they feels alittle soft and do kick up some powder when I dip my brush into it.  By that I mean, the powder is not as tightly pressed as Nars or Mac's blushes for example.  It seems to me they might shatter easily.

The compact has a large mirror which I love, and it opens approximately 150 degrees (Check out picture below, for reference 180 degrees is where the compact opens completely flat. 90 degrees is a right angle), which is amazing.  You'll appreciate it after owing products like Burberry's blushes, which opens approximately 90 degrees.  However, the hinges isn't tight enough, if I want the mirror to stay at another angle, say 120 degrees, it will drop to its maximum with any movement. But that could just be a flaw with my compact and others may not have that problem.

Of the blushes, my favorite is Pamplemousse.  Its a beautiful strawberry red with tiny and sparse imperceptible shimmers.  Rose Spritz is extremely shimmery, will work over matte blush when you want a glow on your cheeks.  Amaretto doesn't work on my skintone (I'm ethnically Chinese for reference), I'd probably use it as an eyeshadow color.  

I recommend using brushes like Wayne Goss' No. 14 or The Air-Brush with this palette.  Because all the shades are so pigmented, these brushes will pick up the right amount and give a beautiful application.

This palette keeps running out of stock at Sephora.com, so do check it out when it comes into Sephora stores on 22 July 2016!

Swatches applied using a brush, in the order of the palette

Heavier swatch

Made in USA

 

Thanks for viewing!!

Wayne Goss Bush No. 14 Review

Wayne Goss, #14
US$33 from Beautylish
Bristles: Goat, cruelty free
Length of bristles: 4cm (1.5 in)
Full length from tip to end: 17cm (6 3/4 in) 
Hand made in Japan

At first i was very skeptical about this unusual brush. I bought it just to see what I can do with it because I don't have a brush of this shape in my collection.  I also love the Wayne Goss brushes I already own, so I couldn't resist.

Extract from Beautylish  ¦  In applying and blending powders (bronzer, blush, highlighter), it won’t ever move foundation or any other makeup. Similar to Brush 11, but sized smaller for more detailed work along the cheekbones and around the eyes.

MY THOUGHTS:

After using it for a while, this quickly became one of my all time favorite brushes. I use it for applying pigmented blushes, they are amazing!
Bristles - goat, undyed, uncut.  I don't think I've seen makeup brushes made from brown goat bristles in the market.  Goat bristles typically come in white (undyed) and black (dyed black) bristles.  I've stopped buying bristles that has been dyed because it ruins the quality of the bristles and its not as soft as it is before its being dyed.

Wayne Goss's brown bristle brushes has become one of my all time favorite bristles because of how soft and silky it feels. These are the best goat bristles in my opinion, better than the softest japanese goat bristles offered by Hakuhodo and Koyudo.

In terms of softness, grey quirrel bristles are the softest, followed by high quality white goat bristles found in Japanese brushes.  I'm not referring to the white goat bristles found in Mac, Sigma or Zoeva, the latter two are quite coarse!  These are slightly softer than high quality white goat bristles.  As soft as grey squirrel bristles can be, they don't pick up powder product as well as goat bristles.  These Wayne Goss brown goats bristles, for me, are the best of both worlds.  They are so soft, they have the silky feel of grey squirrel and they pick up products well like goats. I love them!!

Uses - the bristles are rather long and are not very dense. They are the right size and density for pigmented blushes.  It applies a beautifully diffused blush perfectly and easily.  I feel one don't need skill with this and viola! Perfectly applied blush.  It's amazing!!!

Since this brush diffuses pigmented products, it can be used for highlight but not lighter blushes like Mac Well Dressed, for that, use a denser blush brush like Hakuhodo 110.

 The brand name and brush numbers are laseredonto the beautiful handle. This is not the usual wooden handle with lacquer over it. They are glossy and look luxurious.

Left to Right:  Chikuhodo Z-2, Wayne Goss #1, Wayne Goss #14, Mac 118, Real Techniques Duo Fiber Contour Brush, Hakuhodo 5521, Koyudo BP015

Caution - I found a chip on one of my earliest Wayne Goss brushes. The chip is on the tip at the end of the handle. I have never dropped that brush, so I figured it must be from the way I put it back into the brush holder aka. a Starbuck mug.  I tend to drop my brushes, from about a 7cm height into the brush holder. I do that for all my other brushes and this is the first time I found a chip.  That's probably due to the beautiful coating on the hande, they look glossy, shiny and luxurious. They are not the mundane wooden handle found on most makeup brushes.  Now I lower them all the way until they reach the bottle of the brush holder.