Zoeva 227 Luxe Soft Definer/ Blender Brush Review

Founded by Zoe Boikou, Zoeva as a brand began with only a line of makeup brushes which has now expanded to eyeshadows, lipsticks, and even blushers and highlighters. This is a review of a single brush, namely the 227 blending brush.

The brush. (I LOVE MY NEW BACKGROUND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

The cardboard inside has some information on the brush.

Excellent packaging. Definitely made me feel like I purchased something high end.

The handle with the brand and product code engraved.

Bristles up close.

It is slightly flatten with bristles that are frayed out to allow good eyeshadow blending.

Description:
Makeup brush intended for eyeshadow blending.
Bristles: Mix of natural (goat hair) and synthetic
Ferrule: Brass
Handle: Wood (lacquered six times)

Price: MYR 59

Where to buy: Sephora outlets nationwide and online at sephora.my

Pros:
> The brush feels and works like a high-end makeup brush.
> Extremely sturdy and durable.
> Blends out eyeshadow beautifully!
> Having had it for a couple of years, traveled with it and also used and washed it so many times, it looks almost as good as new as evident from the pictures.
> Soft bristles.

Cons:
> Did initially shed a little but when it stopped shedding, it stopped for good.
> Price isn’t affordable but the brush is definitely worth the price.
> Natural bristles require more care than synthetic brushes.

Rating: 9.1/10
I LOVE THIS BRUSH! I actually wanted to test out Zoeva as a brand and so I purchased the brush that I had only one of in my collection at that time (an eyeshadow blending brush). Definitely worth the money spent! I am actually eyeing a classic set. If you’re a makeup artist or simply just love makeup, it is definitely worth investing in it!

Maybelline The Nudes Palette Review

I wrote a first impression post on this palette (link here), now here’s the review!

The palette.

The shadows!

Lighter shades on the left side of the palette.

Darker shades make the other half.

The description is really cool…

Because there are suggestions as to how these shadows can be used as duos and where to apply them on the eyelids.

Also as trios with a corresponding diagram.

And also as quads!

Description: A neutral eyeshadow palette with 12 shades. Total 9.6 grams of product, each individual pan has 0.8g product. No mirror included. It does come with a dual ended sponge tip applicator (not included in pictures).

Where to buy: Drugstores, pharmacies, supermarkets, anywhere there’s a Maybelline display.

Price: MYR 69.90 (discounts can bring it down to less than MYR 50 so don’t buy at full price!! Seriously!!!).

Swatches

Top row.

Bottom row.

 

Pros:

All in one palette for a versatile neutral look.

Tanned skin friendly because the dark colours actually show up on tanned skin tones.

Slim and travel friendly.

Good combination of matte and shimmer shadows.

Shimmer shadows are nicely pigmented.

 

Cons:

Not all shades are pigmented (not dark skin friendly!).

Creases on the eyelids (all shades).

Matte shadows are not very blendable.

Eyeshadow primer is crucial because it has little lasting power.

I used this palette on a friend with some Elianto eyeshadows. Ignore the eyebrows. 😛

This is one of my Instagram pictures of the palette with shade names. This version (with shades names) came out only after I purchased mine.

Notes:

OK, these are a few points to note.

Although they are not very pigmented, I think beginners would get use out of it because there’s no way you can go overboard.

You definitely need to use an eyeshadow primer to avoid creasing and also since the colours are not very pigmented.

Although there are so many cons, I did, at one point, find myself packing it when traveling with my makeup for a performance because the palette is all encompassing for a basic neutral eyeshadow look that is versatile.

If you haven’t already noticed, Sandy, Siren, Greige, and After Hours have been dug into. Sandy and Siren are the best shades of the palette. After Hours is a matte black that is not pigmented so that it can be used to deepen the outer corner without the black going overboard. Greige is often used to deepen the crease colour.

Bareskin looks white on the pan but it swatches as a sparkly nude that can be used as an inner corner highlight.

 

Rating: 6/10

Although I do use it often, they really are not really well performing eyeshadows except for the two shimmery shades, hence the rating.