When buying products, you'll probably know as well as me that it is all too easy to try them out once, not love them quite as much as you had hoped and then leave them to sit sadly, unloved, but recently I've been discovering that sometimes all it really takes is a little work getting to know them and it can transform them into some of your favorite products.
Case in point, the Real Techniques Blush Brush. After hearing only glowing reports of the RT brushes, I was a little disappointed to see when I first got this as it didn't really live up to the hype for me. As a brush designated to placing color on the apples of your cheeks I found that the loosely packed bristles spread out far too much, almost covering my whole face in the rose tinted stuff, which, unless you like to look like you have just stood outside with a tornado beating your face, is not really a great look for anyone. So, I decided to break the rules a little, I'm such a rebel me, and use it for powder. The baby-soft bristles give a light dusting all over which is enough to mattify the skin without making it look cakey, perfection. Another brush that I first had trouble getting to grips with at first was the RT pointed foundation brush, which I could just never seem to find a good use for. Little did I know how great it was for touching up my base throughout the day as it is the perfect traveling size, and the dense bristles make it a dream for manipulating products really easily, now, I wouldn't be without it.
When I first got the Maybelline 24hr Colour Tattoo in Permanent Taupe, I have to admit that I wasn't a massive fan of the grey/brown tone, and I couldn't find the ideal use for it. I first tried using it as a base but I found that it disrupted the color of the eyeshadow on top, plus I'm not a massive dark eye wearer anyway, so it quickly found its way to the murky depths of my drawer and sat there gathering dust, poor little thing. Now, it's one of my go-to base products as I've found that the color works really well as a natural shadow-looking contour which has no trace of orange in it at all. The only thing that I would still say about this is that it took a lot of getting used to in order to make it work; the color is very pigmented so a little goes a very long way (you don't want to look like you are wearing stage makeup!) and you do have to work quite quickly because once it sets, it.will.not.budge. Another base product that I have found myself loving more and more recently is the Benefit High Beam, which I initially thought was far too glittery and obnoxious for my personal highlighter tastes. Luckily, I have now found that it works far better for me under or mixed into foundation as it helps tone it down a little and give a nice, natural glow as opposed to looking like you have rubbed your cheekbones on glitter balls.
Finally, theBalm's Plump your Pucker lip gloss, which I just thought would never be for me. Somehow, this gloss escaped my notice, maybe I just thought I wasn't a gloss person, but after my makeup clear-out (more about this here) I tried it out again and my-oh-my was I wrong. Imparting a rosy sheen with tiny light reflecting particles and giving a tingling, plumping feeling this has worked its way into my everyday products and even convinced me that I need to try more lip glosses, I know, am I feeling okay?
It's been great trying rediscovering old products and it's definitely made me feel like I should break the rules more often! What about you?
