Real Techniques – Your Eyes Starter Set review

A few days ago we shared an in-depth review of the Real Techniques Your Base core collection with you, and today we’re sharing the Real Techniques Your Eyes Starter set. As the name suggest, this set features everything you need for eyeshadow application and everything to do with eye make-up. Let’s take a look!

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The Real Techniques brushes are extremely high quality and made from synthethic Taklon brushes that are incredibly soft. The density of the brushes will enable you to blend and apply your makeup to perfection! The Real Techniques Your Eyes Starter Set comes with five brushes and the 2-in-1 case + stand.

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The handles of the brushes are very sleek and stylish. Each range has a distinct colour, the purple colour refers to the Enhanced Eyes range of brushes. The ferrules are smooth matte aluminum and the ends have a soft matte rubberized finish. The matte finish of the handles makes these very pleasant to hold. They are lightweight and sit comfortably in your hands.

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The brushes that come in this set are: base shadow brush, accent brush, brow brush, deluxe crease brush and the pixel-point eyeliner brush. Let’s go over each of these brushes individually and discuss what they do best!

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Real Techniques – Deluxe Crease Brush

This brush is an amazing blending brush. It’s round, really dense and blends eyeshadow like no other! It looks fairly large at first but you’ll soon notice how easily this blends the eyeshadow in your crease. We adore this brush!

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Real Techniques – Base Shadow Brush

This is a great brush for applying color to your lid. Use it with a patting motion to apply eyeshadow on your lid. Its pointed shape leans itself towards precise blending as well. Another great mutli-tasker!

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Real Techniques – Accent Brush

This is a nifty little brush. It’s perfect for a whole range of tasks! Smudging eyeliner close to the lashline, applying highlight to the inner corners of the eyes, even applying lipstick or eyeliner! It’s just the perfect amount of stiffness while still being soft and non-scratchy.

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Real Techniques – Pixel-Point Eyeliner Brush

This brush is your friend when you need to apply eyeliner or lipstick. Samantha cleverly shows us how to use this brush in her video. She uses this brush with a gel eyeliner to apply a perfect winged eyeliner.

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Real Techniques – Brow Brush

Finally we have the brow brush. This one is, as the name suggests, great for applying powder to shape your brows. We also like it for eyeliner application and even for applying eyeshadow underneath the lower lashline. A great brush that’s very soft too!

That concludes the break down of all 5 brushes included in the Real Techniques Your Eyes Starter set. We’ve noticed again that these brushes are all great multi-taskers and suited for a whole number of different types of products. With this set you’ll guaranteed flawless eye make-up application.

You can find the Real Techniques Your Eyes Starter set available for purchase at Phoenix Beauty Lounge! Have you tried Real Techniques brushes or are you a fan of Pixiwoo? Let us know in the comments!

Brow Line Brow Stencils

Hi everyone! There’s a new product that arrived at Phoenix Beauty Lounge! These are the Brow Line brow stencils which comes in a pack of 6 different styles. These stencils are amazing tools that help you achieve the perfect arched brow. Let’s take a look!

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  • Style 1: Flirty
  • Style 2: Uptown Girl
  • Style 3: Femme Fatale
  • Style 4: Diva
  • Style 5: Hollywood
  • Style 6: Cleopatra

As you can see, the stencils range from thinner brows to a more fuller brow, high arched and lower arched. Pick your stencil according to your personal style, mood or occasion. These stencils are made from durable plastic and are easy to clean.

Here’s a few tips and step-by-step guide on how to use these brow stencils:

  1. Start by brushing your eyebrows with an eyebrow groomer. Brush them upwards and groom them if necessary.
  2. Align your chosen style of stencil with your natural starting- and ending point of your brows. Hold the stencil firmly in place with one hand.
  3. Fill in your brows with either an eyebrow pencil or a powder that matches your hair color. Use short brush strokes to create a natural look, simulating hairs. Fill in the entire brow, staying inside the stencil.
  4. Remove the stencil and turn it over. Now place it on your other brow and follow the same steps.

Et voilà! You now have perfect brows!

Brows frame the face and can really open up your eyes. They are an important step to your make-up and are often overlooked. You’d be surprised at how much a tiny tweak to your eyebrows can change the entire structure of your face. Shaping your brows can help you feel more confident and fuller brows can make you look younger and fresh-faced. Fixing and shaping your brows isn’t hard, especially with these brow stencils you’ll be able to tackle perfect brows in no time! 🙂

You can find this set of Brow Line brow stencils on our site, Phoenix Beauty Lounge.

Color Club Halo Hues Announcement

Hi everyone! We have an exciting announcement for you! We now have the amazing Color Club Halo Hues 2013 holographic shades available for purchase on our site and in-store. We’re absolutely blown away by the amazing rainbow sparkles of this collection.

If you’re in the Toronto area, make sure to come and check these out at Phoenix Beauty Lounge, Pacific Mall. Simply no pictures or swatches can prepare you for how gorgeous these are!

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These are the six colors featured in the collection.

We shot some quick snaps of these beauties in-store. It’s so hard to capture the amazing rainbow sparkle! You definitely have to see these in person to appreciate the full effect.

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This is our in-store display! Come check it out at Pacific Mall! photo-50

Can you see the holo sparkle? 🙂 In this picture, Color Club Beyond (the black holo) shows you a hint of how amazing the rainbow holo effect is! It’s probably times ten in person!

Head over to our website Phoenix Beauty Lounge or drop us a visit to check out the stunning Color Club Halo Hues! Enjoy!

 

Essie Wedding 2013

Each year Essie releases a new Wedding collection, soft shades suited for the brides-to-be. These collections don’t feature sheer pinks or pale whites though! No, Essie pushes the envelope with subtle colour and creamy candy hues. Who said that wedding nails had to be boring?

We’re happy to announce the new Essie Wedding 2013 shades! Let’s take a look.

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These four new shades make up the Essie Wedding 2013 collection. Pastel pinks, lavender and a soft fuchsia. These shades are the perfect addition and soft pop of colour for a bridal look.

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The star of the collection is Essie Using My Maiden Name. This is the shade we’re most excited about! This beautiful soft lavender periwinkle colour is certainly going to leave a lasting impression. It’s subtle, feminine and certainly not boring!

This collection will hit the shelves around May 2013 but we have it available now for pre-order on our site, Phoenix Beauty Lounge. Would you wear any of these shades to your wedding? Or are you dying to get your hands on these anyway, wedding or not? 🙂 Let us know in the comments!

Real Techniques – Your Base Core Collection

Hi everyone! A few days ago we announced a new brand that was added to our store, Real Techniques. This is an amazing brand of high quality make up brushes that is much loved in the blog community! Created by make-up lover and pro make up artist, Samantha Chapman, famous from YouTube channel Pixiwoo.

We promised you an in-depth review of the brush sets and today we’re sharing the first one! Let’s take a look at the first set we have in store for you, Real Techniques Your Base Core collection.

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The Real Techniques Your Base Core collection comes with four brushes and a 2-in-1 brush case+stand. The case is extremely practical and is great for on-location or for when you’re traveling. Throw it in your bag to protect your brushes, and pull open the case to reveal a stand.

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The packaging of the brushes is very sleek. Each range has a distinct colour, the orange colour refers to the Flawless Base range of brushes. The ferrules are smooth matte aluminum and the ends have a soft matte rubberized finish. The matte finish of the handles makes these very pleasant to hold. They are lightweight and sit comfortably in your hands.

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The brushes are made out of synthetic Taklon hairs which are extremely soft! The Taklon bristles are 100% cruelty free which is great. Synthetic fibres will also hold their shape much better over time. The soft fibres will help you create a super smooth finish!

Let’s take a look at each of the brushes individually.

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Real Techniques – Buffing Brush 

This brush is large and flares out on either side. The buffing brush is perfect for, as the name suggest, buffing your foundation into your skin. You can use this with liquid, cream, even powder. It’s a great multi-tasker!

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Real Techniques – Contour Brush

This contouring brush is so soft! It’s really smooth and perfect to help you create an airbrushed finish. We love to use this for blusher, bronzer or highlighter.

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Real Techniques – Detailer Brush

This pointed brush is perfect for concealer application or for lipstick. We prefer it for the latter! It’s just the right amount of stiffness for lipstick application while still being soft and giving a smooth finish. Applying lipstick with a brush will not only make your lipstick last longer but also give a nicer finish!

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Real Techniques – Pointed Foundation Brush

This pointed foundation brush is perfect for liquid foundation application. It’s pointed shape will help you reach all the corners of your face, under the eyes, around the nose, etc.

That concludes the break down of all 4 brushes included in the Real Techniques Your Base Core Collection set. We’ve noticed these brushes are all great multi-taskers and suited for a whole number of different types of products. These brushes cover almost all tasks to do with application of base products like foundation, blush, powder, concealer, etc. A definite must-have!

You can find the Real Techniques Base Core Collection set available for purchase at Phoenix Beauty Lounge! Have you tried Real Techniques brushes or are you a fan of Pixiwoo? Let us know in the comments!

China Glaze Sunsational Summer 2013

Hi everyone! We’re excited to announce the new China Glaze Summer 2013 collection called Sunsational! Create waves with Sunsational! This 12-piece collection features six new cremes and six new jellies. This collection will be available in May 2013. Let’s take a look at the visuals and the colors.

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We’re in love with this display! China Glaze created a gorgeous summery visual for the Sunsational collection. This collection underwent a name-change last minute as it was first dubbed Neons – On The Shore. We’re not quite sure why, but we’re definitely not unhappy about the change! Sunsational definitely has a ring to it! 🙂

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Sunsational Cremes:

Sunsational Jellies:

As you can see this collection is extremely bright and full of fun shades for Summer 2013! We’re really excited and can’t wait to see swatches of this collection. We love that China Glaze chose to do an entire set of jelly finish polishes. Jellies are starting to gain more popularity and we love it!

China Glaze Sunsational will be available from May 2013 but we have it available now for pre-order at Phoenix Beauty Lounge! What are your thoughts on this collection? Are you dying to pick it up or will you take a pass? Let us know in the comments!

OPI Couture de Minnie Summer 2013

After the amazing success of last years Vintage Minnie Mouse collection, OPI releases a new Summer 2013 collection called Couture de Minnie. This new collection features five new shades inspired by our favorite mouse. We’re really excited to share this exclusive news with you! Let’s take a look!

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image source: bioarcapolas.blogspot.com 

Five new beautiful OPI Minnie Mouse shades! We love the fuchsia pink and white glitter polish, OPI Minnie Style. And the magenta Liquid Sand finish, OPI Magazine Cover Mouse, looks great too! We can’t wait to get our hands on these pretty pinks. OPI Chic from Ears to Tail and OPI A Definite Moust-have look like the perfect bubblegum pink and hot pink creme. And it looks like we can spot some beautiful pink shimmer in OPI Innie Minnie Mightie Bow. We’re digging it!

OPI Couture de Minnie is available to order now on our site, Phoenix Beauty Lounge. What do you think of this new OPI collection? Any shades you can’t wait to get your hands on? Let us know in the comments!

Nail Art Tutorial: Ikat Nails

Hi everyone! We at Phoenix Beauty Lounge love nail art, and we are always looking to inspire our customers. This is why from now on, we will be creating exclusive nail art how-to’s, especially for you! You’ll be able to find all the supplies you need at our store, and our tutorials will range from beginner to expert level. With our help you’ll have no more excuses to shy away from trying nail art! 😀

Our first tutorial features the very fashionable Ikat Print Nails. These look amazingly intricate but are fairly easy to achieve. Let’s take a look!

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This is how the Ikat Print looks like on the nails. Doesn’t it look great? We love this design! We chose a blue-coral color scheme but you can be as creative as you want. Anything goes! You can also switch out the white and black for a light or dark contrasting shade. The possibilities are endless!

For our design we used the following supplies:

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  1. Start by applying your base color of choice. We’re using China Glaze Aquadelic.
  2. Using your contrasting colour, China Glaze Peachy Keen in this case, add rough triangular shapes. You don’t need to use fancy nail art brushes, just use the polish brush itself. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t look perfect! Don’t worry!
  3. With a CM white nail art striper, add white dots in the middle of each triangle.
  4. Using a CM black nail art striper, paint short vertical strokes, all around the triangles. It doesn’t have to be perfect!
  5. Repeat this step for each triangle.
  6. Finally using the same black striper, add black lines in the middle of the triangles, overlapping the white. This will bring your design together!

Finally add some top coat to seal your design. We recommend China Glaze Fast Forward for an amazingly glossy finish. You’ll be amazed at how easy this look is to achieve! If you don’t have any nail art stripers, alternative you can use a toothpick for these Ikat Print Nails. We love that this is a design doesn’t have to be perfect, it will still look great. It’s a great style for beginners who want to try something a little more intricate.

If you try this out, make sure to send us pictures! We’d love to see what you create. 🙂 And make sure to stay tuned for our next tutorial. Feel free to send us requests in the meantime! If there’s a design you would love to see us feature in a how-to, drop us a comment or e-mail!

Happy painting! – Phoenix Beauty Lounge.

CND Shellac Step By Step Instruction + Nail Art

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CND Shellacâ„¢ is the original and only Power Polish service, with 14+ days of superior color. New, patent-pending UV3 Technology combines the ease of nail polish with the performance of gels. A true innovation in chip-free, extended wear nail color.

Today we’ll be sharing a step-by-step tutorial on how the CND Shellacâ„¢ system works. In this post you’ll learn how the application process works, from start to finish! Let’s take a look…

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STEP 1:
Natural Nail Prep

  • Shape your nails with a nail file.
  • Push back your cuticles.
  • Wash and sanitize your hands.
  • Clean nail plate and remove excess oils.

Phoenix Beauty Lounge Tips: Starting with a clean surface will make sure the Shellac polish stays on for the full 14 days. These steps are important to make your manicure long-lasting and flawless! Use a lint free wipe to clean your nail plate and be very gentle when handling your cuticles.

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STEP 2:
CND Shellac UV Base Coat Application

Phoenix Beauty Lounge Tips: The thinner the better! This is key with gels. Unlike nail polish where you can add a more generous layer, with CND Shellac you want to apply very thin layers. This will ensure correct application. The CND Shellac Base Coat only needs to be cured for 10 seconds, so keep that in mind. Even though UV lamps are NOT harmful to the skin, there’s no need for unnecessary prolonged exposure.

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STEP 3:
CND Shellac UV Color coat application

  • Apply one thin coat of CND Shellac Color. We are using CND Shellac Cocoa.
  • Cure under UV lamp for 2 minutes.
  • Apply a second coat of CND Shellac Color.
  • Cure under UV lamp for 2 minutes.

Phoenix Beauty Lounge Tips: Your color also needs to be applied in thin layers. When applied correctly, it will look semi-sheer. Don’t worry, this evens out after the second coat. The color is cured for 2 minutes. Apply color to one hand at a time. If you are working on someone else, you can continue painting while one of the hands is under the UV lamp.

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STEP 4:
CND Shellac UV Top Coat Application

  • Apply one thin layer of CND Shellac UV Top Coat.
  • Cure under UV lamp for 2 minutes.
  • Remove top film with 99% Isopropyl Alcohol.
  • Apply cuticle oil to all fingers.

Phoenix Beauty Lounge Tips: To ensure maximum wear, you need to apply a UV gel top coat. This will make your nails look extremely shiny! Make sure to cap the free edge of the nails to make them last even longer. Once you are finished, CND Shellac will be strong and hard from curing. No need to worry about denting your fresh manicure! Remove the sticky inhibition layer with a lint free wipe and 99% Isopropyl Alcohol. Make sure to add some nourishing cuticle oil to the nails when you’re finished. Your nails will look stunning!

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Shellac manicures don’t have to be just solid colour. In this example we added a cute leopard nail art accent finger to CND Shellac Cocoa. We used OPI Oy-Another Polish Joke and a black nail art striper for the accent nail. A great way to add a playful touch to a nude manicure! A tutorial for simple leopard nails will be featured on our blog soon, so make sure to check back!

CND Shellac is a great choice if you want your nails looking flawless for two weeks and not worry about chipping. It’s a high quality product and you can tell! The CND Shellac system won’t disappoint.

For more in-depth CND Shellac Application tips, please read our article here: https://blog.phoenixbeautylounge.com/2015/03/25/phoenix-beauty-lounge-university-10-easy-tips-for-a-long-lasting-gel-manicure/

Find the full CND Shellac system available for purchase with us at Phoenix Beauty Lounge. Happy polishing!

New EcoTools Makeup Brushes

Hi everyone! Today we’re sharing some exciting new make up brushes from EcoTools! We’ve been a huge fan of this brand for a while now, and they are treating us to some new tools. Let’s take a look!

EcoTools is a leader in eco-conscious beauty products, known for its incredibly soft cosmetic brushes. EcoTools cosmetic brushes are beautiful and show respect for the earth. They are 100% cruelty-free, have incredibly soft bristles made of synthetic taklon and have handles made of bamboo and recycled aluminium ferrules.

EcoTools brushes already were some of the softest around but they managed to make their new range even softer! When we thought it was impossible! They are so soft it should be criminal. 😀

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Left: EcoTools Foam Applicator, right: EcoTools Deluxe Fan Brush.

How interesting is this EcoTools Foam Applicator? We’re very intrigued and can’t wait to try this unique looking brush. This brush is meant for liquid foundation and concealer application. Its pointed tip allows you to easily reach all the contours of your face.

We love using fan brushes for all kinds of things. They can often be overlooked but they are a great and useful brush to own for a whole range of products. This EcoTools Deluxe Fan Brush is perfect for contouring, highlighting or adding a quick wash of translucent powder to set your make-up.

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Left: EcoTools Detailed Lip Brush, right: EcoTools Day to Night set.

Lip brushes are always a great thing to have in your stash. This EcoTools Detailed Lip Brush is particularly handy as it comes with a cap. Throw it in your bag and you are ready to re-apply your lipstick on-the-go.

We loved the limited edition Day to Night Clutch set Ecotools released in their Holiday collection, and it looks like they answered our prayers. The EcoTools Day To Night set is being added to the permanent range! This set comes with five brushes and a beautiful zippered clutch make-up bag. The brushes include:

  • Pointed Concealer Brush
  • Round Powder Brush
  • Detailed Lip Liner Brush
  • Stay-There Shadow Brush
  • Smudge Brush

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EcoTools Face & Body Sculpting Brush

And finally, the EcoTools Face & Body Sculpting Brush. How beautiful is this guy? This is such a luxurious brush. We absolutely love it! It’s an incredible large brush with soft application, perfect for all-over body definition. Sculpt your décolletage, shoulders, neck and face with this sleek bamboo handle brush.

We’re very excited about these new EcoTools brushes! Our top picks are the Face & Body Sculpting Brush and the Foam Applicator. We can’t wait to try them!

Find all of these new brushes as well as the current permanent range of EcoTools on our site, Phoenix Beauty Lounge!