Friday Face Off, Vegan and Cruelty Free Beauty

Friday Face-Off: Artis Makeup Brushes

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Artis makeup brushes disturbed the makeup industry and every Youtube Beauty Guru kind of lost their ish. Needless to say, I was part of that crowd, but I was also super skeptical. They do look kind of like toothbrushes, after all. So I decided to put them to the test.

Let’s start with the Artis brush. You’ll have to excuse the fact that I only bought one because…

Price. ONE Artis brush. That’s right, just ONE Artis brush ranges anywhere from $40 to $70. The one pictured below is the Artis Elite Smoke Oval 7 Brush, which costs $62, and closer to $65 with tax. I picked mine up at Nordstrom.

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Quality. Although the packaging is nice, it doesn’t feel like $70 packaging, whatever that may be. What I did like about the quality of the brush was the sturdy handle and the good balance it has. You can’t tell from the image below, but it’s balancing on just one of my fingers, so it has a good weight ratio.

Also, the bristles are really soft and the perfect amount of dense. It feels soft to the touch and smooths on makeup without leaving brush strokes behind. According to Nordstrom, it is made exclusively with CosmeFibre, a revolutionary engineered fiber made for applying cosmetic and makeup products.

FOF2-8VCF? With that said…yes! Artis is cruelty-free and vegan. The brand strictly believes against animal testing.

Now, let’s take a look at one of the many dupes on the market for the Artis brush. The one I purchased came in a kit of 10. It is the Yoseng Makeup Brush Set.

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Price. I bought this set of 10 Yoseng Makeup brushes on Amazon for $13.99. All of the brushes came in their own plastic sleeves, all packed in another plastic pouch. This pouch was in a black box and as with most Amazon purchases, it came unharmed and intact.

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Quality. I couldn’t believe it guys. When it comes to the quality of the bristles, it wasn’t a far cry from the Artis brush head. They felt just as soft and evenly spread my makeup…WITHOUT leaving brush strokes or brush hairs behind. I seriously couldn’t believe me eyes. Compared to my Real Techniques brushes, these brushes evenly smoothed the powder over my foundation and set everything into place. Btw, the Yoseng Makeup Brush set also comes in four color options: Black, Golden, Rose Golden and Silver. #notsponsored (seriously, how many times can I say that). I opted for the Rose Gold, only because it’s pretty and shiny, and ya girl’s a sucker for shiny.

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The one negative thing when it comes to the quality of these Artis makeup brush dupes is that the handle feels rather clumsy. I tried to take a photo of balancing it, but I wasn’t able to so that weight ratio simply isn’t there. Which, TBH, I’m not sure it matters. But when I was applying powder onto my face after prepping my skin with SPF face lotion and matte foundation, I felt like the handle may break at any moment–but only time will tell.

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VCF? According to the Amazon page, the material is high quality premium synthetic fiber, free from chemical treatment & hypo-allergenic & cruelty-free. So yes! They are!

Verdict? Purely based on price and quality for value, the winner is the Yoseng Makeup Brush set, with Artis super super close behind. If you’re thinking about splurging on the Artis makeup brush, I say go for it, BUT see if this type of brush is for you by purchasing a dupe first. And of all the dupes, this 10 brush set is solid.

What are your favorite VCF makeup brushes? Do you own Artis brushes and like them? What dupes have you tried?

Let us know! What would you like us to test out next for Face-Off Friday?Blog Signature

 

 

Vegan and Cruelty Free Beauty

Cruelty-Free Makeup: Ace Beaute Eyeshadow Palette Review

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This cruelty-free eyeshadow palette has literally been haunting my Instagram feed since it came out in July. Since I follow a lot of vegan and cruelty-free profiles and companies, it’s no wonder that it showed up after every other post on my feed. But, TBH, I wasn’t mad at it because um, have you looked at it? It’s absolutely GORG. Why then didn’t I get it as soon as I set my big brown eyes on it? Because it has a hefty price tag (at least my frugal self thought so) of $38.99, and with shipping and tax, it comes out to around $45 depending on where you live. So if you’re like me, you do your research and let it haunt you for months to determine if it’s right for you. So here we are. Your review! (Believe me, you’ll order it after this).

AceBeaute3Price. With 16 colors, this $38.99 Ace Beauty Quintessential Eyeshadow palette ends up being far more affordable than most high-end quality eye shadow palettes on the market today. The palette it most mirrors in my opinion is the Huda Beauty eyeshadow palette, which is available for $65.

Color Range. With about one to two times around each pan, I was able to swatch these brilliant colors on my arms. Some are lighter than others, while others are more exquisite. Either way, it’s a good mix of matte and metallic eye shadows. You get 7 matte shadows and 9 shimmery shadows.

VCF Approved? According to their site, the Ace Beauty Eyeshadow palette is indeed cruelty-free: “Our Eyeshadow palette is 100% cruelty free”! I would definitely add this to my next round of Top Cruelty-free and Vegan brands.

Quality. As far as quality goes, they can be a little powdery, but not so bad that I’d complain about it, because the pigmentation seems to pay off.

AceBeaute4AceBeauty5Buy or Let It Go. The verdict? Buy! I would tell you immediately if it wasn’t worth it and I personally think these shadows are worth $40. They’re silky, soft and come off smooth on the skin.

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Would you buy this cruelty-free makeup palette? Did you buy it? What do you think about it? Share your thoughts with our VCF family!

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Vegan and Cruelty Free Beauty

The Secret to Younger Skin: Rose Hip Oil

Everybody listen up because if you haven’t gotten on the body oil bandwagon yet, it’s time to climb aboard. Ok, so maybe body oil isn’t quite a “trend” really…I mean women have been putting baby oil on their bodies for decades. Only now, in the 21st century, we just made it sexier.

Body oil is by far the biggest and easiest life hack to getting the softest, smoothest and most supple skin. Sure it’s a little slippery at first, but that’s where I come in. I tested oils upon oils for ya’ll and I found one that finally sinks right in without leaving you looking and feeling like melted vegan ice cream (cherry garcia, anyone?). VCF Tip: Dry oils work best when you want something that absorbs quickly into the skin.

Unlike a lot of other natural goodness, each type of oil has different benefits, and today, we’re zoning in on one. Now let me let you in on Adriana Lima’s secret to her beautiful face (aside from the genetics)…rose hip oil! Top this off with some cruelty-free SPF face lotion and you’ll be aging backwards like Benjie Button.

BodyOil3Rosehip oil has many benefits. Now if you want to look like Adriana Lima, you probably need a little bit more than this magic in a beautiful bottle, BUT it’s a great place to start.

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Should you really put this oil on your face though? Uh, YES! Let me tell you why. It’s PACKED with anti-oxidants, which may as well be synonymous with anti-aging. It’s properties are also suuuuuper small, which means it can get into at least three layers of skin so it’s really working from the inside out. Even Livestrong.com knows what’s up: The vitamin C antioxidants stimulate collagen production, according to the Cleveland Clinic. It also helps reduce fine lines and wrinkles….and Vitamin A has small enough molecules to go deeper into the skin. It improves the skin’s moisture levels and reduces wrinkles and fine lines.

Put a little oil between your fingers and start patting into your face with gentle massaging motions. You can also use it all over your body to get that sexy J.Lo glow.

BodyOil1You can find this Measurable Difference Rose Hip Oil on Amazon for $20, but if you’re lucky, you can find it at your local T.J. Maxx for $5.99, which is where (thank the lucky stars) I picked it up, and fell in love. #notsponsored I’m 100% most definitely going back to stock up on more of their products to test out for you guys because who doesn’t like having baby butt soft skin, okurr?

Have ya’ll tried rosehip oil? What oils do you use and love? Share!

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And yes, this is #Bloocertified! What is #Bloocertified? My dog tests products worldwide and if it’s both vegan and cruelty-free, she gives it her stamp of approval, so look out for the image above to know if the product we’re reviewing is VCF!

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