Beauty ponders

Yes... it is. Today is my birthday - which is Halloween and has a creepy sidenote to it while tomorrow is the 1st of November.
But, nevertheless, I plan on trying to enjoy this day and have a look at the positive things in my life...

A new round of articles in which I'll share my favourite blogs / newly found blogs. The one today is called Front Row Beauty and I stumbled upon it while searching for Becca reviews / information & I immediately loved it and read everything she wrote in the past...
She reviews high end brands & a lot of Chinese/Japanese brands so if you're into luxury, you'll love it as well. I also love her pictures and their quality, which is important to a blog. Definitely worth checking out.

Have you recently got to know a nice blog?

Mascara is one of those make-up items that's a must for me. Without it, my eyes feel very naked. If I could choose one make-up item to wear, this would be the one. The last couple of months I've been using this Enchant mascara by Avon, which they released half a year ago or something like that and I must admit, I'm really loving it.
The packaging is sleek, black, with purplepink letters on it. Nothing too fancy, just the way I like it. The bristles have an odd curved shape to deliver a good curl at the outside of your lashes. The mascara doesn't look smudgy.

Here you can see a little before & after. The mascara definitely delivers curl, a bit of length and a bit of volume. It doesn't give you spider leges and it looks natural enough for me. It's easy in usage & doesn't smudge. I only find it a bit impractical for the lower lashes due to the curved shape. Depending how you use the bristles you get a more curled or more volumenized effect. Underneath more pictures with mascara & eyeshadow, where the volume is a bit more visible.
I have been able to use this mascara for about/more than 3 months without smudging and that's quite something. It also has a lovely price, around 7euros and is definitely amongst my favourite ones ever - well done Avon for delivering such a lovely mascara. I will surely repurchase this one, so, don't discontinue it :).

Some months you seem to empty everything around you and other months everything seems to last forever... This time I had the first thing with my hair & bath stuff, which was all getting empty while my skin care stuff seemed to last & last. But no need to worry, I already have backups ready waiting to be used ;)
Left picture:

• Diorshow Iconic mascara: I bought this in discount because I loved the little sample size I got from it, but this big version was disappointing. The brush is also bigger and less convenient. After 2 months it was starting to clogg all over, won't repurchase this. I'd rather stick to drugstore mascaras, they are a lot better in pricequality comparison.

• Paula's Choice Resist SPF25: my latest day cream which I finished but will not repurchase because I don't like it, check my review why

• Louis Widmer deo spray: what can I say? I love this product! It's not a cheap deo but it lasts you such a long time, has a nice fresh subtle scent and doesn't leave marks on your clothes. Currently I'm trying the other formations of their deo range, but I've already repurchased a spray version as well. Must-try!

• Batiste dry shampoo Tropical: dry shampoo is a must for my fringe and Batiste offers a decent range of them. This one is my favourite so far scentwise. I know a lot of people love Blush, which is very bloomy, but I'm more fan of Tropical with a sweeter scent. Will most likely repurchase this in the future.

Onto the 2nd picture:

• Joico K-PAK intense hydrator & leave-in protectant: I've been using the Joico K-PAK range for the last year and really enjoyed using it (haven't done a review yet), but for now I'm switching things up as my hair is getting used to it. But I definitely plan on repurchasing this range & doing a proper review. It's great for dry, damaged hair.

• Avon Bubble Bath: I finished two of these scents. The first was Winter Rose, a very bloomy scent which was ok but not spectacular. The second was Vanilla Peach, my favourite scent from them - it's just divine. Luckily I still have 2 bottles of this one, because Avon already discontinued this scent?! Makes me sad :(

What have you finished lately?

The last couple of months my latest obsession has become brushes, meanwhile I've bought quite a few and have expanded my collection. My biggest interest goes out to squirrel brushes as they have the softest bristles amongst all, but sadly they aren't the cheapest. So one of my first orders was from A'Squirrel -what's in a name- as they offer affordable squirrel brushes and contained 2 of them: their blending brush and this powder brush.
When taking a first glance at the bristles, they do appear very soft and fluffy. And they fulfill their claim perfectly: the bristles feel like silk against your face and are unbelievable soft (you can't compare this to Sigma or MAC at all, it's more like SUQQU-soft). I do have a hard time stop brushing my face with it, it's so lovely. During usage, not a single hair has been shed - which is always my worst fear with brushes. Washing goes easily and the bristles dry nicely into shape, it does take longer to dry than my other pony/goat/etc brushes.
The ferrule is long & small, compared to other ones. Like the blending brush, this ferrule also feels very light and of cheaper quality. While holding it, I'm always thinking it's so fragile. Off course, if you're not reckless it won't break - it's just a thought. The bristles have a nice standard wide but aren't as full as other brushes, it is flatter. Here you can see a comparison between Sigma Powder brush, A'Squirrel Powder brush, Paula Dorf Powder brush. I've been using this brush mostly for setting powder or an occasional light application of bronzer. Because of the softness of the bristles this brush isn't suited for buffing in, only for a light application and it does so perfectly. A point of negative however: squirrel brushes are very sensitive to oily skin and I noticed during summer that the bristles pick up acces oil from the face which makes the bristles more sticky. So if you have very oily skin this might not be the right brush for you, or be prepared to wash it quite often.
The goods: softness all over, price, doesn't shed, easy to wash & stays in shape, perfect for finishing powder

The bads: cheap ferrule, bristles pick up oil and become sticky, takes a while to dry, not good for buffing in

To sum it up: I really like this brush and enjoy using it all the time - I've had it for more than half a year now. So far it's my favourite brush to apply setting powder. It's just a shame that it comes packed in a cheap ferrule, I would be willing to pay more to get better quality. Nevertheless - it's a perfect brush when you're wanting a squirrel bristles brush and don't want to spend a fortune on it.