Pink Avenue brushes review, tutorial & international giveaway!

Ok folks, you know that I'm partial to collecting makeup brushes?  And even though one of my least favourite chores, beauty or otherwise, is cleaning them, it doesn't stop me from wanting to try more.  Makeup artist Rachel Cleary obviously knew this *ahem* and has brought out four makeup brushes for me.  And you.  Ok, not just for me...

I was sent the set to try out and I've been putting them through their paces recently and rather than do a regular review of each brush, I wanted to show them to you in action.

Each brush has the Pink Avenue logo printed onto the black handle and has a silver ferrule.  They look sleek and professional, like myself...

Pink Avenue Blending Brush €9.99 // Pink Avenue Foundation Brush €13.99
Pink Avenue Contour & Blush Brush €12.99 // Pink Avenue Powder Brush €14.99

The Pink Avenue foundation brush was a bit of a surprise actually.  You know I'm all about buffing brushes when it comes to foundation and don't really use flat foundation brushes, but there really is something about this one that tickles my pickle.  I don't know if it's because it's so dense for a flat brush, or because I was able to be super precise with my application of this Gosh CC Cream Iluminating foundation, but these two were a match made in heaven.  Yes, it took a bit longer to apply the foundation with the brush, so it's not something I'd turn to when I'm in a rush in the morning, but for evenings out, this brush gives me a flawless finish to the face.  As for the foundation itself, it's gorgeous.  It gives light to medium coverage, gives a wonderful soft radiance to the skin and gives a natural finish.  I've been loving this lots folks and I think I'll be haring through the bottle this summer.

Next I wanted to test out the Pink Avenue blending brush and see how it held up packing on the makeup.  Now it's not the softest blending brush I've ever used, but it does what it says on the tin and blends cream and powder shadows easily as you'll see below.

1. I took some of the Max Factor Eyeshadow pencil in shade 05, a lovely bronze shade, and applied it all over my eyelid.  I wanted this to make a nice base for the other shadows.
2. Taking the blending brush, I softened the only edges of the cream shadow, not touching the eyelid itself.  I took Max Factor's eyeshadows in Ferral Brown and Auburn Envy, applying them on top of the cream shadow using the blending brush again.
3. I then used Maybelline's Super Stay 24H Waterproof powder in shade 21, Nude to warm up the crease a bit.  It's a slightly darker setting powder than I'd usually use which made it the perfect transition colour in the crease and just softened the edges of the eyeshadow even more.
4. Step 4 seems to be just me showing off my eyeball.  Oh wait, maybe I took the two powder shadows under the lower lashes too.  Yes, that makes sense.
5. I took Physician's Formula Kajal Eyeliner in black and took it along the waterline and along the upper lash line.  I'm not a fan of it on the waterline as it didn't give me a dark enough finish even right after applying it, but along the upper lashes, it gave me a nice soft line which was grand because I didn't want it to be too defined for this look.
6. Definitely showing off my eyeball this time.  I love this look so much and it was all done with the one blending brush!

Next it was time for cheeks and I used the Pink Avenue contour & blush brush to apply some much needed colour to my visage.  I don't really contour on a day to day basis, so this will be my blush brush and it's my favourite out of all four.  It's soft, picks up lots of colour and gives a seamless finish to my blush.  I used it with the Me Me Me Blush Me in Rouge, a pinky coral shade with fine gold shimmer running through it.  I'm a little bit obsessed with this blush and I'm pretty sure it's a close enough dupe for Nars Orgasm!

Powder time!

I used the Maybelline Super Stay 24H Waterproof Power in shade 21, Nude. The Pink Avenue powder brush was perfect for powdering one's schnoz as you can see in the photo below.  It felt nice and soft on my face, did the job at hand and I love it.  This is my second favourite of the four.

I haven't had any shedding with any of the brushes so far and they all wash really well.  I hope Rachel brings out more brushes to add to the set and satisfy the inner collector in me!  They're available to buy online and for a list of selected pharmacies that stock the brand, visit their Facebook page.

Now, on to the good news for you guys!  Pink Avenue have given me a second set for one lucky winner!  To be in with a chance of winning these four brushes, enter your details in the widget below and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway