Claudio Riaz Instant Brow

I've been wanting this eyebrow brush for a couple of years after seeing it at Barneys in San Francisco.  I just couldn't pay $95 for it.  Thanks to Product Doctor I bought it for $39 at All Cosmetics Wholesale on Cyber Monday (I got 20% off the sale price).  I can't believe I'm so pumped about an eyebrow brush.

It's huge, as you can see in the comparison photos below.  It's a little over a half inch wide, while the Paula Dorf and Shu Uemura are 1/4 and 1/8 inches respectively.

The Claudio Riaz site instructs users to "pick up primer or color, press firmly at the inner corner of the brow, and follow the natural shape to groom and fill with one consistent stroke." The Barneys SA who did my brows filled in each brow in one stroke, but I'm not quite there yet.  I can do it two.  The badger hair picks up product quickly and in one stroke I can almost fill in an entire brow.  I have a couple of bald areas that are difficult to fill, so a second application to those areas with the tiny Shu does the trick. 

It's not a multi-tasker. The bristles are as stiff as those found in a hairbrush, and it feels that way too.  It's not uncomfortable - it feels like your scalp does when you brush your hair.  But damn!  My eyebrows look good!

Instant Brow sells for $49 at All Cosmetics Wholesale, and for $95 at Barneys.com and ClaudioRiaz.com.   The site doesn't indicate how long this sale will last.  They seem to have most of the other brushes as well as the makeup products.  I love my concealer and complexion highlighter pictured here. 

Pictured with Chanel's "Notorius" Sculpting Veil, which I also use on my brows.

Le Metier de Beaute Peau Vierge Anti-Aging Complexe and Foundation Brush

I took many of my new cosmetic items with me to San Francisco, including Le Metier Beaute Peau Vierge Anti-Aging Complexe and the foundation brush.

Photo from Neiman Marcus

I got lots of complements on my complexion, including one from a Nordstrom beauty sales associate who stopped me as I walked by to ask what I used on my skin because it was so beautifully luminescent!  That's a first.  I love the way Peau Vierge makes my skin look too.   It banishes the shadows that my office lighting casts on my face, and reduces the need to use under eye concealer (sleep would help too, but in the meantime...). It is expensive, but a little goes a very long way.  I took about a teaspoon in this tiny little container, and barely made a dint in it over four days of daily use.

I did not use foundation, just Peau Vierge, blush, eye makeup and finished with loose powder and lip color.  Here's Le Metier's description of its product:
 
Peau Vierge "Contains anti-aging powerhouse retinol, known for its ability to smooth and plump wrinkles from deep below the skin's surface, stimulating collagen cell rejuvenation and bringing elasticity back to skin. Retinol is delivered through a patented and proprietary delivery technology called Syntoc Actif, which encapsulates the retinol and allows it to safely and effectively penetrate the skin. Syntoc Actif provides 20 times more retinoic acid than traditional over-the-counter products and is absorbed into the deeper skin layers, making it the most effective cosmetic retinoid treatment on the market."

It is also talc-, fragrance-, and dye-free. 

Peau Vierge is tinted, coming in two shades: Light to Medium, and Medium to Dark.  I use the latter.  Though I thought it might be too light to me at first, it is not, going on very sheer.  Lisa Lingis, the Mazza Gallery Neiman Marcus Le Metier representative, told me that many of her customers with daker complexions use it too. 

It's possible to apply foundation atop Peau Vierge and maintain that fabulous glow. It has as SPF 20 factor, so there was no need to apply a separate SPF product, a bonus since I've read that retinol products renders one's skin sun sensitive.   I haven't been using it long enough to attest to its claims to even out skin tone, but my complexion looks more even while I'm wearing the product. I've joined the cult.

I love the way the nylon foundation brush applies product.  I've never seen another angled, flat one. 

Perhaps this shape is why it doesn't seem to hold on to as much product as the oval-shaped foumndation brush I already owned, but releases it on my skin instead.  It also leaves a superior application of concealer, better than my finger or concealer brush.  I dot a bit of concealer on first, tap it out with the end of the bristles, then smooth it as necessary with a sweep of the brush.

I'm not associated with Le Metier de Beaute;  I won the products reviewed above in a Neiman Marcus drawing.