Lately, I’ve been watching quite a few videos by Australian YouTuber, Schellea Fowlwer, on her fabulous50 channel. She focuses on tips and tricks of applying makeup for those who are older. I’m not 50 yet but I have hooded lids and lines around my lips, and she shares tips on how to work with these aspects. There’s almost nothing I love to watch more on YouTube, and she just gives me the most useful tips and they are easy to replicate.

Her '5 Biggest Makeup Mistakes On Mature Eyes Tutorial Over 50 by Fabulous50s' was my introduction to her and I've referred back to it a few times. Since gravity is already working against you to drag the outside corners of your eyes down, her whole point of this video is that you should always look for ways to bring the eyes up in that area and not down. I was doing a few of her "don'ts" so it was nice to see what they were and why some are not flattering. 

Pull away tips:

• A thick line of liner on the mobile lid will make your eyes appear smaller. Tighlining the top lid is better.
• Black liner on the bottom water liner can make eyes look more almond shaped.
• Don’t follow nature when applying shadow! Don’t bring the shadow all the way down on the outside.
• Neutral or nude eyeliner pencil can open up the eye look.
• Eye primer is a must!
• Only apply a highlighter in the middle just under the brow, not all the way across.

Since I’m loving the new PIXI BEAUTY Eye Reflections Shadow Palette in Natural Beauty ($24 @ pixibeauty.com) I thought I’d try it out using some of her tips. The palette has both mattes and shimmers in it so this sole one can be used to create a whole look.

Click the link to see how I did it and what I used!

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I wrote about some REAL TECHNIQUES makeup brushes the other day on my site but I think the real star of their line has to be their Brush Cleaning Palette ($15 @ realtechniques.com, kohls.com, target.com). It’s made of silicone, and the part that holds the soap and water kind of looks like of like a soap dish in that the edges are raised up. On the bottom is a strap you slide your hand through to hold it. Then, just add some cleanser and a little water and scrub or work that brush along the textured dots and x’s on the surface and voila, clean brushes!

And I like that I’m not wasting cleanser like I normally do when just using my hands as the surface to work the product out of the bristles. The cup shape keeps it all in one place as you clean brushes. Highly recommended.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post by Mirum Shopper. All words are my own. 

How much are you “in the know?” I get it, believe me, it’s hard to keep up. Having a family and a daily life makes it tough to stay updated with what’s good out there in beautyland, right?

You for sure want to know about the best-of-the-best, and if you think about it, the real beauty experts or Beauty BFFs on the Internet are those that create the products we use, like Sam and Nic, the duo behind the Real Techniques brand.

Both trained makeup artists in London, you’ve probably seen their YouTube videos and maybe didn’t know that they are the two behind the Pixiwoo channel. Yup, that’s them!  

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Makeup tools make an excellent gift for a few reasons:

• You get a lot of bang for your buck around the holidays.
• Most people will buy them for themselves.
• Beauty lovers always need them!

Here are 4 that will make you look like a star gift giver:

1. REAL TECHNIQUES Multitask Set ($19.99 @ realtechniques.com, target.com, walgreens.com) – contains a face brush, cheek brush and eye brush all tucked in a Velcro case.

2. MAC Nutcracker Sweet Essential Brush Kit ($35 @ maccosmetics.com, nordstrom.com) – contains a face blender brush, eye blending brush and small angle brush nestled in a cute carrying pouch.

3. CHELLA Beautiful Eyebrow Tools ($45 @ dermstore.com) – contains tweezers, razor with brush and comb and scissors in a snap case.

4. SEPHORA Glitter Happy Brush Set ($59 @ sephora.com) – how cool is this glittery stand this comes with? Essentials include a blush brush, powder brush, crease brush, concealer brush, allover shadow brush, lip brush and the acrylic stand.

Disclosure: Some of these items were provided for review purposes. Some I bought.

You can also follow Cybele on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Snapchat

5 Beauty Tools You Need

1. ARTIS Elite Oval 7 ($65 @ artisbrush.com, spacenk.com) – A new addition to the brand, this one is a little bit smaller than my beloved Oval 8 so it's a tad easier to maneuver and I've almost exclusively been using it to applying my liquid foundation these days.

2. BEAUTY BLENDER Sur.face Simple ($30 @ beautyblender.com) – known for their cult-favorite sponges, I’m really hot on this palette to mix my Cover FX Cover Drops with its medium, tap out some mineral powders out of their tubes, or play around with some different creams to create a new shade for my lids or face.

3. MUA MAKEUP ACADEMY Lash Separator ($10.50 @ cvs.com and CVS stores nationwide) – I recently broke my Holy Grail lash separator but glad I found this one in its place. It is curved the same as your eye so easy to quickly run it through lashes.

4. URBAN DECAY Iconic Eyeshadow Brush ($24 @ urbandecay.com, nordstrom.com) – if you get one eye brush in your collection, make it a great one like this. It’s the perfect width and length and can handle a lot of different products.

5. REAL TECHINQUES #301 Flat Contour Brush ($21 @ kohls.com) from the Bold Metals Collection – this short, compact, and dense brush is great for applying liquid or cream foundations, blush and bronzers.

And I think I'm ready to add one of these to my Holy Grail list! Yup, it's the MUA Makeup Academy Lash Separator. I had one just like it on my list but this one is less expensive than that one and easier to get hold of. As you read above, I was ready for a new one so help me welcome MUA Makeup Academy Lash Separator to the Holy Grail list of beauty products! What's on your list? 

Disclosure: Some of these items were provided for review purposes. Some I bought.

Ok, we’re at that point in the year again – new season means time to take stock of your makeup and beauty tools and see what you have, need to get rid of or need to replace. You’ve probably read a few times that a good set of brushes goes a long way in getting the most out of your makeup products. Here are two sets I’m recommending to get yourself up to speed.

There’s a new line amongst us called REAL TECHNIQUES. It was founded by vlogger/blogger/makeup artist Samantha Chapman after seeing a void in the area of makeup brushes. She wanted to create a line of brushes that were high-tech, high quality and $-friendly and at the same time easy and straight forward to use. The aluminum handles are color coated for easy identifying on the makeup table and the bristles are made of taklon so they are cruelty-free.

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