Any fellow near-blind ladies out there?! I can't see a thing without my glasses or contacts, and if you're blessed with less than perfect eyesight yourself, you'll know that applying makeup can be a slightly tricky business, especially first thing in the morning. I'm actually ashamed to admit the amount of times I got so close to the mirror my brush handle ended up hitting the mirror while the other side poked me straight into the eye... Please tell me I'm not the only one! Anyway, I've been wearing glasses and contacts for the past ten years, and I think it's safe to say I managed to figure out some great application techniques and tricks that help bring out your features despite the specs and make your eyes feel comfortable all day long when you're wearing your contacts.

As mentioned, if you're short-sighted, applying makeup without your glasses on can be an interesting process. First things first, I noticed that it's a whole lot easier for me to apply makeup with short-handled brushes, as I can get closer to the mirror and actually see what I'm doing. I also find that light, neutral shades on the eyelids work best. I mean, if you're feeling the smokey eye, obviously go for it, but with my glasses already creating shades around the eye area, I prefer brightening things up and leaving bolder shades for my lips. Large frames, which I personally am a fan of, also bring attention to the under eye area, so concealer is a must, and I also like to add a bit of eyeshadow under my eyes for some definition. When I'm wearing glasses, I never focus on creating gorgeous, layered eye makeup looks. The frame usually runs straight through that bit, so I rather apply a single shade and pop on some mascara. Speaking of which, curling your lashes beforehand is a must! If I don't do it, my lashes always end up hitting the lenses, and I'm sure you agree it's the most annoying thing ever. For the same reason, I also stay away from super lengthening and volumizing mascaras. For additional definition, a thin eyeliner on the upper lid works way better. And now my favourite part - the eyebrows. I always make sure mine look perfect, and I suggest you add some definition to yours too, especially when you're wearing glasses. Trust me, it makes all the difference. Moving away from the eyes, a nice, soft blush is your friend too. It instantly brightens up and lifts up the face, adding some much needed colour to the neutral eye zone. 

When you're wearing lenses, you can go with pretty much whatever look floats your boat, as there's no frames to disrupt your face, so to speak. But what you have to be more careful about are the actual products you use. Breathable daily disposable contacts like Focus Dailies by FeelGoodContacts are a good place to start. You'll avoid itchy, dry and bloodshot eyes, as using a brand new pair every day will prevent you from putting in an already used pair that potentially contains particles of makeup you wore the day before. Eye drops can be a life saver as well! I make sure to have some in my bag every time I'm on the go, especially if I'm wearing heavy makeup, which tends to make its way into my eyes by the end of the day. If you're wearing powder products, it's bound to happen, which is why cream products are much kinder to the eyes, along with hypoallergenic products and products suitable for sensitive eyes. Having said that, if you can't stay away from all the amazing powder pigments like I can't, just make sure you at least close your eyes during the application. And definitely, definitely stay away from applying eyeliners in the waterline. Oh, and avoid flaky, clumpy and fiber mascaras. They're the worst. Just two weeks ago, when I was trying out a new mascara, I had a 'contacts meet mascara fall out' situation on my hands, and it wasn't pretty...

That's it from me today! I do hope there's someone out there who will find my tips helpful. But really, out of curiousity, how many of you are wearing glasses or contacts? Let me know in a comment below!  

I don't often write negative reviews, as I prefer talking about products I love rather than those I'm not overly impressed with, but sometimes it just has to be done. The product I'll be reviewing today is probably the worst I've ever tried. I feel morally obliged to share my thoughts on it, because it isn't just one of those that don't work (for me). It's really bad.

Spot cleaning my makeup brushes is something I've been doing ever since I enrolled into makeup school. When you work on clients and don't have time to do the deep-clean or wait for the brushes to dry, you have to disinfect them and remove pigment before moving on to another person, which is what brush cleansers are essentially for. The process became such a habit to me that I now do it every single time I use my makeup brushes, even if I'm applying the same shades and doing makeup on no one but myself. 

Up until my move to London, I've been using 99% alcohol, which works amazing. It removes stains, disinfects and dries brushes in an instant. But since it is quite hard to find, I went on the hunt for a drugstore brush cleanser instead. The only one I found at my local Boots was No7's Make Up Brush Cleanser, the 'star' of today's show.

I've used it three times, but wish I had listened to my gut and threw it in the bin the first time around. I have quite a few problems with it. First of all, my brushes take ages to dry when I use this product. I don't even see the point in using it as a spot cleanser, because the brushes need the same amount of time to get dry as they do when I'm cleaning them with shampoo and water. And secondly, the cleanser literally ruins my makeup brushes. Every time I used it, my makeup brushes had hair falling out and that never happened to me before. The brushes were shedding like nobody's business, the hair felt like it was glued together even when it was already dry, and the bristles turned scratchy.

What it does or doesn't do to my brushes is not even the worst part, though. It's what it does to my eyes that shocks me the most. Whenever I applied my makeup with the brushes I used this product on a day before, my eyelids turned red and started burning. The last time I used it, the skin on my eyelids was so irritated I could barely keep them open and it even started peeling! I still have dry patches left, but thankfully, they're slowly disappearing with the help of Cicaplast Pro Recovery. 

It's mind boggling to me how this product is sold in stores. And not only that. It's marketed as hypo-allergenic! Very confusing indeed. Have you had any similar reactions to a beauty product before?

If there's one thing I can do when it comes to makeup, it's blending. I think it's one of the most essential makeup skills and I just love it. My make-up school instructors could confirm it, haha. I can spend hours on blending out the eyeshadow, which is where a blending brush comes in. I don't know what I was doing before owning one. Seriously, if you do your makeup and don't own a blending brush, I don't know how you do it. Go get one!  

MAC's 217 is probably one of the most talked about make-up brushes and rightly so. It is flippin' amazing. I've had one for two years now and I can without a doubt say it's my all time favourite. I'm actually considering picking up a few extra ones, because you can never have too many blending brushes. Am I right or am I right, ladies?

Now, as you can imagine, MAC brushes are not the cheapest of them all. The 217 will set you back for about $24. Being a make-up artist, I can justify such purchase, as I know the brushes will serve me well and be the gift that keeps on giving, but if you don't want to spend so much money on a single brush, I have a few other options for you.

By the way, these are not the only blending brushes I own. I think I have about five more and no, I'm still not done with buying. I always seem to be running out of clean ones, whether I'm doing my own make-up or someone else's. I told you I have a problem... 

Anyway, today I decided to concetrate only on those two dupes in my collection that are most similar to MAC's 217. One of them is a $1 ebay brush from China, and the other Sigma's E25, which you can get for $14 (I have the travel version with a shorter handle). These are all 'old' brushes. I really wanted to wait for at least a year before giving you any reviews, as I wanted to see how they would hold up. For the reference, I got the Sigma one first, over five years ago now, I bought the MAC one two years ago and the ebay one a year and a half ago.

Top to bottom: MAC 217, Sigma, Ebay

Long story short, they all do their job, but there are slight differences between them. Compared to the MAC one, the brush from ebay is a bit longer and wider, which makes it a little less comfortable to hold and a bit harder to work with. It is bulkier, heavier, and the hair area is wider/larger as well. Because of that, it is definitely less precise. I've also noticed that the bristles got a bit scratchy after a while, the brush started losing its shape and the occasional hair falls out every now and then. Having said that, this is not a horrible brush, especially considering its price tag. I still get use out of it, but only when all my other brushes are dirty, since they are of better quality and I obviously gravitate towards those first. I mostly use the ebay dupe for blending out cream eyeshadows, because I find that the cream products require a 'heavier hand' and I rather use a cheap brush over an expensive, more delicate one to distribute and blend out the product. 

Moving on to the Sigma dupe. This is one of the oldest make-up brushes in my collection and the one that still looks and feels as good as it did when I first got it. In that regard, it's even better than the MAC brush, with which I started noticing the occasional scratch two years down the line. When it comes to the handle, the brushes are pretty much identical, the only difference being that the handle of my Sigma one is a lot shorter, because I have the travel version, as mentioned before. The normal version is obviously longer. I don't know how they would compare in terms of weight, though. My Sigma handle seems more hollow, if that makes sense, so I assume even the regular version is a bit lighter. Now on to the bristles. The size to me is completely the same, but there is a difference in how the hair feels like. The Sigma brush is softer and fluffier, while I find the MAC one more dense. I tend to use MAC's 217 for the initial crease bledning and Sigma's E25 for the outer edge finishing touches.

I really hope these comparisons will help you out with deciding which one to pick up in case you're planning to get a blending brush. I tried to be as detailed as possible, but if I missed something, feel free to drop me a question and I'll make sure to answer it. Also, let me know if you know of any other potential 217 dupes. I've heard that Zoeva's 227 is supposed to be pretty good as well. Maybe I'll pick up that one next...