Monday, February 22, 2010

Sigma Professional Brushes Eye Kit Review & Eye Shadow! Lots of Photos!

Sigma Professional Brushes Eye Kit

"7 professional quality brushes for the eye. Perfect to apply, shade, blend, and dust the eye with color and texture."- Sigma makeup







Click HERE to view the product description for these brushes. It explains what each brush is intended for.

I was SO excited to receive these brushes in the mail. I don't own many brushes and I don't make brush purchases very often, but new brushes are so exciting for me. Having a good quality brush makes me feel better about applying my makeup. As I'm sure it does for everybody. I've always been interested in trying Sigma brushes because I've heard so many bloggers RAVE about these and they're much more affordable than high-end brushes (MAC, Sephora, Etc). Onto my review!

Review: The first thing I noticed about these brushes are the QUALITY. Just from having them in my hands, the handle is so sturdy and heavier than all of my drugstore/cheapie brushes. They feel pretty much identical to a MAC brush. The shape of the handle is exactly the same as the MAC brushes as well. (All of the Sigma brushes correspond to the MAC brush #'s) They are very easy to handle and don't get in the way of application. The 1st brush I tried out was the SS266 (Small Angle Brush) I started using it to apply my every day cream eye liner (I've been using Stila Black Smudgepot) and I use it to blend my brows after I've applied my brow pencil. What I really like about this brush is that you can get a VERY precise line with it. The brush is very dense, but very soft. It doesn't bend while applying which makes it so much easier to achieve the most pigmentation. I don't wash it every day.. maybe once a week and I get absolutely no product build up on the brush and it doesn't harden. I'm not positive if it's because of the brush or the liner I'm using. I'm impressed. The 2nd brush I tried was the ss219 (pencil brush) which is pretty much identical to the MAC 219. I honestly like the Sigma 219 better. Its slightly smaller and it's more dense, so my outcome ends up being better. With my MAC brush, it would start to get fluffy and not keep its shape after uses, but this brush keeps its shape. I've been using this to blend shadows in my crease or to smudge eyeshadow on my lash line. I LOVE this brush. The next brush I tried (I can't believe I recall the order of which I tried these.. they were all different days. lol) was the ss252 (Large Shader Brush). I haven't tried the MAC 252, So I can't compare them.. but they look exactly the same. I've been using this every day to set my concealer under my eyes. After I applied my foundation, I swipe this across my MAC Medium skin finish & BE Well Rested and apply it under my eyes and it smooths the powder on so perfectly. I would usually use my MAC 224 for this, but the ss252 actually works better. It applies a little bit more product (probably because it's a lot more dense than the MAC 224) I can also see myself using this to apply concealer or to apply an all over color on my lids. I love this brush. Finally, I used the rest of the brushes at the same one day to create a dramatic eyeshadow look. I used the ss239 (Eye Shading Brush) to apply color to my lid (which works very well to build color) & the ss224 (a little bigger than the MAC 224) to blend the color better, ss219 to apply color in my lid crease, the ss275 (Medium Angled Shading Brush) to blend my crease color into the color I applied all over my lid & to apply my highlight. I then used the ss266 to apply my liner on my lash line and the ss209 (Eyeliner Brush) to apply liner to my waterline.

Overall, I am SO happy with these brushes. You can not beat the quality of these for the price. This whole set only costs $39! You can't even buy 2 MAC brushes for that price. I highly recommend these & when I have a little extra money, I'm 100% going to purchase Sigma's face brushes.

Also, I have one little review for an eye shadow that was included..

Sigma Indian Girl Eye Shadow






IndianGirl is a shimmery charcoal. Once applied, it has a very slight purplish bluish sheen. The consistency of the eye shadow is finely milled and very soft. The pigmentation is pretty good. It's not super pigmented, but its also not too sheer. I would recommend using a base or applying this wet for extra pigmentation. I would compare it to a NYX single eye shadow. I've been using this a lot lately as an eye liner with a small brush or as a daytime subtle smokey eye (not all over my lid, just smudged into my lash line). I would be interested in trying other shades.

Have you tried anything from Sigma!? Please Share!


Sunday, February 21, 2010

MAC Viva Glam Gaga Lipstick Review, Photos and Swatches!

mac viva glam gaga

 MAC Viva Glam Gaga Lipstick


I was so excited when I heard news that Lady Gaga was doing a collab with MAC for Viva Glam. Lady Gaga is one of my favorite artists out right now, so I couldn't wait for the lipstick to hit MAC counters.

Viva Glam Gaga is a light, blue based pink with a Lustre finish. If you own MAC Snob or Saint Germain, this is almost identical to them (but sheerer than the two). 

It's the most flattering on light complexions, and a little light on dark complexions. When I'm tan, I find it a hard shade to pull off, but being that it's a Lustre finish, it's fairly sheer, which makes it easier to wear.

mac gaga lipstick
 MAC Viva Glam Gaga

As with all of MAC Viva Glam Lipsticks, 100% of the proceeds goes to MAC Aids Fund (for more info, visit http://www.macaidsfund.org). So, if you don't like the lipstick, your money is still going to a great cause.

MAC Viva Glam Gaga

It's not actually all that bad on my lips. It's a little too blue for my coloring, but I can definitely layer a warmer pink lipgloss over top for it to suit me better.

mac viva glam gaga swatch
Viva Glam Gaga on my lips.

Did you pick up Viva Glam Gaga or Cyndi?

Thursday, February 11, 2010

NOTD: Essie Mink Muffs!

Two (2) coats of Essie Mink Muffs (No top coat)
Mink Muffs is a creamy "milk chocolate" brown. It's very similar to OPI's You Don't Know Jacques!, but it's less gray toned than You Don't Know Jacques! and slightly more brown. 

It's a really lovely color and the formula is great - very creamy; not too thick, and is completely opaque with two coats. I also typically get a full weeks wear out of this polish.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

FOTD, and very bouncy curls! :)




I wanted to do something a little different with my hair. So, when I got out of the shower, I applied a little Sebastian Wet Hair Gel and let my hair air dry. Once it dried, I took a 1" barrel and took thin sections of hair (about a 1/4-1/2 wide) and twisted the strand and wrapped it tightly around the barrel. I held it for around 5 seconds each and did that for all of my hair. It gives my hair a really pretty defined, wavy curl instead of a "lock" that clamping my hair in the barrel would. I finished it off with a few spritz of Paul Mitchell Freeze and Shine Hair Spray. Because my hair is naturally curly, my hair held the shape of the curls from the iron so well. I actually did my hair last night and went to sleep with it and I didn't have to touch it up all day! I'll be doing this more often (and add in my extensions).

Here's whats on my face-

Anastasia Beverly Hills Sheer Moisture Cream spf30
Make Up Forever HD Foundation #128
MAC Select Cover-up NW25
Make Up Forever HD Powder (I've been trying this out.. I don't really like it)
MAC Fad-dabulous Mineralize Blush
Chanel Bronze Universel

Stila Black Smudge Pot
MAC Typographic Eyeshadow
Cargo TexasLash Mascara
MAC Vanilla Pigment (In the corners of my eyes)
Cargo Reversible Lip Pencil (On my waterline)
Ardell 111's (Cut in half)

MAC Oak Lip Liner Pencil
Smashbox Sand Lip Gloss
Cargo Reverible Lip Liner (used to define the shape of my lips)