Sigma brush set

On black Friday back in November, Sigma offered free worldwide postage on their website so obviously I took advantage of this and purchased the synthetic kabuki brush kit. I mainly wanted to try the F80 flat kabuki but the kit was just such fantastic value.

With the kit I also got a blending brush free, which was lovely. I do have the Mac 217 but you can never have too many blending brushes.

Here is a close up view of all the brushes:
F84

F80

F86

F82

The brushes are so densely packed I thought that they would absorb all the product, but they spread foundation so smoothly and give an amazing coverage, even with lightweight products like tinted moisturisers. The bristles are super soft and fine. I have found these brushes work really well with liquid foundations and cream brushes, but don't really seem work as well with powders.

So far my favourite brush has been the F80 and the F84, the only one I don't really use at all is the pointed F86 because I don't really get what its for. If anyone's got any tips leave a comment below.

When you wash these brushes you have to be careful not to use too much shampoo as they lather up alot and hold the product in the bristles.

If anyones looking for a great brush to quickly and flawlessly apply foundation I would really recommend the F80 and the F84 its just annoying that sigma is so hard to get hold of in the UK.

August Favourites

WOW, I've actually been organised enough to do a August favourites when its actually close enough to August for it to be acceptable. So here are the bits that I have been loving this past month, sorry in advance for being a total Benefit whore!

No7 Lipstick in Grace, I think this was from last summers limited edition collection called 'St Tropez'. I love this lipstick so much, I will actually cry when it finishes, god dam you limited editions! Shouldn't really tell you all about it as there is no way you can have it haha but the texture is so silky like a balm, the colour is just the most perfect 'my lips but better' pinky nude colour and if any one can recommend a dupe from the swatch I'll love you forever.

Benefit, They're real mascara. Honestly this really is the best mascara I have ever tried! The lengthening effect is amazing without the lashes looking all spidery. The true test was that naughty me fell asleep with all my makeup on last night, and its so long wearing it was unscathed this morning, no sign of any rub off either! You can see a full review here... http://confessionsofacosmetic-aholic.blogspot.com/2011/08/benefit-theyre-real.html

Benefit Browzings in Medium. If the 23 year old me told the 15 year old me that I would be obsessed with making my eyebrows dark I would have laughed in my face. It was so uncool to have big eyebrows when I was younger, I used to even bleach mine to make them lighter. Browzings is a wax and a powder that you mix together and apply to your brows with a brush. I just prefer it to a pencil, it gives a much stronger look.

Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer. I bought this sample size tinted moisturiser in America because I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I really love it, makes my skin look so dewy, the colour is slightly light but nothing abit of bronzer cant fix and it gives really good coverage for a TM. It doesn't last that well but I've never really found a tinted moisturiser that has. I will definitely be buying this full size, even though its crazy expensive.
Benefit, That Gal face primer. I had forgotten how good this product actually is. I have dry skin so silica based primers seem to dry my skin out, this one is a cream base for brightening the skin. It makes my foundation last all day, and its stays looking 'just applied' all day. It really improves long lasting foundations like Double Wear which can dry out during the day. I'd seriously recommend if you have dry skin to try this product.

These are the two brushes I'm obsessed with at the moment. (Top) The stippling brush is some cheapo brand called 'Royal and Langnickel' but I wanted to see if I would use a stipple before I invested. I use it for everything, foundation, cream blusher, powder! I will be purchasing the Mac version very soon.

(Bottom) The contour blush brush from Sephora. I absolutely love the Sephora brushes, I think they could possibly be better than MAC ones (in my opinion). I use this one for contouring bronzer, I apply bronzer to the side of the brush then apply under the cheek bones. I might also get the ELF version of this brush because I've heard other people say they use it for foundation, but I wouldn't want to get oils in my powder brush.

Thank you for reading, What have been your August favourites?

NYX purchases

When I was in Hawaii I had to check out NYX after I had seen a few bits on Adrienne Adore's . Here are the bits I bought. The jumbo lip pencil in 'Coffee' and this flat face brush. Although the brush is meant to be for foundation I have been using it as a counter powder brush, for which it works really nicely. The lip pencil is actually really really nice for saying it was some crazy cheap price. Its very creamy, and almost like a balm in texture, the colour is strong, but not so opaque that it looks like foundation.

The name 'coffee' is really misleading, its actually a light baby pink, with a slight peach colour.
Here is is on, I think it would look better if I was wearing heavy eye make up, because it is a very wash out colour.If you ever do a USA swap I would really recommend picking out one of these pencils, they had a HUGE range of colours.

5 things I'm loving this week...

These are 5 things that I'm totally in love with this week! I got back from a short break in New York so there is a little bit of a theme to the items :-P...

1. Illamasqua powder blusher - in Tremble

This is my first ever Illamasqua product that I have bought, and it was from my favourite all time ever shop... Sephora! The texture is really soft and the pigment is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. If you want bright, this range is for you. The colour is described as 'soft lilac, pink', but I think it has a little coral tone to it.

2. Sephora, Advanced airbrush, brush set.

Another Sephora buy, I had heard great things about their brushes and thought I would give them a go. The foundation and concealer are so dense, which means they absorb alot of product but they really do give an airbrush finish. Really really highly recommend these to any one in the states! I haven't tried the eye brushes yet, it will be interesting to see how they perform being synthetics.

3. Le Pliage bag from Lonhchamp

Possibly the most impractical, practical bag anyone has ever bought. The bag folds away into a little tiny envelope shape on the other hand its white! but I love it and shall kill the person who gets the first mark on it. I got this at JFK airport.

4. Kate Middleton's Wedding dress
Seriously woman its like you went inside Sarah Burton's brain and stole my perfect wedding dress! Snaps for doing the makeup herself what a beauty!

5. My new glasses. Rayban wayfarer glasses and Rayban large aviator sunglassesIt feel like I've been waiting half a year for these bad boys and to be able to see properly again.

5 things I'm not loving...

1. The end of the only way is Essex :-(

2. Constantly double booking myself

3. My messy room

4. That we don't have Sephora in the UK (although if we did this post would have been 100 things I'm loving this week)

5. Wrinkles, I'm starting to get them on my forehead grrr

How wrong I was....

I was recently introduced to pixi woo, (www.fashionface.tv ) by a friend from work, and basically spent a whole day watching their tutorials. I saw a few brushes that they constantly used and thought I would try them out. The main one I have used so far is the Mac 217 blending brush (£15).

Now to be perfectly honest I've never really "got" the whole Mac thing, Ive tried a few of their products and liked them but at my local store I find the staff rather unhelpful and abit intimidating so I've been kind of put off. However, I bought these brushes online and the service was bloody amazing, haha, really short sign up form and then they were delivered in 2 days, and all for about £3, which is cheaper than getting to my nearest Mac store.

The 217 brush its self is absolutely hands down the best thing I have ever bought from Mac, and certainly the best brush I have ever bought. Its used for blending colours together, and really good for blending darker colours into the crease line of the eye. The brush is really soft and hardly removes any colour so it spreads really well.

If you are trying to create blended or contoured eyes or looking for a good starting brush for your kit its most definitely worth the money. Watch this space for the other 2 brushes I bought...