Makeup your mind

This weekend, as I was helping the boyfriend review one of his assignments, he pointed out that I am ridiculously good at words.

Having learned to speak when I was a child, and not paid too much attention to the skill since then, I did point out that I would have preferred a compliment on my hair, or, if that was too far fetched, maybe a nice comment on my teeth or ears.

The boyfriend quickly pointed out that he was, in fact, in awe of my ability to write, that he thought I was an absolute genius (some creative license taken with his words here) and that I should consider writing a book.

Ten minutes later, inspiration struck me: “Boyfriend”, I whispered gleefully, “I just had the best idea! I think I should write a book!”

Being the kind of person he is, the boyfriend did not complain about my blatant theft of his initial suggestion. He smiled back and replied that I really was a genius and that I had the best ideas ever.

When I excitedly asked him if he would be willing to put up with me being unemployed while writing this book, despite the fact that I have so far given up on almost every project I have ever undertaken, the boyfriend smiled and said he believed in me.

At the risk of sounding like a smug brat, I have to say it:

My boyfriend is the best, ever.

The whole encounter basically shamed me into writing this post, as I have completely neglected my blog over the last few weeks, mostly because I was so worried that people would not like it that I stopped writing altogether, ‘just in case’.

Which brings me to this whole book writing thing...

On the one hand, I am painfully aware that I have many projects happening at the moment which I should probably be focusing on; but on the other hand, I really really really want to write a book!

And the boyfriend said I could!

So there!

In completely unrelated news, I finally signed up to NIDA acting classes last week, and I didn't even ask the boyfriend whether or not he thought it was a good idea before hitting the ‘confirm payment’ button. 

That’s right: I am an adult! 

I made a decision! 

After I finished congratulating myself, I did remember that I was writing a makeup blog and should therefore probably share my latest and greatest find with you all. 

So without further ado, here it is, the Sigma Defining Eyes Palette by TiffanyD (US $55).

I ordered this online a couple of weeks ago from the US, mostly because it was on sale at the time, and because, having never before tried Sigma makeup, I was intrigued. 

So far, I have been pleasantly surprised by the great value that I got with this palette. 

Not only are the eye shadow colors absolutely beautiful, the palette comes with a dual ended eyeliner pencil (blue and white), a dual ended sigma brush, as well as two pots of gel eyeliner (brown and black). 

Essentially everything you need to create a number of diverse day and night looks in one box.

  

Top row: (from left to right) 'In the dark', 'Midnight', 'Fog', 'Halo'

Bottom row: 'Brunette', 'Chestnut', 'Smoke',' Beam'.

The box also includes a small booklet with five fairly simple looks and instructions on how to replicate them. I have tried a number of these at home and unfortunately, they have not turned out quite as perfect, but I cannot tell if it is skill that I am lacking, or if maybe the instructions are not 100% complete. 

Mostly, I don't believe the brushes included with the palette are enough to create these looks with the same precision, and the colors have definitely been enhanced a little bit too much for my taste in the photos.

They do not 'pop' quite as much in real life. 

Overall though, I really love this palette, as mentioned above the colors are beautiful (my favorite is the midnight blue, which looks absolutely stunning when smudged thinly along the lower lash line and paired with a black winged eyeliner on the upper lid), and the gel liners are easy to apply and do not smudge over the course of the day. 

I like that the palette includes a mix of shimmery and matte eye shadows, and particularly like the fact that the two matte colors are the dark brown and black ones, as I find it easier to wear darker colors to my corporate job if they are matte. 

The shimmery ones, unless they are fairly subtle, I like to save for outside work. 

'Beam' is the perfect color to highlight the inner corner of your eyes, while I prefer to use 'Halo' as a base color to blend some of the darker ones into. 

I absolutely love 'Chestnut' and 'Smoke' for their metallic shimmer, and while 'Fog' is not my favorite (that particular shade of grey doesn't do wonders for my skin tone), I must say that these are all great colors which are easy to apply and blend even if you don't know too much about makeup. 

Really happy with this one. 

I will definitely be buying more Sigma makeup in the future.

The next item on my shopping list right now though is this Sigma Brush Collection Premium Kit.

Please comment down below if you have tried Sigma makeup and want to let me know what you think of it, or if you have written a book, or even if you just generally want to say hello. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this, as always, I love knowing that you guys care to read about what's happening in my world.  

Love always, 

Tatiana