New Makeup Brushes - Sigma Beauty Premium Kit

I am super psyched to announce that I finally received my Sigma Beauty Premium Kit yesterday!

Of course, after buying that - as well as a Beauty Blender, three Napoleon Perdis Foundation Sticks, two L'Oreal Lumi Magique foundations, three new eyebrow styling kits, a Lime Crime Carousel lip gloss (Cherry on Top), five sets of false lashes, a bottle of Clinique Toner and...you get the picture - last week, my funds are running pretty low and I am now left bumming food from the boyfriend and pleading with my landlord to let me off rent for a few more days, but hey.... my makeup looks damn good.

Anyways, the brushes have literally revolutionized everything I thought I knew about painting my face on...

Seven odd years ago, I graduated from using my fingers to (really cheap) brushes, and once I got used to using tools like a semi-civilized human, I realized it was damn hard to go back to my primal ways.

THAT was like going from walking to riding a bicycle. THIS, on the other hand, is kind of what I imagine driving a Maserati feels like: indulgent, luxurious, exhilarating.

(Okay, I would rather have a Maserati, but I only had a couple of hundred dollars and they laughed me out of the store. Bite me.)

There is very little doubt in my mind that eventually my perpetual dissatisfaction will cause me to upgrade to a  still better set of brushes but for now...?

I am in makeup brush heaven.

When I first received my package, after the obligatory round of squealing, air guitar and jumping up and down, I tried to share my excitement with the boyfriend.

He was not impressed.

In fact, he suggested that I go to the hardware store for some paintbrushes which "feel the same, do basically the same thing, and are wayyyyy cheaper". 

Right. 

Sometimes, the boyfriend just does not get it. 

So anyway...

I tried to hold out long enough to film myself unwrapping them for you guys, but it was too late last night and I just could not wait to try them out. I did take some photos though, and I will definitely put up a review on my YouTube Channel as soon as possible.

This is the F80 Kabuki brush which I got separately

The brushes shed A LOT when you first get them. The best way to deal with that is to wash them fairly vigorously with your favorite brush cleanser or baby shampoo before the first use so that most of the loose hairs can come out...

Just so you know, as I live in Australia and postage from the USA was ridiculously expensive despite the fact that I had a coupon code, I bought the brushes from myqty.com. They arrived within 3-5 business days, in excellent condition, which means that I am quite likely to purchase more stuff from there in the future unless I learn to teleport international shipping gets more affordable.

The Sigma Beauty Premium Kit comes with 15 brushes for the face eyes and lips. (Although I could not afford the whole Kabuki Kit, I also got the F80 Flat Kabuki brush which is awesome and super super soft).

Here is a list of the brushes that come in the kit, which I ripped straight off the Sigma website.

E10 - Small Eye Liner: Precise application of liner. Use with gel or liquid liners. 

E15 - Flat Definer: Sharp and precise application. Press product along upper and lower lash lines to create an easy, thin liner. Works with gel, liquid or powder products. 

E20 - Short Shader: Concentrated color application. Apply color onto small areas of the eye such as the outer eyelid. Also use to smudge the lower lash line. 

E25 - Blending: Controlled blending. Blend colors together onto the lid with added control. Buff out harsh lines for a well blended effect. 

E35 - Tapered Blending: Controlled application of crease color. Using just the tip of the brush to pick up color, apply directly onto the crease and sweep through. Effect is blended, but defined. 

E45 - Small Tapered Blending: Precise color application onto the crease. Picking up color with just the tip of the brush, apply intense colors to the crease to add depth and dimension to the eye. 

E50 - Large Fluff: Controlled highlighting. Apply highlighting shades onto the brow bone or upper cheekbone. Gives a soft and blended finish. 

F10 - Powder/Blush: Precise placement of blush. Use for powder application. 

F15 - Duo Fibre Powder/Blush: Soft blush application. Generates a diffused blush application. Works especially well with mineral product for a natural and delicate effect. 

F20 - Large Powder: Controlled bronzer application. Bronzing of the cheekbones and temple area. Using the flat side gives definition and control. 

F25 - Tapered Face: Exact product placement onto cheeks. Apply powder, blush or contour shades onto the cheeks and temples. Tapered shape gives exact placement of product. 

F35 - Tapered Highlighter: Subtle highlighting. Apply highlighting shades onto the upper contours of the face. Diffused finish gives skin a natural glow. 

F65 - Large Concealer: Conceal larger areas of the face or body. Works well with liquid or cream products. 

F75 - Concealer: Precise product placement. Use around the lip area to conceal when wearing bold lip colors. 

L05 - Lip: Precise application of color onto the lips. Use the firm edge to define and contour the lips. 

I am dying to tell you what I think of each brush individually... But, as I have already written a small novel, I will save that for another post :)

Thank you for reading, you guys rock my world!

Love always, 

 Tatiana
PS: Please share my blog so I can eventually become a full time blogger and never have to wear pants to work again! 

Another one for the nail files

Napoleon Perdis is one of my favourite makeup brands, but I never really thought to try their nail polish.

As I don’t wear nail polish very often, when I do, I tend to stick to the obvious brands, Revlon, OPI, and Dior are some of my favorites, mostly because they have awesome marketing I already know about them.

Similarly, I tend to buy makeup based on brands I already know, or on recommendations from people.

This incidentally, is how I became addicted to Napoleon Perdis, after someone bought me ONE product and I realised how fantastic their makeup was, it made it really hard to go back to drugstore brands which are way harder to apply without looking like you are ran away from clown school.

Incidentally, before I go on to praise Napoleon Perdis any further, I would like to point out that I actually don’t really like shopping in their stores as their staff have a tendency to be slightly extremely pushy.

Obviously, this is not true of all their staff and some of the girls are brilliant, but on the whole, I have found that when I go in there, I need to have a good idea of what I want, a firm budget in mind and the words “no, thank you” at the ready.

Which was evidently not the case when I went to Myer this weekend “for a quick look”.

With a vague notion that I wanted a new blush and really did not want to do my uni assignment, I wandered in and asked the girl to make me pretty. 

Which she did. 

And then showed me the 1249 products it had taken her to make me look like I was wearing nothing at all.

Of course, I had to have everything.

After handing over my life savings and signing away a couple of my unborn children, I left with a huge smile on my carefully constructed face, holding a new contour palette, a new brush, as well as a lovely gift set including a huge makeup bag, a nail polish, a small foundation and a new primer, a blush (success!), and a surprisingly large tube of lip gloss.

So far, I am pleasantly surprised with all the products.

Napoleon Perdis Nail Polish - Biscotti

As you may have guessed, I am not a patient person, so I really like that this nail polish dries super-fast despite the fact that I messed up a few times and so ended up with about three coats on.

It is a nice matte color, and the nude shade is subtle and lengthens my fingers, which is always a bonus.

Two days after application with no base or top coat, I only had one small chip on my right index finger which I only noticed hours after I got home as it is such a discrete color.

Overall, I really like it and will definitely be buying other shades as they are fairly reasonably priced (about $16 online).

I tried it out with a shiny top coat as well, as I wanted to see what the result would be, but unfortunately forgot to take photos.

I used Seche-Vite Dry Fast Top Coat, which I love not just because it is super glossy and very forgiving on people who aren't super careful with their nail application, but also because it really lives up to its name and dries extremely fast.

I normally apply it about 30 seconds after my second coat of nail polish, and within a couple of minutes, my nails are touch-dry.

Win.

In this case unfortunately, the beauty of the nail polish is the matte finish and I did not really like it as much with the glossy coat. I thought it made it look a little ordinary and boring...


As this is a nail-related post, I might hold off a little longer on reviewing the other stuff, but I am getting to it, I promise!

Love always,

Tatiana