Sigma Brushes Review

Hello :) It's already the middle of the week! I hope everyone's having a good week so far.

I've decided to share with you guys a small review on 3 Sigma brushes that were sent to me from Erin of Sigma Beauty. Sigma is a very well-known online store that sells high-quality brushes for reasonably low prices. They have a large range of brushes and you can buy various brush sets or individual brushes.

I'm affiliated with Sigma Beauty and so she has kindly provided me with some brushes to review and talk about on my blog. I had always been really curious about Sigma brushes since many beauty gurus use them and rave about their quality.

I was able to choose to either have 1 full-sized brush or 2 travel-sized brushes of my choice. I decided to have 2 travel-sized brushes to fit with my mini set of brushes and to have a more informative review :)

Firstly I'm going to review the 2 mini brushes that I got. I can assure that these will be my honest opinions and being given them free of charge will not affect my thoughts on these brushes. Trust me okay? =]

So the brushes I chose were the Sigma SS187 and the SS168. Yes, I don't get the numbering and the naming either but fortunately Sigma have now made the names simpler.

To be more specific I got the Duo Fibre brush and the Large Angled Contour brush.

I was very happy to receive it so quick and it came in a red pouch in the package bag

It came with brochures of their brush ranges, brush cleaning tips and of course, the brushes!

♥ Pink! My favourite colour

♥ Neatly wrapped with clear brush guards that can be re-used

♥ Travel-sized but the head of the brush is like a regular

I was really excited to try out these brushes since I have never owned any Sigma brushes before and these were the brushes that I was wanting to get to add to my set x]

Duo Fibre (black and white hair)

Large Angled Contour (white hair)

Duo Fibre SS187, now known as the F50

On the site:

Specially designed to generate an ‘airbrushed’ finish when used to apply liquid foundation. It can also be used to apply blush, highlight shades and loose pigments. Blend of synthetic and natural bristles.

Pros:

I used it to apply foundation and I really liked how the brush strokes assisted with blending really well onto my skin. I felt that it gave me an 'airbrushed finish' as the foundation application was very light from using patting and dabbing motions with the brush. It didn't make my foundation streaky at all and each stroke covered a fairly large proportion on my face. For a travel-sized brush, it's just like a regular-sized one with a shorter handle. I can definitely see how it is considered to be a high-quality brush as there was minimal shedding and no bleeding whatsoever. This brush is silky-smooth and very gentle for your face.

Cons:

Duo Fibre brushes don't work as well as normal flat foundation brushes when the foundation formula is a velvet creme. I currently use Revlon Colorstay Velvet Creme Matte make-up which is thicker than liquid foundation, but thinner than a mousse foundation. The dabbing motions weren't enough to give me an even coverage so I needed to use sweeping motions. The sweeping motions weren't as effective for me as a foundation brush, and a foundation brush caters for a variety of foundation textures.

After washing the brush, the bristles weren't as white as they originally were, but still very clean. I scrubbed a lot to try to remove as much of the foundation colour as I could but it made the bristles more messy while drying. It's still silky smooth which is the best thing about it!

Glad to have the clear brush guard to help maintain its shape

Overall I am really pleased with this brush :D

4/5

Duo Fibre SS168, now known as the F50

On the site:

The angled shape makes this brush ideal to apply blush or contour shades. Natural bristles.

Pros:

Instead of using it to contour, I used to to apply blush to my cheeks. The brush hair being angled allows more precise application of blush and the brush being so fluffy and soft makes it easier to sweep blush onto the cheeks and blend out if the pigmentation is too much. With this brush, blush can be applied lightly and a few swirls of blush from a pan is enough for the brush to apply it onto both cheeks! It really helped with applying blush right under my cheek bones :) It's a large contoured brush on a travel-sized brush handle.

Cons:

There's actually nothing negative to say about the brush itself except for after washing (just like the Duo Fibre brush). The hair doesn't have the most pleasant scent however it is not a problem and it is bearable :) After washing, the hairs do get messy even after using the brush guard.

You can't really see it here but it's more puffy than it originally was! Still silky-soft :D

Again I really liked this brush overall. No shedding nor bleeding!

5/5

They're almost good as new ^_^

You may have picked up on me saying that I am going to be reviewing 3 brushes. That's true but I had no idea that I was going to be sent a third!

Anyway, you may have this seen on my sidebar my Sigma banner. If not, this is what it looks like:

If you make a purchase of $30 or more on Sigma, you get a free gift and this is the free gift that you'd get:

You get a FREE travel-sized blending brush :) It's shiny silver

So if you're interested in purchasing brushes from Sigma and you spend over $30, you now know that you'll be getting blending brush so you won't have to buy one! I had always been rather curious about the gift. I'm happy that I now know and I'm to share it with you guys :] I'll also review this brush.

Blending E25

This brush isn't on the site so there's no description and I guess that means that it's rare to have this one :D Exclusive for those who spend $30+

Pros:

It is used to blend out harsh lines or just to blend eyeshadow colours together. I love how it's so fluffy and soft and it's just like a regular-sized brush head... or maybe not so regular since it looks quite large for a blending brush! Very generous with the amount of hair x] However the large amount of hair makes blending really easy.

I have no problems with it! Even after washing, the bristles remained normal. I guess this is why it doesn't have it's own brush guard. The shape is maintained on its own.

Overall it's great and I'd be really pleased to purchase this, let alone having this as the free gift!

5/5

All the brushes can be kept in my pink brush set pouch which I blogged about in this post

Pink for the win! Yay

I just kicked out my large powder brush from the set since I don't use powder on my face.

So there you go. I hope this post gave you a better idea about Sigma and perhaps made you become more interested in purchasing Sigma brushes. If you are interested, click here

xo Jen ^-^

Shopping Bargains - Haul

Hey :) So I went shopping on Sunday with my mum and I managed to pick up quite a few nice things. The main purpose for shopping was to use my brother's $100 Westfield XS Gift Card that he won. Sounds a little strange but my brother hardly ever goes shopping so the card really had no use to him. He said that there's nothing to buy o_o Uhh... it's the total opposite for me! Is it common for guys to not like shopping? Hmm, but I reckon my boyfriend is fine with shopping. He may not go as often as I do but he did go shopping with me in town last year for Christmas :D

Here's the card and I'm covering my face because I'm still a bit sunburnt :( See this post if you have no idea

Face is still a pink :(

It matches my pyjamas though x]

Blah my hair is so messy ;[

How to reduce the appearance of sunburn or get rid of it altogether? I know I could use foundation and concealer but I want it to be gone, not covered up!

My brother had the card since October 2009 and these gift cards last for a year. It's almost the end of September 2010... approaching October 2010 this week so... if it weren't for my mum and I, it would have been left unused! D: As a self-confessed shopaholic, having a gift card of that amount is would be one of the awesomest things ever. If it were mine it would have been used in a flash! I remember how my mum kept pestering my brother to use the card but he kept saying that he will. Turns out he never used it and when he did try, the shops that he went to wouldn't approve it. Fail. That specific card is not accepted in stores that use a different card called the Coles Myer Gift Card.

Both my mum and I love shopping so we were happy to use the abandoned gift card. It was all fine and dandy until my brother said that my mum had to pay him back for using the card -__- My mum gave him $90 as she had thought that the card does not compensate for the same amount in cash however, he wasn't happy with getting $10 less T___T" He then turned to me and asked for $10, which I actually didn't have =/ I only had $5 so that was all I gave him. GRR I still reckon he shouldn't have gotten anything! The card was going to be left unused, hmph.

These are my receipts from the day lol

Haha they're all so long - because of the eftpos gift card being used for the transactions, not because I bought so much!

I still like to think that the card being almost expired had nothing to do with my mum and I going shopping on Sunday. The start of the school holidays on Monday (the next day) so that's my reason for going :) And snatching up the bargains before all the school holiday people :D

It was great and I'm so pleased with my purchases, as I stated on my Twitter that day haha. My mum told me that sales are always happening around the September/October school holidays, and I reckon she's right about that. I managed to buy many things which added up to be less than the $100 gift card ^__^ But of course, it was all used up until there was only 10 cents left on it!

Shopping with my mum really prevents me from purchasing any beauty/make-up products x) She says I don't need it and it's better to buy clothes (lasts longer I suppose). I ended up buying clothing, a pair of shoes and jewellery which I am really happy about. I need a bit of a break from buying make-up since I have used up a lot of my pocket money on that :S I feel so broke now haha...

Cotton On

2 cardigans for $30

Actually, the lady at the counter mistakenly made these 2 for $15 LOL yes, it's like I bought 1 and got 1 free! Hahaha

I decided to get a coral one to liven up some of my outfits since most of my cardigans and jackets are dark, except for my cream-coloured one shown in this post. These are really thin which is good for Spring/Autumn to wear over a singlet.

Cotton On

2 Shirts for $15

I like how the sleeves are 3/4 and the black shirt's design at the back. Looks like a bow shape. I like bows. The white spotty shirt was the last one left at Cotton On and I like how it's puffy at the shoulders. It's nicer than something plain :)

Jayjays

2 for $15

Seems like the '2 for $15' sale is common within clothes shops! I like the t-shirt on the left :) It says 'Femme Fatale' which I believe is French but I have no idea what it means :[ Hmm... does anyone know French here? What does Femme Fatale mean? I hope it's nothing bad :S

If it is something bad then I could always cover it up xD

Just joking x] Showing how this particular cardigan looks like when worn over a top. Again it's very thin and I like the style. Nothing like I've seen before.

What really captured me about this top was the pink sequined lace on the girl's dress :) I'm a fan of lace and for me lace screams out elegance and elegance is pure bliss.

So pretty!

It looks like some black beads are missing but that's just the style

Strandbags

$24

Not bad for $24 ay? I really needed a new hand bag but nothing too big. For me this is the perfect size and it was on sale from $40 :) I love the style of it and I especially love how there are so many zip compartments :D At the front there are 4! Inside there are plenty too hehe.

Equip

$5 and under sale (on selected items)

3 items for $15

Sparkly :) Big fan of beaded, crystal, jewel and charm bracelets

I love it when jewellery goes on sale for as low as $5 a piece! I already have a good amount of necklaces and earrings (since they're one size fits all) so I picked up some lovely bracelets that were able to fit nicely around my wrist :) You probably don't know this but I have a very small wrist and also thin fingers so it's always hard for me to find bracelets that can comfortably wrap around my wrist and not move around too much. With rings, even the small sized rings are big for me :( So I usually opt for the kiddie jewellery, even though they're more childish :/ If not I have to wear a more tightly-fitted ring over it to prevent it from slipping off.

I have quite a few adjustable rings and chained bracelets where the hook can attach to a tighter loop of the chain however, that doesn't look as nice when there's a bit of it dangling out. With these ones I can wear them without having any worries, yay!

My mum bought a pack of 3 earrings for $5 but I don't have a picture :P

Last but not least:

Rubi Shoes

$10

After reading Tezza's post of her bargain buys and her $5 Rubi heels, I couldn't resist not going there ;D Not living in the same city as Tezza is a bummer as I was not able to get the bargain as good as hers but in the end, I did purchase something ^.^

These were the last pair there and my mum found them!

Shiny gold =]

Short heels

Perfect for the Summer, weeeee~

Shopping is so fun and I love getting new things. Thankfully my purse was unaffected as I didn't spend a single cent, all thanks to mummy dearest

♥

I hope everyone's had a nice start to the week despite it being a Monday. Great for people on holiday though because it has just started!

I'll leave you now with an NOTD using Bourjois Nail Enamel in 56 and 61 and nail art stickers

Right hand

Left hand (had to use a different nail art design)

Darker pink (56) used on the nail

Lighter pink (61) for the tips

Looks a little clumsy and messy :(

First time using nail stickers

I am clearly a nail art noob! Haha

I can't exactly show a FOTD due to my sunburn but here's a polaroid that was taken last Friday at school with my friend

Case of deja vu from the first pic? Hehe

I want a polaroid camera :)

I'll blog again very soon! Hopefully my face's sunburn will clear up in a matter of days. Take care y'all

xo Jennifer

4 Things Tag

Yay, I received a tag from the lovely Lene from everythingism.net :D I like doing tag posts because they're always so fun and it's a great way to let blog readers know more about you =]

Lene created this banner. Please ask her for permission if you plan to use this for your 4 things tag

So the tag rules are:

- Link the person from whom you received the tag

- Give 4 answers to each question

- Tag 4 other bloggers

- Let them know you tagged them

If you're interested to know more about me, then continue reading ^_^

4 Things in my bag/purse:

★ Sticker photos

★ Morning Glory VIP card

★ Wallet card from my boyfriend (Valentine's Day 2010!)

★ Fan Di Fendi Perfume card

4 Things I found in my office desk drawer:

★ Box of Christmas/Birthday cards

★ Notebook

★ External hard drive

★ Morning Glory sticky tabs

I don't have an office desk drawer so these are just from my bedside table drawer

4 Favourite things in my room:

★ My laptop (16th birthday present)

★ Earrings holder (17th birthday present)

★ Circle lens collection

★ Make-up strorage drawers

4 Things I’ve always wanted to do:

★ Travel around the world

★ Have a pet dog.. counts as doing right? Haha

★ Have braces/straighten teeth (my teeth are generally straight but i want them to be perfectly straight!)

★ Record a song at a recording studio

4 Things I’m currently into:

★ Blogging (thanks to you guys ^_^)

★ Penpals

★ Nail art

★ Make-up

4 Things I bet you didn’t know about me:

★ I'm just over 160cm (5 foot something)

★ I have a good memory for things except for school-related stuff like facts and information

★ I still have a baby tooth that just won't move. It's probably going to stay with me for a very long time... it's super strong

★ I haven't had anything professionally done except for having my ears pierced and my hair cut and styled

4 Songs I can’t get out of my head:

★ 2NE1 - Go Away

★ Bed Intruder Song - Antoine Dodson

★ Ke$ha - Take it off

★ Katy Perry - Teenage Dream

To follow the rules I'm going to have to tag 4 people but I tag all of you who want to do this! Please link me your post once you've done it :)

I'll list 4 names

★ Annie

★ Pink Orchids (Steph)

★ Marie

★ Pixie

xx Jen

Updates + OOTD

Hello! I've jumped back on the blogwagon :) Haha, anyway I haven't been able to read blog updates because my internet has been so slow for the past 5 days. In Australia, we get capped internet which means that when we reach a certain amount of downloads (GB) for the month, the net becomes really slow! Nothing loads or it all takes ages to load which is so frustrating :( I hope Australia can be a little more like the US or other places in the world that don't have capped internet! I'd love to know, do you have unlimited internet?

So how are we all? I hope you're well. This post will just be an update of what I've been up to in the past couple of weeks. Not much though because I've been going to school.

Thanks for all the wonderful feedback from my last post :) I'll definitely have another FOTD and OOTD on my blog.

Last week I went to David Jones to collect my free sample of the Esteè Lauder Pleasures Bloom Eau De Parfum. I was sent this voucher by email from Marie Claire (Magazine):

To my Australian readers, sorry if it's not big enough for to print out and use. But if it is, feel free to use it ^__^ However you can email if you'd like the proper-sized one.

David Jones is an department store but has a lot of high-end brands. The lady that served me was really nice, and I mean really nice. She had a smile on her face and she happily took a sample from the drawer and handed it to me. She said "enjoy using this" instead of something typical like "here you go, see ya later".

For me it's not an addictive scent but I like it and would use it :] The scent is not overpowering and is suitable for young women. It smells very floral!

Have you tried this Esteè Lauder perfume or any other from Esteè Lauder? What did you think of it?

Something also perfume-related was when I was looking for my friend's birthday present (the 18th I went to last week). I went in Myer (another department store like David Jones) to look for perfume and ladies there approached me and ask whether I'd like to have a sprayed sample of it on a card. That day I collected so many different ones! I put them all in my wallet to make it smell nice inside hehe.

One lady had the Fan di Fendi perfume but instead of just giving me a sprayed card, she also gave me a wristband of the perfume sprayed on it at least 5 times! The perfume is still quite strong haha

I don't know if I'd wear this out in public but it's cool

I've also been to Morning Glory a few times in the past few weeks and these are some things that I bought:

Rose mirror :) I've never had a mirror with a handle on it. It's so cute and it's great for applying eye make-up

Pig Rabbit!! You might think it's a little weird but it's the replica of the Pig Rabbit in the Korean drama 'You're Beautiful'

What it symbolises in the drama is really cute ^_^

If you're into K-dramas, this is one to watch

Morning Glory also have these keyrings of Asian meat and food

Only the buns made me hungry. The meat has too much fat on them =__=

The bento boxes and the soup bowls were cute

And now to the next thing in this post, my OOTD :)

Yesterday was my last day of term 3 which means that after my two weeks of holidays, I'll only have TWO WEEKS OF SCHOOL LEFT FOREVER! Oh my goodness, time has flown by so quickly...

The whole school wore casuals clothes instead of uniform because at the end of term 3 we have something called Social Justice Day where the whole school raises money for charities and also orphanages in places like Cambodia and Vietnam. The weather was lovely and I think I got sunburnt on my face from sitting outside for too long without wearing sunscreen T___T This is something I don't miss about Summer!! And it's only Spring here :( Having sensitive skin for me means that I burn easily =[

There are pics of the day on Facebook so for this I'll just upload a OOTD picture :D

Excuse the messy floor, it's all for studying

Accidentally missed my eyes when I took this pic haha...

Cardigan from Portmans, short sleeve top from Temt, denim-inspired leggings from ICE, belt from MCL Fashion, beaded necklace from Gloss, chained necklace and heart bracelet from Diva, earrings from Equip, shoulder bag from Dolly

Sorry I didn't take a picture of my top without my cardigan on =/

But I did find a Facebook photo of me without it

It wasn't a good picture, that's why my face is cropped out LOL

Definitely not tagged on Facebook anyway :P

You may have noticed that my hair wasn't straight in those pics. I waved my hair using a mini hair straightener, otherwise known as a mini flat iron :) It was really simple! I could do a tutorial if anyone is interested.

NOTD - Revlon Sheer Translucide Nail Enamel in 007 Sheer Blossom

That's all for this post. I'm on holidays for two weeks :) Expect more blogging from me!

xx Jennifer

FOTN and OOTN

Hello this is my first Face of the Night and Outfit of the Night blog entry. As you may or may not know, I was out last night for my friend's 18th celebration so I'll be incorporating some images from that night :]

Products used

FOTN - Pale Pink & Brown

Eyes:

Urban Decay Primer Potion

Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Shadow & Liner for Hazel Eyes

Physicians Formula Flat Automatic Eyeliner Pencil

Face of Australia Liquid Eyeliner in Charcoal

BeautySnapz Eyeliner Sealer

Simple False Eyelashes

Duo Eyelash Adhesive Clear-White

Maybelline Pulse Perfection Mascara

Face:

Australis Primer

Revlon Colorstay Velvet Creme 020 Natural Tan

Revlon Matte Powder Blush in 001 Rose Rapture

Lips:

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in 131 Ginger

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in 700 Nude Delight

Esteè Lauder Pure Colour Lipgloss in Passion Fruit Shimmer

- I tried the BeautySnapz Eyeliner Sealer to review! I'll talk about that soon

- I probably should have filled in my brows but I didn't want them to stand out more than my not-so-bold eye make up

- I put a few layers on my lips to create a coral-y peach colour

The BeautySnapz Eyeliner Sealer is this:

And basically it is used after applying eyeliner, hence this is why it's called a sealer not a primer

My eyeliner did stay put throughout however the eyeliner itself could have just remained on my eyes without smudging or fading.

With that said I will say that it can work but I recommend that you purchase a good waterproof/smudgeproof liquid eyeliner instead of buying an eyeliner sealer :)

Now to my OOTN

Sexy back? LOL

♥ Dress from ICE

♥ Heels from Spendless Shoes

Haha yeah.. I didn't get to wear the heels that I ordered.. still haven't arrived yet! But they have been shipped. Will probably get them next week.

♥ Bag from Strandbags

Accessories:

♥ Diva bracelets

♥ Equip necklace and ring

Oops I forgot to take a photo of my earrings...

There we go! Completed FOTN and OOTN :)

♥ Earrings from Diva

The night was quite lovely and lots of funny and memorable things occurred

I'll leave you with some photos :D

Purple semi-formal theme :)

Upstairs

Upstairs overlooking downstairs

It was so embarrassing when a lady came up to tell me and my friend that we were standing against the black steel railing(pictured)

She was like "You might want to stand away from here because we can see up your dresses!"

I was sooooo embarrassed!! I think she could have worded it in a better way but nope it had to be straight-forward and direct haha... I guess I'm glad she didn't tell just me because I had my friend there too. And I wore skin-coloured stockings so I wasn't too fussed, but still hahaha T_T

Everyone looked gorgeous of course and it was fun dancing on the dance floor :P

My friend took this photo - she didn't dance!

We were doing 'The Nutbush' which apparently is an Australian dance thing like 'The Macarena'. It just consists of side, front and back steps with kicks to the left and right. It may sound confusing/hard but it's actually really simple. Youtube probably has a few examples haha

Naww I like this :)

Birthday girl on the left

Birthday cake and my gift on the left (purple gift bag)

So yep that's all!

xo Jennifer