The First Sigma Brush//Tapered Highlighter F35

Hey guys, I hope you’re all well. I for one am shattered. It’s been a very hectic and busy week but I’ve been determined to keep up with uni, work and blog this month and although it’s only the 6th I’m kind of on a good streak so lets keep going ^_^

Today I’m going to review exactly what the title says, the first Sigma brush I have had the pleasure of trying. When I started getting into makeup and watching YouTube videos Sigma was the talk of the town. Probably because 90% of those Youtubers were sent the brushes and so all simultaneously got to try really good quality brushes. A little while later I got a job and then set my sights on the brand new Real Techniques collection which were MUCH more in my price range than Sigma. Now there are so many others to choose from, zoeva especially,  even with a bigger budget to play with I just haven’t been tempted to splurge on a whole Sigma brush kit. However I did want to try one of their face brushes and when there was a sale I took advantage! So I picked up the Tapered Highlighter - F35.



This brush costs £15.95 from FeelUnique link and it feels like a proper makeup brush, with a wooden sturdy handle, metal ferrule and super super soft bristles. The two main uses for this brush are obviously highlighting precisely where you want some glow and also setting the under eye area! I think this works wonderfully for both, never have I had such perfect highlight precision with my Mary-Lou, I used to use the RT setting brush but the tapered highlight brush as you can tell from the point gets the highlight EXACTLY where you need it. Similarly the point makes setting the whole undereye area perfectly as it gets right into the inner-corner. Recently I’ve been using the Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer and although I ADORE it, under the eyes it creases because I do tend to layer it, so I have been left a few times with separated concealer under my eyes because I didn’t use this brush - blurgh not a good look at all!



As mentioned already the bristles are amazingly soft and lovely to use. They’re far too long to use for contouring or blusher and they certainly are not packed densely. This works great with both setting powder to avoid the cakey look and also with highlighter to avoid that wonderful disco ball look too! The only slight gripe is that due to the softness, the shape sometimes gets lost, nothing a bit of pinching and smoothing can’t sort out, but I do feel like if it was a tiny bit less soft you wouldn’t need to do that. 

I have washed it twice now and experienced no shedding or bleeding which is what I expect for a brush over £15. Overall I think it is worth the price because I haven’t seen anything else cheaper than this that could be as precise for highlighting. However I wouldn’t say it’s an essential brush that you NEED. As mentioned I have used the RT setting brush for both purposes that the F35 is for, and although it is not quite as precise, it still does the job well enough.

Rating: 7
Repurchase: Only if I got it on sale again! I wouldn’t mind paying over a tenner for it as it does the jobs it supposed to do very well, but I don’t think its a MUST have, nor do I think it’s worth over £15!

Have you tried any Sigma brushes? What are your thoughts?

Thank-you for reading ♥
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The First Sigma Brush//Tapered Highlighter F35

Hey guys, I hope you’re all well. I for one am shattered. It’s been a very hectic and busy week but I’ve been determined to keep up with uni, work and blog this month and although it’s only the 6th I’m kind of on a good streak so lets keep going ^_^

Review | Makeup Revolution Focus & Fix Eyebrow Shaping Kit Medium-Dark

Hi everyone, today I’m going to be reviewing another one of Makeup Revolution's biggest bargains - the focus and fix eyebrow kit in the shade medium-dark. This kit is packaged in a sleek black square box with beautiful rose gold font on the top. Inside the packaging there is a large square mirror which is big enough to see your whole face as well as to focus on the brows. There are three powder shades, one wax cream, a small pair of tweezers and an applicator. All of this for a mere £2.50! I know right, that is pretty darn incredible and of course I had to add it to my basket.

The powders are decently pigmented, infact so much so that it is easy to get a super dark brow with little effort, so those of you wondering if this wouldn’t be dark enough? I promise you it is! Although the three colours look quite different when swatched, an ashy brown, a light brown and a warm darker brown when applied on the brows they don’t look as different!

As I’ve been using my ABH dip brow in chocolate for the majority of the year, I’m used to a lighter, warmer brow and so adjusting to the darkness of this powder was quite the challenge. I did manage to find a product mentioned in my January faves here which counteracted the darkness and make them look more natural, but overall I’d say the effort to not get intense brows is a little annoying. Perhaps I’ve been spoilt by the dipbrow, or maybe I just rush my brows because of the ease of the pomade, but lets just say it takes a good couple more minutes to do brows naturally with the shades.

Having said that when I just use the lightest shade (top left) I can achieve soft yet defined brows. Taking the shade next to it for the tail of the brow which adds more definition and completes the whole shape and shading. The gel wax is awesome, I take the little brush in the kit and brush a little on which keeps the brows in place for a lot longer than just using powder. It also doesn’t give that weird crispy look, although using a separate lighter brow set mentioned above, is a little over the top/an odd mix.

The tools included in the kit surprisingly work really well. In the photo the brush is stuck together by the wax and needs to be washed, however it works really well at outlining the brows as well as filling them in. Of course it’s a little small but that can’t be helped as it has to fit in the box! The tweezers also work really well which shocked me the most because look how cute and small they are! And considering the price I really wasn’t expecting a great deal, but thy do the job well.

Final Verdict:

Rating: 8

Pros: The price is absolutely incredible for the quality of the product, you get three different brow powders which are pigmented enough to draw brows on with little effort, you can achieve a very strong brow and you can also achieve a soft yet structured brow with a bit of a light hand. The clear wax works well and keeps the brows in place, the applicator does the job well, as do the tweezers. I think its brilliant for beginners!

Cons: I found it easy to over-do my brows and I do wish there was an even lighter shade in this trio to balance it out a little!

Repurchase? I probably won’t and only because I know how well Anastasia’s products work for me and the fact that I can get an easy to work with shade from her range. I think it’s just one of those things where if I hadn’t invested in the Anastasia range I would have been completely head over heels in this because it gives me pretty much everything I could ask for, I just WISH it had a lighter shade and for that I deducted 2points from the rating. However I really am impressed with this kit and if you don’t have the budget for ABH but you want a GOOD brow kit, this is where you need to turn to!

Thank-you for reading ♥

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Review | Makeup Revolution Focus & Fix Eyebrow Shaping Kit Medium-Dark

Hi everyone, today I’m going to be reviewing another one of Makeup Revolution's biggest bargains - the focus and fix eyebrow kit in the shade medium-dark. This kit is packaged in a sleek black square box with beautiful rose gold font on the top. Inside the packaging there is a large square mirror which is big enough to see your whole face as well as to focus on the brows. There are three powder shades, one wax cream, a small pair of tweezers and an applicator. All of this for a mere £2.50! I know right, that is pretty darn incredible and of course I had to add it to my basket.

January Favourites

Hey hey everyone! It’s time to share le January favourites, and I seem to have quite a few this month so lets get started!

Starting off with the only skincare fave for the month, I have been loving Soap and Glory’s Make Yourself Useful Rejuvenating Eye Cream (£14). Every night I have been sticking to my usual Sweet Almond Oil under the eyes, but I have had some dryness around the eyes due to the weather. So sometimes when this is particularly prevalent I dap a little bit of this cream under the eyes too and the smallest amount goes a long way because of how rich it is. Having said that though it isn’t greasy, so it also works well in the mornings too. Pricy? Yes, but in the sale, well worth it. 

If you read my January catchup post here you’ll know my Jan was pretty stressful and I had many a sleepless night. Of course that leads to red eyes and it was almost painful just looking at them, but the one thing that made a tonne of difference was my trusty Rimmel Scandal Eyes Nude liner (£3.99). It brightens up my eyes and somehow reduces the appearance of red eyes, whilst making them look bigger. I’ve also been RELYING on my Rimmel Brow This Way in 02 Medium Brown (£3.99 £2.99) this month because I have just been having the most bizarre brow situation. Partly because I’ve been trying a new brow kit (review will be up tomorrow) which has made my brows come out far too dark, and I’ve also been making a mess of them with the brow-wiz when I’m not using that kit *sigh*. Well ANYWAY this shade of brow this way is a medium brown and it sets a little darker than it looks like when it’s first applied. So everytime my brows look scary and over dark, this brow gel makes them look lighter and so much more natural, whilst keeping them in place all day. It has become a MUST HAVE, because sharpie-like brows are a no-no.

The Stila In The Light eyeshadow palette (£25.00) has been my absolute favourite for well over a month now. Just look at those beautiful colours, it’s almost the perfect palette and wonderful for everyday! I’m not even sure that it is worth the full price because I think the lighter matte shades could be a whole lot more creamy and even more pigmented for a high-end palette. However the lasting time of the shadows in general as well as the gorgeous buttery pigmentation of the shimmery shade are the reason it’s such a reliable go-to palette.

 

The Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Medium/Deep Bronzer (£25) has been in my love it list for over two months now, it is glorious. Smells so much like chocolate, and lasts a long time on the skin. Most importantly it’s a beautiful cross between a bronzer for warming up the face and also adding definition to the face. As it’s pretty dark for my NC35 skintone, I use a small amount and blend it in mainly under the cheekbones and jawline and it effortlessly adds life and structure. Gah I LOVE this - well worth the price!

Also another product I picked up in the black Friday sales but only opened recently is the DIORSKIN Nude Natural Glow Radiant Fluid Foundation (£32) and at first I was a little on the fence with this base. However after I used it with the special Dior sponge (which is pretty bizarre but lets save that for another post) I was so happy I picked it up in the sale. It’s got a satin/velvet finish which is my favourite now and has a light/medium coverage. It looks natural yet covers redness and discolouration beautifully. I’ll probably continue wearing it for a month more before reviewing, but keep an eye out!

And finally the last favourite for January isn’t budget breaking (thank goodness) and I adore it! The Makeup Revolution Amazing Lipstick in Treat (£1) is just my go to lipstick, a neutral colour with a dash of brown, its super pigmented and creamy. The downsides are that it lasts around 2 hours, but I don’t mind this too much as I tend to wear it when I’m just popping out for a short while, or need a bit of colour in the lips without having to do the whole lip scrub, lip balm, lip liner shabam.

And phewwww that is all! I thought I would be sitting here for another hour typing D: well done you for reading all the way through it haha! What have been your Jan faves? If you’ve written a post please link it below I’d love to have a read!

Thank-you for reading ♥

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January Favourites

Hey hey everyone! It’s time to share le January favourites, and I seem to have quite a few this month so lets get started!