One of the lovely gifts I got from my sister was the very coveted sigma brush set. I really wanted to have a larger brush set and didn’t want to amass them one by one because they are so expensive! Sigma brushes are excellent quality makeup brushes at a great quality. I already own a few Laura Mercier brushes which are some of my favorites.  After using my sigma brushes for a few weeks, I am going to say that I still love LM brushes but they are not unilaterally my favorite. Some styles of brush, I prefer sigma, others Laura.

Here is the brush roll it comes with. Very pretty.

The set comes with 12 full sized brushes for $99. They were running a special for $79 over the holidays plus a 15% discount code! Pretty stellar deal.

Large Powder-F30: Natural bristles, exceptionally soft and fluffy.

Duo Fiber – F50: Natural and synthetic bristles. Good for applying bronzer or highlighters that need a soft touch.

Large Angled Contour- F40: Another winner of bleached natural bristles. Good for cheek contour and blush.

Foundation- F60: Very Soft Synthetic Bristles. Better than my LM foundation brush at a fraction of the price.

L to R Tapered Blending- E40: soft and fluffy natural bristles, very nice and comparable to LM ponytail brush.  Perfect for blending out the crease. Large Shader- E60: tightly packed natural bristles good for blending primer or cream shadow. Acts more like a synthetic fiber brush.

L to R. Medium Angled Shading- E70: Natural bristles with a nice shape. This is good for applying crease color. Eye Shader- E55: Dense, natural bristles great for packing on color.

R to L. Concealer- F70: Tapered synthetic bristles. I have LM’s concealer brush and love it. I think this one is too big to be a concealer brush. I use this more for highlight, wet shadows, and packing color onto a smudged eyeliner. Pencil- E30: this is a circular natural bristle brush great for outer v shading or smudging.

L to R. Small Angle- E65: Synthetic small angle brush great for brows or eyeliner. Eyeliner- E05: Synthetic small tipped brush good for wet shadow as eyeliner.

Overall Rating: A

Sigma Makeup brushes cannot be beat for the price to quality ratio. They are undoubtedly a better deal than MAC, BB or LM. I say go get em!

So sorry its been so long since I last posted.  I sort of fell of the face of the earth around the holidays due to technical difficulties and being out of the country. But Its a new year and that means more posts and more fun. Stay tuned!!

The Holidays were wonderful filled with friends, family and christmas spirit. I went to New York for awhile, had loads to do with my family ( I went to 5 count em’ 5 different celebrations on Christmas day!), and finally I spent a couple weeks in Grenada with my family. Again, sorry I did not post before I embarked but I just had so much to do! Anyway, I hope all of you had a wonderful Holiday break too!

Happy New YEAR!!!

This is a very simple look that shows you one way to wear the Laura Mercier Eye Kohls.

By using a very neutral, matte flesh toned color all over, and just a bit of NARS Ciaro in the crease (or any other taupey brown shade) all of the attention of the eye is drawn to the eyeliner. To make sure the eyeliner doesn’t smudge I patted down NARS night flight just barely over the liner. Make a heavy line on the upper lash line, under the upper lash line. Just barely smudge the liner on the inner rim of the lower lid as well.

This look is very easy and only takes a few minuets.

I love how the grey liner looks against my brown eyes. Have you used these? Do you like them?

Holiday time brings about parties and cocktail hours. You don’t always have time to go back home from work and get all dolled up, so this is a good option for a very cute hair-do. This is an age old classic- the bun.This hairstyle is quick, easy, and the best part is that it actually looks better when its been a day or two since you’ve washed it. All you need is four bobby pins and its best if you have a texturizing spray product. I used ghd Sea Spary. You can still do this without spray however it will make the hair stay better throughout the night.

The modern bun is messy and texturized. If you make your bun very polished and clean it gives a more serious look. By using the texturizing spray, you get a casual look. I don’t like to use a band to make a ponytail, because it takes away some of the volume on the crown. But you can use one if you like, I would just pull some hair around the base.

First you want to brush your hair through and spray a texturizing spray 5-7 times. Scrunch through. Gather all your hair and  begin to twist the hair into one section in the middle of the back of your head. Rub the section lightly between to fingers to create more texture. Twist around so that your hair makes a bun. Hold the ends in place with one hand while you use a bobby pin to secure the ends. You want to cross bobby pins through the bun at every quarter of the bun. So, If the bun was a clock, you would want to place pins at noon, three o’clock, six o’clock, and nine o’clock. By crossing the pins in this way you can ensure that it stays for a long time. Et voila!

This look is extremely easy and sweet. I really think that it would look great with a flower accent or a ribbon tied around the base. Another quick idea is to make a ponytail first with a band and slip a ribbon through it before you start twisting that section of hair. The ribbon will look like its running through your hair when its in a bun. You should use an extra bobby pin to secure the end of the ribbon though.

I hope you enjoyed this! Ciao Xxx

The Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland Palette is possibly my most favorite beauty purchase of the year. Bold statement, I know. But really this packaging is gorgeous, the colors are stellar and it is was a wonderful value. It has a wide range of colors and can produce many different looks. This is a winter inspired look with cool toned grays.

First as a base I used Stila Bouquet all over the lid, to make blending easier. You can use any matte flesh toned color. I really like Stila Shadows because of their silky soft texture. Then I used these colors from the Alice in Wonderland palette:

I used Vorpal all over the lid, Midnight Tea Party on the brow bone and inner well, and Mushroom in the crease

And just a small touch of Underland in the crease as well

UD 24/7 liner in Zero on the Upper lash line and under the upper lash line as well.

Then I layered Stila Storm over the UD 24/7 in Zero

Here are the swatches with a flash. L to R: Stila Bouquet, UD Midnight Tea Party, UD Vorpal, and UD Mushroom, UD Underland, and UD liner in Zero. It is hard to see Stila Bouquet (because its flesh toned). And i forgot to swatch Stila Storm, but it is swatched in this post.

Swatches without flash

Here is the full look with Laura Mercier Pink Tulle Lip Glace

I really love cool toned colors for winter.

I like to choose the UD Alice in Wonderland when I am feeling a bit more edgy. I really like this look because its appropriate for day time and still a little dramatic. I guess all the glitter and punchy colors make me feel a bit rocker chic. I put my skinny black J Brands to complete the look. They make me feel sexy.

I hope you enjoyed this! I will do a full review on the UD Alice in Wonderland Palette soon! xxx

All for $50 plus free shipping! You better grab this while you can. I am so curious to know what the last day will hold. I think it will be the best one yet. I am holding out on this one and might pick up tomorrows depending on what I think about it : )

Korres Lip Butter Glaze Trio 3 x .034 oz. -$24

Here is another holiday set from Sephora. As you probably already know Korres is famous for their lip butter pots. This is a brand new launch from them in a more hygienic packaging. I liked the lip butter pot, but really did not like the ‘pot’ aspect. Naturally these seemed right up my alley, especially because its getting so cold and my lips are dry.  It comes in three colors: Jasmine, Pomegranate, and Raspberry

Here are the swatches w/ a flash L to R: Jasmine, Pomegranate, and Raspberry

Swatches in natural light

Rating for Korres Lip Butter Glaze Trio: C+

As you can see these are quite pigmented which is good and bad for me. I love the color of raspberry on my lips, jasmine washes me out a bit (and not in a chic, nude way either) and pomegranate is a bit too coral. They are alright but not perfect. Raspberry looks perfect on my lips.

My biggest complaint which is a deal breaker for me is that they do not last. Also after putting on a lip treatment, I expect to have my lips feel moisturized. Otherwise why would I use a balm instead of my favorite gloss? These may not dry out you lips, but they certainly do not leave them softer and more hydrated like promised.

I am not sure if the formula is the same as the lip butter pots. I don’t think so but I haven’t checked the ingredients to confirm this. This is a really good amount of product for the price, so if these work for you, they are a great deal. These are going back though. Oh, how I wanted to love them. The quest for the perfect balm goes on…

The holidays always bring wonderful ‘value’ sets by many brands. They give you smaller than average products sizes in many shades in order to turn you on to a product. I absolutely love value sets. I am such a sucker for a bargain that I shy away from buying any full sized product in favor of buying sets or palettes. Usually the sets are comprised of the brand’s best sellers.

In this case, for the first time ever!, Laura Mercier put together a set of her eye kohl’s. I have been a huge fan of these ever since I purchased the Nordstrom Anniversary Twilight set which had the purple sapphire kohl.

These are not like UD 24/7 liners and should not be applied the same way. These are “kohls” which means they are intensely pigmented and smudgeable. If you are looking for eyeliner that wont budge-this is not for you. You can greatly increase the staying power however by using a good base, like UDPP, and layering shadow.

You get 5 x .03 oz. eyeliners for $32. The full size is .04 oz for $19, which translates to $4.75 per .01 oz. In the set you receive .15 oz. worth of eyeliner which would normally cost you $71.25  but you only pay $32 (if your could purchase eyeliner in .o1 oz increments which is why this number differs from the sticker on the box).

These come in a good range of shades for the holidays

Shades L to R: Black Turquoise, Stormy Grey, Black Gold, Brown Copper, and Black Violet

All of these liners are slightly metallic, with the turquoise, gold and copper shades being the most metallic

Swatches with flash: Black Turquoise, Stormy Grey, Black Gold, Brown Copper, Black Violet

Swatches in daylight

These make a really gorgeous holiday smokey eye. I like how they are colored but still dark enough to wear as a liner. I will do a colorful smokey eye and show you guys. What do you think? Have you tried these? How do you wear them?

Ho ho haul! Yup, its that time again. The holiday shopping season in in full swing and that means holiday hauls. I took part in a little Cyber Monday shopping at Laura Mercier. I am so very excited to get this. Check it out:

The whole shebang!

Mini Lip Glacé Set includes Sparkling, Violet, After Hours, Bare Beige and Rose Lip Glacés- $50

Mini eye kohl set includes black gold, black turquoise, brown copper, black violet, and stormy grey -$32

brow powder duo in soft blonde. Uh-oh, this looks too light for me… I may have to exchange it for dark blonde. -$22

Small but very useful tool- $3

Cyber Monday GWP includes Full sized illuminating tinted moisturizer in bare radiance, travel sized mineral primer, french vanilla lotion, mini fresh brown lipstick, and mini eye kohl in black turquoise -free!

And free samples: Mini lip pencil in naked, mini lip glace in pink tulle, and mahogany eye liner -free

I will post in depth swatches tomorrow!

Cheers! Xxx