REVIEW: Sigma Essential Brush Set!

Happy Saturday!!

So yesterday, I was so excited to get THIS beautiful package in the mail....

The Sigma Essential Brush Kit!!

So for those of you who are unfamiliar with Sigma, they are a fairly new company who specialize in making professional-grade, MAC-quality brushes.  They have one store, which is at the Mall of America, so if you want to buy their products and don't feel like trekking to Minnesota, you will have to purchase online.  However, I found their website very easy to navigate and there are typically 10% off codes lurking everywhere for you to use :) They do ship internationally, as well!

But back to the eye candy..

(PS I am obsessed with the iridescence of their logo.  Doesn't really show up in the pictures but... so pretty).

I purchased the kit for around $96, they retail at $98, I used the 10% off card and then paid for shipping.

It comes with 12 brushes (I gave my E65 to a friend, since I already had 2 Sephora brushes that were really similar and she really wanted to try them as well).  

The set includes 5 face brushes (F30 Large Powder- in the picture, F40 Large Angled Contour, F50 Duo Fibre, F60 Foundation, F70 Concealer) and 7 Eye Brushes (E05 Liner, E30 Pencil, E40 Tapered Blending, E55 Eye Shading, E60 Large Shader, E65 Small Angle, and E70 Medium Angled Shading).

Here are some close ups- they all have really nice handles and are the softest brushes I've ever touched.

                   

Sorry for the picture quality-- the battery of my Canon is dead and I couldn't wait to get this post up!

So far, I am in LOVE with all of the face brushes (the concealer brush isn't necessarily my type- I like it to put the concealer ON to my eye, but to blend it, I prefer this Sephora Concealer Brush.

The Angled Contour is perfect for blush, bronzer, and highlighter.  I used it for my contour, but I can see it working perfectly with any of the three.  The powder works amazingly with both my MAC Studio Fix powder and my MUFE HD setting powder.  The stippling (or Duo Fibre) was used for my foundation, but as most of you know, stippling brushes are really versatile and can be used for pretty much anything. *This brush is the only one that is a synthetic and natural blend. The rest are synthetic.

For the eyes, my favorite is definitely the blending.  Its easy to work with and blends shadow flawlessly.

You will start seeing a lot more posts from me about these brushes because I can't wait to continue using them!

Hope you get a chance to check them out and thanks for reading!!

XOXO Lex

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Sigma nor was this post sponsored by any of the above companies mentioned. I bought these with my own money. All opinions are honest and my own.

Mini Haul! Last one until IMATS!

Hi everyone! 
So if you've been reading my blog for a while, you will know that I am attending IMATS NYC this year with my best friend!! I have never been to IMATS before and am beyond excited, so I've been saving up alllll of my money to make sure I have an amazing haul to post when I get home!! This will be my last one for a while, and here goes.

I am kind of ashamed to admit that I JUST bought my first Mac Paint Pot.  Is that bad? I feel like it is.  I purchased Bare Study, a beautiful champagne color with a hint of shimmer through it
 


I also purchased 2 Mac Sheen Supreme Lipsticks in Supreme Style (left) and Ultra Darling (right). They are both beautiful colors, and are really hydrating. Those are definitely on my list to get more of.

 

At Sephora, I picked up a Hanae Mori fragrance rollerball (which is such a warm, clean perfume.. I really like it) and also took advantage of their Valentine's Day-ish rollerball sampler set, which if you are not familiar with: you buy the set for $20, and it comes with five AMAZING fragrance samples. Then, you are cruelly forced to pick JUST ONE and get a free rollerball of the chosen scent.  This was perfect because the rollerball I picked (Viktor and Rolf's Flowerbomb) was $25 dollars to begin with. So, essentially I got the rollerball for $5 off.  Eventually I will be purchasing a full size because that is my new favorite perfume.  Maybe of all time, even.  Just when I thought you couldn't beat Abercrombie.. :)

Lastly, I got this adorable crossbody bag from Aldo. It was really cheap and is my favorite color (Tiffany Box Blue!!), even though the picture doesn't do it justice. It's the perfect size for me.

That's it for my last haul until April!! Thanks for reading, hope you loved it :)

XOXO Lex

Formal Makeup + The BEST Foundation and Concealer EVER.

Hey, guys!

First of all, I am so sorry for the delay in my blogging, it has been absolutely forever!! I have been so busy with work and school, and I am finally enjoying my day off by getting back into blogging!!

I am super excited to announce that I just ordered my very first Sigma brush set!! I ordered the Essentials Kit and I can't wait for it to arrive.  My order is being processed as I type :)

So anyways,  I have a formal makeup look to share with you guys! I did my friend's makeup for her winter formal. K, thank you for letting me put this up, you looked stunning!!

Here are the products I used:

Laura Mercier Radiance Primer

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation*

Dior Nude Concealer*

Mac Studio Fix Powder

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer

Mac Amber Glow Blush+ NARS Orgasm Blush

Benefit Watt's Up

Stila Kitten

UD Virgin, Suspect, YDK and Busted (All from the Naked and Naked 2 palettes)

Bobbi Brown black gel eyeliner

Korres Volcanic Mascara 

Tarte Lip Surgence in Exposed

 

You may be wondering why the Foundation and Concealer are starred.. and that is because I am mentioning them down here.  These are my two favorite face products OF. ALL. TIME. and yes, I get that they are expensive but they are totally worth it. I know that the concealer will last me a long time... and I know that the foundation will not (probably about a month for the whole bottle). The only bad thing that I can say about the foundation is that the Sephora ones do not have a pump. I will probably need to shell out the 12.50 or whatever the pumps are going for on Amazon :/. But anyways, I use shade 002 in the concealer and currently Deauville (pronounced "deweville") in the foundation, although I know that will be changing once the sunshine decides to grace my side of the country again. They provide flawless results and just enough coverage so that you don't look cakey or overdone.  Perfection.

So again, I apologize again and again for my absence, it won't happen again!! I have a few little hauls to share with you but I promised myself that there would be NO MORE after my Sigma brush set because of IMATS NYC!!!! 

Thanks for reading! Talk to you soon,

XOXO Lex