US Makeup Haul

If you know anything about the price of makeup in Australia, you would know that is it an absolute rip-off and is something I've ranted about on numerous occasions on my blog. So it really should surprise you that I bought a good amount of makeup while I was there.

I had so much fun checking out all the drugstores and I also visited the e.l.f Studio on Broadway which was awesome. And of course my trip wouldn't have been complete without going to Sephora. I absolutely loved it. Only downside was my holiday was during the weeks leading up to Christmas so the stores were always packed and super crowded. Definitely didn't help that I tended to visit the busier stores i.e. Times Square and the one near Macy's on 34th. Anyway, who doesn't love a makeup haul, so here we go!

• Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Cream SPF 50+ for Face
• Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr Cream Gel Shadow - Barely Branded
• NYC Smooth Skin Bronzing Face Powder - Sunny
• YSL Rouge Pur Couture The Mats Lipstick - 202 Rose Crazy
• Essie Nail Polish - Fiji
• Urban Decay All Nighter Long-Lasting Makeup Setting Spray
• L'Oreal Voluminous False Fiber Lashes (Waterproof)
• Make Up For Ever HD Primer
• Maybelline Color Sensational Lip Liner - Clear
• Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer - 7 Sand
• MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation - C4
• MAC Eyeshadow - All That Glitters
• L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara (Waterproof)
• MAC Sheertone Blush - Gingerly
• Inglot 20 pan palette (empty)
• Inglot Eyeshadows x 3 (most of the shadows I already owned)

• e.l.f Eyelid Primer
• e.l.f Studio Complexion Brush
• e.l.f Studio Powder Brush
• e.l.f Studio Small Stipple Brush
• e.l.f Studio Flawless Concealer Brush
• e.l.f Studio Concealer Brush
• e.l.f Studio Contour Brush
• e.l.f Studio Small Smudge Brush
• e.l.f Daily Brush Cleaner

Hope you enjoyed having a peak at my new stuff.  I will have reviews for some of these items up in the future.  I'm contemplating whether or not to post a haul for all the clothing/accessories I bought.  Anyway I'll see how I go.  Have a good weekend!

Sigma brushes...why did I not buy you sooner? (Review)

Everyone constantly talks about Sigma and how great their brushes are, especially the new Sigmax ones. Also for such decent prices, compared the the prices charged here for brushes (and makeup in general), I was really interested in trying these. I made this order about 1.5 months ago.

Shipping & Delivery
I purchased 7 brushes (4 of which were for me). The shipping cost came to $19.36 AUD, which is pretty expensive, but if you consider how much it costs to purchase quality brushes here, splitting the $19.36 across 7 brushes really isn't bad. It took between 1.5-2 weeks to arrive which I find is pretty standard with overseas orders to Australia.

Review

F50 Duo Fibre - Before purchasing this I had only tried one other stippling brush, the Silver Duo Fiber Stippling Brush by Coastal Scents. That one I found too flimsey to buff in foundation and it shed a lot. This on the other hand I really enjoy. There is a nice firmness to it and it is bigger than the Coastal Scents one so it stipples foundation on really well. It is pretty good to buff liquid foundation too due to its firmness. But once you've tried the F82 for buffing...omg...you will never go back to using stippling brushes for this purpose. Believe all the raves!

F10 Powder/Blush - A nice regular blush brush. A good size for blush or contouring. It's soft, not as soft as the below 2 brushes but it's still soft. A good basic brush.



F80 Flat Top Synthetic Kabuki - This and the F82 are SO soft and SO dense. I've been using this brush for mineral foundation and it buffs it in so quickly and so easily. Due to its flat top, it covers more surface area than the round top one. So it's perfect for mineral foundation.

F82 Round Top Synthetic Kabuki - As I said above, this brush is very soft and dense. Due to its cut/shape, it is kind of firmer than the flat top. Its density is exactly the same, but I think it is due to the outer bristles being shorter, they kind of support the inner ones keeping it more firm...if that makes sense. I use this to buff in liquid foundation. When I saw people on Youtube using this brush with liquid foundation, I was really skeptical, I just thought there would be a lot of waste, the brush would just soak up all the foundation and it would be really gross. But I was totally wrong. The bristles are just so fine and dense that the foundation is contained at the tips, the brush does not get soaked through at all. Unlike buffing with a stippling brush, there are no streaks so you don't have to spend time evening it out. What I like to do now is stipple foundation on with the F50 then buff with the F82. I find the curved top allows you to get into the small grooves around your face such as the sides of your nose and inner corners of your eyes really well.

(Sorry the F80 is a little dirty because I used it lol)

Overall, love love love Sigma brushes. I really want to try more. Their quality is amazing at good prices. I am definitely most impressed with the F80 and F82. All the raves about them are totally true.

Coastal Scents Brushes Haul & Review II

I made this order over a month ago when they were having 30% off. My package arrived almost 2 weeks after my payment was confirmed which was a fair bit slower than my first order from Coastal Scents. But I assume they would have been busy processing orders with many people taking advantage of the discount.


I ordered 7 different brushes. There are 8 in the photo because I ordered 2 of one of them. From left to right:

• Black Blending Brush $2.99 (all prices are before discount and in USD)
• Synthetic Shadow Brush $2.95
• Pink Oval Taklon Lip Brush $1.99
• Divine Taklon Liner $1.95
• Divine Medium Eyeshadow Brush $2.49
• Destiny Blender Brush $2.49
• Destiny Blender Brush $2.49 (again)
• Sable Contour Brush $1.79

The shipping cost (USPS First-Class Mail International) $9.04 USD to Melbourne, Australia.

Review


(Left to Right)
Black Blending Brush: This baby is big. It's very soft and a bit flimsy. I, personally, would not use this for blending out my eye makeup, it is just far to big and due to its flimsy-ness, when you apply pressure to it, it splays out and so you can't really control your blending. This would make a good brush for applying a light layer of face powder on smaller areas such as under your eyes, for highlighting or contouring your nose.

Synthetic Shadow Brush: This brush is soft and quite firm. Great for packing on colour all over the lid. However it is on the larger side of shader brushes. I don't have any problems using it, but when I want more control or when I just want a certain colour on half or a third of my lid, I would opt for a smaller brush.

Divine Medium Eyeshadow Brush: Similar shape to the one above, very soft, but the bristles are shorter and a bit flimsier. Good for all-over-lid-colour, again it is on the larger side.


Destiny Blender Brush: The first 2 brushes in the photo are the same. However 1 is more pointed and the other one more blunt. Even after washing them and re-shaping, this still seems to be the case, but less so. So obviously there is a tiny inconsistency in the manufacturing of these brushes. Despite that, these are great for blending, nice and soft with the right amount of firmness. Great for blending especially when you want to blur those harsh edges. I also like using it for crease work when I want a softer looking crease.

Sable Contour Brush: Very soft and not too stiff. Great for crease work and for your outer V. Good for other smaller areas like the inner corner too.

Pink Oval Taklon Lip Brush: Soft but firm so you can get a lot of control with this brush.

Divine Taklon Liner: This brush is very fine, soft and rather firm. Holds its shape. Great for gel/cream liners. I don't find it firm enough for brows.

When I washed these brushes, no dye washed out and none of them shed many hairs, at most 1-2 hairs.

I am very happy with every single one of these brushes. I was just surprised at how big the Black Blending Brush was lol, but nevertheless it can be used for other purposes.

Hope this post helped. Have a great weekend.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!
Hope you are all having an amazing day with your family and friends and received many many pressies lol.

I'm having a very lazy Christmas as usual. I had a bit of a sleep in, then opened all my presents with my family and I've been watching movies and eating all day. I'll probably go to bed early tonight to prepare myself for Boxing Day shopping!! and I'm also working, so it's going to be a killer day tomorrow.

Anyway thought I would share my Christmas pressies I received today.

I got Kylie Minogue - Couture eau de toilette from my aunty.


My sister gave me a Conair light-up makeup mirror. I've been wanting a makeup mirror for ages!


She also got me this train case from Inglot, with a bunch of goodies inside.



+ Inglot black eyelash curler
+ Inglot travel brush kit
+ Inglot Long and Curly Mascara
+ Inglot Milk and Tonic Make-up Remover Wipes
+ Inglot Eyeshadow Palette with 6 shadows


Enjoy the rest of Christmas everyone!

Cheapie Finds

Hey guys! Over the past few months I've collected some items which were either really cheap, on sale or on clearance. So I thought I'd show you and give a little review.

First up are these Australis blushes. I think this brand is just sold in Australia, but I'm not too sure...I had never really considered trying their products but Priceline had a bunch of Australis stuff on sale for $2.99AUD (the blushes are originally I think around $8-10), and me, who can never resist clearances, had to grab something. I must say I am very impressed. I bought Pretty in Pink and Smitten. I believe these shades aren't available anymore but I'm sure the new colours have the same quality. Both of mine are soft, smooth, pigmented with very fine shimmer. So be careful you don't get carried away with swirling your brush in them otherwise you'll end up with doll cheeks lol. Overall very happy with these and I am really excited about trying other Australis products.

I also bought 2 JQC Cosmetics eyeliners from Groove. I got it in white and silver. I got them last Friday since they were on buy one get one free so I paid $3 for the 2. This is a cheap brand which I think is only available at Groove and Ice Accessories. I really don't like the white one, it's not creamy or pigmented and doesn't glide on. The silver one on the other hand is WOW. It's so pigmented and metallic, you don't need to apply much pressure at all and it is very smooth.

Last I got 2 brushes from Sportsgirl. They were on sale for around $5 each. I got the Brush with Fame Cheek Brush and the Brush with Fame Kabuki Bronzing Brush. They are SOOO soft! I'm in love with the kabuki brush, it's dense but soft and I use it daily to buff on pressed powder foundation.

So I definitely recommend you guys try these or any other products from cheaper brands or clearance items because you never know...you might stumble on some treasures =)

Coastal Scents Brushes Haul & Review

This is the first time I ordered something from Coastal Scents and I must say I am very happy with the service. I received my order about 4-5 days after my payment was completed which is pretty fast. Ok, so let's just get on with it =)

My order came wrapped up nicely in magenta tissue paper and a kinda meshy little bag with feathery lining...a bit random but still cute lol.

I bought 9 brushes:

- Silver Duo Fiber Stippling Brush $7.95 (by the way all the prices are in USD)
- Italian Badger Blush Brush $8.99
- Small Pencil Crease Black/Silver $3.29
- Pink Angle Taklon Liner Brush $1.79
- Italian Badger Blender $2.95
- Pink Oval Fluff Shadow Brush $1.95
- Italian Badger Round Crease Brush $2.89
- Chisel Fluff Medium Shadow Brush $2.75
- Italian Badger Chisel Powder Brush $6.49

Here's a quick review on these brushes. By the way the tape measure on the side of the photos is in centimetres.

Silver Duo Fiber Stippling Brush: This brush is really soft but when I washed it so much dye came out and it shed a lot and occasionally still does when I use it so I'm left with black hairs on my face which is annoying. It also isn't very dense and a bit flimsy.
Italian Badger Blush Brush: This brush is soft (not the softest brush I've ever felt but still soft) but strangely is larger than the Italian Badger Chisel Powder Brush. I find that this brush is a bit too big for blush application but if you use it gently and don't press too hard so the bristles don't spread out too much it's ok. This brush is probably more suited for powder.
Italian Badger Chisel Powder Brush: Like I said above, this powder brush is smaller than the blush brush. I found this brush to be scratchy which is very strange considering all the other brushes I purchased in this badger range were very nice and soft. After looking at photos that other people have taken of this brush and looking at my blush brush, I think I just got a dud. With these badger brushes, the white part of the hairs is the rough part and the black is the soft part. The length of the black section on my brush was very very short in proportion to the white. So not too happy.

Small Pencil Crease Black/Silver: This brush is very nicely and evenly cut, comes to a point at the top, so very good for precision. It is also soft.
Italian Badger Round Crease Brush: I was a bit disappointed when I saw this brush because it had been cut very badly. I think it may just be mine. But instead of being nicely rounded or tapered at the top, mine was all wonky...kind of like this shape across the top -^- if that made sense. You can kind of see that in the photo. Aside from that, I've been using this brush on my crease and it works very well and is very soft.

Italian Badger Blender: Very nice soft and fluffy.
Pink Oval Fluff Shadow Brush: Rather large, very soft and dense. Good for packing on shadow or all over lid colour. I've been using it to apply my brow bone highlight.
Chisel Fluff Medium Shadow Brush: This is a small and soft brush. Just a good multipurpose eye brush.
Pink Angle Taklon Liner Brush: Very nice brush, works perfectly for lining your eyes and filling in brows.

Hope that helps if you're considering buying some brushes from Coastal Scents.