Tarte Amazonian Clay Bronzer in Park Ave Princess

This bronzer gives a wonderful sun kissed glow to caramel complexions. I love using this on the highs of my cheekbones, the bridge of my nose, and the tip of my cupids bow. It just gives an all around healthy looking glow. This does come in a shimmer and a waterproof matte.I have the shimmer one. The matte one wouldn't serve me much purpose as it is around the same color as my skin tone, maybe a little more lighter with some ash/pink tone. So yeah, no. Give this a try, it's very pretty and will not disappoint.

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Sigma Performance Eyes Kit + F88 & P88 Brushes + Free Sample!

I recently received my performance eyes kit in the mail. I haven't been able to use all the brushes as of yet, so i'll just review the ones I have used and just update my post as I see fit once I've used the whole set. My fave brushes so far from the set are the E36 and E46. The E46 is prefect for applying those inner corner highlight colors. I didn't think it would be so useful, but it's like that perfect glove that just fits! The E36 is great at blending in those tight spots, where you don't want to blend up too high. It's also great for adding and blending transition colors into or right above your crease. And those are the only two brushes I have used so far, lol. So far so good though.

On another note, I also got the F88 and the P88 brushes to add to my sigmax collection. Nothing really too different about these brushes from the rest of the set. They are still prefect like the other brushes though, it's just you can never have enough brushes. Even though most of these brushes can perform the same tasks, some can perform a task much easier and simpler than others. The F88 is great at applying foundations, most cream and more full coverage foundations. Since the bristles are so dense, I wouldn't recommend applying with liquidy or watery foundations. The reason being is that these brushes blend so well, that liquidy or watery foundations will just "disappear" into your skin, like literally, lol. Unless that's the type of look you are going for. I would recommend the F50 more more watery or liquidy foundations. It will give a more polished airbrushed look. The P88 pretty much does the same as the P80 it's just angled and is more "ergonomic" because of the slat, if that makes sense. Great brushes nonetheless.

And lastly, I received this wonderful sample of eye shadows! Featuring one eye shadow from each of their signature palettes:  the Dare, Bare, and Flare, palettes. The colors are beautiful, but the formulas are inconsistent. Reveal from the Dare palette is the most favorable of the 3. It's creamy, highly pigmented, and easy to blend. Act from the Dare palette is a beautiful neutral shimmery beige. The pigmentation is not bad, but not great either, still a pretty color though. Now this last color didn't really disappoint me, but I kind of expected more from it. It was not as creamy as the rest, and it took several strokes and digging into the shadow to get some color on my brush. It's a beautiful color, and once it's on, it stays, I just wish it didn't take so much effort to get me some darn color on my brush!

Sigma is pretty new to the makeup world, (since 2009 I believe) that's basically why I'm stocking up on their brushes now, because once they become more and more popular, I believe their prices will go up, and the brushes may become less affordable (hopefully I'm wrong), but that's kind of how business goes, you reel people in, get them hooked, then jack up your prices, ha. That also means they're trying new things, seeing what sells what doesn't, what needs work, and what formulas and designs need work. Do I believe the shadows are gorgeous? Yes. Would I buy the palettes based by the performance of these shadows? No. Will I purchase one of their palettes in the near future if reformulated? Maybe. I would need a sample first though, lol. 

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MUFE Mat Velvet + in #70

This foundation is my skin in a bottle. A match made in heaven I must say. The formula is quite buildable. You can get a medium or full coverage depending on how may layers you put on. I do like to work in small sections at a time, as this formula does dry and set pretty quickly. Since it is a mattifying foundation, it is great for the oily skinned like me! Sometimes, too much matte can make you look a little flat, so I like to mix this in with some MAC strobe cream. It gives your skin more of a glowy iridescence without looking too shiny. The bottle retails for about $36, which I feel may be a little pricey, but you do get what you pay for as the finish is pretty flawless. MUFE products are pretty top of line. I'm not saying that just because of the name, but because of the quality of their products. If you have super oily skin and you are looking for a mattifying medium to full coverage foundation, I would definitely say to give this a try, I highly doubt you will be dissapointed.

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NYX Pure Red Matte Lip Color

Picked this color up a while ago. I must say I'm impressed and sorta kinda in love with the matte lipstick line. They have super duper pigmentation, and a pretty good selection of colors as well. The color I have on below is in Pure Red. I'm always on the hunt for the prefect red lip color, as picking the wrong shade of red for your complexion can cause you to look really clownish. This one on the other hands suits me well. This red is a really bright red orange. I'm sporting it with NYX Hot Red lip liner.  It would suit warm under toned people really well. So do you like?

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Sigma Synthetic Essential Kit Review

Three words....I LOVE SIGMA! I truly, truly do. I do believe some people hate on Sigma because they think they are " MAC Wannabees", but I honestly feel they have their own original identity as of right now. I say as of right now because I have heard that in the past they may have been more "knock-off-ish", I wouldn't really know the difference in quality between then and now, because I've only just recently began using their products. I know they used to have a numbering system that was very similar to MAC, and heard they just recently changed that late last year. I do own just a couple of MAC brushes, and I must say that I was not too pleased with them. They are special edition, and I have heard that MAC special edition brushes are not so good, so anywhoo, who knows? Being displeased with the MAC brushes I had, I ventured on my search for the perfect brushes, or course they have to fit my needs, and my wallet, and Sigma did just that! The first kit I ever bought from them was the Mrs. Bunny Sigmax Collection, (I will review that later) and I must say I was impressed! It was different because all the brushes are synthetic. I did not think they would do as good as natural bristles but then again each brush, and brush type serves its purpose. Luckily for me it turned out to be just what I needed. So I loved them so much, that I decided to buy the synthetic essential kit. I love it just as much! Face brushes are really important, as they are the key to achieving a flawless airbrushed finish. The qualities I look for in any type of brush are (in no particular order) : 1. Softness 2. Is it irritating/scratchy to my skin? 3. Durability 4. Price . If I had to choose what would be at the top of the list, it would definitely be durability. Let's face it, who likes putting money down a garbage disposal? Any takers? I sure don't! If I pay for something, I'm expecting to get what I pay for, and I want it to last me a loooooooong time. I can see these brushes on my vanity for many years to come, now that I think about it, I have still have some Walmart brushes from 2001 on my vanity.....*crickets*........ But Really for the price of these brushes you get all of these qualities and then some.

The brushes are described as follows:


The Sigmax Synthetic Essential Kit contains eight face brushes specifically designed for a high definition, flawless makeup application. This kit features our exclusive Sigmax synthetic filament, which was created to perfectly apply powder, cream and liquid products onto the skin without absorption into the bristles. The shape, density and height of each brush was designed to complement the different areas and shapes of the face. The Synthetic Essential Kit has everything you need to achieve a perfect and flawless face!


Brushes Included:
F80 - Flat Kabuki: Application of liquid or cream products to flat areas of the face such as the forehead and cheeks.(Perfect for foundation)
F82 - Round Kabuki: Blend mineral products onto the skin.(Perfect for foundation, loose & pressed powder)
F84 - Angled Kabuki: Buff cream blush or bronzer onto the skin.(Good for foundation, applying cream color to cheeks & contouring)
F86 - Tapered Kabuki: Apply cream and liquid foundations onto the harder to reach contours of the face.(Perfect for contouring in hollows of the cheeks, and other soft hollow areas of the face)
P80 - Precision Flat: Stipple concealer on sun spots, blemishes, and other small imperfections.
P82 - Precision Round: Apply eye shadow base or primer onto the lid.( Great for application of cream shadow bases)
P84 - Precision Angled: Apply product to areas such as the sides of the nose and the hollows of the cheeks.( Great for contouring)

P86 - Precision Tapered: Exact placement of concealer in harder to reach areas such as around the eyes and nose, chin, and around the mouth.

Sigma really puts a lot of time into their packaging. It's always something cute, lol. 

Free Sample with every order over $30 or more! Whoot!

Shine Shadow Swatch

Each individual brush comes individually wrapped with plastic for the handle and a vinyl sleeve for the bristles

                               

Do you really need all of these brushes? Nope. But they're soooo cool, that's a good enough excuse to get them all right? I would say about 2 from the mini's and the full size should suffice if you don't want the whole set. The must haves are definitely the F80 and the P86, and mayyyybe the F82. Definitely worth the money.

***I purchased this set with my own money, and my review of this product is my genuine and honest opinion***

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Happy Forfa Joo-lie! Independence Day Eyes EOTD

Happy forth ya'll! This is just something I created today, of course it's inspired by the American flag (duh).


Products used are:
Milani Paint Palette (Blue, & White)
Coast Scents 88 matte palette (red)
Wet & Wild Black gel liner
NYX Silver Glitter Liner (on top of the white shadow)
Clinique High Lengths Mascara

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Graftobian HD Glamour Creme Palette Neutral #3

Colors from top to bottom: Chestnut, Warm Umber, Hazelnut, Hidden Magic, Nightfall

Graftobian foundations are described as follows:

The Graftobian Hi-Def Glamour Creme Foundation contains ultra rich color and coverage with a satin smooth creamy consistency. These cremes are formulated to yield flawless Hi-Def results whether or not you are in front of the camera. These palettes are ideal for professional makeup artists needing to blend and create coverage for any skin tone.

I have not as yet tried this as a foundation, when I do I will post a review and also a FOTD. I can say that the consistency is very creamy, and you only need the TINIEST amount of product to cover a lot of ground. When I swatched and blended it into my skin, the tiniest amount covered my whole hand, so that goes to show how much product you will actually need for an entire face. The only downside about this product is that it doesn't come with any beneficial properties for the skin, such as SPF, antioxidants, etc. Which in a way is good, because if you're using these foundations in your kit for say photo shoots, you wouldn't want the photos to be compromised by the use of SPF in your foundation causing your client to look all pasty. It also allows for more customization, adding SPF, and skin nourishing ingredients when needed to a routine. This post is to just simply show what this product is, its description and last but not least the swatches and what they REALLY look like. Graftobian brand is mostly used in stage makeup when heavy lighting will be used, etc. It's very popular in the entertainment industry, and they cover any and everything makeup related. They have colors to suit the most porcelain to the most ebony skin tone. Trust me, if you're African American and still struggling to find your shade, give Graftobian a try, they sell in palettes like these, as well as individually.

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Ulta Extreme Wear Gel Liner in Dublin

I never buy store brand makeup. It's not something I've had good experiences with, but if I'm getting it for free then, uhh, wt hey? Right? So that's what happened here. If you're and Ulta "insider" ( I think that's what it's called, or maybe that's Sephora), you earn points toward free items. The items you can choose from are based on the dollar amount you may have spent between x month to x month. Mind you, the items to choose from are not all store brand, but yeah, most of them are, lol. I decided to go with this store brand Ulta gel liner in Dublin. It was free, and I thought it would be a good gel to use as a base for an eye shadow. This liner is very very, como ce dise? Soft? The slightest touch of your brush into the gel puts the biggest dent in this pot, it's not even funny, then it gets all liquidy of you keep mixing it (store brand...hello). That didn't really bother me, I just thought that was weird. Now, it doesn't look half bad, and the staying power is amazing! It literally wont come off until you eye-makeup-remover-it off. Kinda weird for a gel so runny in the pot eh? But yeah, just thought I'd share this with you, in case you were wondering. :-)

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MAC Ruffian Gold - I Lubbb it!!

I'm pretty short, sweet and to the point with my blog posts, because welp, you can only say so much about a product, or anything for that matter, without people drifting away into thinking about what they're going to eat for dinner mid sentence of reading my post. Or any article. Or maybe that's just me? Hmmm... Anywhoo, this lipstick was the only item that seemed to catch my eye in this collection. I initially didn't find it at all interesting, until I had seen a swatch of how sheer it was and how it can be a perfect addition to any lip color you choose. It can be worn alone as well, topped with some sheer colored, or clear gloss. It's labeled as a frost finish, but to me it's just a nice gold sheen that can spruce up any look. When I look at it, I think of Christmas. With all those gold and silver ornaments going on, I'm pretty sure I can fit this lip color right in. It's pretty festive to me. Although I typically don't go with what's good for spring and what's good for winter, yada, yada ( trust and believe if I feel like wearing goth burgundy black lipstick in the summer, i'll be damned and wear it, I don't really follow trends, I make my own :-) ) I would definitely fit this into a nice winter look. Now onto the actual lipstick. Think of a clear balm with tiny speckles of glitter. That's Ruffian Gold. It goes on sheer and see through making it very versatile. It does have that gritty feel because of the glitters, but nothing too bothersome.

                                 

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