Sigma's Synthetic Kabuki Kit

The Synthetic Kabuki Kit ($56 for four brushes) was Sigma's first set of brushes in their Sigmax collection. The Sigmax brushes are super dense, very soft, high quality brushes that get the job done like no other. Whether you typically use liquid, cream, mousse, mineral, or powder products—or even if you like to switch it up!—this set does it all.

When I first received this set I admit I was immediately obsessed. The brushes are so soft and they work so incredibly well, I felt like I was cheating on my other Sigma brushes. Don't get me wrong, those still have their time and place too, but these Sigmax brushes are something of a wonder.

I apologize for the dirty brushes!

Urban Decay Bourbon, Whiskey, & Zero

Everyone's heard all about Urban Decay's 24-7 liners, so I don't think I need to explain. I'll just share with you the three I have and wear regularly. I own a couple full sized Bourbon liners, and I only own the double ended version of Whiskey/Zero from the Naked palette, but I would like to have the full sizes when they run out!

Bourbon, Whiskey, Zero

Bourbon is a medium dark brown with gold glitter. The glitter is quite small as well—the swatch above is very enlarged—so I find this liner actually quite wearable for any situation despite it having glitter. It's great on its own too, and the creamy consistency makes a quick and easy look on days when you're in a rush.

Whiskey is actually my favorite. It's slightly darker than Bourbon, and has a sheen to it that I really like. It's not frosted but it's not quite a flat brown either. I wear this liner nearly every day! Unfortunately this color is no longer available. I plan on replacing it with Demolition in the future, if I can't get my hands on it somehow.

Zero is a flat black, and while I don't actually prefer to use this to line my upper lid, I love it for tight lining. It goes on quickly and easily, doesn't irritate my eyes, or flake like I've had gel liners do. As I said above, I do intend to repurchase this liner, but I'd also like to try Perversion which is supposed to be even darker than Zero.

Besides Demolition and Perversion, I'm also interested in trying Yeyo, Electric, and Ransom.

Essie French Affair

Essie French Affair is a beautiful cool based pink. It's quite a bright pink, especially with darker skin tones, but I find it wearable for any situation. The formula is pretty average, seeing as I need two coats for solid color and find that one coat looks messy. It's my favorite pink—that I own anyway!—but it might be a little spendy to some at $8 for .46 fl oz.

Two coats with clear topcoat

MAC Heavenly Creature Mineralize Blushes

Tomorrow morning MAC's Heavenly Creature collection releases in stores! So to commemorate, I wanted to share with you the mineralize blushes I purchased online from the collection. This collection is all about outer space, so the majority of the products are quite shimmery, including these blushes.


Unfortunately I found them nearly impossible to photograph. I reshot the below closeups after I had swatched them quite heavily, so the closeups are more representative of what the blush will look like after some use. I thought it was far more important to have photographs that most accurately show their colors.

Ring of Saturn



Ring of Saturn is a terracotta or dark, dusty rose color with golden shimmer. It's the second most pigmented of the three, making it harder to work with than Solar Ray and easier to work with than Supernova. It requires application with a light hand, and expect to spend a little extra time blending. Also, quite a lot of shimmer is lost from such heavy blending, so when I wear it it's far less shimmery than Solar Ray.

In the pictures above, it appears almost pink-ish when blended out, but I assure you, next to a pink blush like Supernova, RoS is for sure red based.


Solar Ray



Solar Ray is a lightly bronzed peach with gold glitter. This is a great summer blush for its sunny color, which its name surely hints at. Of the three, this is my absolute favorite! It's the least pigmented and very wearable. Because I don't have to blend it out like the other two, the shimmer stays and really shines when the sunlight hits it. This is definitely a "my cheeks but better" blush, and I've actually never encountered a blush quite like it. I think this blush would work easily with any skin tone, and highly recommend it to those who want a summer glow without tanning or bronzer. I really love it.

Supernova


Supernova is a bright fuchsia with gold glitter. Out of the three, it's by far the most pigmented and vibrant. It's difficult to not get clown cheeks with this blush. I actually have to pat my facial powder over it to make it wearable. Granted, I do prefer subtle blush. I'd recommend this for those who are more daring or those who have a darker skin tone. But personally I may not be reaching for this blush often, even though it's a beautiful color, because it takes much more effort to make it work on my NW15 skin.


Stratus is the fourth blush in the collection, but I didn't purchase Stratus because in all the swatch photos I saw, I couldn't imagine the color suiting me at all. It's a deep, plum brown so it's not even useable as a bronzer. I'm very sure it'd look very muddy on my NW15 cheeks. If you're fair skinned and rock Stratus, tell me about it!