Sigma Brushes - My thoughts

Because I've been asked to do makeup for a few brides this year, I realized I actually had to start a REAL kit! One of the biggest factors to starting a kit is, of course, BRUSHES! What is a kit without good quality brushes? Now, if you don't me very well, let me tell you, I'm HELLA broke! Just kidding! haha I'm just not rich and I don't have make-up companies sending me free things every week or two. Everything I feature here on my dinky little blog is purchased by yours truly! Of course, many people would say that I have a crap load of makeup, but seriously, I really don't think I do. My makeup collection has just been building from over the years! Trust me, I'm not in denial about this, even though makeup does seem to be my life addiction! Anywhoo, back to my point, which is that you really don't need a lot of money to buy good quality brushes. YES, I do own MAC brushes and have purchased them in the past but doesn't mean I think they're the only good quality brushes out there on the market! There are actually some awesome websites and companies that sell and manufacture high quality brushes for more than reasonable prices. Some for example would be (and I'm sure you guys have probably heard this all over YT), Crown Brush, Royal and Langnickel, Coastal Scent and of course, the infamous Sigma! As well as MANY MANY more companies/websites.

I recently bought a set from Sigma's website specifically for my kit. Before purchasing them, I did a lot of researching and read/watched a lot of reviews on the Sigma brushes! I finally felt comfortable enough to buy it trusting they were going to live up to all the raves. OH-EM-GEE! I seriously love them! They are really really great, high quality brushes and are soooo comparable to MAC brushes! (with the exception of maybe the dupe for the MAC's 187 brush). Ladies and gents, if you don't want to spend a day's work on expensive MAC brushes, I would seriously have to recommend Sigma's brushes. They're affordable, high quality, great if you're just starting out with makeup and definitely worth it! Here's the link if you wanna check it out! www.sigmabeauty.com

Everything in total cost me $77 CDN including tax and S&H. I know it sounds like a lot but, do you know how little you can buy at MAC with $77??? Very lilo! lol

Let me know if you guys know of any other websites that sell good brushes for decent prices! I'd love to hear and know about them! 

Here are some pics of how the brushes looked out of the package.

My special gift I receive from Sigma for purchasing from their website!! It's a dupe for MAC's 217!

Also, this Saturday will be my first REAL makeup gig. It's a wedding gig so keep your fingers crossed for me...I'm a little nervous! lol
 

Update and Paint and Powder Cosmetics

I've been finding it harder and harder to find time to update my blog. Life has become extremely stressful and busy these days. Of course, I always believe the days will get better with time though. I just wanted to update you guys as to why I haven't been blogging much lately. My maternal grandpa had a stroke about a week ago. Mind you, I'm very close to him because, well, I've known him my whole life! It's been really stressful on our family. We don't realize how much he does for us now that he's been in the hospital for the past week. Not to worry though, we're all very optimistic about his recovery and believe he'll get stronger and come back from this stroke. I'm just happy that his stroke was not as bad as it could have been. We're hoping he'll be out of the hospital by this weekend, so, please keep your fingers crossed!

Moving on, I've been recently getting more and more people asking me to do make-up for weddings. I've never actually taken this whole make-up thing seriously as I honestly never thought I was talented enough to. However, now that I've actually agreed to do them, I now have to start putting together a "professional make-up kit". As unprofessional as it is, I know I still have a lot to learn about freelancing and that all comes with experience.

I've been looking through my collection and realized that there are some definite things that I HAVE to have specifically for my kit only. That includes, foundation, brushes, shadows lip products....basically EVERYTHING! lol. I watch Makeupbyrenren a lot and I know she does freelancing too. She always tends to know great sites that carry products that cater to MUA's or freelancers just starting out. She recently blogged about what necessities you need for a starter kit. She recommended some great sites and one of them was paintandpowderstore.com

So, I went on the site and found a few great things that I definitely thought I could find useful in starting my first make-up kit. I think this site is definitely a great site if you're a MUA or if you're just starting out. The products I bought are listed with pictures below.

Japonesque Double-Sided Professional Lipstick Palette

Japonesque palette (closed)

Disposable Makeup Spatual w/Slant Tip

Deluxe Lip Gloss Disposable Applicator

Disposable Mascara Wands Straight Head

Disposable Mascara Wands Curved Head

Please be aware that I actually haven't even used any of these products yet to try them out and see how they work. However, all the products were what I believe very decent prices, especially if you're struggling with $$$. There's also definitely A LOT more on the website that you can order and, to be honest, they have a great selection, anything from supplies to make-up. I just ordered what I thought I needed. So, again, check out that website!!

On another note, please pray for Japan as they go through this extremely devastating time. My thoughts and prayers are with them!

A quickie FOTD

Okay ladies, this look didn't turn out the way I had really wanted it to but I posted it anyway to make up for the lack of posting.

This look consists of a bright blue on the lid, a deep vibrant purple in the crease and pink as the blending color towards the brow bone. I do love the way it turned out but wished I had used better lashes for this look. I can't remember all the products used for this look but I promise for the next look, I'll make sure to post all the products! :D