Sigma Beauty

My first purchase from Sigma Beauty has arrived! Most of the brushes that I usually use are from MAC however I find that with the MAC ones the brush bristles tend to fall out quite often which is never helpful when you are trying to put on your foundation. I know that the Sigma brushes have been much raved about on Youtube and by various bloggers, so naturally I wanted to try them for myself! And finally got round to buying the "Premium Travel Kit" in sweet pink. Initially I wanted to buy it for my Malta trip but I ordered it too late in time so I haven't had a chance to use them yet. It took about 2 weeks for it to arrive (I'm writing this post quite late in time).

It came in a pretty hot pink bag and I got a free gift which was a small blending brush (E25)


Inside brushes L-R: Tapered Face (F25), Duo Fibre Power/Blush (F15), Large Concealer (F65), Large Fluff (E50), Small Tapered Blending (E45), Short Shader (E20) and Small Eye Liner (E10).

I also just got the dry'n shape brushroll which hasn't come yet. I usually wash my brushes with MAC cleaner and then just use tissue paper to wipe them off but the amount of tissue paper I go through just to clean even 2 brushes is a lot. However a few days after placing my order I got an email from Sigma Beauty that they will be holding their 'Annual Worldwide Free Shipping Event" on 25th November 9am-5pm (United States Central Standard Time) which is around 5pm-1am GMT. I'm sad that I missed this because shipping costs quite a lot so if you've been planning to buy the brushes get it with the free shipping event!

[Review] Feeling Christmas-y - Gold Nail Varnish

The past few years as I've grown older and no longer count as a child that can choose toys for Christmas I haven't really felt that excited about the season.. However upon seeing Christmas decorations and lights everywhere it does ignite a child in myself and I find that I actually do look forward to Christmas really, heh. This year one of the things I wanted was a gold nail varnish to suit the season and Topshop was my first point of call as their nail varnishes are easy to apply, last fairly long and are cheap-ish (£5 for one). Also today Carnaby Street had the Grazia Event for 20% off in all their shops so I went into Illamasqua and got myself a nail varnish set with a gold glitter color and a black one, they had another set which had a red one and then a red glitter one but I had to refrain myself. I've heard good things about the Illamasqua nail varnishes so that's why I went for that brand.

Topshop 'Heart of Gold' - When I first saw the colour in the bottle it wasn't very appealing as it is very metallic but upon trying it on I quite like it.

Illamasqua 'Spartan' - This one has very big gold pieces compared with the Topshop one and it is the kind of nail varnish that when you remove it you end up with glitter all over your hands. I wouldn't wear this on its own as its more of a base color with gold glitter.

The one that I will be wearing for Christmas will be... Both of them :p
I will use the Topshop one as a base for a strong gold colour and then add the glitter from the Illasmasqua as the topcoat.

[Review] Shu Uemura Depsea Water

Today I am going to review the Shu Uemura Depsea Water in Rose. The rose one seems to be the most popular, even now I just checked Shu Uemura's UK website and the rose one is the only one that is sold out. The other scents in this range include: Mint, lavender, rosemary and fragrant-free. I got mine from the little boutique store in Covent Garden although I did check Selfridges a couple of times because it was more convenient for me however they were sold out and wouldn't be stocking up anytime soon. Taken from the Shu Uemura website the product information says:

"Eight herbal aromas formulated with Depsea Water provide a refreshing feel with a fine mist that gently wraps the skin. New pump update achieves a finer mist for enhanced comfort. Suitable for all skin types."

Ingredients: Sea Water, Methylparaben, Linalool, Parfum/Fragrance

My thoughts: I actually bought this back in summer and it didn't seem to do anything for me however I recently started using it again. The thing about combination skin is that it tends to get drier in the winter seasons and for me it got really dry! So I had to switch up my skincare routine and one of the things I changed was the Clinique Clarifying Lotion 2 which is way too harsh for winter to the Shu Uemura Depsea Water which I am now using as my toner. I can actually tell that it is moisturising my face as the dry patches disappear. It is not a miracle product (I don't think that exists) but it certainly helps me keep moisturised and is a gentle alternative, also I save on cotton pads since you can just spray/mist it on. The smell isn't too overpowering either which is another plus. I would say the downside is the price which is set at £16.50 for a bottle. However there is a 20% Christmas Shopping Evening at Covent Garden coming up on 1st December 5-9pm ^^! And you can register for a ticket here: Sevendials Covent Garden

[Review] BB Cream Skin79, Liole, Dr Jart+

BB cream or Blemish Balm cream is a staple item in Asia and now even the UK is joining in on the craze (hurrah!) with the likes of Garnier, MAC, Clinique and Bobbi Brown coming out with their own version of the BB cream. If you still do not know what BB cream is then here is a definition:

"BB Cream is somewhat a makeup product with skincare properties. As mentioned, it was initially introduced to patients who went for cosmetic surgery but still wanted to look good post surgery while in recovery. So it has more soothing/healing properties (varies from brand to brand) compared to our normal foundation. Its still best applied with moisturizer and sunblock. Different brands of BB cream has different textures , coverage and blendability." - acid2burn@Soompi.com

So basically it is a foundation with healing properties and in the Asian market there are a lot of BB cream to choose from for different skin types and the level of coverage desired. I personally do not like tinted moisturiser and so I turned to BB cream. Today I'll be reviewing 3 of them:

1. Skin79 Dream Girls BB Cream SPF 30 - "Protects skin from the sun while excellent blemish care and sebum control properties prevent trouble and shine to maintain clean and fresh skin." - Skin79NorthAmerica.com
   
   This was the 1st BB cream that I purchased and I chose it because it was recommended to me by someone on Soompi.com for combo-oily skin. Skin79 have a wide variety of BB creams to their name but Dream Girls is specifically aimed for teenagers with troubled skin. This BB cream is only available in one colour which may not suit everyone but this was not the problem for me. I found that the coverage was very sheer and it did nothing for my oily t-zone! However when first applied it was very dry on my skin. This was not a good start for me and BB cream.
2. Liole BB Cream - "It has a soft feeling and creates clear and natural skin tone by being effectively absorbed to skin. You can complete make-up speedily as it does not require any make-up base or foundation. Its bisabolol, licorice acid derivatives, and allantoin component soothe your skin and jojoba oil, macadamia nut oil, hyauronic acid derivatives, and marin collagen make your skin moisturize and smooth." - Lioele.en.ec21.com
   
   After the disappoint of the Dream Girls BB cream I didn't want to give up on this craze just yet so I got the Liole BB cream and... I absolutely loved this one! It gave me full coverage, went on smoothly and kept my face moisturised but not too oily. However the contentedness didn't last long as I continued using it I noticed that it was blocking my pores and causing spots when it is suppose to heal the skin and it doesn't have any SPF which is quite weird for a BB cream not to.
3. Dr Jart+ BB cream black label SPF 25 - "Triple function of whitening + wrinkle improvement + UV protection. BB cream that presents natural skin tone with soft and moist application. Whitening, wrinkle improvement, and UV protection (SPF25/PA+++)" - Amazon.com
   
   I had given up hope on BB cream awhile ago but I was influenced by Stylesuzi.com and my friend so I decided to try the Dr Jart+ label. When I first conducted research on BB cream I did notice Dr Jart+ and the amount of good reviews it had but I was put off by the price and the bad reviews (which there is bound to be 1 or 2). However this one is probably the best 1 out of the 3 BB creams for me. The coverage is medium, oil-control is okay and it hasn't broke me out. I've been using it for 2 weeks now and although I have yet to see if it really does have any 'healing properties' on my face it certainly doesn't aggravate it either. Another plus is that it contains SPF in it.

Swatches of the 3 BB creams, L-R, Dream Girls, Liole & Dr Jart+ Black Label

From this swatch you can see that all 3 of them are different colours and when you first put on BB cream it can appear very white but the colour soon settles into your natural skintone, I found.

[Review] Shiseido Pureness Skincare Range

As I was running out of my Clinique 'Superdefense SPF25 Age Defense Moisturizer' and the 'Clarifying Lotion 2' I decided to try a new skincare range as I was worried about using an anti-ageing product at the age of 20. Many people have said that you shouldn't use and don't need to use anti-ageing products until your late 30s as it can cause your skin more damage in the long-term however the other side of the arguement says that the younger you start to use anti-ageing the better. I've tried researching if there is any difference between ageing-prevention and anti-wrinkle/anti-ageing but I gave up. I found it is much easier to just buy something else.

My cousin went to Hong Kong so I took this opportunity and asked him to get me 3 Shiseido Pureness products which are MUCH cheaper in Hong Kong then in the UK. I went onto House of Fraser and John Lewis websites' to see how much the whole range would be from the Shiseido 'Deep Cleansing Foam', 'Balancing Softener', 'Moisturizing Gel-Cream' and the 'Pore Minimizing Cooling Essence' and it came up to about £95? But my cousin got 3 of the products (minus the cleanser as I'm still using my Clinique one) for £45! By the way I have combination skin.

First up is the balancing softener. I found that one pump was enough for my face and it left my skin feeling really soft. The smell reminds me of baby wipes which may not be for everyone. I don't think this product is for me as my face doesn't really feel clean enough after using it and I'm not too sure about it balancing blemish-prone skin as my skin seems to have gotten worse but then I am use to using much more harsh toners.

The second product is the moisturizing gel-cream which is suppose to be for combination-normal skin types. Now my skin was getting really dry for some reason and this was exactly what I needed! A little goes a long-way, I use it at night and it hydrates my skin perfectly. Initially I loved this product however I have found that a couple of red bumps that develops into spots have popped up on my face >_< They are horrible! At first I thought my skin was getting worse due to my hormones and it being that time of the month but now I think it is the cream. I have been using this cream for 2 weeks and I've gotten more red bumps!

The last product is the pore-minimizing cooling essence. When I tested it out on the back of my hands it left my skin cool and matte so I thought it'd work great but having used it morning and night for a couple of days I found that it made my pores even worse. I thought I owed it a real chance so I done a real test by steaming my face and releasing all my pores on my nose, cleaned it with cold water to close the pores then I used the essence... When the essence had dried I found that it had filled up all my pores again! Now it is sitting on my desk useless.

Overall I won't be repurchasing any of the products in this range. The Pureness range is suppose to deal with shine, imperfections and dryness, I think they have the dryness and shine part nailed down but in terms of imperfections it is nowhere near. I am seriously contemplating buying Clinique's 'Superdefense SPF25 Age Defense Moisturizer' again because whenever my skin is acting up I always go back to Clinique... I like using this moisturizer because I find it moisturises my skin without it making it too oily and it also keeps my blemish-prone skin under control, the fact that it is an anti-ageing product is my downfall. What made me ignore that fact was that it had SPF25 in which I thought great! It's protecting my skin aswell but then I found this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swftzB3O9iU

Yeah.. So after more research my next venture will be Benefit's b.right! Radiant range.

[Review] GlossyBox - July Box

Today I was abruptly woken up by the postman at a time way that was way too early for me but I soldiered on because I knew it was my GlossyBox finally arriving! (And plus the other people in the house know its a package for me so they wouldn't open the door for me, hmpf). I originally ordered back in May but unfortunately the June box was sold out so I had to wait for the July one, like many others. Anyhow this was what I was presented with:

Even the outside packaging is cute. Inside:

Pretty pink box.

Finally the 5 products included were:

• Ciate Nail Enamel in Skinny Jeans - Which is an electric blue and not a colour I would normally buy but maybe it will look good on nails, I'll see;
• Illamasqua Powdered Metal in Ether - Hmm lol interesting name but somewhat off-putting, I mean metal? From what I understand it is a highlighter that can be buildable depending on the effect you want;
• Orla Kelly Eau de Parfum - Cute summer perfume sample and it isn't too sweet, bonus;
• Ultra Sun Face 30 - Sun protection cream that can be used on face! Perfect for summer, however it is an 'anti-ageing formula' and that is not what I am looking for.. Yet;
• Weleda Pomegranate Regenerating Body Oil - I was totally perplexed with this product, it is a body oil that aims for 'more elastic, hydrated, smooth and supple skin', again an anti-ageing product I won't be using for a couple of years. But slathering oil on your body? I'm not a big fan of that either.

All in all I'm quite disappointed with my first box, would of liked more make-up and less anti-ageing products but I guess this is kind of hit & miss as there is no customization option. I still like the concept though and will carry on my subscription for next month as £10 is a good price. If you still don't know about GlossyBox:

"With the GlossyBox you receive the most interesting beauty products and latest make-up trends every month directly to your home. Each GlossyBox contains five selected luxury product miniatures. The product range is diverse, ranging from a luxury lipstick to a trendy hair care product from a cutting edge brand." - http://www.glossybox.co.uk

Another year.. Another birthday

As of yesterday I am officially no longer a 'teen'. I feel old, people around me obviously say no you're not! But if they think back to their 20th they were probably freaking out as well. Anyways I had a little BBQ with the family on Wednesday and was careful not to over-stuff myself like the usual BBQ's we have. At the end of the day I usually feel sick and bloated because I had eaten so much. Then on Thursday I went out to dinner at Inamo with the girls in an attempt at a sober birthday but then when we finished it was still quite early so we tried to look for a decent (cheap) bar. However all of them had shut already so we just went into a club and surprisingly it was quite live for a Thursday night out so that was good. Only stupid thing is at the end of the night I was waiting for a bus. That was never coming because it had already ran the last one like 4 hours before, I only realised after like 40 minutes standing there like a doughnut.

Thanks S.H, L.L, M.N, S.H, T.L, R.T <3