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SOHO Beauty Professional Brushes Review

SOHO Beauty makes small train cases and makeup bags, but they recently launched a line of makeup brushes that I was very excited to try and review. Of new product reviews I think brushes excite me the most. I don’t know why, but they just do. I’m a brush junkie. There, I admitted it. That’s the first step right? But I don’t want help with my brush addiction. :) ANYWAY. I was offered the chance to pick out some brushes to review. They have 2 lines of brushes, their Professional collection and their Silk collection. All of the brushes I tried are from the Professional collection.

Professional Kabuki Brush ($19.99) – I was really interested to try this brush because of its unique handle shape. As you can see it is rounded to a point. It has a little base to sit in, kind of like a poached egg! I thought it was too cute to pass up! The bristles are goat, and quite soft. However, I think I’ve become pretty spoiled with my synthetic brushes because I just like how they feel better than natural hair brushes now. As far as goat brushes go though, they did a pretty good job with this one. It’s dense without being obnoxious to clean, and I really like the handle design. It’s a lot easier to use than other kabukis I have. I use this for blending blush/contour etc. As far as using it for powder foundation, you could if you only want a light coverage or don’t mind doing lots of buffing. My dry skin gets irritated if I buff too much, so I prefer a softer synthetic flat topped brush for getting the most coverage quickly. But for blending or a light dusting of powder this brush is fab!

Professional Powder Brush ($16.99) – Okay I really love this brush. It’s pretty soft and doesn’t shed. I like to use this brush with my ELF Complexion Perfection powder. The ergonomic handle is kind of ‘whatever’ – not a huge factor for me because I hold the brush by the ferrule usually when I use it – more control that way. But this is really all you could ask for from a nice big fluffy powder brush. I’ve also used it for a very light diffused application of blush once or twice, but that’s not what I usually do. Like the kabuki, it’s very soft but not quite as soft as my synthetics.

Professional Crease Brush ($8.99) – This crease brush is another Randy Jackson product for me. In other words, “it was just okay for me, dog”. It’s pretty darn big to use for a crease actually. I have pretty big eyes but I think you could quite easily overdo it if you used this brush to lay down color in your crease. It is way too big for precise application. However, for those of you who like to windshield wiper style blend your colors, you will like this. It has a lot of give and bend to the brush so again, not super precise. But for a quick all over blended effect it’s functional. I like taking big fluffy brushes like this and a bit of my face powder and using them to diffuse the edges of my eye looks. This brush would also be good for lightly powdering the under eye area to set concealer. As a creasework tool though I’m not too fond of it.

Professional Angled Blender Brush ($8.99) – This was the brush I was most excited to try, and I’m really bummed because it’s so close to what I wanted it to be. It has soft angled brushes, but a full head that you can’t really see from this angle. It’s like a fluffy little “foot” you can blend with. Like an angled flat top I guess…but eye sized! So what’s the problem? It’s too…for lack of a better word, floppy. Even when I’m blending I still want precision, and I wasn’t able to quite achieve what I wanted to with this brush because the bristles have too much give and bend. Bummer. It’s very soft and feels nice on my eye though, at least!

Professional Small Shader Brush ($9.99) – You guys seriously don’t want to know how many brushes like this I have in my kit. It’s similar to a Stila #7, which I adore, and have 3 of. Seriously. 3. But I love me some shader brushes! I use them for just about everything. If I had to only use one eye shadow brush ever it would be something shaped similarly to this one. I really like this brush, and will continue to use it for my eye shadow looks. However, I practically find them all interchangeable. The only thing that really distinguishes this one from the masses is the handle. For this brush I like the ergonomic handle. I can hold it like a pen and get pretty good control. I like that the bristles come to a point, too.

Based on my experience with these brushes, I would recommend the face brushes for sure. I really like my pair of face brushes. I’m not 100% sold on the eye brushes, but I do like that shader. There’s a few other eye brushes in the professional line that I haven’t tried, so I’m not quite ready to say yay or nay on the eye brush line as a whole. I’d say they’re decent enough to check out if you’ve been curious! You can get them at Walgreens or from their online shop.

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Makeup Break-Up: Sigma Brushes

The Honeymoon Phase

We had some good times. When I first got my Sigma brushes, I loved them. I started out by purchasing the dupes of the MAC 165 and 138 (just called F165 and F138 – not sure their new names?). They were great and I loved them! Then I received the face & eye kit from Sigma to review. I told you all about it. I was a huge fan. I completely stand by that review because it is precisely how I felt about those brushes at the time. My opinion of them has since changed. 
The First Red Flag

Some time after my initial review, I also did an overview of my face brushes. At that point, my F30 powder brush was shedding regularly, but I was putting up with it. The F45 buffer and F50 were still going strong and working well for my purposes. My eye brushes from Sigma were still holding up just fine as well. So because one brush was giving me problems, I wasn’t willing to throw up my hands with Sigma all together yet. It could’ve just been that one brush was slightly defective.
More Flags, Lingering Denial

I hope you all saw my review update on Sigma brushes from the end of May, where I let you all know that my F50 and F45 had begun to shed as well. It was at that point that I got in touch with Sigma and let them know about the issues my brushes were having. They sent replacements free of charge, which is really nice of them and I very much appreciate that! Their customer service is fantastic, I will always give them that. But… that doesn’t change the fact that 3 of the 6 brushes in the kit were inferior and breaking down without much stress on them. So far so good with the new face brushes.
The Last Straw

I have a MAC 224 brush that I absolutely adore. That style of fluffy brush is good for blending shadow, contouring the nose, highlighting, and I also love it for applying and blending concealer. The point being, I use the brush a lot. So when I got the E40 blending brush I knew it would fit right in to my makeup arsenal. Except now it sheds like an absolute bitch. The hairs it’s shedding are tiny, too– about the same length as an eyebrow hair or shorter. And okay, picking a hair out of your foundation or blush is one thing, but I do not tolerate stuff shedding in my eyes. And it was many hairs. 
I was thinking to myself, okay, these are supposed to be professional quality brushes. What is professional about having to pick hairs out of anything?! What working MUA has time to deal with that bull while working on a model or client? I’ve used my Sigma brushes on clients before, before they started dying on me (the brushes, not the clients, thankfully) and I would have been really upset if they’d shed all over someone else. That’s when I got angry at the brushes. 
I threw my E40 in the trash. I won’t need to replace it because I have the MAC 224 and a couple of Stila #9 brushes. Now I’m just annoyed. I don’t like something that calls itself professional quality when clearly experience tells me it’s not. I don’t like feeling like an idiot for raving about something that later turned out to be inferior. I take my reviewing very seriously and now I feel dumb even though I couldn’t have known it would go like this. Even though the replacement brushes have been performing fine, the experience has left a bad taste in my mouth. I do not plan on adding to my Sigma brushes at all, and finding replacements for the ones I have as soon as possible because I don’t want to use products from a company that makes me feel dumb. 
Moving On

I’ve mentioned MAC and Stila brushes in this post as alternatives to Sigma, but let me also recommend some other great brushes. 
Crown – I’m sure you’ve heard of Crown, but they’re an inexpensive, oft-raved about company that I’ve never had any problems with at all. The brushes from Crown I have live up to their raves.
ELF Studio – For only $3, the flat topped powder brush is ridiculous. As in, incredibly awesome. I still use it on the daily.
Morphé – I believe the owner of Morphé is related to the owner of Crown? That’s what I heard. Anyway, these brushes are also really fabulous. I have several eye brushes from them.
Royal & Langnickel – Talk about luxe. Even their travel brushes feel like luxuries!
Edited to Add: I thought I should also mention a couple of things:

– Sigma did reach out to me via Twitter & Email to see if they could replace the brushes I’m having problems with. Nice of them to offer but I won’t be taking them up on it.

– The older brushes I have, the ones that had MAC numbers, are still holding up great and working just fine. 

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Review Update – Sigma Brushes

Back in November I reviewed the Sigma Face & Eye Kit. If you missed that review, check it out. I have an update of sorts on the kit and it’s very important that you read it!

Just to re-cap, the brushes pictured above are the ones I received. Since my review, I’ve been using the brushes as normal. I’m not a full time MUA so these didn’t get worked super hard or anything, but they began to shed. It’s like it started all at once a few months after my review. I noticed it first with the powder brush (F30). As of when I reviewed it, I’d had it several months and it had not shed at all. Suddenly it seemed it started to shed with startling regularity. Every time I used it I had to pick a few hairs off my face. By this time, I estimate the brush to have been used approximately 8 to 9 months (I was using these for a while before I reviewed them, remember). 
Similar to the F30, my F45 buffer exhibited similar “symptoms”. It went from not shedding at all to shedding every time I used it. I’m not rough on my brushes, and I wash them regularly with an actual brush cleaner (Parian Spirit). 
And then, the last straw. My F50 duo fibre brush also started shedding. What. The. Hell? Something had to be done. I emailed Sigma. I was pleasantly surprised that their customer service responded right away. They sent me replacements, no questions asked. So far, so good. I have been using the replacement brushes without incident. I guess it’ll be a few months to see if this repeats itself. I really have no explanation for why the first set of face brushes started to shed.
I’m sure a lot of you out there have tried Sigma brushes. Did this happen to you? I want to know! 
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My Face Brushes – An Overview

Above you can see all of my face brushes (with the exception of my kabuki, which I only just now realized isn’t in the photo…erg.). They are DIRTY. I washed them after taking this picture, which you can click to view full sized to see the horror. But since I’m nosy and I like to know what other people use, here’s what I use. These are brushes that I use pretty much all the time. Maybe not all in one day, but you know. Often. :)
I’ll start from the left and work my way over.
Sigma F30 Large Powder – This brush is okay. I was in love when I first got it and reviewed it. I still think it’s great for its purpose, and quite soft, but it sheds a couple of hairs every time I use it and that’s annoying. I still use it and put up with it though, because it’s the biggest floofiest (technical terminology there!) brush I own. I use it for stuff like finishing powder, and bronzer. 
Crown Brush S205 Pointed Blush – This brush was pointed out to me (no pun intended lol) by my good friend Sam, who said I needed it because it provides the greatest blush application ever. Well! With high praise like that, how could I tell her no? So I picked it up when she and I visited The Makeup Show LA last year. And she’s pretty correct. It’s a great brush. It’s perfect for applying blush directly to the apples of your cheeks. It’s quite dense though so I only use it with my sheerer blushes (otherwise I apply way too much). I got this right around the time I acquired MAC Ripe Peach blush ombre, and it’s great for applying that. 
Walmart HD Foundation Brush – Walmart has these generic brush sets that are just called HD brushes. I have no clue who makes them and for whatever reason they are not on the Walmart website. Anyway, I was able to swap for a set of them that included this little foundation brush. I don’t use traditional foundation brushes very often but when I do, I grab for this one. I kinda like that these brushes are black with silvertone ferrules like MAC brushes because they blend in with my MAC stash quite well. I’m weird like that.
ELF Studio Powder Brush – How many times have I raved about this brush here? If you don’t own one yet stop what you’re doing, open another tab in your browser, and get thee to the ELF website! For $3, this brush is amazing. For $10, it’d still be amazing. It’s so soft, so dense, and just perfect for buffing on powders. I’ve also used it with liquid foundation and it’s so flawless! You know it’s gotta be good if I’ve been raving about it for, oh, over a year.
Crown Brush C428 Duo Fiber Crease – Yes crease, as in eye brush. This brush is way too big for me to use on my eyes, but it makes a fine highlighter brush for applying highlighter to the tops of my cheekbones, brow bones, and even the cupid’s bow or down the bridge of my nose. 
Crown Brush C427 Duo Fiber Blush – I thought this brush would be more similar to the MAC 131, but they are different brushes. The 131 is a lot more tapered. This one kinda splays out (although it is still a rounded top brush). It’s still pretty nice for a softly diffused application of blush, especially super pigmented ones like from Illamasqua. 
Sigma SS138 (now F25 Tapered Face) – This is a dupe of the discontinued/LE (can’t remember which) MAC 138. It’s huge, it’s soft, it’s tapered. I have no idea why I got it, lol. I just said hey– I don’t have that shape in my stash! I need it! I use it for applying my Purely Cosmetics Diamond Perfect Finish powder. I may actually eventually just switch to using only this brush and ditch my Sigma F30 because of its unfortunate shedding problem. This brush can do all the same things and it doesn’t shed. 
Walmart HD Angled Cheek – Here’s another star from that Walmart brush set– the angled cheek brush. This is my brush of choice for contouring. Ignore the fact that it’s pink right now; I used it for blush when I was doing my makeup after the gym because I’d forgotten to bring a blush brush. Oops! This brush is very dense and fluffy, making it ideal for contouring the cheeks, forehead, and jawline, because it lays color down and then blends it out really well.
Sigma SS165 (now F35 Tapered Highlighter) – Another brush I bought because it was a dupe of a discontinued MAC brush. This brush is great for highlighting, or sometimes I use it for bronzer, or finishing powders. I don’t reach for it that often, but it’s a useful little brush when I need it. If you apply powder under your eyes to set concealer, this brush is great for that. 
Sigma F50 Duo Fiber – This brush is meant to dupe the beloved MAC 187. It’s less dense than the MAC brush so if you are looking for a brush to stipple foundation with, you might want to go for the MAC even though it costs significantly more (sorry!). I only use this for blush though because 9 times outta 10 I use my fingers or a sponge to apply foundation, and for that it’s decent. It’s a little large for my cheeks so I have to be careful not to get blush all over my face. I tend to use it more with those really natural, almost all-over face colors just to compensate for that. It has never shed on me, which is a huge plus. If you want me to try it out with liquid foundation just for giggles, let me know and I’d gladly do that and report back. 
Flirt Powder Brush – Oh Flirt powder brush. This is actually my second one of this brush. The first one fell apart and I swapped for another one. It was my first duo fiber brush and really opened up a door (or is it a pandora’s box?) into the wide world of blush for me. It’s way too “floppy” to use for foundation, but for blushes or loose powder this brush is fine, and has a lot of sentimental value for me. I won’t get rid of it unless this one also falls apart!
(not pictured) Sigma F45 Buffer – Once I discovered flat top brushes I all but abandoned my kabukis as far as foundation application goes. However, this little guy is really great for blending. It sheds a tiny bit every once and a while, but it’s tolerable. It’s not the softest brush I’ve ever felt but it’s not scratchy either. It’s like my little Shetland pony in a stable of workhorse brushes. 
Brushes mentioned in this post can be found at:
Walmart (in-store only, apparently!)
Crown Brush (or these are also available from Coastal Scents – same exact brushes)
Kohls (Flirt)
Worth noting about my brush stash is the fact that I do not use any of these brushes for a specific reason except that it’s a great brush for what I use it for. If the Sigma dupes of MAC brushes were crap I’d tell you. Crown Brushes are incredibly inexpensive, but they’re very high quality. Same with the Walmart brushes! And you know the Flirt brush is more because of sentimentality than anything else. I didn’t particularly set out to have only budget brushes, but these brushes work well for my purposes so I haven’t (yet) felt the need to “upgrade” any of them (with the possible exception of the powder brush). 
I hope this post was informative and if you liked it let me know. I plan on doing another one for my eye brushes soon if you guys liked my overview of my face brushes. 
Also, tell me about what brushes are your favorites! I always get great recommendations from you.
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Coastal Scents Brushes?

I placed a small order with Coastal Scents recently. I wanted to give them a completely fair shake. I really don’t like companies that just sell other people’s stuff and act as if its their own (such as putting their name on the wholesale palettes). It’s misleading. But since I hadn’t ordered in ages I wanted to give it a shot and share my experience with you. Plus, I’d been wanting a few brushes anyway. *G*

I will say this, they process and ship lightning fast. Shipping prices seem to have decreased. Their shipping prices are quite expensive if you’re ordering palettes, but my brush order shipped for $2.24 via USPS First Class.

Someone asked me if I could confirm that Coastal Scents just resells brushes from Crown Brush. I can tell you that this is 100% true. I’m not sure if every single brush on their site comes from Coastal Scents, but I know that every single brush in my order is also available on Crown Brush. No, I’m not saying that these are identical brushes. These are the same brushes. They have the Crown Brush serial numbers on them.

My Order (with Crown Brush links in parentheses)

Chisel Angle Fluff Shadow Brush – $2.00 (C150 Angle Fluff; $1.94)
Deluxe Duo Fiber Shadow – $3.95 (C428 Deluxe Duo Fiber Shadow; $4.95)
Duo Fiber Crease Brush – $4.45 (C430 Duo Fiber Crease; $4.49)
Sable Contour Brush – $1.79 (C138 Round Contour; $1.87)
Tapered Duo Fiber Brush – $6.95 (C427 Tapered Duo Fiber Blush; $9.49)

If you’re looking at the prices and getting confused, I’m assuming that Coastal Scents sells them cheaper because they pay Crown wholesale prices, so their per piece cost is going to be far lower than you or I would pay for them individually from either site. Crown Brush is what’s called a private label company. They create awesome products. Companies can pay them to put their logo on Crown products and sell them. Except, in Coastal Scents’ case they don’t bother having them rebranded. The serial numbers on these are Crown’s.

I’m not really for or against them reselling or using private label brushes. Many companies do this. Crown makes brushes for lots of brands. I am really glad that they don’t put their name on them like they do with eye shadow palettes, though. I just want people to know what they’re buying when they order from Coastal Scents. I’m not saying don’t buy your brushes there. They’re good brushes. And you’ll probably save money. But know when you buy them that you’re buying Crown Brushes.

Further review of all of the brushes is coming soon after I have a chance to wash them (they smell weird) and then road test them.

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ELF Glitter Brush Review + Giveaway

I’m such a huge fan of ELF studio brushes, and I absolutely squealed with delight when I saw the new limited edition glitter handle set for holiday! If you click the photo below to view it full size, you’ll see a better view of the glitter handles.
The holiday set is the same as their regular 11-piece collection, but with cute glitter handles. The brushes included are:
Blush Brush – This has a great tapered shape, perfect for applying blush to the apples of the cheeks.
Powder Brush – I have sung the praises of this brush before. This is a dense, flat-topped brush that is perfect for full coverage foundation applications. I use it to apply MAC studio fix powder or mineralized skin finish natural. You could also use this for liquid foundation, or for blending blush or bronzer, there are lots of uses for this awesome brush.
Eyeshadow “C” Brush – This one gets a lot of raves but I hadn’t tried it until now. It’s a thick, short brush, great for blending. ELF says this brush can create a perfect smoky eye.
Small Smudge Brush – This tiny detail brush is perfect for placing color in the inner tear duct area or under the eye. You could also use it as an eyeliner brush.
Fan Brush – I usually hate fan brushes and don’t know what the heck to use them for, but this is actually a really nice fan brush. Many times they’re too floppy to really do anything with except brush aside eyeshadow fallout, but this one is firm enough to apply blush or highlighter with.
Angled Foundation Brush – This brush is an awesome take on traditional flat paddle-shaped foundation brushes. The angled shape allows for precision around areas like under the eyes or around the nose. Could also be used for applying facial masques or creme products.
Contour Brush – I love this domed, dense eye brush for blending crease colors, or adding depth to a look on the outer v. 
Complexion Brush – This is a traditional fluffy paddle-shaped powder brush. I use this brush for applying setting powders, or the ELF complexion perfection powder. 
Small Precision Brush – A tiny detail brush, with a more pointed end than the small smudge brush. This brush would actually function really well as a lip brush, too
Small Angled Brush – Not a whole lot of explanation here. Just a typical angled brush, good for liner, or actually as I prefer it, for brows.
Concealer Brush (not pictured) – Also a pretty typical concealer brush, though its shape would also lend itself well to applying cream eye shadows. 
The whole thing comes in a nylon, water-resistant case. Because some of the brushes are small, there is room to tuck extra brushes into the case if you needed to, but the brushes included here are pretty comprehensive. I could perhaps have done without the small precision or smudge brush and used a fluffy blending brush for eyes, but seeing as how almost all other kits come with them, I already have several. :) As to the glitter handles, the glitter is within the plastic itself, not glued onto the handles. In other words, it won’t flake off or anything. If you have any of the MAC Hello Kitty collection with glitter packaging, it’s like that. The ELF studio glitter brush set would make a great gift for both makeup beginners or junkies– anyone who loves glitter!
Thanks to all who participated in the brush set giveaway! The winner of the brush set has been contacted. Additionally, 2 more winners were selected to receive BONUS prizes! Thanks for making my giveaway such a success. :)
Samples provided for review consideration and giveaway prize.
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Sigma Makeup Face & Eyes Kit Review

This review is long overdue. I’ve been using my Sigma brushes like crazy ever since I got them. I already had a couple Sigma brushes that I was completely gaga for when I was sent this kit for review, so please don’t think I’m saying I love them because I got them from Sigma. People have actually asked me that when I mention I like Sigma brushes. Honestly, I find it kinda rude and insulting that they’d even ask that. :( 
A lot of people ask if they’re “worth it”. Absolutely 100% yes I think they are worth the money. I use these brushes alongside high end brushes from MAC and Laura Mercier and the quality is comparable. It might seem like a lot of money to spend on brushes, but these are great brushes. Sigma brushes used to have numbers that matched similar MAC brushes, but they have re-vamped the line and now they have E brushes (eyes), F brushes (face), and one L brush (lips). I really like this particular kit because the assortment you get is, for me anyway, very functional. There’s nothing here I don’t use on a regular basis. The Face & Eyes Kit costs $54 from SigmaMakeup.com. All of the brushes in Sigma’s Face & Eye Kit can be purchased “a la carte” as well, but since the brushes in the kit are a $78 value purchased separately, this kit is a great deal!
Face Brushes

F45 Buffer – This buffer brush (or kabuki as some people call them) is really fabulous. It’s quite fluffy and dense. Sigma suggests using this to apply minerals or to buff and blend out colors. I use it for the latter. It really is a great brush to blend out blush, or even foundation just to get everything really even and flawless. The quality of the brush is very good too. I think it has maybe shed a single hair if that. There’s nothing more annoying than a buffer brush that sheds like crazy because then you’re picking little hairs off of your face. And if you miss one, well uh, you look like you missed a spot shaving your chin or something. Awkward! I also hate when buffer brushes are too scratchy. It’s one thing to have flawlessly blended makeup, but if it irritates the hell out of your skin while doing it, that’s pretty useless. This one feels soft and smooth. It’s a very good density too. Not so dense that it’s impossible to clean, but it’s not too floppy either. If you’ve ever tried the ELF studio kabuki brushes, they’re much floppier than this one. The buffer brush is made with natural bristles and is $19.00 purchased individually.
F30 Large Powder – I wasn’t expecting to love this brush as much as I do. It’s huge. When they say large powder they MEAN it! It has a rounded top. This brush is fluffy and dense but not as much as the buffer brush. Before I got the F30 I did not use this type of brush very much. However, now I find myself reaching for this all the time! I use it to apply my color-correcting powder (ELF Complexion Perfection), my finishing powder (Purely Cosmetics Diamond Perfect Finish), and even bronzer and/or contouring. For bronzer I used to use an angled brush but I actually get a much more natural look with this powder brush. It has never shed a single solitary hair, and that impresses me because it gets a lot of use! The handle is thicker than some of my other brushes, but I don’t really have any positive or negative feelings about that. It feels sturdy and well made when I use it, not cheap with a wiggly ferrule or anything like that. I love how soft the brush is too. The large powder brush is made with natural bristles. $16.00 purchased individually. 
F50 Duo Fibre – Duo fibre or stippling brushes are a pale girl’s best friend. They are ideal for applying those really pigmented blushes without making you look like a clown. Many people also use them to apply liquid foundation, which is the primary function of this brush. It’s quite large, comparable to the MAC 187 brush, but honestly I think the Sigma is softer and more pleasant to use. Like the F30 brush it has a thick handle that feels substantial in the hand when you’re using it, and also doesn’t shed. I haven’t used it for applying foundation because I really prefer using a sponge for liquid foundation to any other method, but it’s fantastic for blush! I use it when I’m using something like Rock & Republic blush because those are crazy pigmented. The F50 Duo Fibre brush is made with a blend of natural and synthetic bristles. $16.00 purchased individually.
Eye Brushes
$9 each purchased individually.

E30 Pencil – This brush is comparable to MAC’s 219, which is oh just one of my favorite brushes of all time. So now I have 2 brushes like that. Hooray! I love the pencil brushes for crease work. They are also good for the inner corners of your eyes. Honestly I don’t think there’s any difference between this brush and MAC’s, and I use them completely interchangeably on myself and others. Sigma suggests you could use the E30 for smudging out liner or for emphasizing your outer V, which I definitely use it for as well. The E30 pencil brush is made with natural bristles.
E55 Eye Shading – This short shader brush is ideal for work on the lids of your eyes. They pack on color like a champ. Works for pressed or loose shadows, but I have more experience with using it for pressed shadows since they are primarily what I use. Good for intensifying and layering color! The construction is very nice, and over all this is a solid basic that would be useful to anyone’s brush kit. This brush has natural bristles.
E40 Tapered Blending – I feel like I have a billion blending brushes like this. It’s similar to the MAC 224, Stila #9, and several others. Oddly enough I started using this to blend concealer. I have seen a few other bloggers/youtubers do this and decided to try it. I really like the effect. It gives concealer a very natural finish, much moreso than with traditional concealer brushes. While not terribly unique, the E40 or a brush like it is a necessity in a brush kit, so I think it works well as a part of the Face & Eyes Kit. The tapered blending brush is made with natural bristles. 
If you’re interested in buying Sigma brushes, I’d really love it if you’d use my Sigma affiliate link. I get a commission on sales using that link, and proceeds help me with the costs of running the blog and supporting myself since I do not have a job right now. :\
Product sample provided for editorial purposes.
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Sigma Makeup 12 Piece Professional Brush Set


Makeup is expensive enough, but makeup applicators and brushes can be downright ridiculous in price. If it’s not within your budget to have a full set of high-priced brushes just to put on powder and a bit of eyeshadow, you might want to have a look at Sigma, who make professional standard brushes at very reasonable prices compared to other high-end brands. I think there’s something to be said for each of the sets that Sigma offers, but the one that really caught my eye is this complete kit of professional brushes. With a price of $69 at Mulberrypink.com for 12 brushes… it’s really hard to find a deal like that if the quality of your makeup brushes is important to you.

The set includes five brushes for the face and seven brushes for eye makeup.

In the kit you’ll find:

  • A large powder brush made of natural bristles
  • A foundation brush for liquid of cream foundation made of synthetic bristles.
  • A large duo fiber brush designed to create an airbrushed finish when used with liquid foundation made of natural bristles
  • A large angled brush to apply blush or contours is made of natural bristles
  • A concealer brush with a rounded, tampered flat shape makes this brush ideal to conceal the under eye area is made of synthetic bristles
  • A small angled brush for applying highlight shades under eyebrow is made of natural bristles
  • An angled eyeliner brush for applying gel eyeliner or cream eyeliner is made of synthetic bristles
  • A large shader brush with a flat shape for applying cream formulas and eyeshadow primers is made of natural bristles
  • A pencil synthetic brush suitable for precise and firm strokes
  • A blending brush for applying and blending color on the crease
  • A liner brush with an extra-fine tip synthetic brush for a firm even stroke
  • A medium shader brush for applying loose shadow and pigments made of natural bristles

These would make a great Mother’s Day gift, as well!

Save on your beauty purchases at Sephora from TheFind’s coupon site.

Guest post by our partners at TheFind.
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Working Woman’s Makeup Wardrobe

Man alive, am I glad it’s Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!

To combat my new work schedule (7 to 4, and then after that job I do work for my other job), I have started a new ‘thing’ to make getting my face on in the morning much easier: Palette of the Week.

I keep my makeup stash in my bedroom, but since I don’t actually get ready in the bedroom (I do everything except put my clothes on out in the bathroom or the tv room where my laptop is), I keep my brushes and a large makeup bag in the bathroom.

In that makeup bag are my daily essentials and my Palette of the Week. Every Friday I will change out the PotW. By the way when I say “palette” I might mean a literal makeup palette, or a specific handful of eye shadows with 1 or 2 blushes, or whatever. The lip color(s) I’m using that week will just hang out in my purse, along with blot sheets, my Urban Decay De-Slick powder, and my Eco Tools Travel Kabuki brush.

The Daily Essentials I keep in my makeup bag are…

– MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in “Light”
– NYX The Makeup liquid foundation in “LM02 (Ivory)”
– Sonia Kashuk blending sponge (the Beauty Blender dupe)
– Makeup Forever Full Cover concealer in shade “02” (Porcelain)
– Urban Decay Primer Potion (duh!!!!)
– Billion Dollar Brows brow powder in “Taupe”
– Anastasia brow gel (which I honestly don’t always use, though I probably should lol…)
– Mascara (This has varied a little as I’m finding some of my mascaras are dry and need tossing. Not sure which one will go in there next week! Maybe my Fresh mini duo as I’m loving those a lot.)
– Prestige Total Intensity eyeliner pencil in Black
– NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk (I’m test driving this as a base for light colors right now.)
– Bare Escentuals On The Spot makeup removers (LOVE these!)

So I keep that bag in the bathroom so I can do the basics. I also have a little brush cup that is always equipped with these brushes:

– Stila #7 (I have 2 of these. It’s one of my favorite brushes!)
– ELF Eye Shadow Brush (Another one I have 2 of…)
– MAC 217
– MAC 219
– MAC 224
– ELF Powder Brush (you think I’d given up on that baby? hell naw.)
– ELF Complexion Brush
– ELF Contour Brush (which I actually like for crease work…)
– Billion Dollar Brows double-ended brow brush
– ELF Small Angled Brush
– Laura Mercier Flat Liner Brush
– Crown Brush Domed Blush Brush
– FLIRT! Powder Brush (their dual fiber brush)
– Hollywood Brushes Blending Brush (similar to MAC 224)
– ELF Tweezers
– Brow Scissors

Those are the ones I really use the most of my entire brush stash. I have a slew of others that are just packed away because I don’t really use them and don’t really want to take the time to go through them and mess with swapping them, etc. I have a few others in the cup but they’re not used nearly as often.This weekend I will take pictures of these brushes. I don’t say you have to have exactly these brushes, that’s for sure. You can probably find dupes for a lot of them, especially with pictures to show you what they look like. (But come on, those ELF brushes are $1-$3 apiece, just buy that one!)

So far I’ve found this idea to simplify things a great deal, rather than spend time fishing around in my drawers in the morning. Gotta conserve every minute so that I can spend maximum time in bed sleeping. ;)

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Hollywood Brushes – Kabuki

I recently got the opportunity to try out some new brushes from a company I hadn’t heard of before– Hollywood Brushes. I love the name, love the fact that they are a local company (yay so-cal!) and was really excited to try these. I got 3 brushes, and I will be reviewing each one. The first review is of their kabuki brush.

Now, the brushes from Hollywood Brushes are not cheap, but they are very well made, professional quality brushes. The kabuki is $30.99 and comes with a leather carrying case. The bristles are goat hair. Now, why do these say makeupshow on them? I have no idea. But I don’t care. I like the sleek look of the red bristles and black ferule (which is aluminum by the way) a lot. Looks very stylish on the vanity. ;)

On first impression the brush felt very very soft. I’m usually someone who prefers synthetic brushes for my face because the bristles tend to be a bit softer, but this I used just fine and liked it. 
Hollywood Brushes suggest using the kabuki for powder, blush, or bronzer. I used it to apply my MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural over a bare face to see what kind of coverage it could deliver, how it felt against my skin, etc. I found the brush to again be very soft against my face, but firm and dense enough to give excellent coverage. 
The first time I used this brush it did shed a few hairs. The second time I used it, it shed a couple more. A little bit of shedding like this with a brand new brush is normal! When I cleaned the brush for the first time, only one more hair shed out. This is a very good sign. :) 
Overall I think the brush is very nice! I am very pleased with it and will use it like crazy. I’m very picky when it comes to face brushes. I like this brush a lot and would definitely recommend it if you’re in the market for a very nice kabuki brush. Because of how cute it is and the little case, it would also make a great gift.
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