Tarte Pin Up Girl Blush Palette

Hey beautiful!

I had to get this one up right away. After reading this review, head out to Sephora and grab yourself one (or two) of this Tarte Pin Up Girl palette before every single one of it runs out. Im considering getting one more as backup. Yikes!

I was kicking myself in the butt for not getting last year's palette and everyone raved how good it was. I've learnt my lesson, so this year i had to go get one before it runs out of stock. 

Packaging:

The palette is housed in a cute gold clutch-like casing. They also throw in a pearl and a rhinestone bobby pins to tie the theme together. The 'clutch' feels very sturdy, guessing it's made of plastic, wrapped in gold shiny cloth, and is lined with a thin layer of a spongy-type material as cushion in between. 

Inside, you get a decent size mirror and of course, the stars of the show, the 5 blushes.

The blushes:

If you have never tried Tarte blushes before, you better. Tarte blushes are bomb. They really do last on my face and are pigmented. The texture of the blushes are so smooth and soft without a single grit felt when i rubbed my finger on them. 

I love MAC blushes A LOT and has been using MAC blushes for 3 years now consistently. But just last week, i cheated on MAC and tried a Tarte one in the colour Magic and i found a new obsession. I will still love MAC because they have so many different colours and finishes available but i'll start using Tarte more often now because they are so pigmented and soft it's like silk running over my face. 

I've only first started using that Tarte blush in Magic JUST last week, and im singing praises to the sky about their blushes. Tells you just how much im sold and you need to get on that bandwagon if you havent already.

The variety of the blushes are well-thought out. There's a matte neutral beige colour, a deep berry with shimmer, a matte light pink, a matte peachy pink and a matte deep rose. Goes well with all kinds of eye look. And, convenient to bring to travel!

IMPORTANT: (A tip I learnt from my MUAs with regards to techniques) When picking up any other powder products, DO NOT SWIPE your brushes on the pan. The swiping motion will cause a lot of powder particles to loosen. You will then see plenty of loose powders forming and you have to blow off the product from the pan. This creates a lot of product wastage. Instead, they taught me to use dabbing motion with my brush. An example of product "kick-up":

Pic credits: google images

I hardly get this powdery "kick-up" on my pan. I have read reviews of beauty bloggers not liking how much "kick-up" this product creates, but that's only because the technique used in picking up the product isn't ideal and should be considered before bashing this product (or any other powder products for that matter).

Price:

This palette is great if you're just starting to dabble into Tarte blushes. There are 5 colours to test out for a fraction of the price at only SGD $59! It's super cost saving to get the palette compared to buying the individual full sized ones!  

Each of the blush pan in the palette carries 0.158oz of blushes and a full sized blush is 0.2oz. One full sized Tarte blush is about SGD $45? And this palette is only what, SGD $59! Ohh Yessssss! 

My Concern:

However, i do have one concern that i think may cause a problem to some people. Im tan (MAC NC40 shade) and the first colour, which is the matte beige, nearly matches my skin tone. It's still visible on my skin but im not sure how it'll show up on darker skin tone. On me, it pulls like a soft peachy beige colour and quite honestly, that's just one colour i have to build several (about 2-3) layers on to get the intensity of a beige blush and not just look like i've slapped on extra face powder particularly on my cheeks. (All the other blush colors needed one layer and boom, pigmentation!) Im predicting the first colour will run out faster than the other 4 since i have to layer it more to get the intensity and colour to my desired liking.

Verdict:
❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ out of 5

Sephora November 2014 Haul

I wasnt planning on going shopping yesterday. It was mid-week and I needed a little pick me up so I wondered into Sephora. I wanted to get myself mentally prepared on all the holiday sets available so that i can purchase them in December when im in the holiday mood. I saw quite a few sets that caught my eyes and was resisting the urge to get them all right away. As starters, I picked up a few necessities but when December comes, it's showtime. 

Sigma Mrs Bunny Essential Kit

Hi beauties! 

I was stalking Luxola.com for a few days in June hoping to come across some kind of a random sale and as soon as they had a big percentage off the entire website, i jumped on the opportunity! Can you imagine I bought these brushes at 35% off! The original price was SGD $209 but I paid SGD $136! 

(Edit: Luxola, will you stop spiking up your products' retail prices? What's up with you guys excluding Sigma brand brushes on some of your discount codes? Can you also bring in popular brands like Kat Von D, Hourglass and Anastasia Beverly Hills too? K, thanks bye!) 

To put the cherry on top, the order came in within one day! I ordered in the morning and was able to receive it by night. How efficient, Luxola? If you'd like, click on the Luxola.com banner linked at the side column of my blog and take advantage of my discount code for % off! They're my affiliate link. 

The Mrs Bunny Essential kit contains 12 pieces of full-sized synthetic bristle brushes and a brush case. The brush case came in the same colour as the brush handles; baby blue with silver ferrule. This specific kit is cruelty free and vegan-friendly.

I bought the Mrs Bunny kit because i prefer synthetic bristle brushes to natural hair brushes. The difference between the two is that the synthetic ones do not absorb too much product into its fibres compared to the natural hair brushes.  Hence, products translates better from the pan and onto the skin than natural hair bristles. Natural hair brushes eats up and absorbs more products into its fibres than depositing it on your skin and you're only wasting more products in the end.

Syntetic bristle brushes are versatile and works well with any products. Be it liquid concealer, cream foundations, gel liner, cream contour, powder eyeshadows, face powders or pigments but natural hair brushes are very limited to mainly powder products and does not work well with liquid or cream products or even pigments.

I have owned other Sigma brushes like the F50 Duo Fibre and the F05 Small Contour brushes prior to this purchase and had loved the way Sigma brushes felt on my skin. That was the reason why i was not hesitant to spend a little bit more money on brushes that i knew, from experience, were great in quality. To say that the brushes are soft, is the biggest understatement of the year. 

Real Techniques brushes are affordable but are a tad stiffer and scratches my skin a little. I have extremely sensitive skin that WILL react and tell me if it doesnt agree with things i introduced it to but my sister who doesnt have sensitive skin, did told me that she thinks RT's brushes are really soft and not the slightest bit scratchy. So if your skin's like mine, just be on the know that RT's are a tad scratchy for me. They are still good brushes though, nonetheless, but Sigma synthetic ones are much softer.

Honestly i have the most sensitive skin and i can vouch for the softness of these Sigma synthetic bristle brushes. So far, they don't scratch against my skin and are really super gentle.

I believe that an artist is 'handicapped' without proper tools. Makeup is an artistry where faces are the blank canvases, and  eyeshadows are the watercolours. The right kind of tools that helps me execute well-blended looks, yet maintains a degree of crisp, clean and detailed eye work in my "smokey", "cut-crease", "sandwiched" or "strong catliner" eyeshadow looks is the ultimate deal breaker for me.

So to sum it up:

Pros

- These Sigma brushes do not shed

- They retain their shape really well even after countless of washes 

- The bristles are soft and did not scratch  my sensitive skin

- Sturdy handles that's got some weight to them

- Brush handles are appropriately long enough to grab on and the syntethic bristles are of good quality

- Sigma's synthetic-bristle brushes are cruelty free. MRS BUNNY kit is an ALL synthetic brushes kit. 

- Good amount of eye brushes and face brushes in kit

- Sturdy brush case makes the kit travel friendly 

- Lasts up to 2 or more years. Great investment. 

Cons:

- Still to me somewhat expensive (SGD $209 for 12 pcs. $17/brush)

- Bristles DO become rough and scratchy over time and after going through plenty of washes. My 2 year old Sigma brushes feels a little scratchy on my skin.

- The wooden part of the brush handle do get chipped over time (the wood from my F05 brush handle got chipped)

- Natural hair bristle brushes ARE NOT  CRUELTY FREE. I dont know the condition of how these animals are kept, whether they're locked up and caged up or whether they're free range (able to roam freely). I dont know if these animals are sufficiently fed with good nutrients, proper food and water, or fed with bad diets or injected with growth hormones,etc. If im aware that a company is not cruelty-free, i will not support them. Sigma claims to cut/trim the furs of these animals only. 

So, would i repurchase Sigma brushes? Only the synthetic bristle ones and only if I really needed it. 

Here's closeups of the brushes. I will have a detailed post on these brushes and tell you more about its individual function and purpose soon!

5 Face Brushes

From left to right: Concealer, Blush, Flat foundation, duo fibre and complexion brushes

7 Eye Brushes

I would rate this  ❤ ❤ ❤.5 (3.5 hearts)  out of 5 hearts because Sigma needs to be completely cruelty-free in order to have my full stamp of approval. Needs to have better corporate social responsibility? Great product but at the expense of our furry animal friends? Hmm.. 

Im more than satisfied with the softness and the way my makeup application turns out with these synthetic bristle brushes. PLUS, synthetic ones are way softer compared to the natural hair brushes so i dont know why anyone would want to buy natural hair brushes that's stiffer and scratchier.   

I wouldn't say that these brushes are a must to have in your life but if you have the budget for it, i would recommend trying out Sigma synthetic brushes, generally. However for my beauties who are on a budget and feel it's unnecessary to own them, there are many other brushes out there that are decent and affordable too. I.E: (cruelty free) Urban Decay, Tarte, Too faced, Eco Tools, Real Techniques, etc.

Eyebrow Tutorial [PART 1] - Faded Eyebrow

IN THE PICTURE:

• Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade - Auburn
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz - Soft Brown 
• Selphy Slide Eyebrow Pencil - Light Brown
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Tinted Brow Gel - Brunette
• NYX HD concealer - 04 Beige

I have decided to divide this brow tutorial into 2 parts. 

For Part 1, using crayon/wax-type pencils. For Part 2, using cream-type brow products.

Today's tutorial is done by using the crayon-type / wax-type eyebrow pencil. I used the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Soft Brown. ANY EYEBROW PENCIL THAT IS PIGMENTED AND CREAMY WILL WORK. You dont have to go out and buy the Anastasia's that's USD $21 because i promise, any wax-type eyebrow pencil that is pigmented and slightly creamy will give you the same end results.

I have other alternatives that I've personally tried and tested before i got my hands on the Anastasia Brow Wiz and they work just as great, costed me less money and are easily available in Singapore(for my local readers).  It is not about the product I use but rather, it is the technique of filling in my brows, that i've learnt from the MUAs during my modeling gig, that changed my brow game forever. 

ALTERNATIVE PRODUCTS YOU CAN USE:

1. MAC Eye Brows Crayon around SGD $30

2. SELPHY Slide eyebrow pencil - Bought at Venus Drugstore SGD $19.90

3. Rhomlon Eyebrow Pencil - Bought at Ta Qiang/ Sinma around SGD $2-4

4. Face Shop Eyebrow Pencil - SGD $7.90

Important - to note: If you'd like to brighten up and liven up the overall appearance of your face, chose the colour of the eyebrow pencil one tone lighter than the colour of your hair. If not, get the colour that matches the colour of your hair exactly.

Step 1: In order to have the faded eyebrow look, i made the front of my brows have slightly lesser eyebrow hairs. This isn't noticeable even when i don't fill in my brows but just as long as i know i have made the front have lesser hair, is enough for me. So dont go crazy over-plucking the front of your brows. I know how easy it is to over-pluck eyebrows so even after plucking 3 eyebrow hairs at the front of your brows and you don't see a difference, it's okay, stop there. That is good enough. Dont go crazy and pluck off more.  If you are not confident with plucking your own brows, have them professionally done. You can achieve this by visiting salons and have your eyebrows threaded. 

If you have naturally full brows, the end result may not be as obvious but nonetheless, you'll still end up with beautiful groomed brows. Just work with what you have and work with what you're comfortable with.

Step 2:  I cut the front of my eyebrow hairs according to the height i want my eyebrows to be.

Step 3: Using the spoolie side of the brow pencil, comb up all the eyebrow hairs and position the hairs to the direction that you want the eyebrow to take shape. I comb upwards at the front of the brows, upwards but sideways in the middle and downwards but sideways at the tail.  

Step 4: Using the pencil, underline the bottom of the brow first. I draw from 3/4 of the way in. Curve upwards, following the natural arc of the brow. Stop as you reach the starting point of the tail.

Step 5: Mimicking the technique used for the bottom line, draw a line at the top of your eyebrows 3/4 of the way in. Ensure line is evenly parallel to the bottom. Follow the natural arc and round out the curve of the highest arc.

Step 6: From the bottom line, extend out to form the tail.

Step 7: From the top line, connect the line to meet the end point of the bottom tail.

Step 8: Color in the spaces in between the two lines you've made. Concentrate more pigment at the tail and using light strokes at the centre. The front of the brows still have no product at all at this point

Step 9: Using the spoolie side, comb through the hairs from the middle to the tail and distribute the colours evenly.

Step 10: Very lightly, use the spoolie and comb the front of the brows upwards.

Step 11: Use a tinted brow gel and comb through the middle and the tail of the brow hairs into place.

Step 12: Whatever is left on the wand of the tinted brow gel, comb the front of the brow upwards lightly

Step 13: Using a concealer, underline the entire bottom eye brow. Concentrate more at the arch till the tail.

Step 14: Apply concealer at the top of the brows at midpoint. Ideally, right at the highest point down to the tail

Step 15: Blend out the concealer.

Voila. There you have it, the perfect "faded" eyebrow.

Makeup Of the Day

• Base: Benefit Porefessional on my laugh lines ONLY, Make Up For Ever HD Foundation #125 applied with beauty blender, Mac Studio Fix  Powder Plus NC40, NYX HD concealer in 04 Beige and Mac Prolongwear NC20

• Cheeks: Essence Matte Bronzer to contour, ELF Studio Blush in Tickled Pink, MAC blush in Pink Tea

•  Eyes: Urban Decay Ammo Palette, Ardell Demi Wispies Lashes, Mascara by Essence

• Eyebrows: Rhomlon Eyebrow Pencil

• Lip: NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Istanbul

(Headpieces are from ALDO. They are two separate pieces which i stacked on top of each other.)