Hey ladies!
I just wanted to pass on some special deals and a 10% discount code for Sigma makeup.
The link will take you to their special deals page. You'll notice they have a few brush sets on sale and you can also use the 10% off at check out, just type "valentines" in the coupon code box. This offer is good until Feb. 15th! While there check out the website!
They have a couple new things that are pretty awesome!
In my Post about brushes I talked about my synthetic Kabuki flat top brush. They have a set of 3 synthetic face brushes! LOVE IT!
One other thing to check out is the 12 brush kit. They come in fun colors AND the matching holder is great for travel or to help store your brushes.
Check them out and let me know what you think. :-)
Hope you guys enjoy and are able to get a couple brushes at a discount!
Cheers to valentines day and coupons!
Katie
Katie's Tips & Tricks For All Things Beauty
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
SUPER BOWL
Happy Super Bowl Sunday!
Just wanted to share a quick link. Alyssa Milano has created an entire womens NFL clothing line. We can support our teams and look cute doing it! Check it out at Alyssa Milano!
Hope everyone has a fantastic super bowl sunday!
Cheers to football and yummy food!
Katie
Saturday, February 5, 2011
It's all in the brushes!
A couple years ago I discovered makeup tutorials on youtube.com. These are VERY addicting. I spent hours watching them and then trying to recreate some of the looks that I liked the most. Whenever I tried the looks on my own they never quiet turned out the way they were supposed to. I was dumb founded as to why. After spending half my life on these tutorials I decided to invest in a good makeup brush kit. Many makeup artists had done reviews so I picked a popular brand, an affordable option and then impatiently waited for them to arrive. Once they finally got to me I busted them open, washed them and put them to use. I watched some of my favorites tutorials again. The looks that I wasn't able to pull off before magically turned out perfect! It's all in the brushes!
Before I received my amazing brushes I had a few brushes I had gotten at MAC, Target and a few other places. They got me by. But left a lot to be desired. I never knew what I was missing until I had gotten my brush kit.
So what brushes did I purchase? The Complete Kit from Sigma makeup. At the time this was a new company. Just about every makeup artist had nothing but fabulous things to say about them. I have mixed feelings about them. If you are just starting out or cant afford MAC brushes this is the way to go. HANDS DOWN. MAC brushes are my first choice as far as quality goes. However they are pricey. Sigma brushes are affordable (They break down to $6.60 a brush for the complete kit, minus the brush roll). Down side to these brushes, when you first get them and wash them the color tends to bleed and they shed. Some of my brushes still shed. But for the price, eh not a bad sacrifice. They are numbered the same as MAC brushes and are widely compared to them. If you are just getting started this is absolutely the way you should go. The company has grown a lot in the year and a half almost 2 years. They now offer a ton of brush kits.
I think that those foamy triangle shaped applicators that come with drugstore eye shadows should be illegal. BAD, BAD, BAD. Well okay there are 2 ways you could use them that aren't totally horrendous.
1) Just a one color wash over your lid. However you wont have a lot of control over intensity.
2) To apply highlight under your brow.
Not ever my first choice but if you have to, there ya go.
Below is a list of my must have brushes. These are the ones I use every single day or every other day. I will use the Sigma brushes as my examples as these are the ones I use most often. We'll start with my most beloved brush the . . .
1) Sigma Flat Top Kabuki Brush. This is my absolute favorite brush. Every girl should have one. It is SO soft and just totally amazing. Gives full coverage for either powder OR liquid foundation. I promise you will NOT regret getting this brush. I might have a bit of an obsession with this brush. LOVE IT!!
______________________________________________________________________________
2) Sigma Duo Fibre. This brush is another multi function brush. It gives an airbrushed appearance with liquid foundation. It can also be used for blush and one of my favs to apply MAC's finishing spray. Instead of spraying my face I spray this brush first then lightly dab my face.
_____________________________________________________________________________
3) Sigma Foundation Brush. I was not a fan of this brush initially. For my it tends to streak. However recently I have been using this brush for contouring. Contouring perfection!
_____________________________________________________________________________
4) Sigma Tapered Highlighter. Name says it all. It does an amazing job as a liquid or powder highlighter.
______________________________________________________________________________
5) Sigma Blush Brush. Gives a just-been-pinched look. You can use with liquid or powder.
______________________________________________________________________________
6) Sigma Eye Shader. Gives a great concentrated pop of color.
______________________________________________________________________________
7) Tapered Blending. This brush is perfect for blending. I'm a huge fan of blending. So this is one that gets used everyday in some way.
______________________________________________________________________________
8) Sigma 217. Another amazing blending brush. This brush they usually send out free with your order. So no need to buy it. :-)
______________________________________________________________________________
9) Sigma Small Angle. My fav eyeliner brush of all time!! I also use this to shade in my eyebrows.
______________________________________________________________________________
10) And my last must have is: The Sigma Pencil Brush. I love this brush for smudging eyeliner. Also great for outer corner, crease and lower lash line.
So there you have it. A total of 10 must have brushes.
I recently have heard about a brush company that has been around for years for professional makeup artists called crown. They just recently made their brushes available for everyone to purchase. I am def going to try them out the next time I buy some more brushes. I'll let y'all know what I think then.
Cheers to fun brushes and a happy face!
Katie
Before I received my amazing brushes I had a few brushes I had gotten at MAC, Target and a few other places. They got me by. But left a lot to be desired. I never knew what I was missing until I had gotten my brush kit.
So what brushes did I purchase? The Complete Kit from Sigma makeup. At the time this was a new company. Just about every makeup artist had nothing but fabulous things to say about them. I have mixed feelings about them. If you are just starting out or cant afford MAC brushes this is the way to go. HANDS DOWN. MAC brushes are my first choice as far as quality goes. However they are pricey. Sigma brushes are affordable (They break down to $6.60 a brush for the complete kit, minus the brush roll). Down side to these brushes, when you first get them and wash them the color tends to bleed and they shed. Some of my brushes still shed. But for the price, eh not a bad sacrifice. They are numbered the same as MAC brushes and are widely compared to them. If you are just getting started this is absolutely the way you should go. The company has grown a lot in the year and a half almost 2 years. They now offer a ton of brush kits.
I think that those foamy triangle shaped applicators that come with drugstore eye shadows should be illegal. BAD, BAD, BAD. Well okay there are 2 ways you could use them that aren't totally horrendous.
1) Just a one color wash over your lid. However you wont have a lot of control over intensity.
2) To apply highlight under your brow.
Not ever my first choice but if you have to, there ya go.
Below is a list of my must have brushes. These are the ones I use every single day or every other day. I will use the Sigma brushes as my examples as these are the ones I use most often. We'll start with my most beloved brush the . . .
1) Sigma Flat Top Kabuki Brush. This is my absolute favorite brush. Every girl should have one. It is SO soft and just totally amazing. Gives full coverage for either powder OR liquid foundation. I promise you will NOT regret getting this brush. I might have a bit of an obsession with this brush. LOVE IT!!
______________________________________________________________________________
2) Sigma Duo Fibre. This brush is another multi function brush. It gives an airbrushed appearance with liquid foundation. It can also be used for blush and one of my favs to apply MAC's finishing spray. Instead of spraying my face I spray this brush first then lightly dab my face.
_____________________________________________________________________________
3) Sigma Foundation Brush. I was not a fan of this brush initially. For my it tends to streak. However recently I have been using this brush for contouring. Contouring perfection!
4) Sigma Tapered Highlighter. Name says it all. It does an amazing job as a liquid or powder highlighter.
______________________________________________________________________________
5) Sigma Blush Brush. Gives a just-been-pinched look. You can use with liquid or powder.
______________________________________________________________________________
6) Sigma Eye Shader. Gives a great concentrated pop of color.
______________________________________________________________________________
7) Tapered Blending. This brush is perfect for blending. I'm a huge fan of blending. So this is one that gets used everyday in some way.
______________________________________________________________________________
8) Sigma 217. Another amazing blending brush. This brush they usually send out free with your order. So no need to buy it. :-)
______________________________________________________________________________
9) Sigma Small Angle. My fav eyeliner brush of all time!! I also use this to shade in my eyebrows.
______________________________________________________________________________
10) And my last must have is: The Sigma Pencil Brush. I love this brush for smudging eyeliner. Also great for outer corner, crease and lower lash line.
So there you have it. A total of 10 must have brushes.
I recently have heard about a brush company that has been around for years for professional makeup artists called crown. They just recently made their brushes available for everyone to purchase. I am def going to try them out the next time I buy some more brushes. I'll let y'all know what I think then.
Cheers to fun brushes and a happy face!
Katie
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Lashes
Having fantastic long looking lashes is what every girl wants. In the last couple years (2009-2010) false lashes and lash serums have been flying off the shelves. The false eyelash business has increased it's revenue by about 6.2 percent which is around $44 MILLION. Lash serums or lash enhancing products have created a whole new commitment to beauty.
Whatever your choice to enhance those lashes to eye-batting-worthiness, most of us want something fast and easy. I discovered (by accident) how to make my lashes appear longer AND how to curl them and make them stay that way all day!
I already have naturally long eyelashes (Thanks Mom & Dad). However they are stick straight. Maybe even slightly curved down. Since the day I was allowed to wear makeup I have tried EVERYTHING to get those suckers to curl and stay that way. Until just a couple months ago I failed miserably.
For the last couple years I have used Loreal Voluminous.
My Lashes didn't magically curl when I used it. But it did add lots of volume making them appear fuller. This stuff doesn't smudge or flake. I give this an "A" rating. Had I not discovered my new method I would still be using this stuff!
On one of my MANY visits to Target I noticed a new product on the Loreal wall: Loreal Lash Serum.
As I already mentioned my eyelashes are pretty long. I bought this hoping that if maybe they grew a little longer they might curl up, at least a little. They didn't, that I noticed. I did notice after a couple weeks that they were stronger, fuller and I wasn't loosing as many lashes.
I decided that I was going to brush the dust off of my eyelash curler. Thought I would give it ONE-LAST-TRY. I had invested in a heated eye lash curler, a couple actually but they were not reliable and had all dyed. So I decided to manually heat my eyelash curler with my blow dryer.
WARNING: using this method is probably not the best. I ALWAYS test it on my hand first before getting it anywhere close to my eye.
I suppose I should back up a little. By this point I have applied the Loreal Lash Serum and it has completely dried. I curl my lashes with my eyelash curler, and then I apply the lash blast waterproof mascara. HELLO beautifully-long-curled-all-day-lashes!!
Let me explain how the combination of these things together work for me and why I like this method.
1) The Lash Serum acts as a barrier for the waterproof mascara. It washes off at night without a problem.
2) Curling my lashes with the serum on them with heat allows them to stay curled longer (think curling iron and hairspray) and setting it in place with the waterproof mascara ensures it!
3) Have you ever bought one of those mascaras with the two ends? One end is the white stuff and the other is the mascara. The theory is the white stuff acts as a tube allowing the mascara to build on. The Lash Serum does the same thing it acts as the tube and the lash blast allows me to build up and up and UP!!
Cheers to beautiful lashes!
Katie
Whatever your choice to enhance those lashes to eye-batting-worthiness, most of us want something fast and easy. I discovered (by accident) how to make my lashes appear longer AND how to curl them and make them stay that way all day!
I already have naturally long eyelashes (Thanks Mom & Dad). However they are stick straight. Maybe even slightly curved down. Since the day I was allowed to wear makeup I have tried EVERYTHING to get those suckers to curl and stay that way. Until just a couple months ago I failed miserably.
For the last couple years I have used Loreal Voluminous.
On a friends recommendation I decided to try a new mascara. I have to say it was hard to make the switch because I was so in love with my voluminous. She recommended: Cover Girl Lash Blast.
Not only did I decide to switch mascara brands I decided I was going to try waterproof. I've never been a fan of waterproof mascara. It's so harsh on your lashes. But I had heard that if you curl your lashes then set it with waterproof mascara it will stay that way.
um . . . yes and no.
For me this did not work. They stayed curled slightly longer then they had before but not by much. By mid morning or day they were back to their normal straight selves.
On one of my MANY visits to Target I noticed a new product on the Loreal wall: Loreal Lash Serum.
I decided that I was going to brush the dust off of my eyelash curler. Thought I would give it ONE-LAST-TRY. I had invested in a heated eye lash curler, a couple actually but they were not reliable and had all dyed. So I decided to manually heat my eyelash curler with my blow dryer.
WARNING: using this method is probably not the best. I ALWAYS test it on my hand first before getting it anywhere close to my eye.
I suppose I should back up a little. By this point I have applied the Loreal Lash Serum and it has completely dried. I curl my lashes with my eyelash curler, and then I apply the lash blast waterproof mascara. HELLO beautifully-long-curled-all-day-lashes!!
Let me explain how the combination of these things together work for me and why I like this method.
1) The Lash Serum acts as a barrier for the waterproof mascara. It washes off at night without a problem.
2) Curling my lashes with the serum on them with heat allows them to stay curled longer (think curling iron and hairspray) and setting it in place with the waterproof mascara ensures it!
3) Have you ever bought one of those mascaras with the two ends? One end is the white stuff and the other is the mascara. The theory is the white stuff acts as a tube allowing the mascara to build on. The Lash Serum does the same thing it acts as the tube and the lash blast allows me to build up and up and UP!!
Cheers to beautiful lashes!
Katie
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)