*Превод на български най-долу*
Hello!
Happy holidays, dear friends! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. I spent my day writing cards and watching movies yesterday, so it's time for me to write a post now!
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It's really difficult to build your kit when you are a new make-up artist. It's quite expensive, but at least some brands and websites offer discounts for working professionals. I've been applying for make-up artist discounts with different brands since I finished my first make-up course in April and decided to get into make-up seriously. So far I've managed to get discounts with Inglot, Illamasqua, NARS and some other brands.
I recently found out that make-up artists receive a 20% discount with Sigma brushes. I first tried Sigma in 2011 - I bought a couple of brushes and loved them so much that I bought a whole brush kit from them in 2012. My application for a pro discount was approved and I received the Sigma Pro Welcome Pack on Monday so here's a review of what was sent to me ~
I was sent some eyeshadow and brow product samples, as well as a free blending brush. Let's start with the shadow and brow powder samples.
I decided to use the Warm Neutrals Eyeshadow Palette for my Christmas make-up. I went for a warm smokey look on the eyes. I used the shades Dove, Optimistic and Warm Stone.
- Optimistic - in the centre of the lid. A pink shimmery shade.
- Dove - on the lid right under the crease. It's a warm brown It's warm brown shade, a bit darker then it looks in the picture.
- Warm Stone - in the crease. It's a matte brown with some golden particles in it.
- On my brows I have the Dark shades of the brow powder samples. They are easy to apply with an angle brush and look quite natural.
Here is a picture of my whole face so you can see how this eye make-up looks paired with MAC's Dubonnet lipsitck ~
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On Tuesday I used the Smoke Screen Eye Shadow Palette samples. I used the blue (Nebula), the black (Almost Jet) and the bronzy (Ember) shades.
- Almost Jet - in the crease. It's a nice matte black colour, good pigmentation, easy to blend.
- Nebula - on the lid. It's a lovely light blue colour, but I had to really pack the colour on - It's not really pigmented, which is a shame because the colour is gorgeous.
- Ember - in the inner corner. A really pigmented bronzy colour. It could work as a great lid colour too.
- Again, I have the Dark Brow Powder on my brows.
Conclusion:
Most of the Sigma eyeshadows samples I tried were good quality. I did 3-4 looks with the shadows this week, I didn't wear a base (only powder) on my eyes and my make-up still lasted all night.
I liked the Warm Neutral palette a lot. The shadows were easy to blend and more pigmented than those in the Smoke Screen palette. The colours are really well chosen and compliment each other. I'd actually buy this palette if I didn't have more than enough neutral colours in my kit. I'm satisfied with the brow powder too - I actually finished the Dark and Medium samples today so I still have Auburn and Light to try on someone with lighter coloured hair.
Let's move on to the eyeshadow brush!
I was sent this mini version of the Sigma E25 Blending brush. I actually received one of these small brushes as a gift with my first Sigma order in 2011, so now I have two. Yay!
Top - MAC 217, bottom - Sigma E25
A lot of people consider this brush a dupe of the MAC 217. I don't think it's an exact dupe, because the E25 is sligtly more tapered but both brushes do the same job. So yes - if you are looking for a cheaper version of MAC 217 - get the Sigma brush. The Sigma brush is 14 USD, the MAC one is 24 USD. Unfortunately, Sigma's international delivery is quite expensive...so do have a look for a free delivery code or a 10% off code before you make an order.
The post turned out longer than I expected. Sorry! I'm going to post my cosmetics Wishlist for 2015 soon aaaand I think it's going to be my last post for 2014.
I've already planned so many posts for 2015, I can't wait :))
Till the next time ~~
