Sigma Flat Kabuki Brush F80 {review}
/ Roxy HuttonGosh I am simply mad about the Sigma range of makeup brushes. And that was well before I was able to hold or use them. After reading a few of my favourite international beauty blogs (namely Tiffany & Vivianna) and seeing how these two ladies always seem to rave about the Sigma range I have been dying to get my paws on them.
The lovely folk at SigmaBeauty sent me a welcome package when I joined their affiliate program, and I was beyond excited to find one of their Kabuki brushes in my parcel.
It was the F80 Flat Kabuki brush, designed for the application of buffed foundation. I have been happily bumbling along with my MAC #187 Stippling Brush which I love, but after using this one from Sigma, I now find my MAC brush a bit too chunky. It seems to absorb most of the foundation in its bristles, and doesn't seem to give me that flawless, airbrush finish I've been after.
The Flat Kabuki does just that, the design of the bristles are much more compact, allowing for a more buffed appearance when blending.
I don't wear foundation everyday, but when I do, using this brush really makes blending a breeze. I just wish that we would pick up these brushes as easily here in South Africa as you can in the US. You can order Sigma brushes online through Feel Unique but clicking here.
AND...if you use my affiliate code on the Sigma Website (43087_ you'll get a free gift when you spend over $30 online. So click here to start spending away!
Happy Shopping!
{please note, I am in no way endorsed by Sigma. I am an affiliate which means that if you purchase anything from their website with my affiliate code, I will receive a very small portion of the sale}
For the past week I have been trying a very exciting new addition to the Dear Klairs range of beauty products. Dear Klairs is a Korean beauty brand established in 2010 in Seoul, South Korea, and what I love most about them is that they do not test on animals and their their products are alcohol-free, paraben-free, and artificial-color-free!
The majority of their products are catered towards sensitive skins, and their latest addition, the Midnight blue Calming Cream is no exception. If you have 'patchy' skin, dry and undernourished only in certain parts of your face, then this cream is just for you!
I have tried out a number of their products (courtesy of WishTrend) and have been most impressed with them. Dear Klairs has actually become one of my favourite Korean beauty brands, and I have tried LOTS of Korean. Here are my own (always honest) reviews for the products I have tried out so far.
I think what I love most about Innisfree is their innovative product lines. Every few months they release a new line of products (or at the very least a new addition to their already existing product lines) and last Autumn was no exception. As part of their fall/winter lineup, Innisfree announced a ginger-oil-centric series of serums, creams, and essences that promise to:
make skin more hydrated, firmer, and healthier
As with most of their skin care ranges, they claim to to contain lots of of natural ingredients from the Island of Jeju. I'm sure you can guess what is extra special about this cream and what special ingredient goes into it?
It's winter here in Korea, and the icy cold wind has wrecked havoc on my normal to combination skin.
I hate the feeling of having tight skin after a hot bath (thank goodness for my bath tub...even though it's a shocking shade of pink nothing beats a hot bath after a day of being out in cold). I've been using and loving this Honey Mask from I'm from which was kindly set to me by WishTrend to review.
I'm from is a Korean skincare company that I hadn't heard of before trying this product. I initially though there must have been something lost in translation when I say first saw the jar as their name sounded very unusual. I kept trying to understand 'where' they were from.
This mask is very difficult to get your hands on here in Korea. Due to it's popularity it's often out of stock online. It's currently in stock on WishTrend, an online Korean beauty store which delivers worldwide.
As you may or may not have noticed from my ever growing list of reviews, I am quite a fan of Korean beauty products. There are so many lotions and potions and pretty bottles and tubes (not to mention all the on going sales throughout the month) that it's hard not to get hooked.
There is also a reason that Korean Beauty products are so sought after...they work.
As a South African (ie I do not have, nor do I want, a face that is as white as snow) I have had my fair share of trial and error when it comes to Korean beauty products. Being part beauty blogger (I also sell stationery and am a freelance photographer) I choose to only review the products that I really do love and actually use. If I buy a product and I don't like it, I won't feature it. I'm not into tearing down a product just because it didn't work for me, as it may work for the next person.
As Korean skincare products are so different to Western brands, it goes without saying that there are different ways to using them and preferred method of application for each product. Have you heard about the 10 Step System? If not don't worry, all will be revealed soon!
It's the start of the cooler weather here in South Korea and I have been wanting to cut a fringe for the past few weeks. Cooler weather means much less maintenance when it comes to a fringe, or bangs as my American friends say. All girls with a fringe will sympathise with me when I say that that part of your hair does not tame easily, especially if you exercise a lot.
A few weeks ago I noticed a number of my students had cut their gorgeous, long hair in favor of a bob, and when I asked them why they had cut their hair, I was quite surprised at their answer. They had donated their hair to cancer charities. After asking a few more questions about it, I decided I wanted to do the same with my hair. In the past 20 years I have only had one 'short' hair cut and that was to below my shoulder, hardly short I would say, and so this was quite a big deal for me. Instead of thinking about it too much, I decided to make the change last week Tuesday and then walked into a salon here in my small town and had it all chopped off. Over 30 cm's of hair!
Here are a few snaps of my hair pre-cut (as in, the morning of the day I cut my hair). It was long, wavy and looked a bit endy. I was never the type of girl to spend hours curling or straightening my hair, and this is how it looked naturally after a quick once over with the hairdryer after a shower.
It's been a very long time since I bought anything from Skinfood. I think the last purchase I made was a repurchase of their signature Black Sugar Serum (and that was back in 2014!). South Korea is well known for their cutesy packaging and beautifully designed products, and more importantly, for how effective their products are. It takes just a moment of looking around at the women here to be able to see how beautifully cared for their skin is. A large reason their skin looks the way it does is because of protecting their faces (and every other body part) form the sun, but they also spend a lot of time and effort on their beauty routines (do you remember my post on the 10 Step Korean Skincare routine?).
There are so many Korean skincare and beauty brands, and each of them is associated with something unique. Etude House is know for it's very cutesy and girly packaging, Missha is seen as a higher end brand, Tony Moly is what all the school girls favor and Innsifree is seen as the Eco-friendly flagship brand. I always saw Skinfood as one of the cheaper brands, more so when it came to quality than actual price. Most of the products from Etude, Tony Moly and Skinfood are actually priced very similarly but from the look of their packaging, I wasn't really blown away.