Drugstore Darlings

Not everyone is so willing to spend (way too ;-) ) much money on Make Up, so I decided I pick so nice things from one of our local drugstores.

The store is called "Bipa" and unfortunately I doubt that is exists anywhere outside Austria, but no fear, I'll come to that later.

The collection is called "exotic colours" and I bought all the shadows except the blue one.


They look quite intense, don't they? Nevertheless, as expected the colour pay off is not the one a Mac shadow would give you. I was a little sad about that, but hey, they only cost 3€ each.

Here some swatches:

With a good eyeshadow base (I used UDPP) they stay where one puts them and they do so the whole day, I tried it!

So, overall, I think the result is really nice for what you pay, but it also reminded me why I started buying MAC products. Drugstore shadows just don't reach that level of colour pay off.

I think about selling them, anyone interested? I only used them once for the swatches and one look to see if they crease. Let me know in the comments if you want them.

Love,
Guinevere

Eyeko Haul

Some time ago I ordered from Eyeko, a make up bran from London, and took pictures for a post and totally forgot about them. So here they are:

Captured by the pretty packaging and some swatches I've seen online I ordered the nail polishes and the Eyeko Creme set, which includes the normal creme and the tinted one. I'm way to pale for the tinted version, but the set price was so awesome, dito the polishes, that I bought them anyway. And hey, I can use the cream for my clients. :-)

Let's start with the polishes:

Don't they look cute?? I love the packaging! Nevertheless, they are quite small, so I thought two comparison pics with other items might be useful.

Small I know, the lipstick suddenly looks huge! But for the price (4€) it's okay.
I made no swatches, because there are already many out there and my nails are unphotogenic. If you still want some, let me know.

Each of them contains 10ml product and they are nice to work with. They can get streaky, but personally mine were fine except the blue one - pastel polish -, the packaging had something already when I received them and now it's totally dried and I can't even open it anymore.. But I'll deal with this personal crisis later.. ;-)

Let's move on to the creme:

As said I bought the normal and the tinted one.Nice isn't it? I know, I know, what about the actual product, no need for fear, I got it covered:

The creme feels very light and goes on smoothly, which I absolutely love. I hate it when you put on a creme and it feels so heavy that one gets the feeling the skin can't breathe anymore. Not with this.

In the picture the cremes look very dark, but on the skin they just blend in.

Here you see how it looks like, unblended, that might silence any questions or fears.
I really do like the creme as a base for my foundation, it's light and reflects the light subtle and lets you glow in a nice way. It doesn't have a distinctive smell and contains 28ml. For 7€ it leaves nothing to be desired.

My overall opinion: I really do like the products, the polishes are soooo cute and the creme is versatile and provides a glowing base without feeling like you wear anything. And the best: they ship worldwide for FREE. I mean, hello, what are you waiting for! ;-) In fact, the polishes are limited edition, so if you want them, get them now!

Here is their website: www.eyeko.com

Love,
Guinevere

EZ Prez™ Pressing Medium - worth it?

Hey there!

A few shared thoughts about this little pressing medium. Here a size comparison with a China Glaze nail polish, it's not that large.


I tend to be quite a perfectionistic and so I didn't wanna press my precious pigments with just plain alcohol, I didn't trust it and when I discovered this product at the Coastalscents homepage I was immediately thrilled and ordered it.

I thought this will be quite easy and after watching the "How to" youtube video on the Coastalscents site absolutely confident I'll press the best eyeshadows ever.

Well.. It didn't work that awesome as I expected. I did it the way it is described in their video, but i had troubles with getting the same consistency and I made horrible mistake: I forgot to shake it first. After two days the pigment still was pasty and nowhere near a solid consistency. There are two oils that HAVE to be combined.


One time I got it right and the result was quite nice. Nevertheless, I was kinda frustrated and tried it with alcohol and it turned solid after a few hours and was ready after one day.

I don't feel a difference between the one that was used with this pressing medium and the one with the alcohol. It might be my inability, but these are my experiences and I thought I share them.
Anyhow, with some practice this might be a good alternative to the alcohol version. And it only costs about $10 so you don't have to spend a lot, if you tried it, let me know. I would love to hear your opinions and again don't hate me if you love it, this is just what I think and I will keep trying. :-)

Love,
Guinevere

Sigma Brushes!!!

I'm sooo sorry for not posting anything for such a long time. I feel horrible, but I was really sick (no swine flu, but a normal, still quite annoying, flu) and therefore not able to do anything..

But here I'm again aaaand: WHHOOOTT WHOOOOT almost 10 subscribers!! Thanks sooo much!!!

I know, I know, stop talking and start reviewing:

I received my Sigma Brushes some weeks ago and I'm absolutely amazed!!! On their page they sell several kits and selected brushes individually. I ordered the "Sigma Make Up Professional Brushes Complete Kit" and two single Brushes. I even got a little 217 brush as gift for free. :-)

Some pics:


As you can see almost all of them look identical to the Mac ones. They even use the same numbers to describe the brushes, they just have Sigma and then SS in front of the numbers. The 239 has different hairs, but I can assure you it doesn't make any difference.

Let's look at it in detail:

SS190: This is the perfect foundation brush, the size is exactly right!



SS252: A quite multi-useable brush - it has a flat shape and is fine for different formulas, may it be loose eyeshadow or an eyeshadow base.

SS266: An angled liner brush which is perfect for making fine lines.



SS187: The famous duo-fibre brush, may be used for applying foundation, highlighters or blush. Love it!

SS168: The angled brush, who is your best friend when it comes to contouring.



SS275: Angled eyeshadow brush.

SS239: THE eyeshadow brush. This differs from the Mac one, other bristles and it's a bit larger, but as good as the Mac one!

SS209: A liner brush, which creates fine lines. I personally prefer angled liner brushes, but if you like the "typical" one, here it is.

SS219: This is perfect for applying shadow in the crease or on the lower lash line.



SS224: Another highly beloved brush: it is wonderful for applying highlight colours under your brows.

SS194: Concealer brush

SS150: Wonderful brush for powder products.



My individual brushes:

SS188: The smaller version of the 187 and as perfect as it's brother.



SS182: A kabuki brush, it is sooo great, exactly like the Mac one!



You see these brushes are simply awesome and soo much cheaper, it's ridiculous. The set I bought costs $69 and you can also buy it with a brush roll, which would be $89. The 182 costs at Mac about 50€ and the Sigma one only $19! Do I need to say more?

I doubt that I will ever buy Mac brushes again.. They don't have all Mac brushes, but the most important ones. So definetely check them out.

Here's the homepage: http://www.sigmamakeup.com

I hope you enjoy this post!

Love,
Guinevere