Sigma Brush Review & Giveaway!

A few wks back the great people at Sigma contacted me about doing a little brush review and giveaway for them so of course I jumped at the opportunity b/c 1. I LOVE getting free stuff to try out and 2. I LOVE giving away free stuff to my readers lol!

The very generous ppl at Sigma sent me Travel Kit Naughty in Black.  Which is really a complete set of brushes and perfect for those weekend getaways or longer trips away when you're trying to pack light.  What's made this so exciting for me and I know this is going to sound crazy b/c I am a makeup artist and all was I was planning on keeping the brushes all for myself b/c I actually don't even have a set of makeup brushes I use just for me lol!

Yes, that's right I'm a makeup artist who doesn't even use brushes on myself most of the time...crazy I know.  Usually, for myself I just use my fingers, a sponge and a q-tip...yes I'm that ghetto lol!  For fancy nights I'll sometimes go into my professional brushes so I can do some eye makeup but it doesn't happy often lol.  Truth is I barely buy makeup for myself anymore too...it's like I'm a mother and my kit is my child - I give it everything I get and keep nothing for myself lol! Btw my kit is my child...if there was a fire you better believe that would be 1 of the 3 things I would be grabbing if I could only grab 3 things!

Anyway, back to the brushes.  First off one of the biggest things I LOVED about the set was it didn't have any crappy "filler" of "useless" brushes in it like you get so often w/ makeup brush sets - you know they'll give you a mascara spooly brush or an eye shadow brush w/ the sponge top that you'll never use.  This one has all the necessary brushes to do a complete face IMO.

Here's some details about the brushes in the kit straight from the website:

Pencil - E30 - Precise application of color on the crease, outer corner, and upper and lower lash line. Also ideal to smudge out pencil liner. Natural bristles.

Tapered Blending - E40 - Rounded and tapered top. Specially designed to apply and blend color on the crease. Natural bristles.

Eye Shading - E55 - Soft and dense with a rounded finish.  Can be used to apply pressed or loose eye shadows and pigments.  Ideal to build intense color on the eyelid. Natural bristles.

Large Powder - F30 - Very dense with a rounded top.  Ideal to apply powder products on the face and body. Natural bristles.

Large Angled Contour - F40 - The angled shape makes this brush ideal to apply blush or contour shades. Natural bristles.

Foundation - F60 - Can be used to apply liquid or cream foundation.  It is also recommended to apply moisturizers and conceal large areas. Synthetic bristles.

Concealer - F70 - The founded, tapered, flat shape makes this brush ideal to conceal the under eye area. It is also recommended for a precise application in small areas. Synthetic bristles.

So I'll start my review w/ the first brush they mention.



Pencil - E30 - It's a good brush for applying dense colour to the outer corners or crease that you're then going to blend for the smokey eye.  It's also a good brush for blended out and strong liner that you want to soften.  I like the the brush is dense and firm but still pliable in action.

Tapered Blending - E40 - I'm really picky about my Tapered Blending brushes and for my personal style this is probably my least fav. brush in the set.  It's not that it's bad it's just I prefer the bristles in my blending brush to be a little bit more dense and not quite as fluffy.  This brush will work of course I just feel I personally have to do a little more work w/ it.  But again it all depends on your style...to some they might prefer a fluffier blending brush.

Eye Shading - E55 - Good all over eye shadow brush.  Good size for applying that first bit of product all over the eyes and the bristles are dense enough if you later want to build colour on the lid or wherever.

Large Powder - F30 - Being that it's a travel kit I guess I want be too harsh on what they are considering to be a Large Powder brush...IMO it's proper blush brush size and not really large enough to be classified as a large powder brush.  That being said yes it does get the job done and of course it can be used for all over Powder...just for my professional work I would never consider it a large powder brush...but it would make a great blush brush.

Large Angled Contour - F40 - Good size, soft feel, dense enough and great for applying highlight to the cheekbones or colour to the cheeks if you know how to manipulate a contour brush for blush application.

Foundation - F60 - What's funny is I almost NEVER use a foundation brush when applying my own personal foundation.  It's good.  It's got a good size and the bristles are firm yet pliable.  It blends out both liquid and cream products well.

Concealer - F70 - Again there is nothing wrong w/ this concealer brush and it does work I just personally prefer my concealer brushes to be a little bit smaller and more angled at the end of the bristles so I can get a more precise concealing application for areas like around the nose, under the eyes and those pesky little pimples.

Btw another BONUS w/ this collection is that they also sent me a FREE Duo Fiber - F50 - you know the Skunk Brush - great for blending in liquid or cream products for that airbrush finish w/out using airbrush.  Seriously, one of my fav. types of brushes in my makeup kit and I'm always pulling it out.  This one is okay but again and this is just a personal preference it's too fluffy and not dense enough for my likely.  I don't like when the bristles give way too much on the skin and I want them to remain a little bit firm when I put pressure on them.  I do feel this brush is good for blending out blush though.

So overall I was really impressed w/ this brush set and I'm really excited to finally have my own personal brushes to use on myself every day lol!  Sigma has really affordable brushes and overall for the price point they are great quality.  They are perfect for the artist that's starting out and needs to build their kit or the makeup enthusiast who just likes to play around w/ makeup for themselves.


So now on to the FUN part - the GIVEAWAY!  The great people at Sigma are going to GIVEAWAY a Travel Kit in Naughty Black to 1 LUCKY READER!  That's a $49 gift...plus I think you'll get the additional Duo Fibre brush as a bonus as well!

How to Enter you Ask!  Well there's a couple of ways.

1. You must first follow my blog!

After that there are a couple of ways to Enter just Please tell me which ONE you did and Please leave your email address so I can contact you if you're the WINNER.  You can do all the different ways to ENTER just let me know in separate comments each way you ENTERED so I can keep track of it all more easily. 

REPEAT FOR EVERY WAY YOU ENTER PLEASE POST A SEPARATE COMMENT!!!!

1. Like my Fan Page on Facebook
2. Follow me on Twitter
3. Like Sigma Brushes Fan Page on Facebook

BONUS ENTRY

1. ReTweet this Giveaway on Twitter

Open to Anyone in North America - Yes Canada & United States!

CONTEST CLOSES FRI SEPT 9 @ 6 PM!

GOOD LUCK!