Best of Sigma Brush Set

Best of Sigma Brush Set  $92.00
It's truly impressive how quickly Sigma became a big brand. Though it's been only 7 years since its debut, Sigma is now one of the most well-known brush brands in the world. Their brushes are amazing quality for the price, and another good thing about it is that they ship internationally. Recently they changed the shipping rate and now you can get the products delivered to your front door for free when you purchase $30 if you live in the states, and $75 if you live elsewhere. And you know what, it's easy to spend $75 on their website simply because they have tons of amazing stuff.

I was lucky enough to get Best of Sigma Brush Set as a PR sample, and I instantly fell in love with the brushes once I've tried them. There is absolutely nothing negative to say about them and now my makeup does not complete without them!

F80 Flat Kabuki Brush
This is one of the best selling brushes of the brand. I had heard so many good things about it in the past, and now I understand why it's so popular. I used to use Buffing Brush from Real Techniques to blend my foundation, but I wasn't fully satisfied with its performance because sometimes it would make my foundation look streaky.

This brush takes the foundation application to the next level. Foundation never looks cakey or streaky when applied with this brush, because it's so dense that there is almost no gaps between the hairs. It blurs my pores which makes my skin looks absolutely flawless. It's been 2 months since I got this brush and I have't used any other brushes to apply my foundation. I am so addicted to it.

F64 Soft Blend Concealer Brush
I LOVE this brush for blending my concealer around my nose and under my eyebrows. I don't know what it does, but it blends concealers seamlessly. I even feel like it increases the coverage of the concealer, and helps it to stay put. In my opinion it works better with a solid concealer rather than a liquid one.

P88 Precision Flat Angled Brush
So what works better with a liquid concealer? Precision Flat Angled Brush does! With soft hair, this brush does not irritate the sensitive skin around the eyes at all and blends an under eye concealer flawlessly. I use this brush to apply Colour Corrector from Bobbi Brown, to get the most coverage out of it, and add Za Concealer -which is my absolute favourite and I'm gutted it's discontinued- on top and blend with this brush again. It makes the concealer look a little streaky sometimes, but it works fine most of the time.

E57 Firm Shader Brush
This brush is perfect for packing eyeshadow on the centre of the lid. It brings out the intensity of the eyeshadow especially metallic or glittery one. I love using this brush to smudge eyeshadow under the eyes too.

E38 Diffused Crease Brush
Another favourite brush of mine! I'm using it as a blending brush rather than a crease brush, because it blends ANY eyeshadows seamlessly. There are some eyeshadows that I always struggle to blend that goes on patchy. Usually it takes a couple of minutes to blend them completely, which is pain in the butt in the busy morning. With this brush, it takes less than 30 seconds to blend. Why? I have no idea, but it works.

E34 Domed Utility Brush
This could be my least favourite out of seven brushes in the set -doesn't mean it's bad, it just means I am not a makeup artist and don't try new techniques every day. My daily makeup routine doesn't require this brush, but if you want to do the cut crease look, it might be handy to have this in your brush collection.

E21 Smudge Brush 
I used to use a tiny brush from ADDICTION to apply eyeshadow under the eyes or smudge eyeliner with, but this brush made me realise that the ADDICTION one was actually too small for my liking. This brush applies the right amount of the eyeshadow and makes it much easier and quicker to smudge. I sometimes use it to clean the edges of my lips too.

Seven brushes including Flat Kabuki Brush for $92.00 is actually pretty affordable in my opinion. I definitely think this set is worth the price, and is a perfect set for a beginner. My favourite is definitely Flat Kabuki Brush, but I also love Diffused Crease Brush too. Since I got their brushes, makeup process became easier and more enjoyable for sure. I highly recommend this set if you are new to Sigma, or makeup!

Discount Code
Put the discount code 'NIC10' to get 10% off your order!

Maybelline Volume Express Magnum Barbie

Maybelline Volume Express Magnum Barbie  1,404yen
Maybelline brought out a new mascara called Volume Express Magnum Barbie in March. I am all about fuller lashes rather than longer ones, so I couldn't resist to purchase this mascara that claims to make your lashes full and voluminous like Barbie's.

The packaging is bright yellow with a metallic pink lid, which is easy to find in your makeup bag for sure. The brush looks very similar to Maybelline Falsies, that I cannot point out the difference to be honest. The formula is waterproof that doesn't come off by my trusty RAFRA balm cleanser, which is good for those love waterproof mascara, but too much for me who tend to go for a 'film-type' mascara that comes off with warm water.

It's got fibres called 'topping fibre' which you can keep adding on the tips of the lashes to make them look longer until you're happy with the result -supposedly. I do not like how fibres make my lashes look wonky and unnatural, but it might be perfect for those who want more length and volume at the same time.

I noticed that this mascara does not separate the lashes, but make them look thicker and voluminous. If you like the '60s look, or very thick spider-lashes, this is the mascara for you. It's very close to L'Oreal Miss Manga Mascara in my opinion.

I am not 100% convinced that this mascara would give you Barbie lashes, I like Maybelline the Rocket and Falsies better, but again you might like it if you like thick looking lashes. I still think Maybelline is one of the best drugstore brands when it comes to mascaras!

My favourite drugstore in Tokyo -Ainz-Tulpe Harajuku Quest

In Japan, we have quite a few drugstores. The most famous one I believe is Matsumoto Kiyoshi, which you might stumble across often walking around Tokyo. Matsu-Kiyo -which is what we call the drugstore- is a traditional drugstore, where you find medicines, medical equipments, toiletries and some beauty products. It's not bad if you intend to buy tissue boxes, contact solution and a mascara -you know, commodities. But if you are a tourist who's visiting Japan for a few days and make the most of an opportunity to buy tons of Japanese drugstore beauty bits, then I recommend Ainz-Tulpe rather than Matsumoto Kiyoshi.

Ainz-Tulpe has multiple branches but I believe the one in Harajuku is the biggest and simply the best. They have the basement as well, full of skincare, body care and makeup products. Only a couple of minutes away from both Harajuku and Meiji Jingu Mae Station, the location is very convenient that you can drop by while exploring Shibuya, Harajuku and Omotesando areas.

You find some displays of newest products at the entrance. It usually boosts my excitement -which is a good thing and a bad thing at the same time, because it means I tend to lose control!

There are more displayed of new products near the entrance.

They have the whole shelf dedicated to showing what the popular products are in rank order, which is very helpful when you are overwhelmed. I also love how accurate the ranking is. The products displayed on the shelf are definitely the ones being raved about.

There are so many different types of false lashes as well....!

I couldn't take photos of all the sections because I was afraid to get told off, but there are haircare section, oral care section, medicine section and a small duty free section as well.

When you go downstairs, you find the skincare section, natural & organic section, health care section and quite a few drugstore beauty stands including Majolica Majorca, CANMAKE, Rimmel, Maybelline, Revlon, L'Oreal, Integrate, Kate and the list goes on.

The funny thing is that they have quite a big section for foot care. The average working hours in Japan tend to be longer than other developed countries, and most of them take more than 2 hours a day for transportation. What does it mean? It means their feet are abused! That is why the food care items such as the foot detox mask, some kind of disgusting peeling mask for feet, compression socks and cushions you can insert into heels to reduce the pain, sell very well.

There is nothing you cannot find at Ainz-Tulpe. I go there no matter what when I'm in the area, and end up with a bagful of beauty products to leave there. Story of my life.

Ainz-Tulpe Harajuku Quest
Address: 1-13-14, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001
Phone: +81-3-5775-0561