A Cheaper Alternative To The Sigma Spa Brush Cleaning Glove?

I love most aspects of beauty but there are a couple of things that I do only because I have to, mainly hair removal, and washing my make up brushes. Ask pretty much any beauty blogger or make junkie out there and they'll agree that washing brushes is probably one of the most boring and time consuming tasks that there is. I have a lot of brushes, and because I'm a use once and wash girl in most cases, it means that I spend a lot of time at the bathroom sink.

Personally I use either a mild shampoo, an antibacterial hand wash or a specialised brush shampoo to clean my brushes but whatever you use it's still a time consuming, and repetitive task. Dampen, aggravate the hairs, rinse, squeeze, repeat, till your fingers look like prunes and your back aches. There are easier ways though, and no I don't mean throw them in the washing machine - can you believe that was a retweeted beauty tip from a major clothing retailer? just no! A year or so back now Sigma Beauty introduced their Sigma Spa Brush Cleaning Glove.

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These textured silicone gloves supposedly makes the whole brush cleaning experience quicker and easier. All you do it work your damp, brush onto the various nodules to aggravate  the hairs and remove the rogue make up from deep within your brush.

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Fabulous, I thought but then I saw the price! On the official Sigma Beauty site, the gloves start at $35 excluding shipping, and whilst we can get one for £33.95 from a UK retailer called Beauty Chamber, I still think it's pretty expensive for what it is. I'm not knocking it by any means, I've read lots of reviews and by and large they're pretty positive but just take a step back and actually look at what it is?

What is it? Well the original at least is just a silicone oven glove by another name.I love silicone baking equipment, despite having a rubber like appearance it's an ideal conductor and insulator of heat making it ideal for baking, and of course for making oven gloves with.

When that particular thought hit me I had a look in our our kitchen, and voila I found one, an old but very pretty heart design, silicone oven mitt. Admittedly it's not quite as textured as the Sigma product but you can get quite a bit of friction from the heart shapes and from the different textures on the side of the fingers. The Sigma ones are also lined to keep your hands a bit drier, and whilst my glove doesn't have a lining some of the more expensive ones do.

I've been using my improvised brush glove used for just over a year now I think it does a pretty decent job when it comes to cleaning my make up brushes, it's still a boring task (even Jasper agrees on that one) but at least my fingers don't look quite as prune like as they used to,

I'm not sure where our mitt came from but knowing my mum who detests oven gloves of all kinds (weird woman, she's rather use a towel), she won't have spent a lot of money on it. Just a quick search online brought up lots of different types of gloves ranging from between less than £3 to around £6.

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My tip would be to go for a glove that's either very textured or that features a number of different textures. The more different types and sizes of textures that you have the easier it is to do different sized brushes. My glove only has two or three different types on it so it's isn't the best for smaller brushes, and whilst it's workable I really needed another solution.

Quite a while ago now these little facial cleansing and exfoliating pads from Soap & Glory were all the rage for washing your face. Beauty is a fickle thing though and the introduction of cleansing brushes, and the reemergence of the humble face flannel meant that their popularity waned.

I probably should have binned mine  but I hung on to it and eventually found another use for it. The two different textures on the pad make it ideal for cleaning some of my smaller eye and lip brushes. Like the glove the texture helps to aggravate the bristles making it easier to give them a deep clean.

I can't find this particular Soap & Glory pad anymore, but they do  have a mitt in their range
that would be ideal for cleaning make up brushes and for washing your face :) You can however find similar facial massagers and cleansing pads all over ebay and on the internet for about a £1, and I'm sure that a blogger (I'm thinking Gemsmaquillage?) mentioned that Primark were doing something similar. I haven't seen them in store myself but I've seen them on a few Dutch blogs and videos and I think they are about 2 Euros each.

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It just goes to show that it's sometimes worth looking around and having a good think before you spend money on anything. I was fully prepared to spend my money on the Sigma glove but by having a root round in the cupboards I've saved myself a bit of money, and I'm actually getting more use out of some products that I already own. Brush cleaning is still a chore and I guess it will be till somebody invents self cleaning brushes but anything that makes my life even a little bit easier is always well worth it. Do you hate washing your brushes as much as I do? Leave me a comment and let me know x

Brushing Up With Sigma - Hollywood Glamour Retractable Kabuki Brush & Black Friday Special Offer

First of all I owe you guys a huge apology I've been planning a review series on all my Sigma brushes for sometime now but after an initial post I never did anymore, so I thought I'd try and do one for you today, just in time for the Sigma Black Friday Special ( more on that later ;)

It's probably been about a year since I bought this brush and I've used it sporadically since but I took it away on holiday with me, and I have to say it was such a useful brush I really don't know why I haven't used it more often.The brush in question is the Hollywood Glamour Retractable Kabuki Brush, the colours and the designs vary, but the one I have is the now discontinued There's Something About Marilyn.

This brush comes completely enclosed in a red metallic casing, to use it all you do it remove the lid, and push down the casing to reveal the brush head

The brush head itself has a domed head made of synthetic fibres. It is so soft and silky, but at the same time the brush hairs are very densely packed so the brush actually has some substance.

I predominantly use the brush either for powder touch up or with a mineral foundation such as Laura Geller Balance n Brighten, but you could also use it for highlighter or bronzer, or even liquid foundation. Retractable brushes like this one really are a make up bag must have, just load your brush up with powder, push it down, and put the lid and you don't need to carry you powder compact with you. Yes this brush is a bit of an investment but these aren't the easiest brushes to find, and this will definitely be a useful addition to your brush collection, I know it has been to mine. As I say this colour brush is no longer available from Sigma but you can get it in Black - Breakfast With Audrey and in Pink - Princess Grace , and you can also get a flat top version in Purple - Miss Taylor, they normally retail at $25 each from Sigma but there cuurently on special offer at $19!!!
If your interested in purchasing this or any other product from Sigma though there couldn't be a better time, it's the day after Thanksgiving in the US and what does that mean - Black Friday! So on one of the biggest shopping days of the year the lovely people at Sigma are offering free worldwide shipping! yes that right buy anything from the Sigma site and it will be delivered free simply use the code BF2011 on checkout. The promotion can't be used alongside any other discount and runs from 9am to 5pm Central Standard Time (CST). I'm not 100% sure what I'm going to go for yet maybe the flat definer brush or maybe even the Naughty In Black Travel Kit. I'd love to know what Sigma brushes you recommend and if your going to pick up any new ones today x Oh and if you have any questions on the retractable kabuki don't forget to leave me a comment x

ETA - I was a good girl and only ordered the flat definer brush ;)

Sigma F80 Flat Top Kabuki Winner

First of all I'd just like to say a huge thank you to everyone who entered my recent Sigma giveaway - I really appreciated all of your entries and I really enjoyed reading all about your favourite blushers - there are definitely a few I am going to be checking out :) I had 58 entries and I used Random.Org to pick my winner - which was

Number 18

which was

missdazed

If you can email you details to pootle28@hotmail.com I will pass your details onto Sigma so they can send out your prize.

Don't worry if you didn't win this time though I have plenty more giveaways planned including a biggie for when I reach 500 followers :) Oh and if your interested in Sigma brushes keep an eye out for a few reviews on the Sigma brushes I own x Thanks for entering and thanks to Sigma for providing the prize.

Sigma Giveaway Now Closed

Hi Guys
Just to let you know my Sigma giveaway is now closed
Thanks for all your entries - I will announce the winner tomorrow x

Sigma F80 Flat Top Kabuki Review and Giveaway - CLOSED

Hi Guys
Over the last few month you may have noticed a few changes in my blog layout and the appearance of some Sigma banners. Well a few months ago I became a Sigma Affiliate (you can read more about the programme here ) I am a huge fan of Sigma brushes the quality is really impressive, the prices are sensible and the customer service is first class. I have quite a few of the individual brushes This post is the first in a little series where I am going to review all my Sigma brushes for you :)

As a Sigma Affiliate I was very kindly sent the F80 Flat Top Synthetic Kabuki Brush to review for you. As you can see all Sigma brushes come beautifully packaged in a mesh/chiffon bag, which also contains a very sweet compliments slip and often a little leaflet telling you more about the brushes.

The F80 is one of Sigma's synthetic brushes, from their Sigmax line. Brushes in this range feature the exclusive Sigmax filament, which is specially designed to apply both powder and liquid products without the products absorbing into the brush fibres. This is so important when you use a brush to apply liquid foundation - they can often be very difficult to wash - not this one even just running the brush under the tap, removes the majority of products without any build up or stickiness.

The F80 has a flat top, and has super dense, but soft short bristles, which are perfect for buffing both powders and liquids in to the skin. I've given this brush a thorough workout and tried it with lots of different mediums. First up liquid foundation - this brush performed really well whether used to apply the foundation from scratch or after initial application to buff and blend the product in. As I say it was easy to clean afterwards and there was no shedding which you can often get when you use a brush with liquid products

I also used it for blusher / bronzer /highlighter - in a word fabulous - the brush picked up the product easily and it was easy to use and easy to place the product in exactly the right place and of course it goes without saying it's a great blush for blending product in - you certainly won't get an stripes with this brush :)

Next up loose face powder and mineral foundation. As you would expect this brush is great for blending loose powder over the t-zone, for covering a whole face however with either loose powder mineral foundation I personally prefer a slightly bigger brush, don't get me wrong this is a great brush and did the job perfectly will, it's just personal preference.

All in all this is a great multi use brush, you name it if you need to use a brush on your face you could probably do it with the F80. This brush retails for $16.00 which at the moment works out at less than £10.00, a really good price for such a versatile brush. For more information and to order please check out the Sigma Website .

However as part of the Affiliate programme Sigma have very kindly provided my with an F80 Flat Top Synthetic Kabuki Brush to giveaway to one of my lovely followers

The giveaway is open worldwide!!

Be a follower of my blog -I will be checking

Leave a comment letting me know what your favourite blusher is and you email address
Only one entry per person please I will delete multiple entries

The giveaway will close on 29th May 2011 at 6pm UK time

The winner will be drawn using random.org

That's everything - if you have any questions or comments which aren't competition entries please don't hesitate to ask - for this post only if you have a question please email me on pootle28@hotmail.com with Sigma in the title to avoid any confusion with giveaway entries x Thanks for reading and good look

(The Sigma F80 Synthetic Flat Top Kabuki Brush Was Provided By Sigma For Review and Promotional Purposes - Sigma Are Also Providing The Giveaway Prize)



Goodies From Sigma

A few weeks ago I placed an order with Sigma -their amazing Black Friday offer meant free worldwide shipping wahoo - it would have been wrong not to ;) As tempted as I was by the full sets I already have an awful lot of brushes, that said I am trying to phase out some of the ones I am not so impressed with so I decided on a special deal kit

The kit I got worked out at about £18.88 which is amazing for what it contained - first up it was super well packaged in a gorgeous voile bag, and contained a gorgeous red and gold Sigma make up bag this is such a good size and really nice quality - the same bag sells for around £10.95 from a UK Sigma retailer

It also contained the main reason for ordering the kit the Something About Marilyn Retractable Kabuki Brush - In a gorgeous red metal case this brush is gorgeous and soooo soft - I will mainly be using this for powder and mineral foundation touch ups - this retails for $25 on it own!




I also got the SS150 / F30 Powder Brush again super soft and really nice quality, and it is huge - this retails at $16.00



Already you can see what a super value kit this was (I say was because alas it isn't available anymore as a kit) and I have to say I am super happy with it not only that but Sigma were also kind enough to enclose a free gift a mini E25 Blending Brush, again super soft and ideal for travel



I can't wait to have a proper play with these brushes and I have to say I was really impressed with my experience with Sigma themselves - the free gift and the packaging is a definite plus point and the delivery time was pretty good considering the horrendous weather - I've previously bought my Sigma brushes from UK based sites but I definitely wouldn't be afraid to use Sigma again. Any questions please ask xx

Yes I'm Still Here

Hey my loves I'm sorry I've been a bit quiet this week it's been a bit of a funny one. First of all there was last Sundays meltdown I haven't been feeling too good and a lots of things have been going on at home. One of my relatives is currently quite ill and to be honest my mum has been quite upset about it, added to that she is having a few health issues herself and not only that but she fell flat on her backside on the ice and has a bruise the size of a small county on her bum and back :( Then there was moi - for the last week I have had horrid headaches and pains and swelling in my face, and a hideous skin irritation near my eyes - all this culminated in a doctors appointment this week where thankfully it just seems to be a bad case of neuralgia, and a couple of under the skin spots. I've been dosing up on ibuprofen pretty much every day for the last week, and thankfully it seems to be easing off, my skin is another matter sorry to be gross but it's two spots really close to me eye I think the worst is over but it's still pretty painful and every time I've yawned or cried I've been in agony :(

Anyway enough of the negativity I'm trying to be a bit positive first up the snow has nearly gone. yes I know it's due back at the end of the week but I'm looking out of my window now and I can see green :) I eventually managed to get to the Metro Centre on Friday wahoo we were there just before the shops opened which was great, I managed to get around and get quite a bit done, thankfully I'm nearly finished my shopping hurrah just waiting for a huge batch of parcels to come :( They have started coming through but omg how slow :( I'm still waiting for another 2 bits to come for my giveaway so it's certainly going to be a New Year one now - I am hoping to launch it this week and draw it just before Christmas to apologise for the delay - there will now be two prize packs to giveaway of pretty much equal value so keep checking back probably about Tuesday or Wednesday :)

Anyways I have to say my spending ban has gone belly up already which isn't surprising no make up though I have been good although I have to say my mum did buy Shout magazine for me -"I saw it had that Barry M thing you like on it!" (her exact words lol) and got the free Barry M bits with it a real bargain actually apart from the fact the shimmer pencil fell to pieces hmm - never mind make up is make up and the nail polish is lovely.

OK so I haven't bought any make up for me but I have ordered a few brushes from ELF and Sigma which unsurprisingly haven't came yet and I did buy a few bits at the Metro Centre including some more festive Lush goodies I'm loving Satsumo Santa at the moment and I picked up my free Lush Colour Supplement - check out Top Sante for your voucher it's worth £7.50 oh and I'm not counting that for Project 10 Pan either as it was technically free :) I also got a few bits in Primark including lots of 120 denier tights, a hair clip with daisies on it , and a cute necklace that is like a little bronze handbag with a magnetic clasp it's so sweet and you can easily fit a pound coin in it :) I also got some of the Andrea Fullerton Cute-Icle Eraser Gel to try I'm loving the Leighton Denny product I'm using at the moment but I think I need something a bit stronger so I got this from Superdrug - it's the first time I've seen the range irl and I was really impressed I have begged Momma LouLou for some of the striper and glitter things for Christmas teehee. Oh and I also got this purse from Accessorize I've wanted it for a while and it's always been out of stock - it's so sweet and you can get them in a variety of cities

So that was it bad LouLou that I am :) Never mind it's nearly Christmas ho ho ho and that, so looking forward for this week, as well as finishing my Christmas cards and wrapping my pressies I am going to try and get a few posts up , including one inspired by the lovely Kelanjo who did a post on her Christmas Tree, I loved the post so much I am really inspired to do something similar maybe show you some of our tree decorations and tell you about the history or thoughts behind them :); I'm also going to try and do a review post and obviously try and get my giveaway up whenever the last parcel comes hmm I'll aim for Tuesday but it could be Wednesday evening after my CBT appointment, oh and I am also going to be getting some more of these - I know a few people were really excited about these when I mentioned them on twitter and they are amazing Galaxy hot chocolate, Galaxy melted into milk and cream yum yum

Oh and thanks to everyone who made a purchase from my blog sale your items are on their way to you as of yesterday morning - there are still a few items left including some Illamasqua, Bobbi Brown, Philosophy and Nails Inc so don't forget to have a look and  I will by adding some more things after Christmas; There are a few bits marked as pending at the moment but if I don't received payment this week they will be back up for sale so I'll let you know .
Apologies this has been a bit of a ramble but I thought you deserved an update - Any questions or if you would like any pics (my camera battery is dead) or reviews of anything I've mentioned please let me know xx

(Pictures from We Heart It, Shout Magazine, Accessorize and Mars )

MAC To The Beach Haul - Part 2

The rest of my MAC To The Beach Haul came yesterday - hurray :) I got the body bronzing oil :)

and the famous 130 brush


I am loving duo fibre brushes at the moment - I currently have a Kirkland one (CostCo), a Ruby + Millie one, and two Sigmas - I am planning on using this one to blend foundation around my nose etc. :)

I also picked up Angel lipstick from the permanent line another wishlist item :)