Sigma Make Me Classy Brush Set Initial Thoughts/Review

I had been lusting after these Sigma Make me Classy brushes for so long, especially after seeing you tubers being sent them and talking about how wonderful they are. Although almost £100 seems a little too much to me for make-up brushes but I went for it and bought some. After all it works out cheaper than buying individual MAC brushes right?

 You know when you have wanted something for so long and then you finally get it and every aspect of it excites you? haha this happened to me as sad as that may be. The packaging is really nice and I even got a free travel sized blending brush with the kit. There was also a leaflet which tells you what each brush is for and what it's made out of.

This set comes with a mixture of brushes in the sense that some are natural hair bristles whilst others are synthetic. Seven of the 12 brushes were natural bristles. I already own one Sigma brush which I actually love (Flat top synthetic kabuki F80).

 Most the brushes I own are synthetic with the exception of some of my MAC ones. But I thought I'd give this kit a try regardless as I had read natural hair brushes are better for powder application and I use a powder foundation most the time.

Initial thoughts
Let's start with the positives..
-Pretty packaging and inside the box everything was packaged well, most of the brushes came with plastic 'shields' as you can see in a picture above.
-They come in a very handy case which is perfect to travel with, turns into two great brush holders for when your using them and also when you pop the lid on it's a cleaner storage solution.
-The brushes themselves are very soft and dense.
-You get a good range of brushes.

Now the not so positives...
Although before I start I do want to mention I didn't actually use these brushes on my face as I wanted to wash them first but after washing them I didn't want to use them at all.

-After playing with the brushes, just touching/feeling them I noticed a couple of the natural hair brushes (mainly F30 and F40 the powder and contour brushes) had an incredibly strong and disgusting smell..I can't even describe it but I found it incredibly off putting. Even after washing them the smell was just as bad.
- I also noticed with the natural bristle brushes, before washing, during and even after...Shedding!! Already?! Okay I understand there can be a few loose hairs but I did experience a lot of shedding.So this made me wonder if some of these brushes are shedding already...it will only get worse right..

So overall although these brushes have some good positives the negatives even though my issue is mainly with the natural brushes really put me off. In comparison to my natural hair MAC brushes (which barley shed and don't smell) the sigma brushes loose. Although for the prices and the amount of brushes you get Sigma is of course better value compared to MAC.

I was considering getting the 'Mr Bunny' kit which is all synthetic brushes which I know I would be happier with but I decided not to as I feel there is better and cheaper (and easier obtainable in the UK) brushes out there compared to Sigma such as Real Techniques, EcoTools, even ELF and I have also heard a lot about Crown brushes too.
I didn't end up keeping the brushes so I can't make a fair comment on performance but I have read a huge amount of reviews where people have had to deal with the  handle becoming loose and eventually the brush end falling off the handle. Even reading the comments people left on the gorgeous Rissross's instagram picture makes me feel glad I didn't keep these brushes!

Do you own any Sigma? What do you think?
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A little Sleek Giveaway, just because.

I've not hosted a giveaway for my lovely followers in a long time so I thought why not?
I chose the sleek palette I reviewed about here as I personally loved it and think you guys will too, I feel the colours can work with most people and last of all I know it's hard to get in countries outside the UK so yes it's international!

Picture taken from Sleek.

                                                   To enter use rafflecopter below.

Some quick rules:

For my blog followers only.

International followers are welcome to enter.

Once a winner has been picked I will make a post to announce it.

A winner will be chosen via random.org through rafflecopter.
Do not leave a comment for this post, use rafflecopter below to answer and enter!
EDIT: Please make sure you leave a link to your blog or tell me your google connect name  when you answer the question on rafflecopter, many people have not done this! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It's here! Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Rose & Lavender

I recently blogged about this cleanser here and it's now available to buy here. I was kindly sent this Special Edition Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser in Rose and Lavender.
It's bigger bottle than the usual hot cloth cleansers (150ml opposed to the normal 100ml) and has a pretty design incorporated onto the front.
The cleanser feels and looks exactly the same as the original, the only difference is the addition of rose and lavender essential oils which in result give's off a fragrance. It's especially recommended to use in the evening because of the relaxing scent.
After using this version for the past week I found that the smell was just right, not too strong and I could smell the lavender more than the rose which I personally don't mind.
A great product with a great cause, £2.00 of the £19.75 will go to The Princes Trust.
Will you be buying this cleanser?
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Sleek i-Divine Ultra Mattes V2 Darks Palette swatches & Review

I bought this palette a while ago and thought I'd do a post on it before I throw away the packaging it came in. I'm a fan of matte make-up and liked the idea of having a palette of all matte shadows hence this lovely Sleek purchase!
 The palette contains 12 1g eyeshadows in a range of gorgeous 'dark' colours. I bought mine for £7.99 and there is also a 'Brights'(they don't lie about this, bright for sure!) matte palette.
Here's some pictures I snapped up, unfortunately my 'better' camera is recharging right now so I hope these pictures do the job.

Hello pigmentation!

My favourite has to be 'Orbit' followed by 'Ink', I quiet like 'Paper Bag' too (picture does no justice) but it's a nice brown. 'Flesh' is uh...very flesh toned on my skin so you can't see it as well.
 Pro's
-The eyeshadows are easy to blend.
-Most of them are very pigmented.
- The range of colours is nice.
 -Affordable and come's in a sturdy black palette with a good mirror.
 Con's
 - Not all the shadows are as pigmented, there's a few exceptions.
 - A little chalky- I had loose 'bit's' of shadows when I was swatching which you can see in the second picture.
Verdict? 
Overall I'm impressed, I personally don't think it's easy to find a decent matte set of eyeshadows so I'm pleased Sleek released this one!

Do you own this palette?

Liz Earle Prince's Trust Special Edition Hot Cloth Cleanser with Rose & Lavender

Just thought I'd give you lovely people a heads up about the Liz Earle Special Edition Hot Cloth Cleanser with Rose & Lavender. It's existence comes about because of 'The Tomorrow Campaign' which was created to inspire the next generation and so six Prince's Trust supported young people have had iconic mentors working with them to create a product where a contribution of the price will go to The Prince's trust. Liz had worked with a young entrepreneur called Rebecca Taylor and together they have come up with this very relaxing and calming sounding hot cloth cleanser. A donation of £2.00 will be made to the trust which helps young people into jobs and training. A great cause right?!
You can get your hands on it from the 6th of September. I'm personally a huge supporter of products that contribute money to a charity and think this is great.
There is also free P&P on the Liz Earle site until the 31st of August which is celebrating the CoolBrands award they have received! Happy Shopping :)
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