Estee Lauder Mad Men Collection

I'm a huge fan of the TV show MAD MEN, so when I heard Estee Lauder were releasing a collection themed towards the show I couldn't wait to finally get my hands on it. The collection only consisted of two items though, which I was kind of disappointed with because I think they could have released a few more items or at least a range of shades. But having looked at the two products they did release I think they did a really good job, the colours aren't that unique but I think they chose shades that would appeal to a wide audience considering there were only two items available in only one shade. I love Estee Lauder's packaging anyways but I think they did a beautiful job on this. Mad Men is set between the 50's (first season) and into the 60's and back then lipsticks were a lot smaller than they are now, so Estee Lauder made sure their collection was authentic as possible by copying this. I love the 50's and 60's era's, especially the fashion and makeup and think that these items really reflect the glamour of it all.

I only purchased the blush from this collection which is a cream blush in the shade Evening Rose. It comes in the most beautiful box decorated with blue flowers and gold leaves and the gold compact also comes in a gold pouch. There is a blue "button" that you push to release the top. On the inside of the compact there is the words "ESTEE LAUDER MADMEN COLLECTION" engraved into the edge which I thought was such a nice detail to add, there is also a mirror on the inside.

I first started applying this blush with my Sigma F50 but I found that the brush just picked up too much dust and all the hairs kept sticking into the blush. I prefer patting it on my cheeks with my finger first and then using a brush to sheer it out, I haven't used many cream blushes in the past because I don't feel too confident with them but this one I love. It gives you that perfect natural flush to the cheeks. I think this would be good for an everyday blush and one that I wouldn't wear with a bronzer because I like the natural finished effect. This is definitely a buildable blush and gives your cheeks that dewy glow.

I searched every Macy's and Nordstrom's for this blush only to have everyone on the counter tell me they'd never heard of the collection (umm hello! you work for the brand!) after some searching I found that unfortunately this was an exclusive to Bloomingdale's, and my boyfriend offered to drive me all the way down to Santa Monica to buy it! :D

At $40 I do think this is very pricey, but that's the price you pay for a little luxury and I would say this product is a wonderful item to have. On the upside I did get a gift with purchase with this which I've also been loving and will post about at a later date.

Sigma Synthetic Kabuki Kit

I purchased this kit last year in December after having heard so much about the sigma makeup brushes, along with the essential kit which I'll do a separate review on. I'd been looking for a good foundation brush for a while and as MAC makeup brushes were a bit out of my price range I decided to go with sigma. After looking at their website I decided on the kabuki kit. There are four different brushes in this set, the F80 flat kabuki, the F82 round top kabuki, the F84 angled top kabuki and the F86 tapered kabuki. The first thing I noticed when I purchased them was how soft they were, I think I spent about 30 minutes just feeling them. All four are incredibly dense and I haven't experienced any shedding or fall out in the 3 months I've been using them. I first started using the F82 to apply my foundation and saw that a lot of people preferred the F80 which I've now switched to, although I think they are interchangeable and both work great. Using these I've noticed I use a lot less product and they apply my foundation really smoothly. The F84 I use mostly to contour and/or highlight and sometimes will use to apply my blusher. The F86 is probably the one I use least, but when I do I find it good for highlighting. Overall I think these brushes are amazing and is money well spent. These brushes are also vegan for anyone who is interested which I think is great considering how soft they are! The Sigma synthetic kabuki kit retails for $56 on their website www.sigmabeauty.com and they ship internationally.

What are you favourite face brushes? Have you ever purchased from Sigma before? Have you tried any of these brushes?