Review: MAC 109 vs. Sigma F05

I own a lot of Sigma brushes I will admit that, I was slow on the Sigma-wagon but once they started offering individual brushes for sale on their website I went full speed ahead. I have posted numerous reviews of their brushes here and have tried to use MAC comparison pictures whenever possible (what Sigma became famous for). I do not own a lot of MAC brushes so I apologize I cannot compare them all like you see on some websites. But I do my best to give as accurate comparisons as possible. Today I will compare the MAC 109 to it's Sigma counterpart the F05. These two are "small contour" brushes, they are meant to be used as contouring, but many in the youtube beauty community use them for liquid foundation application, myself included. I think the MAC 109 is a neat brush, the shape is really unique and I hadn't seen any company do a shape like this until the Sigma one. The MAC 109 sells for $38.50CAD and the Sigma F05 is $14USD. But how similar are they really?

From reading reviews, this Sigma brush is supposed to be one of the closest to the MAC, so I was really curious to do this review myself. Alright, laid here side by side, can you tell me which is which? You probably can if you own the MAC 109 yourself. The Sigma F05 is on the left, MAC 109 on the right (same in the picture above too). The MAC 109 is considerably more dense, round and domed, while the Sigma has a more rectangular, flatter top. I suspect this is because MAC user laser cutters in their brush manufacturing and can get a more precise shape.

A closer look here at the brushes, you can really see the shape difference. Now keep in mind my MAC 109 may not be the same as yours and the Sigma brushes do tend to vary a bit too. I find my MAC is much more rounded than other people's I've seen, I like that about it though. I've had my MAC one for several years, it has remained that same shape, I have not had much shedding issues with it earlier (this brush tends to shed a lot). The Sigma one did not shed much either, in washing a bit here and there.

And from the top view here, the right one (MAC 109) is slightly fuller and larger, bristles do not splay out as much. The MAC one is also slightly softer on the face. But not much difference right?

Looking at the handles and size here, they are pretty much the same length, the Sigma handle is slightly thicker. I asked my bf to examine the two and he mentioned that the MAC one looks better made, fuller bristles, the ferrule looks more expensive and pinched nicer, MAC is slightly heavier too. But you are paying almost twice three times the price for the MAC one, so I would honestly hope there would be a difference.

These brushes definitely function the same way. I want to say that since the Sigma one is less dense and more tapered it would be better for actual contouring, which is what it's intended for, and using cream products such as cream blush. And the MAC one since it is more domed and rounded is better at liquid foundation, it can swirl well and tap the product. I think Sigma did a good job here overall of trying to duplicate this brush though.

Have do you own either brush and how do you think they compare?

Review: InStyle Ultimate Beauty Secrets Book

I recently won this book, "InStyle Ultimate Beauty Secrets", it was from a Toronto-based television channel points program, you enter your points in hope of winning something and I got this book, which was neat! The program is OMNI VIP for those interested. This book is pretty rad, it has tips and tricks for everything, it has separate sections for skin, foundation/concealer, cheeks, lips, eyes, nails etc. This is very light reading material here, the tips are short and to the point, with pretty pictures throughout. You can go through the entire thing in a few hours. I am going to go through some of the tips here.

I found this one interesting, "if you have dry skin that is flaky, consider changing up your routine and washing your face with dandruff shampoo instead of your regular cleanser once a month". Head and Shoulders on your face? really? has anyone tried this? seems kinda of weird to me.

"Use separate towels to dry your face and face. This prevents the oils from your scalp from rubbing off on your face and causing breakouts." That is something that I definitely do, I have small towel for my face and is just for my face, and a separate one just for my hair.

"To rid makeup brushes of products that can clog pores, aim to wash them with a clarifying shampoo once a week." I actually wash all my brushes with face wash and baby shampoo, no fancy brush cleansers for me, I find this works just fine. Think about it, the brushes touch your face, so anything on them does too.

"Drink a glass of ice water if your face tends to get splotchy, especially when you're nervous. Doing so will town down the redness. The cold causes blood vessels to constrict and cool you from the inside." This is a good tip, never thought of doing this.

Here is one that I do everyday "For extra-thick eyelashes, dust lashes first with translucent powder, then apply mascara".

"Elongate your eyes by using dark brown mascara on the inner half of the eye and black mascara on the outer lashes". This is a new one, I've heard people use a different mascara on their top and bottom lashes, but using two together is a neat tip.

The book also has lots of celebrity pictures, there is a tip from Beyonce about moisturizing your face "A women is most beautiful when she smiles, other than that, the most valuable tip I've learned is always to use a skin moisturizer". I definitely agree with this and I think my face would flake off and die if I didn't use a moisturizer.

Most of the tips in this book are common sense I think, and most you would of probably watched youtube gurus mention before, but there are a few here and there that are neat. I like flipping through this when I am bored, it's a cute little book.

Do you have any beauty books that you like reading?

Review: ELF Studio Complete Coverage Concealer

Today's review is the ELF Complete Coverage Concealer from their Studio Line. This retails for $3 and is one of their newest products. ELF describes this product as "the perfect blend of colors to keep you "covered" throughout the year for when your skin is lighter in the winter and darker in the summer. The highly pigmented formula is easy to blend for customizable coverage. Use to disguise blemishes, dark circles and uneven skin tone for a flawless look."  Does it give complete coverage? keep reading to find out!

This comes in the sleek black ELF Studio line packaging, you get four colours inside, a mirror and small applicator brush (picture above). The brush is tiny, like the size of my pinky finger nail. The concealer comes in three shades: Light, Medium and Dark. What I like about this product is the fact that you get 4 shades, they are similar but different enough that you know at least one will match your skin perfectly. I know I've bought concealers in the past and they have been too light and too dark. With this product, you can also mix the concealers to get your perfect shade.

A closer look at the palette here you can tell these are quite creamy, when I leave this in a warm place I notice beads of water/moisture/oil will build up on the top. I like removing the little plastic film that comes inside, that may be causing this to happen too. I have this in the colour "Light" which is supposed to suit fair to light skintones.

Looking at the palette alone, the colours seem to look very similar but notice in the picture above and in my swatch here, they are fairly different. The two on the left are very similar, one has more pink, one has more yellow undertones. I like the third from the left the most, it's kinda that salmon shade which I like for under the eyes. While the last, four from the left is very yellow. I find I use the salmon one the most.

And here are the swatches blended in a bit. As you can tell the concealer is still visible. I find the downside of this product is that because they are so creamy and thin, I don't think they would conceal very well and will not give that "complete coverage" as the name states. I prefer a thicker, waterier texture for my concealer. If you are looking for light concealing and have normal skin, I think this is a good product. Also if you are just starting out with concealer, it's great because you do get 4 colours.

Have you tried this product?

Review: L'oreal Visible Lift With Serum Foundation

I picked up this new L'oreal foundation recently during a 50% off face products sale at Pharma Plus. L'oreal products are if not the most expensive, definitely one of the most expensive drugstore brands. This foundation retails in Canada for about $18 I believe, which is so expensive. This foundation is a step up from the original Visible Lift formulation but with added serum. My bottle says "Visible Lift Serum Absolute". The serum in this is advertised  as addressing the "5 signs of aging to visibly transform skin to smoother, firmer, brighter, even, flawless." This is supposed to be "advanced age reversing makeup". I find it funny how the blue part on the bottle are just stickers.

L'oreal claims that this foundation provides "45% more even skin tone, 72% saw more youthful skin, 75% reduction in fine lines and wrinkles, 79% saw fewer imperfections and 90% saw smoother skin." The ingredients Hyaluronic acid, Pro-Retinol A, Pro-Xylane, Pro-Lastyl and Vitamin C. in this foundation include Personally, I don't think foundation can improve your skin, it can make it appear nicer, but I doubt it can improve it. Correct me if I am wrong, but treating your skin is up to your skincare routine. I bought this foundation to try and out and simply see if it's good, I wasn't expecting miracles in my skin, but the stuff in here sounds like it would be good for your skin, perhaps not reversal effects, but maybe prevention.

Announcement: Winner of Sigma Makeup Giveaway

It's time to finally announce the winner of my Sigma Giveaway. As you all know, the winner will get all 3 brushes that come in the Synthetic Kit. I will be contacting the winner shortly after this post goes live. The winner was chosen by random.org. Thank you to everyone who entered and blogged/tweeted about my giveaway. I hope to have more giveaways in the future, I am getting close to 1000 followers, and am planning a mega giveaway for that event. Thank you to Sigma Makeup for sponsoring this giveaway! And congrats to the winner! And the winner is....

Prettyaspeaches

Dior DiorSkin Nude Hydrating Makeup

Today was/is the last day to use your $15/$20 off Sephora coupon! Thank goodness for great friends online I came across another $15 off coupon and hurried away to Sephora tonight to pick up another, yes another foundation. It's funny how much joy a little black bag can make me, that Sephora bag is so pretty and brings joy to me. What brings me more joy is having Dior DiorSkin Nude foundation. This retails for $47 CAD and I got it for $37 with tax today with my coupon. I got the lightest colour, 010 Ivory. I was recommend this by a friend on here, Junerose and decided to give it a go.

 

First impressions of this product, it comes in a luxurious heavy glass bottle with silver lid and a nice pump. The colour range is good, not many colours, but colours are nicely suited for lighter skintones I think. The shade is 020 could of worked for me, more yellow-toned, but the girl there said I should match it with my neck (pastey white neck) and this matched better. It feels nice on my dry skin, I like it lots so far. I will update with a complete review in a few weeks. I got three foundations out of this Sephora sale, I been bad.

Have you tried DiorSkin Nude?