When the news finally hit us I was amazed! This new brush kit contained several brushes that I’ve been eyeballing at M·A·C, but couldn’t afford to buy. This kit contains the total of 15 brushes and a brush roll. There are 14 new face and eye brushes, seven of each, plus 1 new lip brush. I know some people was upset that these brushes weren’t sold individually or even without the brush roll, but even though I had a few of these brushes already, I didn’t think twice about getting the full kit. The brush roll is made of some kind soft, synthetic material resembling leather, and has a magnetic snap closure. It’s also got “Sigma Makeup” embossed on the flap – and it’s ideal to store your brushes in.

The plan was to wait a little before ordering, but I ended up ordering the Premium Kit right after the launch, and when I received them 11 working days later I was absolutely thrilled. I love them!

I have said it before, but I’m not going to stop saying it: having good tools is everything! I’m still not saying that cheap is good, but getting those good tools doesn’t have to be expensive. As already mentioned the Premium Kit has three brushes more than the Professional Kit, and the price has been increased by $60. I can understand that people are reacting, but when you think about it it’s no more than $20 per brush, and that’s absolutely reasonable for these brushes. For comparison reasons I want to mention that the 134 Large Powder Brush from M·A·C costs $52 alone. If you break it down you’ll discover that you actually pay less than $10 a brush with this Sigma Makeup Premium Brush Kit, and you get a nice brush roll to accompany your tools.

Brushes in the Premium Kit:
• SS227 Large Fluff Brush
• SS192 Large Concealer Brush
• SS131 Duo Fibre Powder Brush
• SS165 Tapered Highlighter Brush
• SS129 Powder/Blush Brush
• SS138 Tapered Face Brush
• SS134 Large Powder Brush
• SS222 Tapered Blending Brush
• SS226 Small Tapered Blending Brush
• SS217 Blending Brush
• SS195 Concealer Brush
• SS212 Flat Definer Brush
• SS214 Short Shader Brush
• SS316 Lip Brush
• SS210 Small Eye Liner Brush

You get 15 brushes in a convenient brush roll for $149 plus shipping, as opposed to the Professional Kit which is $89 with the brush roll. Keep in mind that several of these brushes are expensive if you are to buy them individually from a brand like M·A·C, to mention one of them. Even thought most of them are comparable in name, size and area of use, it’s up to you to decide which ones you prefer. There are small differences between the two brands, even though they have similar names. I’m also hoping that several, if not all of these brushes will be available as individual brushes later on, making it possible to buy backups or replace them without having to buy another complete kit. I know I’ll keep buying my brushes from Sigma Makeup in the future.

Have I tickled your curiousity?
Order your very own Sigma brushes here.

I have not accepted any free products or compensation to write this review.
The views and opinions expressed in this review are purely mine.

Photo © Sigma Makeup

With these small dogs there’s always a relatively large possibility that you have to take them to the veterinarian when they start shedding their baby teeth, to avoid later problems with the new and permanent teeth. I was crossing my fingers and hoping that this wouldn’t be a problem with Theo, and I’m extremely happy to tell you that he has lost all but two or three of his baby teeth, which are loose and about to fall out on their own. I’m really against putting animals under anesthetics if it’s not absolutely necessary, so I’m relieved. He has still got both his upper canines intact, so we’ll have to pay close attention to them. As far as we can tell he has now got a very nice 6+6 scissor bite, with all his new teeth and all, and I’m hoping it’ll stay like that. On April 11th we’re possibly attending a puppy show nearby, just for the fun of it, unless something unexpected happens. I’m hoping Theo will enjoy it, so we can do it again this summer. I’ve got big plans for our little ball of fur, provided that he’s comfortable with the whole setting.

In this picture he barely dared to pull that toy dog over the edge of the basket, where it’s still hanging. Sometimes he’s just difficult to understand, but he’s awfully cute in the process of being a tiny little weirdo!

Apart from all that we’ve finally managed to clear the living room of boxes. Yes, after living here for seven months we still had three cardboard boxes standing behind the couch, and they’ve been bugging us both for a long time. Now they’re all gone, and everything that was in them has either been thrown away, or put in its correct place. I even found my two Guinness mugs which I bought when I was in Dublin in 2006! Sometimes I think it would have been better just to throw away the boxes without looking in them first, but I would be throwing away a lot of things with memories attached to them – and I couldn’t handle that. I’m a collector, or maybe a hoarder rather. Let’s just blame it on the fact that I had to move from a house to an apartment, downgrading my space, which meant a lot less room to clutter up. And I’m not even a fan of knick-knacks, trinkets or ornaments!

It’s been a long day, so I’m going to bed.
Happy 17th birthday, Aleksander! Best wishes on your day.

Just to give a little update on myself, I’m happy to announce that I’m finally feeling better. It’s been one of those weeks.. consisting of intense pain in my neck, headaches which felt like my skull was being crushed – slowly and calculated, throwing up, seeing the underneath of our bed covers, being bored to death and sleeping. Oh, and painkillers. Lots of painkillers. Did I mention that some painkillers cause nausea? At least with me, so I had to choose between two evils, and I decided that it would be better to be relieved of some pain for a few hours and vomit from the medicine, instead of feeling suicidal from the pain. Neat! It’s on days like these I’m forever thankful that I have parents that care, friends that care, a boyfriend who loves me and takes care of me, and a little dog who generally just loves everyone – including me. That certainly keeps my spirit up, no matter how much pain I’m in. Now I’m finally up and about again, and I’ve been off the heavy painkillers for two days – which is good. I’m still feeling a little nauseous, and like I have an aura of a possible headache hanging over me, but I’m hoping that I’ll feel even better tomorrow. Keep those fingers crossed!

I haven’t been online much lately, mostly just from my iPhone now and then to check my e-mail and Twitter, so the abstinence started to hit me hard. So I’ve been doing all kinds of stuff online today, including opening up a Flickr account for myself. I wanted a quick and easy way of uploading my images, mainly those of Theo, so I could share them with everyone who wants to see him develop. I used to have a gallery online with all sorts of pictures from vacations and such, but it kinda drowned in spam comments, so I ended up deleting the whole thing. Anyway, Flickr works absolutely perfect!

Mr. Postman also came knocking today. Finally! He brought me a very nice black box from Sigma Makeup, but I’ll get back to that later in an individual post. This time the package took 11 working days, which is a little longer than I’m used to, but still not bad at all. I haven’t seen any sign of my shipment from Asos, where I ordered that incredibly cute little coin purse, and it’s already been 13 working days. The one week I really needed some mail to cheer me up nothing arrives. Sucks!

Anyway, I’m alive.
Just wanted to let you all know.

In mid February I received another package containing two more LE i-Divine palettes from Sleek MakeUP named “Safari” and “Curious”. I got both on eBay, and was very happy to discover that I could whisk them away at retail price. Retail! How often does that happen? eBay is filled with greedy people who’s desire to become rich is a lot stronger than their sense of honesty, selling heavily overpriced makeup (and other items) that might not even be authentic. As I already said, both these palettes are LE and not available through Sleek MakeUP anymore. “Safari” is a gorgeous metallic palette with 12 colors that instantly made me think of the wilderness, lions, rhinos, giraffes and large, open plains with grassing Zebras! A very suitable name, indeed. “Curious” on the other hand is a rather strange palette, as it’s an odd mixture of shimmering and metallic colors (three blues, one teal, one yellow, one purple and so on). I do like it though, it’s just strange curious! Maybe it’s not so bad after all, at least I’m getting the correct associations to the given name.

Sleek MakeUP i-Divine Palette in Safari

Sleek MakeUP i-Divine Palette in Curious

Sleek MakeUP i-Divine Palette in Graphite

Naturally I had to venture back to eBay after watching a video on YouTube where one of the sisters Pixiwoo did a rather dark look with the latest i-Divine palette, “Graphite”. I’m not so sure that I liked the actual look, I would never anything as dark as that – but at the same time I found it kinda sexy. I did see a lot of potential in the dark colors, and I haven’t found the trick to resist a palette filled with dark blues, grays and black yet. Gots to have it!

Now I’m a little embarrassed to confess that I’m only lacking two palettes (as far as I know), to complete my Sleek MakeUP palette collection. These two palettes are the permanent “Chaos” and the LE “Jewels”. Being permanent it’s easy to get my hands on “Chaos”, but I actually don’t want it. It’s supposed to be a matte palette, which usually is a good thing, but from the swatches I’ve seen it looks horribly chalky. Who wants chalky eyeshadows? I don’t, and that’s what matter. Maybe I’ll change my mind, who knows. “Jewels” is a little more attractive with its shimmery metallics and semi mattes, but I couldn’t find it on eBay and it wasn’t really that special. Not when I already have seven of the other palettes. Yay me, I’m acting sensible!

Photo © Shamini Thevarajah ‘10

Anyway, I’ve ordered from Cherry Culture once before, and I’m remembering a distinct feeling of not being very pleased. I cannot remember why, but I think it had something to do with the time it took to reach me, and severe lack of customer service – and as we all know, I’m not a very patient being. Since Cherry Culture was having one of their frequent sales where you can get NYX products for next to nothing, I decided to try a few of their Round Lipsticks. The regular price is $3.50, but during the sale you can get them for $1.75 each – that would be about 11,- NOK with today’s exchange rate, which I think is a bargain if the lipsticks are any good. Unfortunately It’s impossible to choose colors from the sucky pictures on their website. So my advice would be to spend a few minutes searching the Internet for swatches of the ones you think might be interesting, and choose from them. I spent a good amount of time searching for swatches before I carefully picked out the ten that arrived today, trying to avoid the most sparkly, glittery ones. That was absolutely worth my while!

This time I ordered on a Saturday, got an e-mail that my package was sent the next Tuesday, and then Mr. Postman came knocking yesterday. This adds up to exactly seven working days, which isn’t really bad at all!

Power, Thalia, Heather, Tea Rose and Louisiana

Spell Bound, Chaos, Black Cherry, Pandora, Medusa

As already said I also got three pair of lashes, NYX Fabulous Lashes, in the numbers 112 Secret, 117 Posh and 127 After Midnight. These lashes was $4 each, which is about 24,- NOK. Even thought these lashes come as a complete set with a small tube of glue, I’m gonna use my Duo Lash Glue instead – as it’s considered the best. You’ll find the variety of NYX Fabulous Lashes offered here, and also the ones I chose to get.

This just about made my day since I had been struggling with an infernal headache all day. I tried laying down for two hours, but not even that made it any better. I did manage to sneak in some quality snuggling with my sweet little Theo though, once he calmed down, stopped pawing me in the face, trying to lick me in my ear. Naturally the headache started to clear once that it was time to go to bed. So.. if this post is a little weird, I’m blaming it all on my headache. I still can’t see straight.

Photo © Shamini Thevarajah ‘10

Today Monica came back for a visit with her own two female Chihuahuas Zita and Lizzi, and this time she also brought the two males Angelo and Lucas. It was fun to watch Theo get to know these two new dogs, them being males and all, and to see that he reacted quite differently than he did the first time he met Zita and Lizzi. There was little or no insecurity, and they interacted immediately. Then the five dogs spent a few hours playing with each other, and Theo absolutely loved the company! When they left he started looking for them, sniffing the floor and the sofa, and then he sat still on his pillow for about 15 minutes without moving. I find it amazing to watch these dogs interact and communicate, it’s really fascinating. Theo clearly prefers Lizzi’s company, as she got most of his attention, but he’s a lot more confident now than when he first met mother and daughter. Lucas was a very charming guy, who almost immediately decided that my lap could be used for a quick cuddle, while Angelo was trying his very best to avoid any conflicts between the others (also play-fighting). A gentleman indeed. Lizzi is the typical teenager who seemed to enjoy all the attention from Theo, and Zita kept everyone in order as the junior leader of the pack.

I have fallen utterly and completely in love with these little dogs, and I’m very grateful to have met a wonderful friend like Monica. Theo was completely exhausted after all the impressions, all the playing, wrestling and running around, but I think he’s a quite happy little dog right now. I just had to share this picture with you. It shows Theo and Lizzi, whom I think he has a crush on, having one of their play-fights. And one thing is absolutely certain, we LOVE the company!

Photo © Øyvind H. ‘10

The package was sent from MyUS, as I’ve already mentioned, and contained about three months worth of hauling from a few different online stores in the US. It’s hard to wait when you’re as impatient as I am, but it’s a lot better than Christmas and birthday combined when the package finally arrives – and with the speed of lightning too! I placed the shipping order on Thursday, or rather Friday since it was past midnight, and it arrived in Trondheim today just in time for delivery. One’s gotta love DHL. Fantastic!

The main item in this shipment was the long awaited “Alice in Wonderland” palette from Urban Decay. I also received three mini-sized UD 24/7 Glide-On Pencils in Covet, Electric and Lust, as a promotion offer when I ordered my stuff. You’ll never hear me say “no thank you” to some extra 24/7 pencils, believe you me! And a XL version of the Primer Potion. From M·A·C I had ordered bulk wipes, a pencil sharpener, and then I later caved under the enormous pressure it is when M·A·C decides to launch several collections after one-another, and ended up buying some eyeshadows from Love Lace, Warm & Cosy and All Ages, All Sexes, All Races. Unfortunately I see now that I could have skipped a few of them, and never missed not having them in my collection. Another bummer!

Originally I was planning to get a few more refills, but somehow I forgot? I’ve been wondering if I might have some kind of built-in device in my head causing me to forget something when I’m ordering online, and that way forcing me to come back again to order more. Maybe I’ve been brainwashed? I kinda like depotting my eyeshadows, but it’s so much neater to just buy the refill and put it directly into a palette. No hassle. No fear of breaking them in the process. Below is a list of the M·A·C shadows I ended up buying. The ones in bold are limited edition pots in dire need of being depotted, labeled and placed, while the last four on the list are permanent refills.

• Hypnotizing LE (frost)
• Love Lace LE (veluxe pearl)
• Suave Intentions LE (veluxe pearl)
• All Races LE (matte)
• Showstopper LE (matte)
• Chamomile LE (satin)
• Milled Cider LE (satin)
• Modelette LE (satin)
• Blanc Type (matte²)
• Club (satin)
• Copperplate (matte²)
• Scene (satin)

When M·A·C launched their M·A·C in Lillyland collection I wasn’t really that stoked. Actually nowhere near stoked. I considered getting the face powder because it looked.. unusual. I didn’t, and today I’m glad I skipped most of the items. Somewhere along the line I kept reading that the one thing that was really worth getting from this collection was the Lip Gelées. The four that came with this collection was: Resort Life, Lush & Bright, Preppy and Shift to Pink (swatches at Temptalia), and they kinda remind me of Dazzleglass in a tube. I’m not a great fan of Dazzleglass as I find them way too sparkly, but I loved these colors and decided to try the Lip Gelées. It’s also a plus that you don’t have to use a silly wand for application, and then stick back into the tube with germs and everything. Eew! Good thing it’s possible to sanitize makeup.

Anyway, now I’m gonna lean back and wait for Mr. Postman to come next!

Photo © Urban Decay

“Memento Mori”

As I’m sure you’ve already noticed each of these palettes contains 8 eyeshadows. From left to right they are called True (cream shadow), Solitude, Meditation, Agatha Pink, Sugar Skull, Peggy, Hard Luck and Tijuana. The one cream shadow is perfect to use as a base for the other shadows, but please remember to use a primer underneath to prevent creasing. xSparkage has posted a very cute tutorial for a look based on this palette on YouTube, and you can watch it here.

There’s nothing very special about the colors in these palettes, and I’m sure most of them can be easily duped by other brands. I still love the whole look and feel of these palettes though, which is why I own three of the palettes. I’m also a big fan of Kat Von D and her art, and I think it’s cool that she’s implemented her tattoos on the packaging of her own makeup line. The one thing I would have changed if I could is those hideous sponge applicators, they should have been replaced with miniature editions of her brushes instead. Luckily I discovered that it was back in stock at Sephora, so soon it will be mine!

Now I’m sure several of my female readers will shake their heads at me for actually buying the following item, but what can I say? I’m don’t have the heart to walk away from insanely cute things, and therefore I just had to get it. Isn’t it just the cutest little coin purse you’ve ever seen? Apart from being insanely cute I found it to be very handy for the days that I don’t want to carry a handbag around with me. I’m not the handbag-carrying-kind-of-girl, even though I must admit that I enjoy buying them every once in a while. I don’t like handbags big enough to house me and a small town! Anyway, this cute little thing is from Miss Sixty, a brand for teenagers I know, but what do I care. It’s perfect for carrying some money and the necessary credit cards around, and seeing that it’s too easy for a random bystander to rob me (when I’m keeping my wallet in my lap), it’s assuring that it comes with a chain for wearing across the body.

Insanely cute!

After discussing a lot back and forth with my sweet Amira, I went on a hunt for Stila Diamond Lil’ (grayish taupe with golden shimmer), an eyeshadow very similar to M·A·C Smoke & Diamonds – which is one of M·A·C’s most popular eyeshadows. Naturally it’s a LE, and therefore close to impossible to get your hands on, unless you were one of the lucky ones when it was repromoted in the Love That Look collection earlier this year. Anyway, I was supposed to write about Stila. I also wanted to try out the infamous Kitten (nude pink with shimmer), and seeing that Stila had extended their promotional offer of a free Precious Pearl Palette with any order of $40 or more, I pretended that no one saw me as I quickly added Black Cat (soft black with shimmer) to my cart before I checked out.

I’m hoping Mr. Postman will find his way to me soon, and shower me with packages from all over the world. Oh.. and in a few days Mr. DHL will come bearing gifts as well, because I got a mail from MyUS telling me that a shipment is on its way to Trondheim, Norway!

Photos © Sephora and ASOS – edited by Shamini Thevarajah ‘10