MEDIA PREVIEW

Hello everyone!

Over the past few years as a beauty blogger, I have reviewed mainly cosmetics such as lipsticks and eye shadows but never beauty tools like makeup brushes because apart from the silly thinking that they weren’t all that important, they are also not as visually interesting and fun to write on. In fact, makeup brushes are pretty much the unsung heroes of the beauty world. Although we depend greatly on them to create winning looks, our #makeupoftheday is often accredited to the cosmetics used instead. I think it’s time we give credit where credit is due!

Like many makeup rookies, I mainly relied on brushes that came with my eye shadow palettes when I first started out because I wasn’t ready to invest in professional brushes yet. It was only after a series of minor eye infections caused by the prickly and stiff bristles that I switched to using proper ones from Sigma Beauty, an international online beauty store founded in 2009 in the United States.

Sigma Beauty is no stranger to the local beauty scene as they have been available for a couple of years on websites such as Sephora (previously Luxola) already. They are best known for their high quality yet relatively affordable face and eye shadow brushes which are usually bundled for the convenience of beginners who don’t know where to start. Now, adding to the makeup essentials is the Brow Goals Brush Set which has every brush you’ll ever need to achieve perfect brows!

The Brow Goals Brush Set (US$63 value) consists of four versatile brushes perfect for your brow needs. It will be launching on 18 April 2016 and will retail for just US$50. The brushes are:

• E06 Winged Liner™ – Define
• E71 Highlight Diffuser™ – Highlight
• E75 Angled Brow – Edge
• E80 Brow and Lash – Groom

To create a pair of natural-looking and neat arch, these brushes work best with Brow Wax and Brow Powder Duo by Sigma Beauty.

Brow Wax helps to keep runaway brow hair in place while Brow Powder enhances the natural colour of your brows for a fuller appearance. As a rule of thumb, opt for a (fill-in) brow powder that is one shade lighter than your hair colour because powders tend to look harsher and more pigmented than say, gel.

Rather than doing a review on each brush like how I would usually do for my lipsticks, I thought it would be more beneficial if I demonstrate the steps I take in creating my everyday brows (because I prefer my brows to look as natural as possible without forcing them too far off their original shape).

1. Groom

It is necessary to comb through the brows to flatten and smooth them before applying any colour. Featuring a spool-shaped tool, the Brow and Lash Brush grooms not only the brows but also helps to pull through lashes for separation and exactness. The width of the spool is slightly greater towards the bottom to capture more brows at the thicker area so I only had to brush through them once.

2. Wax

If brushing does little to tame the brows, applying wax may do the job. This brow wax from Sigma contains a clear wax formula that stays pliable after application. It can be used before adding colour to the brows to keep them in place, or after to give them a smoother finish. It can also be used on bare, unruly brows for an effortless off-duty look. Wearing this wax gives my brows a neater appearance without even having to apply any colour to them.

3. Line & Fill

With three different shades (Light, Medium and Dark) to choose from, there is bound to be one that matches your hair colour. Each Brow Powder Duo contains two shades of eyebrow powder that blends to create a seamless effect.

Using an Angled Brow Brush, I dabbed on some of the darker brow powder and proceeded to line my lower brows with it. The brush has a short and slightly stiff angled brush head for greater control. The lines around the brows will serve as a guide to prevent them from looking overdrawn with excessive amount of brow powder. Nobody wants to look like a drag queen, am I right? Then, with the same brush, I applied the lighter one to the tail of the brows because too much of a uniform colour would cause the brows to appear stark. I certainly don’t want all the attention to be on my brows!

Once the outline of the brows have been established, I filled in the brows using sketching motion, starting from the head, to achieve a more natural, hair-like effect. The same technique is likewise applied on the tail, albeit with the lighter shade.

Define your eyes with the small, steeply-angled brush head of this Winged Liner Brush which enables precise control of eyeliner on all eye shapes. I had used this on my brows instead to give it a subtle extension at the tail.

4. Highlight

The simplest trick to make the brows “pop” more is to highlight the outer half of the brow bone beneath it. The Highlight Diffuser Brush used for this step features an angled dense brush head that flawlessly blends the highlight to the eyeshadow shade.

Opt for a highlighting shade that is shimmery yet also corresponds to your skin colour, just like the shade Sin I have picked out from one of my all-time favourite eyeshadow palettes from Urban Decay. It really does make a truckload of difference to your eye makeup because it somehow brightens up your eye area further, giving you a more refreshed look.

5. Even out

Finally, blend out all the products you have applied to your brows with the Brow and Lash Brush once again to soften any harsh or uneven edges. Once you’re done, you will get a perfectly sculpted pair of natural-looking brows!

With an inexpensive price tag and superb quality brushes, Sigma Beauty has proven time and again to give other premier brands a run for their money. I’m glad buying basic makeup tools like brushes has become less of a privileged affair, so every penny-pinching beauty addicts are able to afford them now!

What are your thoughts about Sigma brushes? Will you be getting this set when it launches? Share them with me in the comments below! 🙂

Thanks for reading!

The Brow Goals Brow Set by Sigma Beauty will be available on SIGMABEAUTY.COM from 18 April 2016 at only US$50.