beauty review: sigma foundation brushes

A few months ago I found myself in the market for some new makeup brushes. Now while I'm all about purchasing my eyeshadow and powder brushes from the likes of e.l.f. and Sonya K. at Target, I need something a little more dense for my foundation. After hearing the majority of the beauty community praise this company, I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the ever popular Sigma brushes. 

My favorite part of this kabuki style is that it's synthetic. This essentially means that unlike natural hairs that want to soak up half the product when applied, it instead sits on the tips of the bristles and waits to be transferred on the skin. Best part is that they are dense enough to buff into the skin using just a minimal amount of foundation. The flat head F80 brush is my favorite, but I like the angled F84 to get on the sides of the nose and under eye area with concealer. 

y'all know I'm a sucker for nice packaging

As a little surprise, I was also given a E05 eyeliner brush. I've purchased a couple of flat head eyeliner brushes in the past, but could never master the look I wanted. This brush is great for swooping the perfect cat eye, and took the place of my current eyeliner brush (which just happened to be a Hobby Lobby $3 paint brush that was in need of replacement anyways..yep, true story).

Something tells me I'll be purchasing more Sigma products in the future. And I saw for the month of July you can use code RNL2013 for 10% off your order!

this week's favorite links

this and other pretty things via here

adoring my new cork and gold iPhone case  a few photo editing tips for your blog (the photo widths tip is my favorite!) wore this super soft maxi dress for the Fourth thanks to a rec from Megan  every gal needs a good pair of studs she can wear with anything..mine are in seaglass and if I had a spare $50, this would soooo be in my makeup drawer 

beauty review: tarte amazonian clay blush

If you caught my Fourth of July photo from this earlier post, you probably noticed I've toned down my pink blush addiction (see also: lets be honest, I can have moments of clown cheeks). 

Because I've been such an avid MAC obsessed gal for so long, I'm shocked to be giving you so many non-MAC related beauty reviews, but y'all..this is such a great blush. It's a beautiful nude, peach color with a tinyyy bit of glitter, but not so much that you would really notice. It's very pitmented, so a little will go a long way. 

All in all, I'm really impressed with these amazonian clay products, and will more than likely try other colors once this little gal is used up. Do y'all have any tried and true blushes that you love? 

five random facts

I've always enjoyed reading these type of posts from others, so I decided to contribute my two cents...or in this case five.

/// I'm a lipstick hoarder, but yet I rarely wear it. One thing I have learned from my engagement shoot? I need to wear more of it. Geez, my lips are fish belly white!
/// I own two instruments - a clarinet (middle school) and an acoustic guitar (high school). I have since forgotten how to play both of them.
/// I have my nails polished at all times. It's not in a vain sense really, but rather I gave up biting my nails to nubs when I turned 21 years old. I rationalize that as long as I keep them nice looking, I won't want to continue biting. So far it's worked.
/// I went to China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan earlier this year for work and completely forgot to blog about it. I blame it on the jet lag. 
/// I love the thought of traveling, but I have an absolute, unequivocal fear of flying. I ironic thing is, I do it for work on almost a monthly basis. (and see also: fun fact number four o_O )  

beauty review: benefit stay flawless primer

I decided our Fourth of July festivities was the best time to put the new Benefit Stay Flawless primer to the test. Granted, I'm not one to necessarily believe in the benefits of a primer, but to be honest, how could I refuse this adorable packaging promising me 15 hours of stay put power? Yes, I bought it partially because of the packaging..true story.

While I've read different interpretations, I found that this balm can dry quickly, and it's best to rub it on in sections, using the stick and not your fingers, and then immediately apply your foundation. That way your foundation mixes with the tacky balm and locks it into place.
I have to say, after about three hours walking the streets of downtown Memphis in 90 degree heat, it held up pretty nice. We went back inside to cool off a bit and change, and I added a bit of my NYX powder to touch up before dinner. After that I was good to go for the rest of the night.

right before dinner with my fav dude, Cory
And here's my official summer makeup routine. I like that it's a light BB cream that gives me the coverage I need, a powder that isn't caking on my face, and a primer that keeps it all from budging. (Side note: I noticed my BB cream is getting a little dark now that I'm loosing my Memorial Day tan. Right now, I'm mixing it with a little of my lighter foundations to make a perfect match.)

To get the info on the other two products, check them out in my top ten here. Do y'all have a summer makeup routine that you're loving right now? Let me know if I'm missing out on something! :)

seeing red

I am in desperate need of a hair makeover. It's not curling like it used to, the ombre is pretty much nonexistent, and it's just downright boring. Some days I want bangs, other sweaty, summer days I'm thankful I don't have them. I'm also that crazy girl who views her hair as a safety blanket, and will never cut major inches off for the summer. 
While I already know I need some serious layers to get my curls back to bouncing, I've also been obsessing with the idea of going red... not RED red, but more auburn, reddish/brown. Or maybe I just want to become Emma Stone, who can virtually wear her hair whatever color she wants.

Any of y'all having the same hair woes as me? Or have you had a hair change recently?  

this weekend: allyse gets married

This weekend I was able to see two dear friends of mine get hitched, and I couldn't have been more happy to attend. I first met Allyse years ago when we worked together in retail, and I instantly fell in love with her kind spirit, thoughtfulness, and all around awesome attitude. I knew if I was working with Allyse that day, it was going to be a good day. And when one day she began telling me she was falling in love with this sweetheart dude named Zach, I knew that he was the one for her. I can't think of two people that belong together more.
Allyse and Zach, or rather Mr. and Mrs. Holcomb, I want to wish you many, many years together (too many to count) chock full of happiness, fond memories, adventures, and one day some little strawberry-blonde babies of your own. I love y'all dearly, and I'm so lucky to call you my friends.
The wedding was a complete old fashioned wonderland, too beautiful for my crummy iPhone camera to accurately document. As a complete side note, knowing that they were going to get married in Mississippi, in June, and have the reception completely outside..I'm sure it could pose a little worrying for the bride (trust me, my wedding day it rained!). But thankfully, the day could not have been more lovely, and shockingly, the temperature was perfect. Sure it was the summer in the south, but if you were born and raised here, it didn't faze us in the slightest. 

so, so clever...an outside living room to write well wishes for the mr. and mrs.

 and what's an outside living room without a fireplace? 

 dinner and dancing 

my absolute favorite..the homemade photo booth with it's own hashtag #zallysegetsmarried

and us with the beautiful bride!