Beauty Inside Art

Left: Without top coat & Right: With top coat

If I had to choose only one makeup product to use for the rest of my life it would certainly be mascara. I find that when I wear mascara, it instantly changes my face, it makes me look more awake and prettier. Since, mascara is such an important step in my makeup routine, I'm always on the search for the best one. Recently, my sister gave me the Avon Super Shock Max Mascara in Black and I have been using it ever since. It has a dry formula and a huge wand. After using it for a couple of months the product gets a lot drier, thus resulting in clumpier lashes. I'd definitely say that it adds more volume than length, as you can see from the photo above. In the top picture my lashes are completely au naturel and underneath my lashes have one coat of the mascara, without curling or brushing them. One coat is usually what I opt for on a regular basis, but for a night out two coats is also good. I wouldn't recommend adding more than two coats, as it would simply make the lashes clumpy and unnatural. My ideal mascara gives me length and volume, but still looks natural. I really dislike unnatural, thick and clumpy lashes and sometimes black can look quite odd against my light skin-tone. I think it's around €10 and for that price you can't really complain as the typical price tag for a high-street / drugstore mascara is around €15. I should also add that I have naturally long lashes, so most  of the time mascaras tend to look good on me. They simply dye my naturally blond lashes, giving me the length that's already there. In addition, this isn't waterproof, at all. This is definitely not my favourite mascara, but it's good enough. I don't think this is a product that I would repurchase any time soon, though.

Ever since I started watching beauty videos on YouTube, two-three years ago, people have been talking about Sigma makeup brushes. But with so many Sigma affiliates out there, how can we be sure that they are actually worth the hype? No need to worry my dears, for I will be reviewing eight brushes that I have own for a long time and trust me I will be 100% honest, as I am not an affiliate of the brand. (Any links in this post are the normal links to the sigma website.)

Small Contour - F05: I was a bit disappointed when I first tried this brush. I thought it would have been better, because some of my favourite youtube, beauty gurus were using and recommending it. I expected it to be softer and to blend the colour better, like my F40 brush. When I used it to contour my cheeks, I felt the need to use another brush to blend it out, as this wasn't very good at it. But it works fine when using a light hand. Also, this sheds when washing and using. In addition, from the first wash, it colourised the water blue, and up until now that happens, but in a very minor manner. I've also noticed this with other brushes, like the F50 Duo Fibre brush that sort of lightly stained the white bristles blue. I don't see myself using this very often and with all honesty I don't recommend it.

Foundation - F60: I haven't use this in a very long time, basically because I dislike it. I hated applying my LR Foundation with this, as it wouldn't blend nicely on my nose. I have tried using it with cream highlighter and it wasn't an impressive application. To be honest, I used this today to apply my BB Cream, for this blog post, and it wasn't as bad as I remembered. I just don't enjoy using it, and you have to blend well so you avoid the brush stroke effect. 

Round Top Kabuki - F82: This is a brilliant brush, that I've loved from its very first use. Very dense, blends foundation, BB cream, powder like a dream. I find it to be my best choice when it comes to apply my base. For some lazy days I've used it to blend my concealer, too. Because of the thickness and density of this brush it's a bit tricky with cleaning.

Large Angled Contour - F40: Here's another brush I really like. Soft, fluffy and white. Well, more of a light ivory colour, to be exact. I have a weak spot for white brushes. I love it to apply bronzer and contour or to blend my blusher. Most of the time, I don't apply my blusher with this as I find it a bit big for my face and I always end up applying too much, unless it's a light colour. Today I tried this with a light pink blush and it was lovely, so I wouldn't recommend to use it with a dark and very pigmented colour.

To use it, I squeeze a pea sized amount onto my fingertip and apply onto my damp face. Then, I massage lightly in small circular movements across the face and neck, avoiding the eye area. Lastly, I rinse thoroughly and pat dry with a soft towel. When you use it the first thing you'll probably notice is the fresh, forest smell, and then you might start feeling a cooling and refreshing sensation. I love that cooling sensation as it makes me relax, somehow. Sometimes, I wait a couple of seconds before rinsing the product off, just to enjoy that cool feeling. It's so cool, it sort of burns sometimes, but in a pleasant way, like a mint chewing gum. After removing it, it leaves the skin matter, softer, fresh, clean and brighter. In addition, I've noticed some reduction of the redness on my face and I think it makes my skin a bit lighter.

Hello everyone. I'm taking a break from my exam studying to do a little review for you. The Honey Bronze Shimmering Dry Oil* from The Body Shop is described to be a luxurious dry shimmering body oil scented with honey and monoi. And that's what it is! Both the lovely smell and thin consistency make this product feel so luxurious when applied. To use you should shake well because the oil tends to sit on the top and then massage well in circular movements over the body. When finished you should wash your hands, because there would be shimmer left on the fingers.

The first layer of this shimmery oil has very minimal colour and golden shimmer (shown on the top pictures above). You should not confuse this product with a self-tanner, it will just add a subtle bronze tint to the skin. It is very moisturising, but it gets absorbed into the skin quickly, so I would recommend it to all skin-types, as it's not heavy. Also, it gives a very nice, healthy glow, but when you look at the skin from a close distance you can definitely see the shimmer. On a normal day, I would use this on my very pale and dry legs, to make them look healthier and prettier.

Hello everyone. I hope April has been a great month for all of you! Since May is almost here and the weather is getting a lot warmer, I've decided to share with you one of my favourite lipsticks for this season. I am talking about Costa Chic from Mac. This lipstick was my go-to lipstick for summer 2012 and I predict it's going to be one that won't be leaving my lips from now on.

 It is definitely going to be one of my favourites since the pigmentation is so intense and flattering for my skin colour. The quality of this lipstick is also very impressive for the price. I paid 7.90 EUR, but that varies depending on where you live.

Hello everyone! The following video will show you the Paris Palette in a more creative way! After spending hours and hours editing the video I decided it was interesting and different enough. In the video you will see swatches of the eight eyeshadows, the two blushes and the highlight shade. Also, at the end I compare the brushes that come with the palette to the original ones from Sigma. Overall, I was really impressed with this product and the fact that youtubers help create it makes it special. This makeup palette is an improvement to the Bare palette that I own and love. You should note that the majority of the shadows are shimmery. Thank you for spending some of your time on my blog and don't forget to watch the video! Bye-bye, Gina :)

 ONE COAT
 TWO COATS