Nicole and Cameron, new sisters in law. www.dailymail.co.uk

I so feel like joining in this Nicole Richie / Cameron Diaz high five.

With them but not quite… a photo of when I last wore my trusty hiking shoes.  Except that it wasn’t on a nature reserve and I wasn’t walking a dog.  Oh well.

It’s not that I idolize these women, it’s just that I admire the way that they lead lives on Planet Celebrity on their own terms.  They come across as down to earth and even self deprecating in their interviews and you don’t get the impression that they’re trying too hard to please anyone except the important people in their lives. I’ll never look like either of them but I do like the way they dress both on duty and off.  Neither of them seem  to be chasing fame or public adoration too hard at all which makes them among the celebrities I actually like reading about.

Are you a mature, intelligent adult woman fan of any celebrities?  And by ‘fan’ I mean that you’re genuinely happy at their good news and not wondering about any hidden agendas to the release of the said good news to the general public (new movie, new product, new scandal to recover from).  Yes, it is all trivial stuff about people we don’t actually know but it can be a welcome reprieve from the bad news stories that the world seems to be drowning in at the moment.

If you don’t mind me saying, I’m almost a celebrity myself.  At least with my local Australia Post Parcel Post delivery man.  Our professional relationship has reached a new level.  We’ve progressed from parcels being signed for on my behalf on the strength of him hearing signs of life in the house when the doorbell isn’t answered (shower running, microwave beeping, toddler screeching), to being stopped on the road for parcel handover to… parcel delivery through an open car window as I was preparing to reverse down the driveway for the daycare / work run this morning.  That’s pretty VIP service, Australia Post.  Thank you.

Sigma’s packaging is pitch perfect for a cosmetic brand – lots of pink, black and white.

But what was in the box, I hear you ask?

Two new Sigma brushes from the Extravaganza range which is currently on sale.  I’ve linked to page one of the sale items on the Sigma site.  This brush purchase was my third.  I bought my current set of brushes from them 3 – 4 years ago and have been using them ever since.  The brushes are mostly natural fibred (unless stated otherwise for individual brushes) and cover every potential make up need you could think of.  Sigma started off as being very price competitive to MAC but I think they’re now neck and neck.  In fact, a few of the special edition Sigma brushes are up to one and half times the price of MAC.

My only beef with Sigma’s face brushes is that they do shed as they get on a bit.  Hence these replacement purchases of an Extravaganza powder brush and blush brush.  The Extravaganza range feature gold plated metal ferrules.  They usually retail for $53 USD each but in the sale, I got each for $36.80 USD.  Shipping sucked though, as $23 USD total….  But you know what’s coming next …. it’s still cheaper in AUD than if I were to buy the brushes in Australia.  Luxola does carry a limited range of Sigma but not many of the limited edition fancy metal plated brushes.

Prior to buying these Sigmas, I did try a couple of brushes from the Australian brand Furless.  Most brushes are in the $15 – $20 AUD range and are completely synthetic.  They are a solid make and super soft but unfortunately, too soft for me.  That sounds crazy but I had a hard time getting much colour pay off or build up when I used my powder and blush brushes.  In addition, the brushes weren’t as full as I’m used to so they did feel strange to use.  This is all just me, I’m sure because everyone in beauty blogger world loves the brushes, seeing them as hitting that sweet note of great value and quality in the under $20 price range that you can’t find at the major retailers.

Have you tried Sigma or Furless or both?  How did you rate each?  Which do you prefer?