Nail Polish Storage + Super Tiny Sigma Haul

For some odd reason, I've had all my of my nail polish stuffed into a large tote bag. So not fun to carry & definitely not easy to dig my way through for whatever color I'm looking for. I've been checking various websites & eBay for a nail polish rack for the last year. They were always just way too expensive & generally, pretty ugly. I have a friend who works in a salon who offered me one, but she later found out she could have been fired for letting me have it, so I was on the quest for another alternative.

I didn't really have anything in mind when I would shop; I just browsed everything & thought of how I could store my polishes. A nail polish rack would have been ideal, but for now, I found these:

 Found these at Walmart for $7 a piece. They're small bathroom racks that I figured would do the trick. So I picked up 3 of them & gave 'em a try. Needless to say, I didn't think it out too well when I bought them; when I set the nail polish on the rack, they'd plop over & look uneven. I am really, really obsessive/anal about things looking perfectly straight, it's pretty insane! So I ran to JoAnn Fabrics & picked up some cheap Foamies sheets & silver-y holographic ribbon. Ta-da! :D

I haven't added the ribbon yet because I'm going to sew it together once I've measured everything. I put that together in about 5 minutes & just haven't had the time to sit down & measure. I realize this is a pretty basic thing to do, but IMO, made it look muuuuch better & now my polishes won't fall into each other. Plus, it's a little more personalized, too & once I add the ribbon, it will look pretty rad :D

Next, I will begin the task of sorting these all out by brand & then colour, because I'm partially psychotic like that :P

I also received my first Sigma brushes haul the other day & am so impressed! I'm not really a brush snob by any means...I'll pretty much use anything as long as it's not cheaply made or doesn't shed everywhere. I have quite a few MAC & Sonia Kashuk brushes as well as brushes from the craft store (also, a really great investment) so I just ordered 3; Something About Marilyn kabuki (duh!), E35 tapered blending & E45 small tapered blending. I also received a free travel sized brush (E25 blending) which reminds me of the MAC 217 (my favourite brush ever!) I'm sure someone has compiled a list of the MAC/name brand comparatives, but I just bought brushes I knew I needed.

The first thing I noticed when I opened these up, was that the handles smell HORRID. I'm not exactly sure what that smell is, but it's kinda gross. Luckily, I left them sit out overnight & the smell has worn off a bit. It's still there, just not punch-you-in-the-face there. They also sent two pamphlets showcasing their brushes/prices & also included brush cleansing instructions. Sweet!

I really wanted one of the pink brush kits, but it was sold out. Actually, looking at the site now, it seems to have changed a bit since I made my order & I no longer see that one on there :( Boo! Hahah, either way, I'm definitely going to invest in one of the sets, probably one of the Make Me Up sets, because they are a really good deal. $100 bucks probably sounds pricey, but imagine how much money you'd spend on MAC/Bobbi Brown, even Sephora brand brushes. They also send you a free gift on orders over $30, plus, you can generally find a coupon code floating around online (Try RetailMeNot.com, I saved 10%) I am loving these brushes, especially that kabuki. I need to go through & pitch some of my old/heavily used brushes that really just gotta go & replace them with these. They are awesome!

So I leave you all with a question today; what are your favourite brand of brushes & why? And more specifically, what is your #1 go-to, must-have brush?