makeup

Daily Makeup #2: Naked Palette Attempt #3

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FACE: Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Montblanc, Make Up For Ever 5 Concealer Cream Palette in 1, NYC Smooth Skin Bronzer in Sunny, Physician’s Formula Happy Booster Blush in Rose, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Semi-Precious Pearl

EYES: NYX HD Eyeshadow Base, Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze, Urban Decay Naked Palette, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Semi-Precious Pearl, Lancome Le Crayon Khol in Black Ebony, L’Oreal Voluminous Mascara, Maybelline The Falsies Mascara, Revlon Brow Fantasy in Brunette

LIPS: EOS Peach lip balm, Revlon Lip Butter in Juicy Papaya

There’s something about a subtle(r) smoky eye that works in this late autumn time of year (it feels like winter here in Canada so I cannot bring myself to call it Fall). Sometimes you want to get all into the spirit of the season without wearing the high(er)-maintenance bold lip and this is when I favor the flattering slightly-messy daytime smoky eye.

From the stress of the impending doom otherwise known as finals and the great lack of sleep I’ve been getting I presume, my skin decided to go on protest and I woke up this morning with a big, painful underneath-the-skin blemish that’s impossible to cover along with the usual blemishes, bumps and general dehydration issues.

As per usual (even more-so this time of year) I slathered on some moisturizer immediately before starting the face in the hope of a glow – my current pick is Kiehl’s Skin Rescuer. When I woke up this morning three words were on my tongue “Nars Sheer Glow” and true to my word I used my sample from Sephora that I haven’t used in ages as it has been too pale but I’m back to my natural fair state so it worked. This foundation sort of reminds me of Rimmel Wake Me Up but with a tad more coverage and no shimmer and I really wish I bought this instead of Diorskin Nude. Alas… It gave my skin that glow while still providing very good coverage (with the aid of some heavy-duty concealer on the hideous zit painful spot) without looking ridiculous. I’m resisting the urge to run to Sephora and purchase it right now – but honestly it’s high on my mental wishlist.

Apparently subconsciously I was determined to use the Naked Palette in an everyday sort of way without using my favourite highlight/lid shade Sin so my brain in its typically irrational sense used another shade in the same vein as Sin to use in its place so every eyeshadow look I post did not include that one shade — I used the pale golden champagne outer-ring of the limited-edition and no longer available MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Semi-Precious Pearl (but in all honesty most MSFs are rather similar) on the inner-third of my lid. The warm medium-toned reddy bronze Toasted went on the rest of the lid and was blended into the crease and then Hustle was blended into the outer v and Creep was blended slightly into the lashes. The result was that sort of hazy and warm smoky eye that wasn’t too attention grabbing.

I was determined to use a strictly non-Autumnal lipstick so I went for the easy and somewhat unseasonal Revlon Juicy Papaya Lip Butter and I was feeling bored with my blush choices so I pulled out the forgotten-about Physician’s Formula Rose Happy Booster – great rosy shade but the colour has to be built up and the longevity leaves some to be desired.

What are your thoughts on my weekly (or more often than that) face posts? What have you been reaching for lately?

Base Bonanza: Make Up For Ever HD Foundation

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From the beginning of 2012 to the middle of 2013, I wore Make Up For Ever HD Foundation pretty much exclusively ( to wards the end I had LM Silk Creme but wore it like once a month) and I can easily say that this is a great foundation.

Ingredients: Aqua, Cyclopentasiloxane, Neopentyl Glycol Diethylhexanoate, Mica, talc, PEG-10 Dimenthicone, Biosaccharide Gum-1, Phenyl, Trimethicone, Sodium Chloride, Lauroyl Lysine, Dimenthicone Crosspolymer, Glyceryl Caprylate, Methylpropanediol, Butylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Sodium Myristoyl Glutamate, Cyclohexacyloxane, Methylisothiazolinone, Sorbitan Sesquileate, Silver Oxide, Propylene, Carbonate, Parfum (fragrance), Methylparaben, Fagus Sylvatica Extract (Fagus Sylvatica Bud Extract), Hydrolyzed Yeast Protein, [+/- CI 77891 )titanium Dioxide), CI 77491 (Iron Oxides), CI 77499 (Iron Oxides).

The Claims -8/10

According to the Sephora website, <strongMake Up Forever HD Foundation claims to provide buildable medium to full coverage that conceals imperfections “flawlessly” with a soft-focus effect, remaining invisible both on film and in real life.

On the coverage front the product is spot on and the finish is rather interesting; initially providing a velvety-satin finish but has more radiance in sunlight and as time goes on.

I would hesitate to say its invisible in real life and on film. It has no SPF and photographs beautifully. It’s hardly detectable and I’d say the same about it in real life.

Formula – 8.5/10

This foundation has a thick viscous fluid texture. The finish is pretty natural (but with a hint of radiance) but unfortunately highlights severe dry-patches. Despite it’s texture, it blends beautifully and sheers out like a dream.

I’m wearing shade 115 which is slightly too pink-toned and pale for me but the shade range is fabulous, catering to very fair to deep skin tones in various undertones.

According to COSDNA, there are no particularly troubling irritants in this but we each have our own skin sensitivities. It does contain a small amount of fragrance though.

Longevity – 9/10

Across the board, this foundation has great longevity, just not as great as foundations like Revlon Colorstay etc. Oilier skin types may need to touch up with powder and to blot but there don’t tend to be significant issues with wear (my friend provided me with this info) but on my drier skin it lasts a very long time. I accidentally had it on for 18 hours on the night of my prom and it hardly faded but on the down side it settled into my dehydrated patches unattractively (keep in mind that I have dry and dehyrated skin).

Packaging- 9/10

The packaging is somewhat large but is not particularly fragile. The container features a functional pump that dispenses a rather practical amount of product with a matching black cover. It contains the standard 30 mLs of product.

Value – 8.5/10

This is a great foundation, suitable in my opinion for normal to combination skin. I find it highlights dryness but not to a severe degree and those with truly oily complexions may not find it controls oil well enough. It’s a great special occasion foundation that photographs beautifully. The formulation is concentrated, requiring a minimal amount for significant coverage. It can be built up without becoming significantly more obvious and also looks relatively natural in real life.

It retails for $49 CDN/ 42 US dollars at Sephora

Total Grade: 43/50  A

Before - my naked face
Before – my naked face
The foundation set with NYX Dewy Finish Setting Spray and concealer just underneath the eyes
The foundation set with NYX Dewy Finish Setting Spray and concealer just underneath the eyes – and highlighter on my cheekbones. I’m wearing a smaller pump of this all over my face – more coverage can be built up

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For anyone who is curious and some have you might have guessed because of the title, I plan on doing a series of foundation/concealer reviews and uncreatively calling it “base bonanza” of all the face products I own and then do a comparison and favourites post. Fingers crossed, I’ll be able to stick to this.

The Daily Face #1: I actually wear this to class and look like a sane person

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Face: Kiehl’s Stress Rescuer moisturizer, Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation (Ivory), MUFE 5 Concealer Palette (1), Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer/Highlighter (Ivory), Sonia Kashuk Undetectable Creme Bronzer in Warm Tan, Benefit Rockateur Boxed Powder, NYX Dewy Finish Setting Spray

Eyes: NYX HD Eyeshadow Base, Dior Earth Reflection Quint, Maybelline Master Precise Black Pen-Liner, Maybelline The Falsies mascara, Lancome Le Crayon Kohl in Black/Noir, MAC Charcoal Brown eye shadow, Revlon Brow Fantasy in Brunette

Lips: MAC Patisserie lipstick

This is probably quite boring but this is the kind of post that I enjoy reading maybe the most — the makeup that I wear the most on an everyday basis (what I wear to Uni) and is a standard amount of makeup compared to others (you know the odd occasion when you don’t look like you’re wearing 10x the amount of makeup that everyone else is) and takes five minutes, max. It’s the perfect happy medium to make me feel put together and polished but does not scream overly made-up.

Being the foundation hoarder that I am, the foundation I wear on a daily basis varies depending on the state of my skin at the moment and general mood, nevertheless a favourite of mine for everyday (and is also up there for all time) is Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation. The almost invisible slight shimmer gives that nice glow while still providing a natural-looking medium coverage. Luckily for me, Ivory (the lightest shade) is perfect for my moderately fair skin for most of the year with its yellowy undertones.

I ran out of Urban Decay Primer Potion (sigh… :() and I have weirdly oily eyelids so I picked up Nyx HD Eyeshadow Base, which works better than Maybelline Colour Tattoos and and ever so slightly better than MAC Paint Pots but not as well as UDPP… but I can’t complain.

I’ve always had rather large and deep-set eyes and I’ve learned that outer-v definition can really make a difference for me and liner is essential. I put the Lancome on to tightline and applied a thin line on the upper lashes with the Maybelline. It was a complete splurge but I’m really enjoying my first Dior quint; I did quite a standard eye today with the golden champagne on the lid, the taupe in the crease and the deepest shade along the lashline and outer-v and I have to say that I’m a fan of the look.

I’ve struggled using the MUFE Concealer Palette for ages because the dark-correcting shade is just so orange and although it conceals dark circles, it can be very obvious but I’ve been putting the Rimmel on top and I’m impressed. The lip choice was obvious; the standard wearable pinky-brown nude MAC Patisserie. 

Benefit Rockateur is holding its place in my cheek product rotation and the Sonia Kashuk Creme Bronzer has been a pleasant surprise, finding it’s way into my daily makeup. Big deal right here. Um and my No-Buy might have maybe sort of turned into a Low-Buy after spotting the NYX Dewy Finish Setting Spray (First impression – lovely) and the limited-edition velvet matte top coat from L’Oreal……

Thoughts?

I may or may not have cut Benefit Rockateur out of the frame :)
I may or may not have cut Benefit Rockateur out of the frame 🙂 – see box to the far right

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Dior 609 Earth Reflection Quint

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Dior palettes are the kind of makeup item I find myself gazing at longingly but never seem to purchase as they seem to extravagant and pricy but I have to say I’m glad I took the plunge and picked up this one.

The eyeshadow quint retails for $61 CDN for 0.21 oz of product and I picked mine up at Sephora. The shades are the typical size of a full prices shadow pretty much (0.042 oz each) and the cost breaks down to $12.20 per shadow which is not too bad granted all the shadows are to your liking – and luckily in this case they were for me.

Obviously this palette contains five shades. The darker shades do tend to be more pigmented but all the shades are impressively long wearing with a buttery, smooth and blendable texture with a beautiful finish. Like all of the palettes in this series, the shades are iridescent but manage to have that sheen without being overwhelmingly shiny or glittery which can be a difficult feat. The texture is so soft and amazing. There is slight fall out but I don’t believe it’s escapable.

This palette seems to me to have a taupe theme and is neither overwhelmingly cool or warm. The palette features a shimmery pale pink that is sheer in consistency and quite brightening, a pale gold champagne shimmery shade with the same consistency, a light gold-beige shade with more pigmentation, A silvery taupe with a hint of purpliness to it (sort of similar to Satin Taupe but a touch lighter and more golden) and a darker taupe shade that is slightly warmer and plummy.

Even the dark colours have that soft texture and blendability, which is tough to come by. Although I don’t own it, the overall colour scheme of the palette seems to be along the lines of Urban Decay Naked 2 but obviously with less selection. The lack of selection doesn’t bother me. I find myself enjoying this palette for its simplicity. Just using this palette I can create subtle day looks to a dramatic smoky eye and that’s hard to come by for me. It’s a nice palette to create entire looks from.

The lightest two shades are grey highlight shades for me, the pale gold looks great on the lid, the silvery taupe I either wear on the crease and the darkest shade I like to wear in the outer-v for more subtle eye makeup or in the crease for darker looks and it’s dark enough to be used as liner. I like having a palette that I use every shade in!

I would have to give this product an A rating because the only downside of the product is the lack of different finishes and the price. These shadows have really impressed me because of their buttery texture, pigmentation, texture and longevity. I decided that I was going to create actual categories for review purposes to make my perceptions of products less arbitrary:

Pigmentation – 9/10

Longevity – 9.5/10

Packaging – 9.5/10

Value – 9/10

Overall Quality – 10/10

Total Grade – 47/50= 94%/A

Far too expensive for your wallet? Although they are not quite as longlasting, buttery and pigmented, Physicians Formula Nude Eyes palette struck me as similar. It features the same taupe shades and beautiful iridescence. Those shadows are generally impressively soft.

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Top - Bottom: golden shade on upper left, pinky shade in center, light taupe on upper right, dark taupe on bottom left, highlight shade on bottom right
Top – Bottom: golden shade on upper left, pinky shade in center, light taupe on upper right, dark taupe on bottom left, highlight shade on bottom right

Daytime Nude Lips and Tangent

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When I first started getting really into makeup, in 9th/10th grade, I was a nude lips kind of girl. That sort of changed lately, starting in my senior year of high school, when I started venturing into wearing brighter lips and before then, nothing at all. I suspect this was because pinks (especially cool-toned ones) look absolutely horrible on me. After I discovered brighter lipsticks, nudes (especially pale ones) were delegated to occasions where I wore a dramatic smokey eye. Lately as I’ve begun my no-buy, I’ve been in a rut in terms of lipstick – there was nothing in between just good old lip balm and a bold statement lip and I’ve been digging out my nudes as a solution of sorts. In my early days of makeup, nudes were my daily go-to and over the last little bit, I’ve been enjoying them and I think they can be worn on an everyday basis. Even more, they can be quite flattering.

I found myself quite liking the way that nude lips put the emphasis on my eyes and how low maintenance it was. I used MAC Creme d’Nude Lipstick which was my second lipstick from MAC and the third lipstick I ever purchased (the previous two were complete failures). I stupidly bought MAC Viva Glam Gaga, which was a horribly unflattering cool-toned pink and I should have learned from that mistake… In other words, this was my first lipstick love.

I may have accidentally taken the above photo with flash and captured the dreaded flashback effect but what can you expect wearing an spf 50 BB Cream? I’ve gotten back into using Skin79 Snail Nutrition on the regular and it is a great one. Cheek products were standard. The concealer/highlighter from Rimmel is very nice and has been making its way into my everyday routine.

The daytime smoky-ish eye is a look I always think can look great but is hard to do without overdoing it. However, using my old stand-by MAC Woodwinked and adding in some trusty Sketch, Dazzlelight, Satin Taupe and Charcoal Brown and I have to say it’s one of the few (as of late) days where I’ve been really liking my makeup. Although I abhorr the word, Woodwinked really does make the blue eyes ‘pop’ and stand out without looking heavily made up.

Happy Wednesday! Thoughts?

 

FACE: Skin 79 Snail Nutrition BB Cream, Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer/Highlighter in Ivory, Benefit Rockateur Boxed Powder, Sonia Kashuk Undetectable Cream Bronzer in Warm Tan

EYES: NYX HD Eyeshadow Base, MAC Dazzlelight, Woodwinked, Charcoal Brown, Satin Taupe and Sketch eye shadows, Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Eyeliner in Brown, Maybelline the Falsies mascara, Revlon Brow Fantasy in Brunette

LIPS: MAC Creme d’Nude lipstick

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October Beauty Favourites

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October ended up being even crazier than September. I’ve been exhausted, the weather has cooled dramatically and school has been insane with midterms, papers and all. This month I began to experience the wonderful phenomenon that is my skin’s response to the cooler season (itchiness, redness, skin burning and dehydration) and learned to adapt my makeup routine to make it as quick as possible – you know the grab and go routine where you have two minutes until you’re out the door and look terrible? In light of this, my favourites became fairly apparent this month.

Kiehl’s Skin Rescuer Daily Hydrator

I just talked about this in my fall skincare edit (here) for good reason. I am one of those people that suffer from serious dehydration and sensitivity the moment the weather begins to get colder and this moisturizer has really impressed me as compensation for this. i really appreciate that the moisturizer is lightweight and fast-absorbing while still being incredibly rich and soothing.

Nars Orgasm Powder Blush

For some reason, this hyped-up shade is one I find myself reaching for much more frequently in the cooler months. It gives a flattering, brightening glow to the cheeks, I’d say. I do have to mention that it’s not super unique but I have been loving this warm pink-coral blush with golden shimmer.

Dior Miss Dior Fragrance

I’ve never really been a perfume but lately I’ve really been getting into using this one. I adore that it’s sophisticated while still being young, subtle and not the sweetest in the least. It is fresh with a hint of woodsiness to it but don’t take my description here as fact because I am not talented at describing scents. I’m working my way through my sample from Sephora and am seriously debating purchasing it full-sized.

MAC Patisserie Lipstick

This is the first Lustre I’ve purchased from MAC and i quite like the formula – moisturizing, medium pigmented and has a nice sheen. This shade is a warm-toned pinky-brown wearable nude and it wears for a few hours and doesn’t emphasize dry patches on the lips.

Bourjois 10 Hr Sleep Effect Foundation

As I mentioned in my review, (link here) I picked up this foundation in the third shade which is 73, a nicely neutral fair-ish shade. I find that with a pump of product this offers slightly more coverage than light but not quite medium. This foundation emphasizes dry patches less than any other foundation I’ve tried (although severe ones will still be noticable) and offers a natural-looking dewy skin finish and decently-good longevity. I think this foundation is rather under-hyped.

Urban Decay Naked Palette

I’ve definitely mentioned the complexity of my thoughts on this palette before and recently put up a review (link here! but I can honestly say I’ve really made use of (and enjoyed) using this palette this month. Although these shades are obviously rather warm toned and shimmery it’s made it’s way into the staples pile. I like how it contains every single basic shade I need for a look. Sin is a gorgeous subtle lid shade, buck and naked are great for filling in my brows or in the crease, creep is great for subtle lining and darkhorse and hustle are great for the outer v! I like more but those are my absolute picks and they create the quick no-fuss and flattering defined eye.

NYC Smooth Skin Bronzer in Sunny

I’m not exactly sure how this purchase happened, well sort of. Like many other brands of the more affordable variety, NYC is difficult to find in Canada and when I ventured into Walmart (which I rarely do), I couldn’t resist picking this up. It’s a pigmented matte light-medium warm toned bronzer that doesn’t lean particularly orange and I’ve been reaching for this most days. I like that its dark enough and has the right type of colour to add both a bit of warmth and can help to shape the face.

Thoughts?

Urban Decay Naked Palette

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I’ve always been relatively lukewarm to this palette; the shades were high quality and the price-per-shade was right but there was something off about this product being a must have for me. I do find that it is too shimmery and metallic overall and the shades run a bit too warm (even though my skin leans slightly warm). I don’t always necessarily subscribe to the choose-eyeshadow-to-make-your-peepers-pop thing but they are particularly flattering on my blue eyes but I think they’re nice on all eye colours. I’ve had this palette for over two years and was never planning on doing a review on it but here goes…

Overall, the shades are really great quality, wearing for a long time (among the longest) without going creasy or patchy (with a primer, of course because I am disposed to shadow creasing on me) and with a pigmented and smooth texture but they do vary so I’ll describe them individually below and give my thoughts on them. By the way, the palette retails for $62 CDN at Sephora and contains 12 full-sized (0.05 oz) shadows, a mini-sized Urban Decay Primer Potion and a synthetic shadow brush.

Virgin is a pearly ivory-pink highlight shade that isn’t overtly shimmery and provides a nice sheen. It’s not the most pigmented in the world and I don’t believe it would suit skins darker than a medium in my opinion. I quite like this as a highlight shade on my fair skin. This shade is permanent.

Sin is a soft and finely-milled pinky-champage with warm undertones and a shimmery finish. The texture and pigmentation of this shade is great. This has to be one of my favourite lid colours of all time and is permanent.

Naked is a cool-toned light matte brown. It has impressive texture for a matte and is permanent. However, the shade is so light that it suits fair complexions as a transition colour and medium ones as a base-shadow colour. I like using this to fill in my brows when I want a really natural look and I use it as a transition shade frequently.

Sidecar is a warm toned medium taupe-bronze shade with glitter in it. It’s pigmented but doesn’t have the most impressive texture and really is prone to fall out. Also there is a red undertone to it that makes it difficult for me to wear but the shade is stunning on others. This shade has been previously available but is not permanent.

Buck is a slightly warm-toned medium matte brown without too much orangeness to it. I find myself reaching for this shade tons as of late. The texture is great as is the pigmentation. It can be used to fill in the brows if you have warmer toned brunette hair but I find it slightly too warm for that but I use it loads in the crease. This shade is permanent.

Half Baked is a warm-toned light intense metallic gold shade with a hint of bronze to it. The texture on this shade is fabulous and is the same high quality you can expect from shadows from this brand. I quite like this shade but it’s not something I reach for on a daily basis because I find it to be overly intense and metallic! This shade is permanent.

Smog is a medium-dark slightly warmed toned bronze shade with a slight green undertone to it and is nice and shimmery. The texture and pigmentation is good. This shade is nice but not particularly unique. I wear it in the crease on occasion and have worn it on the lid. It is flattering on blue eyes. This shade is also permanent.

Darkhorse seems to me to be a dark chocolate brown shade base with green flecks of glitter/shimmer in it. The pigmentation is good and the texture is not amazing but relatively impressive as the shade is so dark. This is a staple for me in the outer-v and as a subtle liner. I would say it is neither cool nor warm and is permanently available.

Toasted is a warm toned medium subtle pinky-copper with a subtle plumminess to it. It is difficult to describe and much better than it sounds. The texture is great and I don’t reach for this shade a ton but its a great one! This shade is permanently available.

Hustle is a slightly cool toned, taupe-brown with plummy undertones. The finish is shimmering but not in an overpowering way. It’s a great quality shadow and I use it frequently in my crease. This shade is exclusive to this palette, I believe.

Creep is a soft black with bluish-silver glitter running throughout it. It is not the richest deepest black and the glitter can be slightly annoying. The pigmentation isn’t the best nor is the texture but for being such a dark colour it’s fine. I use it loads in the outer-v, used as liner and to smudge liner. I’m fairly certain this shade is exclusive to this palette.

Gunmetal is a cool-toned dark metallic grey shade with a gorgeous silvery subdued blue sheen to it. This shade has amazing pigmentation and texture. This is definitely an underhyped shade. It is permanent and its great in  the outer v.

Swatched top to bottom in order listed above
Swatched top to bottom in order listed above

It now comes with a synthetic eyeshadow brush that I appear to have misplaced at the moment and is good quality but not one I find myself reaching for frequently. I do use it on occasion to pack colour onto the lid.

I would have to give this palette a B+/A- on the grounds that the shadows are great quality and value for money and would practical for everyday use on account of the tones, however I find the shades overly shimmery as a whole and overly too warm to be an all-in-all essential palette to use without the aid of other shadows. The hype is there for a reason and it is a great investment to add to your collection (given that you don’t own a million neutrals). Thoughts on my way late review?

Bourjois 10 Hr Sleep Effect Foundation

The French side ... whoops :)
The French side … whoops 🙂 It actually reads Bourjois 10 Hour Sleep Effect Foundation, Fresh, rested complexion with Vitamin (E,F, B5 and mineral-enriched formula
excuse the fingernails :)
excuse the fingernails 🙂
Before (makeupless)
Before (makeupless)

Ever since I discovered that Bourjois makeup was available in Canada at Shoppers (but not particularly affordably) I have been meaning to try a foundation, as I’ve heard such fantastic things about them. Because my mind is completely irrational, I picked the one that I hadn’t heard much about – Bourjois 10 Hr Sleep Effect foundation.

The foundation is a sheer and truly dewy one offering solid light coverage (or maybe a little more than light asit does cover some redness). I do think the product excels at making dull skin looking rested but as when I’m sick and stressed I have some spots, redness and general imperfections I sometimes require more coverage and might reach for a hefty amount of concealer or a medium-coverage foundation. I think this foundation would show severe dry patches but I do not find it highlights them and I can see myself reaching for this in the dead of winter.

Unless you really pack this on, it is almost imperceptible on the skin and looks like glowing dewy skin. I find this foundation to last all day on me but longevity isn’t ever really a problem on my skin. This is a step dewier than other foundations such as Rimmel Wake Me Up, YSL La Teint Touché Éclat and MAC Mineralize Moisture and feels as light as it appears.

This is a foundation that lacks a wide shade range. It’s not suitable for anyone with a deeper skin tone than a medium tan but it does have some good options for fair skin (71 is a touch fairer than NC15). I picked up this foundation at the end of summer and it matches my slightly darker skin – I picked up shade 73 for $26. This shade is fair-medium in shade with neutral to olive undertones.

In terms of equivalent shades of 73, I can think of a few. It is rather similar to Diorskin Nude in 20 Light Beige, MUFE HD in 118 (don’t have it so I cannot show it) and about a n20-25 (neither particularly warm or cool).

The packaging is neither the best nor the worst. I really like that it comes with a pump and is not particularly large but it does not look luxurious in the least. I don’t mind this but it is something to consider.

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Here I am wearing a small pump of this foundation without any other makeup on my face and I thought I would include a photo of myself wearing it with some concealer and the rest of my makeup done:

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So, here’s my final recommendation: I would probably give this foundation an A-/A as I think it clings to dry patches much less than others and is a great one for natural-looking and glowing skin (for drier skin types) but the shade range is limited. I definitely think this is a good option for fairer skins because the shades start nice and light. I think this foundation is suitable for combination, normal and dry skin looking for some light coverage and luminosity. It’s longevity was good for a sheer foundation and I quite like it. It can be built up slightly by the way. Thoughts?

The Bold Lip Strikes Again: Playing With New Products

the mess that is my desk
the mess that is my desk

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Being a Canadian, I have always lusted over the beauty that is Target and finally we got one (and two more on the way) and I couldn’t resist picking up some goodies. Of course, I couldn’t wait to try them myself and therefore this look happened – not very time consuming (maybe it took five minutes) and probably more than anyone ever needs on a lazy Saturday.

Face: MUFE HD Foundation in 115, Rimmel Match Perfection in 010 Ivory, Sonia Kashuk Undetectable Cream Bronzer in 41 Warm Tan 
Eyes: Nyx HD Eye Shadow Base, Maybelline Eyestudio Quad in Fall Temptation, Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal in 003 Brown, Maybelline One By One Mascara in Black, Urban Decay Naked Palette – shades Buck and Naked (through brows and not shown)
Lips: Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Lipstick in 107
 
Make Up For Ever HD Foundation
This foundation is a longtime favourite of mine (I’ve had this bottle for about eighteen months and have used it many many times, however I picked this product up before my realization that although I suffer from redness on my face, my undertones are more yellow so the shade is a bit pink for me (and slightly pale… but irrelevant). It is a medium-full coverage foundation with phenomenal longevity and a satin finish. It’s a nice albeit expensive foundation.Sonia Kashuk Undetectable Cream Bronzer

This is the first time I used this product and I was impressed. I always have wanted to try the Chanel Bronze Universalle as I thought it would be nice and glowy on my perpetually dehydrated skin and I tried this as an alternative. I picked the lighter shade of the two (warm tan), which is a warm light-medium bronze without shimmer with true terracotta undertones – it does have a bit of orange in it. I believe the darker shade is notably darker and slightly less orange but i don’t have a huge problem with it. I just would not recommend ever using it as a contour and those with fair skin such as myself do have to be careful with it but I really appreciated how it seamlessly blended with my skin, adding warmth. I might be slightly wary of this shade if I was a cool-undertoned fair person but I think they could wear it with caution.

Rimmel Kate Moss Lipstick in 107

This was the second product resulting from my target shopping trip and was equally as impressive as the bronzer. The last thing in the world I needed was another red/berry lipstick but after hearing such great things about this one I couldn’t resist. It’s an opaque, matte-but-not-particularly-drying dark red berry and is cooler in tone. It smells suspiciouslly like the candies called Nerds that I recall enthusiastically from my childhood. It’s a dark shade that can be worn without looking too over the top and I will definitely wear this to classes and such.

Maybelline Fall Temptation Quad

This is a fairly recent purchase and I’m very impressed. It’s a limited edition quad that actually contains a high-quality matte shadow. They are creamy and relatively pigmented. The four shades are a shimmery cooler-toned pale gold, a light orange-y gold with some shimmer running through it, a medium chocolate shimmery shade and a cool dark brown that is completely matte but smooth and pigmented. I expect to have a review with swatches up on this soon as its impressed me so much.

Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer

This is the third product I bought yesterday from Target, although I can’t give it a definite review slash opinion as its a face product and my opinion on those takes time. It’s supposed to be a highlighting concealer that is designed for use underneath the eyes and the applicator is a pen. I found it brightened and covered well but I’ll have to get back to you on my true thoughts of it.

 

Benefit Rockateur Boxed Powder

Benefit Boxed Powder in Rockateur
Benefit Boxed Powder in Rockateur

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This blush recently came out and it’s true that Benefit dramatically reduced the size of the boxed powder for this one while leaving the cost the same – I paid $36 CDN for 0.17 ounces (compared to the previous 0.28). However, this is the first boxed powder that I’ve personally owned.

The shade is a fairly neutral (I could be crazy but sometimes I see an ever-so-slight warmth to it…) rose gold with a hint of peach in it but no coral somehow. When you first see the shade, it looks much more shimmery than it actually is; most of the shimmer is an overspray and disappears after a few uses, leaving a satin finish. Although I think the term is way overused, I find it to be finely milled with a gorgeous luminous finish. I find it easy to apply and doesn’t go patchy on my skin – my cheeks tend to get rather dehydrated so this is a problem that I face.

In terms of similar slash pretty-much-identical shades in my collection there is the limited-edition hyped MAC Stereo Rose MSF and equally well hyped Nars Orgasm but I have to say that the three shades are different from one another. Rockateur has the least shimmer and might be the most finely-milled (although Stereo Rose is a close second). Nars Orgasm has gold shimmer running through it and has more pink-coral in it. Stereo Rose is darker in colour, and with much more coral in it. The thing about Rockateur that is so unique is the absence of coral in the shade.

Top to bottom: Benefit Rockateur, MAC Stereo Rose, Nars Orgasm
Top to bottom: Benefit Rockateur, MAC Stereo Rose, Nars Orgasm

In terms of the greater picture, this is definitely one of my favourite blushes ever. It is very versatile; I appreciate that it is no-fuss in the sense that it goes with everything including dark lips. It has the nicest texture and has a nice satin finish. It has about average longevity and is gorgeous. On my somewhat arbitrary scale, I would grant it an A! Thoughts?

Benefit Rockateur Boxed Powder on me!
Benefit Rockateur Boxed Powder on me!