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Shaking the Foundations

20:22 Unknown 0 Comments

THE STRUGGLE IS REAL, PEOPLE.

I haven't had a chance (or the moolah) to get my Holy Grail foundation, my adored, my beloved Inglot YSM Creme foundation for MONTHS now. And as anyone who has ever struggled to find the perfect foundation will tell you, those months you go without,  they are the worst!

So these months wandering the wilderness of the Priceline aisles and Mecca, I've come across a few wonderful, and a few not-so wonderful, substitutes. The process of choosing these foundations, and using them, has taught me two things -

ONE: WOW. WOOOOOOOOOW. WOW THERE ARE A LOT OF FOUNDATIONS. SO MANY FOUNDATIONS. JEEZ.  and
TWO: I AM SO PALE.



















Above are swatches on my arm of my current foundations in natural light and shadow. No prizes for guessing which shade is my 'tanned' one!

From wrist to elbow, the foundations I'm currently using are Dream Pure BB Cream by Maybelline New York, Revlon Nearly Naked, Bobbi Brown Long Wear Finish, Australis Stay Put in Nude and Natural Beige.

Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream with 2% salicylic acid has been a favourite of mine for a while now, since I graduated from my old fave, Dove tinted moisturiser. This is a product I use on days off, when I'm heading to the beach, and quite often in summer. I find the finish is light enough to not feel cakey, and the colour is a good match too (I use the light shade, no surprise). I still find I need to conceal under my eyes, and redder blemishes, so this isn't the 'one stop shop' it claims to be. I'll often use a powder on top too, just for a little more coverage and a less dewy finish. With SPF 15+ and a moisturiser-like texture, this is my pick for easy days relaxing or shopping.







Revlon Nearly Naked foundation  is a liquid formula designed for light coverage and a 'natural' finish. I received a sample pack of these foundations in a copy of Girlfriend aaaaggeees ago, and when I used the little testers I found 'Shell' most closely matched my skin tone. Something must have happened between then, and me buying the product, because 'Shell' doesn't match my skin tone so well these days. Whether I chose the wrong shade (I was tossing up between 'Shell' and 'Ivoy') or the colour mix changed slightly, I'm not sure, but I do know that there's other parts of this product that I don't like.
For starters, liquid foundations on dry skin are a nightmare. Your poor skin is so desperate for moisture it'll suck up your foundation, meaning clogged pores and a not-so-flawless finish, and I find the formula to be quite sticky. I have to give it a solid five to ten minutes to set before I pop on any kind of powder. Where my skin dries out the most, around the nose, it turns patchy quite quickly, and I find I do need to re-apply.
That being said, once the foundation is set, and if I'm having a good skin day, it does sit quite nicely, and doesn't leave a dewy finish. It's similar to my Stay Put foundations in that it does indeed STAY (perhaps that's why it's so sticky?), but it's a product I rarely reach for these days, as I know it'll just leave me frustrated.

Bobbi Brown Long Wear Foundation is by far, one of the most expensive products I've ever bought myself.
One frantic afternoon before a shift at work, I bustled into Mecca and essentially cried "HELP ME!". I'd run out of my Inglot, had no BB cream, and needed to look work appropriate (i.e. NOT like a troll from a Disney film). I was so panicked and stressed about not having any decent make up, I bought the foundation, primer AND concealer to boot.
Oh my little birds, how I wish I'd waited.

There's something in this product, whether it's the formula, or my skin, or my primer, or the weather (??!?) that makes it turn CRAZY on my nose. The rest of my face remains set and flawless, but my nose, for whatever reason, turns into a blotchy trainwreck. Lately I've been using it simply because the colour match is so perfect, and that's upsetting too. For a foundation to match so well, and then to leave a part of my face patchy, it's just disappointing. I've found, however, that using my Rimmel Stay Matte powder and Australis finishing spray, that I can stop the nose-patchy business, most days. Warm Ivory is an almost identical colour match for my skin, and in winter, when there is no fake tan or mass amounts of bronzer, having a good colour match is even more important.
To the right you can see a close up of my arm swatches. Bobbi is the third stripe and even from a distance it's clear which product is sitting a little better. Above it is the Revlon foundation, but believe me, it looks a lot more yellow on my face than any other product does.




Now y'all know how I feel about my Australis Stay Put 16 Hour foundation. I have raved about this product, I didn't use anything else this summer, and I've tagged it about a million times on Instagram. I think, though, I've also mentioned the issues I have with this product, and the main one, the big one, that I can't ignore or excuse, is the colour match.

To the left is the shade 'Nude', and whilst you can see it's in the same colour wheel as the other products I've discussed, it's still significantly darker than my Bobbi or Revlon foundations. It's the lightest shade Australis currently have on the market, and lemme tell you, being too pale to wear the lightest shade of something is a real bummer. In summer I could get away with it, as the liquid/creme foundation buffed down fairly well with my Rimmel powder, but once the weather turned cold and the sun started to hide away, I was one cake faced little lady.

For events, or nights out, or functions, I'll still use this product, as the more dramatic lighting calls for a stronger foundation, but alas, I've shelved my fave until the summer comes back.

Finally we have another Australis Stay Put 16 Hour foundation,
 the first one I ever bought, in Natural Beige. Considering I often describe my skin tone as beige, you can imagine how bummed I was to discover this was NOT in fact my perfect match, outside the Priceline lighting. This is in fact my 'tan' foundation; a lot of beauty bloggers have a different foundation they use when they're wearing a fake tan, and this is mine. Simply looking at the swatches above, you can see why. It's SO DARK. It's so, so dark! I wouldn't even call it beige, I'd call it... not beige? Tan? Natural Tan? Yeah that sounds better, because that's the colour all my friends are, naturally, during summer (while I'm over here wearing my broad brim hat and reapplying invisible zinc, because I'm the pale whale). Again, I love the finish of this product, and I love that it does what it says, it STAYS PUT. Especially in summer, when sweating is a bigger factor, it's great to have a product that doesn't smudge or roll off during the day, especially during a long haul shift followed by a party (something I did quite a few times over summer 2014).

BB cream and powder

Australis Stay Put in Nude

Bobbi Brown in Warm Ivory

I'm planning on buying a new Inglot foundation as soon as I use up my Bobbi Brown (I HATE wasting products I've spent a lot of money on, so even if it's not 100% right, I'd rather use it than waste it), and I'll be posting lots of pics to Instagram, and on here, as soon as I do. Y'all will probably hear me squealing in delight, because as Loz Curtis says, when you find your Holy Grail, there's literally nothing better.
Funny story: the last time I went to Inglot (March 2013, I KNOW RIGHT?), I walked in and asked the lovely counter girl for the YSM foundation. Then I MIND BLANKED and FORGOT what shade I was. Completely forgot, I'd been using this foundation for THREE YEARS and I FORGOT.
The lovely counter girl took one look at me (wearing my BB cream, by the way) and said "Yep, 41."
I AM A 41. THIS GIRL HAD NEVER SERVED ME BEFORE. Inglot, I don't know how you train your staff or what you do, but YOU DO IT WELL. It was insane. And also insanely wonderful, so big thanks to Inglot girl if you're reading this and remember me from two years ago (probs not, but worth a try!).

That's it for me little birds, as always, if you disagree or want to share, please feel free to comment!

Until next time,
Tweet tweet xx

#australiscosmetics #almaycosmetics #forevernew #sportsgirlau,

AContour Review: I'm sad!

05:23 Unknown 0 Comments

Ughhh I hate to write a bad review

Not that this is a bad review, as I'll explain below I don't think this is necessarily a bad product, for a lot of different reasons, but I need to be honest, even if it does make me feel bad!

From the get-go I need to emphasise how much I LOVE Australis cosmetics, from their ethos, to their packaging, to the fact they're Australian made and owned, down to their colour variety and price point... Ah so much love!

Alas, the AContour palette didn't stir up quite the same feelings in my heart of hearts.

"Define your features and shape like a pro with these six powders designed to contour and highlight the face, taking your daily make up routine next level! This palette is formulated to provide a natural, healthy glow for any skin tone offering a contouring trio and a highlighting trio."

A cool concept, and one I was very eager to try out. The palette is made up of six shades, three light, and three dark. My first attempts had me choosing the VERY wrong shade and having to do some damage control with a make-up wipe. The trios are powders, which I'll admit did surprise me, because for whatever reason I thought it was a creme palette. 
 

The powders are extremely pigmented. Holy sh*zballs, are they pigmented. That saying, less is more? Well almost-nothing is more with these bad boys. Buffing has become my technique of choice when using this palette, as unless you've buffed, you have a very zebra-line-ish looking face.

Which brings me to the pros and cons of this palette.
I wouldn't say it's a bad product - the quality is excellent, and up to the high standards I've come to expect from Australis products. Vegan friendly, make-up bag sized, aesthetically pleasing, compact and cute. The powders haven't upset my skin which is a miracle on its own, and I can absolutely see why so many bloggers and YouTubers have fallen in love. It's handy - you've literally got all the shades you could need for any skin tone, and there's even a little how-to on the back in case you're unsure.

That's my face with some AContour powders happening - look at my nose in particular!

THE PROS
Easy to use, nice size, sleek packaging, and I can imagine that when I have a bit of a fake tan happening and a slightly darker foundation, the shades would absolutely help me in my contouring. I also think that for a function, or an event, where make-up can be that little bit heavier, these powders would be a godsend. Great for dancers, and performers; for clubbing, and for formals and socials, where there will be more dramatic lighting and a greater need for sculpting and highlighting, I would absolutely be reaching for this palette!

THE CONS
Remember the whole, extreme-pigment-and-buffing thing? Does anyone really have a spare ten minutes in their make-up routine to be doing that extra legwork? I know sometimes I don't, and the great thing about my Maybelline Dream Sun bronzer is that I literally whack on a little bit and it does the job. The AContour powders need that touch more effort and technique, to stop them from looking garish and, dare I say, drag queen-esque? I'm all for a glam contour and Kardashian-esque sculpting, but I can't be sitting in front of my mirror buffing and negotiating with powders every morning. I got stuff to do, people to see, places to go!
Speaking of places to go, as much as I'd like to say I have a full, busy, buzzing, and fabulous social calender, I really only go out maybe twice a month, and only one of those things will be a formal/dramatically lit event. Realistically, that greater need for highlighting and sculpting would only really come around three, maybe four times a year for me (seriously guys I have no life).
Now in summer I do tend to rock a fake tan, and have a bit more of a social life happening, so I can sort of foresee myself LOVING this palette in spring/summer 2016, when I'll need to look my selfie/photo best. For now though? Again, maybe three, four times this autumn/winter I'll need a heavily contoured look, at most.
The other thing about a cream palette, or cream-based products (such as the Maybelline FITme sticks) is that they're buildable. Whilst I love that Australis have delivered a strong, pigmented and good quality powder, for me, it doesn't leave a heap of wriggle room. I don't find the powders to be buildable, and as I said, having to buff a colour down to match your foundation/skin tone is a lot of extra work in the mornings.

Bottom line - this is NOT a bad product, it does as it promises, and it doesn't upset my skin or ruin my make-up. That being said, I expected to love and be wowed by the palette, and that hasn't happened either. I honestly think a cream-based palette, or a good, stick foundation with a light concealer works better as a contouring kit than six shades (most of which this pale whale can't even use).

What do you think, little birds? Used the palette and love it? Swear by it? Hate me for even uttering a bad word against it? Please let me know in the comments!

Until next time,
Tweet tweet xx

autumn,

Back to Basics (and a bit of balyage too)

17:45 Unknown 0 Comments

I bit the bullet and went into my hair dressers last week. The re-growth situation was out of control and Mumma Sparrow let slip at her appointment that I was considering chocolate brown and my hairdresser suggested I come in straight away for a consult before making any major colour changes.

And boy am I glad I did!

The colour wheel I'm sticking with

Blonde hair mid. Jan 2015

Pink hair Feb 2015