Showing posts with label powder. Show all posts

OCTOBER

Keep it simple, stupid.



October arrived far too quickly for my liking this year. That said it was probably because October saw me submitting my thesis, my brain baby, a piece of work ten months in the making, without doubt one of the biggest, hardest things I’ve ever done.

So why oh why would I complicate one of the trickiest times of my year by having an overly complicated beauty routine?

By October I’d perfected the ‘I’m-maybe-wearing-a-bit-of-make-up-but-it’s-so-minimal-I-could-also-not-be’ face for uni, days in the library, and days where a full face wasn’t immediately needed.

For all my skincare picks, flip back to the last post of blogmas.
Following my Too Faced Hangover Primer (ultra hydrating coconut-water based make-up prep) I usually turn to the Too Faced Natural Eyes palette. 












Sometimes I’ll prime, sometimes I won’t; I go for a mix of the two matte shades, Heaven and Nudie, as I find they colour correct my purple-toned lids and the Heaven shade (a light cream) brightens my eyes so I look awake. Then it’s time for brows – lightly filled in with the Hourglass Arch in warm brunette. A waterproof wax pencil that makes them look a little less sparse and a little more Brooke Shields. 





The one thing I refuse to give up or compromise on, even on days off, is mascara. Nope, not happening, NOT TODAY SON – the bigger and bolder my lashes, the more doll-like, the better. Lately I’ve been favouring the Perversion Mascara by Urban Decay (star of blogmas July), as it is the blackest black mascara imaginable.

















After eyes, I use my fingers to apply Bare MineralsComplexion Rescue in vanilla. The formula is an oil-free gel cream that gives medium coverage with SPF 30+ UVA/UVB protection, and a really dewy finish. 

Always followed by an under eye concealer – my pick being the Smashbox CameraReady BB Cream with SPF 15 (all the SPF possible) which brightens and colour corrects under the eye. The amazing thing about Smashbox is that all of their products – even the ones with SPF – don’t give a flashback when photographed. 



If I’m having a bad skin day (common in times of extreme stress, like thesis submission) I’ll conceal with Nars Radiant Creamy concealer in vanilla. It contains turmeric which helps any blemishes to heal, as well as tone down any redness.







For cheeks, I pop on a little Stila Convertible Colour inPetunia. A bright, happy pink that always makes me smile. Over the top of this I blend – you guessed it – Josie Maran Argan oil Illuminiser along my cheek bones, a tiny bit on my cupid’s bow and the tip of my nose.














Everything is set with Luminous Light by Hourglass and that’s it! My simple face, daily, easy-as, glowy, hydrating and all-round “Yes I do that Natural Beauty Thing” appropriate.

If you can’t do something simply you can’t hope to master it!

Tweet tweet xx

Finding a Foundation: Bare Minerals

Hello my little birds!

I have been FLAT OUT these last two weeks, barely had enough time to ruffle my feathers back into shape!

This week I decided I would FINALLY get around to trying a few foundation samples I've accumulated this year. Aside from the fact I've still yet to get to Inglot to grab my YSM (CAN'T WAIT SO EXCITED AHHH), my Bobbi Brown is (finally! Wow!) running out and I really need a new foundation that will last for work, play and even the little rests I get in between


L-R: Clinique Anti-Blemish Solution, bareMinerals BARESKIN, L'Oreal Tru Match, Revlon Colour Stay

Right off the bat, none of these foundations are the right colour for me. I'm painfully aware of how freakin' pale I am (which will become that touch more obvious over the next few paragraphs), however most foundation samples you receive come in the warm neutral/beige variety, so there's no room for being fussy. So whilst colour is irrelevant, the main thing I'm looking at in these samples are three factors 

FORMULA 
Is the liquid sticky? Creamy? Bubbly? Watery? Weird?
FEEL
How does it go on? Smooth, easy like paint? Sticky and claggy like glue? Patchy? Greasy? Dry?
FINISH
Once it's all on, buffed, smoothed, set, how does it actually look on? Colour aside, of course haha!

First up was bareMinerals Bareskin foundation, a sample from the wonderful Mecca Maxima.
The description reads
"bareSkin liquid mineral foundation has a built in brightening serum packed with Vitamin C so that skin looks luminous at all times. This foundation creates a seamless natural effect with adjustable coverage, so that the perfect amount can be applied. Lightweight in texture, this hypoallergenic foundation it formulated without oil, silicone, parabens or fragrance so it is suited to all skin types. Beautiful bright natural foundation is only one step away."

I opened the packet and immediately realised how off the colour was, for me. 

There appeared to be enough in the sample for one full face of make-up. I used my Real Techniques Expert Face Brush , however BareMinerals released a patented brush specifically for this formula which you can see here. Now whether using their brush would have had a different effect, I'm not entirely sure, but from my experience I found one or two big issues. 

FORMULA
The foundation was bubbly and seemed a tad watery; I was worried it'd dribble off the foil and onto my lap. The idea of the brush is that you directly pour the liquid foundation into the bowl-part of the brush, so that would explain its consistency. 
FEEL
Ooh. Ooh that was nice. Like brushing silk all over your face! So, so soft, so smooth, gorgeous texture, lovely to buff on. 
FINISH
DEWY. SO, SO DEWY. 

You can see how shiny this foundation is on my nose and chin alone. Look at that sheen! I'm not entirely sure why youthful make-up is associated with dewy, wet finishes. In my experience, if young skin is dewy or shiny, it's about to break out HARD. I figured that using a powder (my Rimmel of course) would counter-act the dewy-ness, but I was wrong. 

You can see above that the sheen has died down a little, but it's still quite shiny around the mouth and chin, and along my cheekbones. I couldn't quite believe how bad the colour match was - sometimes neutral/beige colours can be negotiated with to suit my face, however, this shade was all kinds of wrong. The foundation also felt weighty on my face - no where near as heavy as my longwear foundations, but I COULD feel it, and that says enough in itself. I quickly took this foundation off immediately after application, and beneath I could see my skin beginning to grow red. I didn't pay that much attention, simply because my skin is sensitive and reacts to new products the same way some two year olds react to green vegetables. 

Overall, whilst the foundation felt nice going on, it didn't look nice overall, and I already know how my skin reacts to dewy formulations - pimples, pimples, pimples. Oh, and pimples. 

A solid 6/10, but alas, no winner here!

I'll keep you all posted as I go through my other samples these next few weeks 

Until next time,
Tweet tweet x
P. S. I'm now taking requests! Fed up with foundation? Sick of skin care? Had enough of hair? Comment and let me know what you'd like me to look at, try, review and share on the blog! xx
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