Three Little Foundations…

Whenever I order makeup (or any beauty item from a makeup company) I almost always end up picking out a foundation sample if one is available. Every time. I think part of it is that for a really long time I had a foundation that I loved and purchased repeatedly and then of course it was discontinued. It was an old Becca Foundation actually. And of course now the brand is no more so, no more staple.

While I have found several I really enjoy using I haven’t gone back to the one foundation to rule them all. i just rotate through the ones I like and collect samples to try new ones. I think i am still ultimately looking for the one foundation. I have yet to find it.

What i have found are some good foundations, some bad foundations and a lot of mediocre ones. I have found some foundations that apply well with a brush but not with a sponge and a few that are the other way around. I have found some that don’t do well on their own but paired with the right primer are fantastic. I’ve even found a few that I can only wear in the summer and a few I can only wear in the depths of winter.

And while testing out a foundation is a bit like going on a blind date, trying out foundation samples is a bit more like speed dating. You have one shot to see if this formula is something you might want to actually have dinner with. Or purchase to wear. I often find myself wishing there was an in between. Something between foil packet speed dating and full bottle relationship.

If any makeup companies are actually reading this, might I suggest the two week long trial sized bottle. It’s enough to try a few dates without committing to a relationship.

Admittedly I love trial sized skincare. I rarely ever purchase moisturizer I haven’t tried in a sample size. I would love to be able to do that with foundations.

But today we are looking at three foil packets of foundations. Each one gave me one day of wear. And to get enough to cover my face I had to blend a couple of shades together. So shades are all over the place actually. I did identify the shade that matched me when I first opened the packets but with the blending it is not what ended up on my face.

So…

The first foundation sample is from Clinique. It is the Even Better Clinical Serum Foundation with SPF 25. The specs:

24-hour, oil-free foundation with full coverage and a matte finish. Combines the longwearing coverage of a foundation with the transforming power of a serum to help visibly improve skin instantly and over time. So it’s long wear with skincare. Built with 3 serum technology, a powerhouse blend of good-for-skin ingredients: Clinique’s dark spot-fighting molecule UP302+ vitamin C, salicylic acid, and hyaluronic acid. Clinically proven to leave bare skin looking even better—smoother and more even. SPF 25 mineral sunscreens help protect skin from the look of discoloration. In 34 shades and a non-oxidizing formula for a perfect match that lasts throughout the day. Finish: Matte, Coverage: Full, buildable-coverage, Key Ingredients: Vitamin C, salicylic acid, hyaluronic acid, mineral SPF 25, Skin Type: Combination Oily, Oily

My skin type is in the Combination/normal range. In the summer I lean towards oily and in the winter I lean towards dry but never actually reach the oily or dry skin levels. It means there are some products, especially foundations, that are very seasonal for me. As spring has spring I am in the transitional stage of my skin where it is pretty well balanced. I am a little more oily in my t-zone but over all i am in that weird range that occurs for a few weeks in the spring and again in the fall where i am neither oily nor dry.

Over the course of these three foundations I used the same face products. They ae all products that i can use at any time of the year and they work well for me. As this was my first foundation test, I didn’t realize that I left off setting powder until I reached the second foundation sample packet and it wasn’t in the collected products makeup bag. That is because for me setting powder would have turned my face dry as a bone. With no setting powder I could wear this foundation. I liked the way it looked and the way it wore. I tend to write my daily makeup posts a little after lunch so that I can see how everything wears for at least half a day. By the time I write about the products I am wearing I have had them on for at least five hours. At that time, the foundation still looked good. It blended well into the skin and it was matte without being overly matte.

Since I had to combine packets to get enough product to wear I can’t speak to the buildability of it. I can say that towards the end of my day I was reaching for my facial mist a little bit more often and at the end of the day I was dry. My skin hadn’t dried out but as much as I liked this i knew it was not a product I could wear day in and day out. And I think that is the salicylic acid. It is great for drying up excess oil in your skin and i will turn to it in the summertime more than any other time, but even then I can only use salicylic based products for two or three days in a row before my skin starts feeling dry. The foundation looked lovely and performed well in the morning. It is simply designed for someone with more oily skin than i have. It is something i could use in a pinch, but only for a day or two. If you have dry skin you will want to avoid this foundation. If you have oily skin, you might want to give this Clinique Even Better Clinical Serum Foundation a go. It looks good and works well with oily skin. It just isn’t going to be for me.

Next up, we have the Very Valentino 24 hour wear Liquid Foundation with SPF 26. I am not sure why it is SPF 26 as that seems like an odd number to choose, but I found no reasons to explain it. While the Clinique also had SPF I didn’t feel it. With the Valentino I felt the sunscreen in the foundation. It had that slightly waxy oily feel that sunscreen infused foundations can get sometimes. It is what made me realize that there was no setting powder in my makeup bag actually. This was a foundation that needed a setting powder.

But first, the stats…

Very Light, Very Lasting, Very Valentino Foundation. This semi-matte finish perfectly balances three foundation dreams: buildable coverage, breathable and lightweight texture, and long-lasting 24-hour wear. Available in 40 shades, made for all skin tones. Very Valentino foundation features exclusive Light-Lasting™ Technology to deliver buildable, medium coverage with a comfortable, breathable feel. Formulated with an extra-light powder that can absorb up to 3 times its own weight, the formula allows for a perfect, hydrated, semi-matte foundation finish that lasts all day long. Available in 40 inclusive shades, made for all skin tones. The foundation range was developed in partnership with extensive research on 5,000 women in eight countries across every continent. To ensure perfect coverage and feel, our formula is tailored to each skin tone, ensuring the most perfect finish from the lightest to deepest foundation shade.

Benefits: Semi-Matte Finish, 24 hour-wear, Buildable Coverage, Lightweight and breathable, Transfer-resistant, Comfortable feel, SPF 26

As it was a packet, I only had one day of wear with it. Since it is supposed to be 24 hr wear I tried to wear it as long as I could. I had it on for eleven hours and had absolutely no problems with it. the semi-matte finish was fantastic. I loved the way it looked. Again, I had to combine shades to cover my face, so I can’t speak to the buildability, but basic coverage looked beautiful. The issue is that it made me feel slightly greasy. I think part of that was the SPF in the product. Part of that may be that it was designed for someone with drier skin than me.

If you have oily skin then i would definitely suggest giving this a pass. I want to say that if you had skin that was drier than mine you might want to give it a try, but thee is still the sunscreen issue. The product had that ‘I have sunscreen mixed in’ feel to it. To me that read as greasy feeling when i wore it. If you have dry skin that might still be an issue but then again it might not. I would suggest sampling it before purchasing to see how you feel about it. For me, the feel made this Very Valentino 24 hr wear Liquid Foundation with spf 26 a pass. which is a shame because it looked good and performed well. I just know that because of the feel I would just find reasons not to reach for it.

And finally we come to the third foundation packet in my trio. it is the Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation. And how is it described…

Achieve a radiant, natural-looking makeup look with the iconic LUMINOUS SILK foundation by Armani Beauty.

LUMINOUS SILK is a multi-award-winning liquid foundation with a silky, lightweight texture that delivers all-day buildable medium coverage with a satin glow finish for naturally flawless-looking skin and a no-makeup makeup look. This oil-free foundation is formulated with exclusive Micro–fil & trade technology, a patented process that allows the pigments to lay flat on the skin’s surface for a seamless application and a natural, second-skin effect. A tried-and-true makeup artist and celebrity favorite, this hydrating foundation helps sculpt and brighten skin, improve skin texture, and blur imperfections, all while delivering a fresh, long-lasting, lit-from-within glow. Available in up to 40 shades to match every unique skin tone. Suitable for all skin types

Again I had to combine shades to get enough product for application so while I am sure i can find my appropriate shade within their 40 shades, the one I am wearing is a mash up of about three.

Of the foundation samples I tried this is the only one that wasn’t really a matte finish. Normally I go for matte finishes, but for this I am willing to make an exception. The foundation went on like, well silk. if silk melted into the skin and made my skin look better than it was. There is a slight luminosity to the foundation. I used a matte Primer (Tatcha Silk Canvas) underneath and the two paired beautifully. I think because I am okay with a little glow but lean more into matte than I do dewy I would stick to matte primers when using this foundation.

And oh yes, I would use this again. It did not settle into my fine lines and it made my skin look great. it felt weightless and was neither too greasy or two drying. I have to say i feel a bit like Goldilocks. the first foundation was too dry, the second foundation too oily but the third foundation was just right.

Seriously, this had everything I liked about a foundation and it was easy to see why it won awards. I think of the three it was also the most expensive. And while price doesn’t always equate to value, from what I tried with this sample, this foundation might actually be worth the price. In my spring clear out, I will be going through the foundation drawer and marking the foundations with low product out for using up. I have several foundations I need to use up before I actually purchase another one. However when I do, I believe this Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation will be on my list. At the moment their Velvet Liquid lipstick is already on my products I really want list. I had a few samples of that a while back and it just performed fantastically well. Those are the only two products I have tried from the Giorgio Armani beauty and both have immediately made my list. It does make me want to take more of a look at the brand. But for now, this Luminous Silk Foundation was a clear winner and a product i will try more of in the future.

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Testing out the NYX Can’t Stop Won’t Stop Full Coverage Foundation

For the last couple of weeks I have been using the NYX Professional Makeup Can’t Stop Won’t Stop Full Coverage Foundation. I picked it up as I was getting ready for summer. I adore the NYX bare With Me Skin Veil for summer wear. Unfortunately when I went to the store they did not have it, but they did have this foundation which I had never seen before so I thought I’d try it out. It has been a while since I tried any new (or at least new to me) NYX products. I loved the butter glosses for a long time and still pick them up on occasion, but mostly I tend to pick up the bare with me, wear it all summer and then forget about NYX until the spring. Which I know I shouldn’t do, they have other great products.

I tend to do that with brands though, find the one or two things I like from them and then forget about the brand until I need to restock that one item. It is something I am trying to change and so I have been branching out with a lot of different brands lately. With NYX, and this foundation, I am really glad I did.

Before we get into the foundation, I do want to say a little something about shade. I picked up a shade that is too light for me. You will be able to see it in the photos. Especially in full sunlight. Part of that is because I bought it when my skin was still winter pale and then spent the last few weeks more and more outside. The second reason is that I went by the color on the side of the bottle. When you look at the bottom of the bottle it is a much more accurate gage of the color of the foundation,. so if looking to buy, look at the bottom of the glass bottle to find your shade. The shade doesn’t really oxidize so double check the bottom. They do have 25 different shades so there should be plenty of shades to go around.

So what should we expect from this foundation?

Shockingly lightweight, waterproof and pigmented AF, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop Full Coverage Foundation is our full coverage classic foundation that hustles as hard as you do. This comfy, long-wearing waterproof liquid comes in a wide range of flattering tones that don’t transfer. Every creamy liquid shade glides on smooth, delivering matte coverage that stays true up to 24 hours. This over achiever also works to control shine and mattify your complexion all-day long. This classic foundation is noncomedogenic and suitable for normal, oily, combination, and sensitive skin types.
NYX Professional Makeup

what’s left of the two pumps after application

Not a bad list of benefits for a foundation. I used two pumps and had some left over product. One pump was just not quite enough to cover unless I wanted to sheer it out. There were some days I did want to sheer it out and then one pump worked beautifully. For everyday wear I went two pumps and just excepted there would be a little waste.

For me I dispense it onto my hand and then dot it onto my face, using a makeup brush to blend it out. This is a foundation that works well with that approach. It blends out well, covers amazingly well and feels absolutely weightless. It did settle a little bit into the fine lines around my mouth unless I used a pore filling primer. If I did I had no problems. I did not use a pore filling primer for these photos so you can judge for your self with the settling. It didn’t settle much and where it settled after application was where it stayed the entire length of time I wore it. If I used a pore filling primer it wasn’t a concern.

I did not test it out for the full 24 hours because in my world something truly calamitous has to happen if I am wearing my makeup for that long. I did push it to 10 hours which is really as long as I ever wear makeup. It looked great the entire time.

It worked well with any product I layered on top of it, but it was slightly more difficult to work with when I used a gripping primer like the Milk Makeup Hydro Grip. That was the only real product I had issues with. I think because it is such a long wearing foundation that it has it’s own gripping ingredients and so the gripping primer jus made it not want to blend out very well. I would stick with pore filling, mostly because it helps with my fine line blurring, but also because it just works well with the foundation.

To be honest I had no issues with this foundation other than my picking the wrong shade. I went out into the warmer weather and it didn’t melt off me (although it only got up to 80F so it isn’t a real summer test. That will happen towards the end of June when we start getting brain melting triple digits. And by then I will have switched to BB cream and tinted moisturizers. However, I did get hot and sticky and there was no reaction from my skin. No breakouts or clogged pores.

bare face on left, just foundation, no porefilling primer, on right

I had no transfer problems and the coverage was great. It is water proof so you can’t really use a micellar water cleanser and you are going to want to use a makeup remover before you use a regular face wash. If you don’t the cleanser will more or less take off the products on top of the foundation and a little of the foundation and then your toner pads will mock you as they turn foundation tan. I used a cleansing balm to take off the makeup and then used the cleanser to wash my actual skin instead of the makeup and my toner pads were just the coup de grace. Just remember it is waterproof and you will be fine.

This was an impulse purchase because I found I only bought the same things from NYX and the things I bought (or one of them anyway) wasn’t around. I was very pleased with this foundation. I will probably save the rest of this bottle for fall and then purchase a darker shade for summer, but over all it was a spectacular success.

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Buckle up, cause it’s time for a foundation round up!

Buckle up my darlings, because this is a pretty long one as you might have guessed from the above photo.

I know product round ups like this are usually done at the end of the year, but I have been testing foundations for about a year and a half now and I decided that with both the Singles Sales (November 11^th) and the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales all kicking up a review might not be a bad thing. Not only for you, but for me as well.

While I still have foundations that I want to try out, working through some of my existing products doesn’t seem like a bad idea. I have to say, there were some I forgot about until I pulled them out of the drawer. So let’s do a quick rundown of foundations past. The links will take you to the more in depth reviews of each product. As there are around twenty products I’m covering I just wanted to keep it to the basics (sort of a foundation review cheat sheet). And yes there are some I left out. The ones on this list are the ones I liked enough to keep around. Because I was trying so many, if I didn’t like the product and knew I wasn’t going to use it, I passed it along immediately rather than keep it around so someone else could get a use out of it. These are the products I kept around.

The first one I have to mention is the Pretty Vulgar Cool AF Lava Water Foundation. Mostly because the shape of the bottle insures it will remain out on my dressing table. Which is not a hardship. It is a pretty bottle. I tried putting it in the drawer and the little birdie bent. I really liked this foundation. It was lightweight and wore well throughout the day. When using it, I would go for a water based primer rather than a silicon based one as it plays better with the water based ones.

So having covered the one foundation that is constantly out on the dressing table, let’s move into some of the drug store foundations that made the top of my list.

The Pacifica Alight Oil Free Anti Shine Clean Foundation was one of my earlier foundation trials and to be honest I forgot it was in my drawer even though I reached for it a lot in the spring. It is too tall to stand upright and rolled right to the back and hid. I may have to figure out a way to keep it out. I added it to my makeup bag this week and I have to say I also forgot how much I liked it. It was one of the better drugstore foundations. In fact it was in the top three of the drug store category. It had about a ten hour life span on it so it isn’t the best for transitioning from office to night out but for a consistent work day drugstore foundation it is in my top three.

To continue with the drugstore products, we’ll go to the Wet ‘n Wild Photofocus. This is one of those that got a lot of publicity and it is easy to see why. It does perform really well and it is one of the least expensive products I tried. The applicator is a cheap plastic wand so I would recommend either replacing it with a pump top (you can generally pick them up in the dollar store, or at least there were some there on my last visit to the dollar store. If not they can be relatively easily ordered on line) or dabbing it on your hand. Trying to use the plastic wand on the face was just a mess, at least for me. The biggest issue for me was the paint smell of the product. It is strong, really strong. I did notice however that If I used the Wet ‘n Wild foundation consistently then throughout the week the paint smell sort of aired out. If I let it sit capped for a week, the scent returned as strong as ever. Scent and wand aside, it is a good affordable product.

The Maybelline Fit Me Matte and Poreless and the Catrice HD Liquid coverage both rank slightly higher than the Wet ‘n Wild on my personal foundation meter. I enjoyed using both and really liked the price of these products. They are good products and don’t break the bank. I also had no issues getting them to work with any of the primers I used this past year. The Maybelline Fit me was slightly better than the Catrice because occasionally I could wear it without a primer if I wanted. The instance was rare but the Maybelline looked pretty good without a primer. Better with of course, at least with my skin. My only issue with it was the fact that is was an open bottle without a dropper or pump. I am actually looking to find a pump that fits the bottle. If it does I will be a happy camper. The issue with the open top is user error to be honest. I just dispense more product than I need if I have to pour.

The NYX Professional Makeup Bare With Me Tinted Skin Veil was fantastic to use when I wanted a very light make up day. It covered up redness and dark spots but felt light against the skin and blended really well. It was one of the best light day drug store foundation products I tried and it is one that I will consistently repurchase. It looked really good with a primer but okay without.

And then we get to E.L.F. I’m going to be honest, E.l.f. took the drugstore/affordable foundation category for me. While the tinted moisturizer I adored was discontinued and shall be mentioned no more, this left me with two e.l.f. foundations. The ELF acne Fighting Foundation and the Elf Flawless Finish Foundation. The acne fighting foundation is one that I could happily reach for every day. I could very easily see myself picking up two shades and using it year round. In fact since I am already putting in an order with elf for the holidays (I have several 12-13 year old girls on my list who are just getting into makeup so I’m putting together a little bag for each and let me tell you each of those bags is getting one of those Bite Sized Eyeshadow Palettes) I will probably be picking up a backup of the elf Acne fighting foundation.

This is not to say the flawless finish foundation is not fantastic. It is more of a conference call, speaking in public, out to dinner sort of foundation, for me anyway. I would happily reach for it then. The acne fighting foundation is just an everyday sort of product that I know I’ll go through fast.

While all of these products are ones I will be using down to the last drop and all are ones I have no problem repurchasing, for those interested in an absolute ranking, here we go. The two Elf foundations share the number one spot. I love them both and will keep both around. I just wear them for different reasons and can’t really decide between them. NYX Bare With me takes the number two spot with Pacifica coming in a very close third. Maybelline fit me comes in fourth with the Catrice HD Liquid coverage a close fifth and Wet ‘n Wild hitting at number six.

While I didn’t include it in the drug store foundations I also tried a foundation from the Ulta Brand. I used the Ulta Beauty Youthful Glow Foundation Serum Drops. It is one of those foundations you really have to remember to shake. The lid got a little messy on me. It is the curse of the screw top lid. I will say the messy didn’t stop me from using it. I would definitely repurchase this foundation. And in all fairness, since I put this in a separate category (at least mentally) from the drug store foundations, I did try out a Sephora foundation. As you can see it is no longer in my foundation drawer. I didn’t use it up. After a week, I passed it on to someone else because I knew I wasn’t going to be reaching for it. Which sort of says enough about that one.

From the drug store foundations we are going to move into the stick foundation category. There are three that I tried out and quite frankly I would purchase all three repeatedly. The Anastasia Beverly Hills stick foundation requires a little bit of warming up before it blends into the skin so what I tended to do was open it and turn it upside down, placing the product against the back of my hand for a moment while wrapping my other hand around the tube. After a few seconds it was warm enough to apply well by brushing my foundation brush across the top of the product. I ended up with a circle of foundation dotted onto my hand, but it wasn’t a lot of wasted product. And it really only took a few seconds. After that it blended beautifully into my skin. The shade I picked up is more for summer wear for me so it will be set aside and used up once my tan returns.

The Nars Velvet Matte stick is a winter shade for me so I am pleased to see it emerge from the drawer. I have enough product left in the tube that it can easily be used up this winter. It is still a little too light for me right now but soon…soooooon it will be called into use. It is a fantastic formula. It is creamy enough that I don’t have to warm it up and it stayed in place all day. I know that shouldn’t surprise me as Nars is just a fantastic brand, but this is one of my favorite products from them. To be honest, I actually like the formula of this better than the liquid foundations I’ve used in the past.

The Kristofer Buckle Triplicity stick foundation was the top of the top for me in this category. It melted beautifully into the skin with a fantastic matte finish that wasn’t too cakey or heavy. It was light and looked beautiful on the skin. This year when I found myself between foundation trials I often found myself reaching for this to fill the gap. As a consequence I am actually running quite low on this product and will need to reorder. I picked this up in one of the Kristofer Buckle Vanity kits. I had already fallen in love with their Cashmere slip lipstick and one of the vanity kits came with a lipstick, mascara, powder and this foundation stick. I think the entire kit was $28 and I thought it a great way to test out the brand. I also thought the products would be travel sized but it turned out they were all full sized products so it was a fantastic deal. I enjoyed all the products, but this foundation stick is tops.

The Kosas Tinted Face oil was the only oil foundation that I tried…well…ever actually. So I have no other oil based foundation products to compare it to. However it is a really good foundation. As it is oil thee is a bit of a shine to it, but the shine is easily powdered away. The oil is absolutely weightless and the foundation stays in place all day. The only issue I had with it was one of texture. Because it is an oil product it sort of flows onto the skin and takes up the shape of the skin below. It is perfect for a no make up look, but not so great if you have large pores or texture. With a pore filling primer underneath this worked fantastically well and was quite frankly one of my top products. And yes that means it beat out both the Kristofer Buckle and E.L.F. While it does need a primer underneath, choose your primer wisely. Oil and water don’t mix so chose a silicon based primer and make sure it is a pore filling one to give yourself the smoothest canvas possible.

There are two foundations that I liked when I used them initially, but as I’ve tested other products have slid down the scale. They are both excellent products and I have no problem finishing them out, but in all fairness, they have slipped low enough on my list that I probably wouldn’t repurchase them. These two are the Too Faced Dew You Full Coverage Fresh Glow and the Wander Beauty Nude Illusion Liquid foundation.

I liked both of them when I used them, and I still like them enough that I have no issues continuing to use them until they are gone. They were among two of my earliest foundations to test out and quite frankly several of the ones that came after them were better. That is just the nature of the trials. It doesn’t make them bad, because nothing that actually made this list is bad. It just means they are on the bottom of the best I’ve tried.

With Wander beauty the issue is the doe foot applicator. While I appreciate that it is in the package tightly every time I pull the applicator out, the product sprays out and makes a mess. That, more than the product is why I rank it so low on this list. It falls down on packaging and not product. The product itself is still fantastic, I just don’t like the mess and get annoyed by it. If the packaging were different, this would be a different story, because it is a good product.

The Too Faced is just more dewy than I like. It is not over the top dewy but it is dewy enough that when I use it I feel the need to apply more powder to balance out the dewy. So in this case it is more of personal choice in finish. It is a good product, I am just not a dewy person.

The Ciate Extraordinary Foundation was a new one for me this year as well, and I have to say I liked the foundation. Actually this seemed to be the year of Ciate. Every time I turned around Subscription boxes were sending new Ciate products my way. I think I am one bronzer away from having an entire face of Ciate London products. Their blush is one of my favorite blush formulas actually while their primer was only so so. The foundation I would purchase again. It was a good solid foundation that didn’t look cakey or peel up around the nose and mouth. It wasn’t heavy on the skin either which I always consider a plus.

There were two Becca Foundations in my trials recently; the Becca Ultimate Coverage 24 Hr. Foundation and the Becca Aqua Luminous Perfecting Foundation. I would buy the Becca Luminous Perfecting Foundation again in a heartbeat. I like the way it looked and I liked that it was buildable. I would probably not buy the Ultimate coverage foundation because it is ultimate coverage no matter how you apply it. I am just not an ultimate coverage kind of person. My wheelhouse is medium coverage. There are occasions where full coverage is necessary and I have no problems using this for full coverage necessities, but to be honest, those sort of events are few and far between right now. So for me the Aqua Luminous Perfecting Foundation is a Becca hit for me, but the Ultimate Coverage is a pass because I m just not going to enough events to justify repurchasing it.

Despite claiming to be full coverage I found the Yensa color + face Skin on Skin BC Foundation Full coverage to be a light medium coverage product. Which for me is well in my wheelhouse. It is part of their Super 8 line and I have to say I have been having really good luck with that line. I’ve repurchased the primer from that line at least twice and I have to force myself not to use the Yensa lip oil every day and to try reaching for other products. It is an absolutely fantastic lip oil. But we are not discussing lips (they just sort of sneak in when I’m not looking), so back to the foundation.

For extremely light weight products the Hey Honey Trick and Treat cc2 Active Moisturizing cream with Honey and Propolis and Purlisse Perfect Glow BB Cream Spf 30 are my go to products. Both I tried out in sample sized form. The Purlisse Perfect Glow I finished and now have a full sized in my dressing table. Resisting opening it until I use up a few more products has been quite difficult. I still have a week or two left in the Hey Honey trial sized tube but once it is gone a full sized replacement will definitely be ordered.

And finally, we come to the most expensive foundation on the list. I tried this in a sample packet. Koh Gen Do lets you order the samples in ranges so that you can determine your shade. I read so many raves about this and saw so many fantastic reviews that I had to try it. As it is a $77 foundation it is a little pricy so the samples were also a cost effective way to test it. After all, I didn’t want to pay $77 and be stuck with a product I hated or that was the wrong shade. And I will also confess that I was secretly hoping I hated it. Yes, I know there are much more expensive foundations out there, but the foundations I usually purchase tend to be in the $35-40 range. I did not want to fall in love with a more expensive foundation.

But I did.

The Koh Gen Do Aqua foundation was fantastic. I cannot recommend it highly enough. The only reason that I did not purchase it immediately is because I wanted to clear out some space in my foundation drawer before I did. It is one of those products where I know once I purchase the bottle I am going to use the bottle until it is gone and simply not reach for other products. Part of that is the cost. I would not want to purchase it and then let it go to waste. I also wouldn’t want other products to go to waste while I was using it. So what I am doing is watching the sales to see when the foundation does go on sale so I can plan when I want to purchase it. If you are interested I would highly recommend picking up one of their sample packets. They come in bundles with two packets for each shade in that range (Light, Medium, etc) and there is some overlap. The shade that worked best for me was the darkest shade of light which is also the lightest shade of medium. I ordered both packs to make certain (I think the sample packs are $6-8). I got two uses out of each packet. I kept a little jar with the product so that I could just squeeze the packet into the jar. Because it is a thin enough formula that was the best way not to make a mess (and to not waste product). It also let me be confident in ordering my shade.

So after a year and a half of testing foundations, these are the products that made the top of the list. They were worth remembering to me at least. While I did make some attempt at ranking them, to be fair all of them are ones I would use again, minor annoyances aside. Anything I wouldn’t use again has long since been escorted out of my dressing table. So even ‘bad’ on this list is still pretty darn good. I know I covered a lot of products her in very little detail, but the links with the products will take you to my full review of each of the products if you want more information. I figured this was already going to be a long post without adding the nitty gritty details to it, but I also figured a foundations list might be helpful for anyone looking to stock up during all of the lovely sales that are just around the corner.

Trying out the Kristofer Buckle Triplicity Perfecting Foundation Stick

This week’s foundation is from Kristofer Buckle and came to me in the Vanity Collection Volume 2 that I just purchased. Incidentally the 35% off sale for the kits runs through July 31^st, 2020 if you are interested in giving any of them a go. (That code is EXCLUSIVE35, they also have a buy one get one sale with the vanity kits with code BOGO so that might be worth a try depending on what products you are interested in)

Affiliate Exclusive | 35% Off Vanity Kits

I am thinking of ordering the Volume 1 kit with the foundation in one shade lighter for the winter months before the sale ends actually, because I really liked the foundation stick.

But before I get into my opinions, let’s hear from the product page what should be expected.

The priming core is the center bit I’m guessing

Prime, blur and cover in one step. This 3-in-1 foundation stick primes skin, provides buildable coverage and has a soft focus effect. Triplicity^® glides on effortlessly, covering imperfections while its priming core helps diminish the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and pores. Versatile foundation provides seamless coverage with a natural matte finish. Not dry or cakey, this foundation stick perfects skin in just one swipe.

3-in-1 foundation formula
Priming core helps smooth the look of fine lines, wrinkles & pores
Optical blurring ingredients provide a soft focus effect
Buildable coverage with a natural matte finish

Okay, so I opened the stick and it is a pretty fat foundation stick. Holding it kind of reminded me of the glue sticks they used to give us in art class in elementary school. I remember the kid next to me taking a bite out of his actually. I thought it strange then and still do.

There was no eating of the foundation stick at my house, just in case you were wondering.

As with all foundations, I tried it first with no primer. The foundation glided across the skin easily. Some of the stick formulas can be a little harder than others which is why sometimes I use the brush on the tube. That way the skin doesn’t pull during application. This didn’t pull at all. I added my stripes and used my favorite foundation brush (the 999 Master Blender from Bdellium Tools, I seriously love this brush) to blend it in. Incidentally Bdellium Tools is having a 20% off sale for their studio collection. The sale runs through July 24th and the promo code is SUMMER20. (I don’t make anything off the code if you use it, but I do make a small commision if you use the link below when making a purchase. Feel free to get to the site without the link but they are great tools)

Shop New Products at BdelliumTools.com!

The foundation fairly melted into my skin and looked great. It was not cakey or mask like and it felt super light on my skin. It actually had the same feel on the skin as a really light moisturizer. That’s how it felt when I was blending it in. There was nothing stiff or waxy about it at all. And it kind of felt as though it was absorbed rather than just placed on top.

It’s not a sensation I tend to associate with foundations. I have to say I really liked wearing it. If you are concerned about foundation sitting on your skin, this might be something to check out, because it really didn’t feel like makeup.

But it worked like it. I had a nice smooth base to work from with the foundation. And I didn’t need to reach for the concealer after applying it which I appreciated. I should also point out that this week our air conditioner went out so not only was heat an issue but I slept very poorly all week. (Nothing wat touching the bags under my eyes.) I know it says buildable coverage, but I really didn’t see the need to build it up any further. A light application was all I needed to make my skin look great so I didn’t see the need to waste the product by seeing how much I could slather on. I simply didn’t need a second application.Plus given the heat, I kept my makeup light this week.

But foundation is a support system, not to be worn alone. This went well with the products I layered on top of them. I’m not too fond of the blush I chose for this week, but it didn’t have issues with the foundation. I did try it with a blush I knew I liked and the issues were clearly not from the Kristofer Buckle Triplicity Foundation.

But how does it wear?

Well, actually.

I didn’t have any settling in the fine lines or any separation issues around my nose or mouth. I did find that mid day I had to reapply powder in my t-zone. But a pat or two and I was good to go. And considering the temps have been in triple digits lately with 90% + humidity and a walk to the mailbox causes sweat to roll down the hair line at 9 in the morning, I can’t really say that any product would escape unscathed. As all this had was a shine in my t-zone, I am quite pleased with it. I will say that their shade range isn’t as broad as it could be, but the one I picked up really suited my skin tone.

While my first trial was without a primer (all of these pics were taken on the day I used no primer), on successive days I did use a primer (the Touch in Sol Pores No More primer was in this week’s Make Up Bag). While the foundation works well without the primer. It works a lot better with the primer. I ended up putting the primer under it and found I liked my skin much better with the primer backing up the foundation.

I very much enjoyed using this product and I will definitely be keeping it around. Of the stick formulas I’ve tried, I think it is my favorite. It beat both the Anastasia Beverly Hills and the Revolution formulas, both of which I ranked high. I think I even like it better than my former top pick from NARS. It is a really good formula for my skin. (Normal leaning to oily in the summer especially in the t-zone).

I will be dipping back into their summer sales before they are through so I can stock up. I know the Vanity Kit, EXCLUSIVE35 code is good until July 31^st. I’m not sure how long the BOGO code is good for, but the sale is going on as I write this. While this Triplicity Foundation Stick is definitely worth the full price, getting it with other products on sale is not a bad thing either and I for one will be taking advantage.

Jouer Essential High Coverage Crème Foundation Review

The package of samples (each foil packet was in a slightly different shade in the Medium range

This week was an interesting week for foundation. As opposed to my usual pick a product and try it all week, I chose to use a sample I received as a gift with purchase. This wasn’t a tube sample, this was a foil packet sample. Each of the little foil packet samples came from the shade range of medium. My plan was to use the foil packet to test it for a first impression and then see if I liked it enough to try a larger sample. I figured on the days between I could use one of the foundations I currently have open. At least that was the thought initially.

Surprisingly the Jouer foil packets gave me a full week of product. Now I will say that I got a full week’s worth of product because I didn’t always use my correct shade. For me Cashmere (a light medium shade with pink undertones) proved to be the best match for me, although it was a hair to light in direct sunlight. Mixing the shades wasn’t possible because of the way the foil packets were set up. I think I am between shades right now but I think Cashmere would do well for me in the winter.

Even though you only need a little drop of the foundation to cover your skin, when you open one of these foil packets, all of the product in the foil packet is going to come out. At first you squeeze hoping for a drop and nothing comes, then the entire packet squirts out onto your hands.

So to find my foundation shade I started by opening one packet and when I realized it was out whether I chose it or not, I went ahead and used it for the day. (there were ten packets so I started at the lightest and have a couple left over – I’d like to say I’ll use one tomorrow but I know the last few really are way too yellow in tone for me so I probably will just start using next week’s selection starting tomorrow morning.

Since this week mostly involved me sitting at my computer with no witnesses, I just went with off shades to do the test. I surprised my babydoll when he stopped by my office but as all of my other conversations were on the phone, no one else noticed. So in case you look at the photos and wonder why things look a little off with my coloring, that is why. I So with some work I found my correct shade. But I also wore the incorrect shades to lengthen the trial.

So let’s take about the Jouer Essential High Coverage Crème Foundation.

According to the website…

A lightweight foundation with supreme coverage and an impeccable airbrushed, matte finish. Available in 50 shades, a small drop is all you need to achieve a flawless look all day.

Chamomile Extract:Calms redness while moisturizing and inhibiting the growth of bacteria. Cucumber Extract: Softens and hydrates skin. Hyaluronic Acid: Supports skin’s natural moisture retention. Tripeptide Complex: Supports natural collagen production for smoother, more youthful-looking skin.

Okay so those are the claims. How did it live up to them? Pretty well actually. I wasted a lot of product because of the foil packets, but on my face I needed a touch of the finger to each cheek, on to the forehead, one to the nose and then another to the chin. Then I went in with my foundation brush (incidentally I am loving my Bdellium foundation brush and it is no longer as pristine as it was last week but still pretty)and blended it in, touching it up in the corner of the eyes with the makeup sponge.

New arrivals at BdelliumTools.com

Very little product was needed. In case you are wondering, after using the product I needed on my face, the left over product I blended into my arm to see how far it would go.

Blending it in I covered my arm completely from knuckles to elbow before I ran out of product. So when they say a little goes a long way, they mean it. And when it says full coverage, it means full coverage as well. It is also extremely light weight. In case you are wondering, the day I took these photos I was running on about two hours sleep. No product in the world was going to touch the bags under my eyes. I will say, that while the foundation looked better on other days, the product didn’t make the bags worse.

Once it was on, I no longer felt it on my skin. My skin didn’t feel cakey or dry as it often can with full coverage foundations. It was also quite matte. I had no shine, not even in my t-zone.

I tried this foundation both with and without primer and this is definitely a foundation you will want to use with a primer if you have any enlarged pores or texture to your skin. I tried using it without a primer and it showed every pore.These photos were taken on a day without primer underneath. I think it is due to the consistency of the foundation.

Because it is called a crème foundation I expected more of a cream consistency. It is not. The formula is a thin liquid. I can see how the consistency really helps with the application, and allows it to cover the face with so little product as well as to feel light weight. The other side to that is it really showed off my pores if I didn’t use a pore filling primer. You can see in the photo of it on my hand that when I tilted my hand, it ran to the other side. This clearly wouldn’t be a problem in a pump container, it was quite a mess with the foil packets.

When I did use the primer with this foundation, I felt sad that I had no where spectacular to go as my skin really did look good. Well, good when I had the right shade on my skin. Plus since I generally wear full coverage when I am going somewhere, just putting it on makes the day feel like an event.

Even though it has some pretty good skin care like ingredients listed in the description, those elements don’t make it feel like skin care, or even skin care adjacent. They are more like neighbors who live in different apartment buildings on the same street and occasionally use the same coffee shop.

Full face with no primer underneath the foundation

I think those ingredients like chamomile, cucumber and hyaluronic acid just keep the skin from feeling dry and the foundation from being cakey. Both of which are very good things. They make the foundation pleasant to wear, but not really skincare.

I did notice that the foundation did seep into the fine lines around the corner of my mouth towards the end of the day, but that tended to happen after about six to seven hours of wear. Up until then, it was really good. It didn’t peel around my nose or show oil in my t-zone. It also didn’t emphasize my very deep bags on the days when they couldn’t help being present. (It was a loooong week this week my darlings)

Even if my head occasionally looked like it belonged on a different body due to the mismatched tones, the foundation performed well. I am glad I tried this sample and I have to say I am surprised that a full sized bottle of this foundation is only $38. It feels like a much more expensive foundation. I don’t often wear full coverage foundation, especially not in the summertime. The sun and humidity where I live just make full coverage a disaster waiting to happen. At least for me. I know there are people who can pull it off, I just am not one of them.

I tend to stay in the medium coverage lane in general, however I like having a full coverage foundation around for special occasions. I can definitely see this being a contender for that spot in my makeup collection and now that I know my shade, I think that once the weather cools down, I may be picking up a bottle to see how it fares against the Becca Ultimate coverage. I think this coming week though, I will try for a product with just a single shade.

A week of Purlisse Perfect Glow BB Cream

The Purlisse Perfect Glow BB Cream, both the smaple size I am currently using and the unopened full sized bottle for comparison

Spending a lot of time at home lately has caused me to do a lot of spring cleaning and reorganizing. I’m sure I am not alone in this. I think a lot of people decided similar things if conversations with friends about which Goodwill is currently accepting donations and the plethora of Youtube declutter videos are any indication.

In my attempt to organize the chaos, I found that I accumulated quite a few sample sized products. I rotated all of the open ones to the front of my dressing table and did my best to work through most of them, clearing out the no longer good products and finally using up the last of a few fabulous products I for some reason I appeared to be hoarding.

“I know there is only one, possibly two uses left in this liquid lipstick sample from smashbox, but I’m going to hold on to it in case of an emergency.”

This appears to be my subconscious thinking. I’m not entirely certain what sort of emergency I would actually react to with a twenty to thirty minute rummage through the contents of my catch all makeup drawer to find a sample size lipstick of any variety (although I really did like the lipstick and will be purchasing a full sized version once I clear out some space by using up older lipsticks).

I ended up rotating the almost empty sample into my makeup bag, using it up and making note of the shade color and brand in my reorder notebook before I chucked it out. And yes I have a reorder notebook. I mark things down, especially lipstick shades, so I remember which I liked (mostly because I am the queen of ordering the wrong shade of lipstick). I also have a section of things I’ve heard of but haven’t tried yet in my notebook. Because there are so many things out there that I want to try.

Mixed in with these half opened products I had several unopened sample sizes of BB and CC cream as well as some foundation samples. I put them all in a box, shook the box up and selected one at random. The one I chose to try this past week was the Purlisse Perfect Glw BB Cream with SPF 30.

And as soon as I chose it for my weekly makeup bag, my Boxycharm box arrived with a full sized version of the product inside.

Like magic.

This is actually more product than I needed to cover my face. About half that proved to be what I needed

I decided to go ahead and use the sample size and save the full sized one. I figured if I didn’t like it then I would only waste the little sample rather than the large one . That way I could always pass the unopened full size to someone else.

I have to say, I’m keeping the full sized version.

But I’m going to leave it sealed until I work through some of the other open products. So it is still less wasteful.

This was the first makeup item I have tried from Purlisse. I actually had to check on that because Purlisse has been a frequent visitor to my vanity and for a while I was certain I’d seen it before.

When I looked through my notes though, it was all skin care. Almost all of which I really liked. The serum wasn’t my favorite, but all of the moisturizers I have tried, I would order again. Their specialty seems to be the ability to work with your skin in an unstable climate.

You know, as soon as I wrote that I thought, apocalyptic skincare.

I didn’t mean pack it for the end of days, I meant like spring and fall temperature and humidity shifting.

(Although now I have a 1950’s style atomic bomb style commercial playing in my head – Hi there Mrs. Smith, Packing for the Apocalypse are we? Well don’t forget to pack your apocalyptic skin care. You’ll just love the radiation blocking capacity and that new fresh scent! – For those following along its a black and white cartoon with a movie tone narrator voice over. Just so you get the full picture. Cause I’d hate for you to get confused.)

Okay back to the actual Purlisse Perfect Glow BB Cream.

And while most of you are thinking I should just get to the BB Cream, these were the thoughts going through my head when I picked the BB cream up. I wondered if it would have the same flexibility, shall we say, as seem to be built into their moisturizers. But lets see what they have to say about it.

According to the Purlisse website…

Complexion perfection for a gorgeous matte meets dewy finish! Your multi-tasking beauty balm that glides on like a tinted moisturizer with all the age-defying, coverage, sunscreen benefits of a foundation and BB cream! It’s perfect for getting that Instagram- filtered version of yourself, featuring our exclusive Asian Herb extracts complex.

For normal or dry skin types, wear over Purlisse moisturizers. For oily skin, wear alone. For extra coverage, wear under foundation.

As we are in summer, I thought a lighter BB cream might be a good idea. I especially wanted something lighter because I added the new layer of sunscreen to my daily routine. (I am completely in love with the Volition sunscreen) I did use the Purlisse Perfect Glow one day without the sunscreen so that I could gauge the difference both with and without the Volition Sunscreen. The Volition sunscreen didn’t have issues with this or any other product I tried it with. The Purlisse did really well for my skin either way.

It is a very light coverage, but it is coverage. I’ve tried some BB creams that either covered nothing and were therefore pointless or tried too hard and were too heavy, thus defeating the purpose of the product. This BB Cream covered my skin enough to make me feel confident in my skin, but was the perfect summer skin almost bare look.

Because I think I have larger pores, I still used a primer with this BB Cream. I was fine without the primer, but I really preferred the look of my skin with the primer underneath. I don’t think that is the fault of the cream, I think that is my personal preference.

I will say that applying it really does need a makeup sponge. The brush just wasn’t a good idea as it just sort of streaked it across the face and using my hands just ended up applying too much product.

To apply I just put a little dab on my hand, dipped the damp sponge into the product and then dabbed on my face, blending as I went. I started in areas where I have a couple of healing eruptions and then worked out from there so that the red spots received a little more product but my skin looked evenly balanced. It is a light enough product that it feels weightless and it doesn’t settle into any lines or cause issues.

The Purlisse BB Cream comes in eleven different shades. The shade I am using for my summer tanned skin is light medium. There are two shades lighter on the scale pictured on their chart.

This gives me a little wiggle room should I want to pick up another tube once the summer wanes. It’s nice to know that, but truthfully, I almost never reach for BB creams in the winter. For me they always seem like a summer product. I have friends who wear them year round, but I really tend to forget about them once the weather turns. Although in all honesty, I’ve never found a BB cream I liked as much as I like this one. So possibly, I will try it after the weather turns. I just have to adjust my summer only mindset.

Because I’m using a sample sized tube of product, I ended up using a substantial portion of it this week. But I didn’t use it all. So I am going to go ahead and give it a second week in my makeup bag to use up the sample tube and remove it from my dressing table drawer. I suspect if it returns to the drawer it will sink into darkness only reappearing as it shuffles zombie like from the depths, its remaining product of no use. So it is better to use it now.

I still have the full bottle in the regular size so I’m sure it will make an appearance again later in the summer, but this way I won’t have half a tube lingering forgotten and alone in the drawer.

This means that next week, I will be skipping the foundation review since it will be a repeat. I’ll be sure to add something else to the makeup bag to take its place in the reviews though. There is always either something new I’ll be delighted to talk about or an old favorite I can tell stories about. If any of you see anything in the makeup bag you want to hear more about let me know, I can always break it out for a seperate review. I’ll be choosing next week’s bag tonight so that I can post a picture with this week’s post.

Testing out the NYX Bare With Me Tinted Skin Veil

You know what happens when you only go shopping once a month and don’t really leave the house much between? During your one outing you end up lingering in the makeup section wondering what would be fun to try. Or at least you do if you are me.

I’d feel bad about it if my baby doll didn’t do the same thing at the liquor store. Our Friday night cocktails have gone slightly experimental as he picks up a small bottle of ‘I’ve never even heard of this’ to go with whatever staple we went to replace at the end of the month. Some experiments are more successful than others.

I suppose the same can be said for my random make-up purchases. The latest of which was the NYX Bare With Me Tinted Skin Veil. Its product description on the NYX site reads…

Getting that glowing, lit up L.A. skin, “no makeup, makeup” look has never been easier with NYX Professional Makeup Bare With Me Tinted Skin Veil. This light, concealing veil comes in a variety of tone-evening, skin tinting shades and is the perfect alternative to foundation and heavy BB creams. Even out your natural skin tone and achieve a smooth satin finish with this breathable, lightweight cream formula. Cover your face in a hydrating second skin that never feels cakey. Amazing on its own, as a base for a smooth makeup application, and best with our other Bare With Me products.

I think the Bare With Me line is fairly new, or at least I didn’t see it the time before when I perused the section and this is the first product from the line I’ve tried. I have to say it sounded quite appealing.

In the summer, I find myself drawn to tinted moisturizers and lighter coverage. Partially it is because of the sweat factor. When it is hot, my skin likes to breathe.

Mostly it is because I am also layering on sunscreen. Especially this year. I’m actually testing out a Volition Sunscreen right now that sets beautifully on the skin and under make-up (review coming at the end of the trial), but I have to say a lighter base for my makeup is appealing. On the hand the product felt like a bit like a traditional foundation so I had my concerns, but I pressed ahead.

And miracle of all miracles, I actually chose the right color for my current skin tone. I know, such a shocker, Everybody MAMBO! I was excited by that fact alone. I got it home and tried it on my hand and it pretty much disappeared into my skin. I was excited.

Now, this week I was trying a few different things that I feel I ought to explain.

The first involves tools. Since this was my foundation trial of the week, I tried using my regular foundation brush to see how it applied. I also used my old makeup sponge to test it. I then replaced my old makeup sponge with the HUDA BEAUTY Basic B sponge from this month’s Ipsy box. (Mostly because it reached the end of it’s life and really needed to be replaced.) I also set my regular brushes aside to test out the Laruce Brush set after testing it with my regular foundation brush.There will be a tool review coming soon.

I know, it’s a lot of changing. The end result was that this product applies better with a sponge than with a brush. It is just such a light weight product that it gets lost in the brush and you end up using too much in an attempt to correct this. It worked best if I put a little on my hand and then dabbed it on my face with the sponge and blended it in.

The next thing I tried was the powder before foundation trick. Some of you may have heard of this. It was all the rage on You Tube a few years ago. I think everyone tried it. I am certainly not the originator. I watched a make up Artist named Wayne Goss in a 2014 video and I really liked his techniques. I also like his videos in general and recommend checking him out.

I tested this product both with and without. The NYX Bare With Me Tinted Skin Veil worked beautifully both ways. With the powder first I noticed that I didn’t need to go back in with concealer over anything and that everything stayed in place perfectly all day. I also noticed that the extra shine I had from both an illuminating primer and my sunscreen was tamped down to a low glow rather than a bright shine.

Start of the day. (and yeah my banges were just not happy. I need to trim them again.)

I’m going to try the technique again next week with a regular primer to see how it holds up but I really liked it. I should note that these pictures were all taken on the day I didn’t use this method and just applied it like normal.

There were a couple of things I noticed. This trick doesn’t work if you have a totally dry face. If you are going to try this, make sure your moisturizer or whatever top layer you’ve applied, is still damp. The technique requires that the powder blend in with the moisturizer or powder to lock in place. Otherwise it is powdery and it becomes pointless.

I really liked this because I didn’t have to wait until my skincare dried all the way to apply my makeup products. I used loose powder which melted with the top layer of my liquid product and formed a smooth base for me to work with. As I was not using a pore filling primer but an illuminating one this week it was interesting since it ended up adding a pore filling element. So this cut down my time getting ready and expanded my range of products. If the trick fills pores I am more willing to try non-pore filling primers basically.

So I will be trying the powder before foundation plan again.

I did try the Bare With Me without doing it and it applied well also (hence the photos. Without the powder underneath it lasted on my face without issue for the full eight hours of wear that it claims to provide. With the powder I wore it for twelve with no problems.

I have to say this product met every claim it made. It lasted eight hours, it wasn’t cakey, it gave me a natural look and it felt absolutely weightless on the skin. In addition, it didn’t have that odd greasiness that some tinted moisturizers tend to get. I know it isn’t actually a moisturizer, so that is probably why, but I have no idea what else to compare a skin veil to. Either way it was weightless, mattifying and not greasy.

All reasons I will definitely be keeping this in rotation. It’s also why I will be picking up a lighter shade for winter. All in all a success. I am almost sad that I have to rotate it out this week. However I have a couple of sample sized tubes of BB and CC cream that I want to try to see if I want to try a full sized version later down the road. So I must set this aside. But rest assured, it will return.

If you are interested in NYX Products, they currently have some pretty good on-line deals you might want to check out.

Get Your Choice of Free Gift Set with $40 Purchase! Valid 6/18-6/24.

New items added to clearance up to 50% off! Valid 6/1-6/30.

ANASTASIA Beverly Hills Stick Foundation Review

This week my foundation of choice was the Anastasia Beverly Hills Stick Foundation in the shade Caramel. Not that you really need to know the shade, but as I like to keep a record of the shades I use, especially when they work well for me. This turned out to be an excellent summer shade for me, although I doubt I doubt I’ll manage the shade past August.

Last summer in an attempt to find a travel foundation that would not spill or break I tried stick foundations for the first time. The two I tried were from Nars and Revolution and I used them both down to nubs. For some reason, I didn’t pick up any more stick foundations until now. Which is a shame as I really do like using stick foundations. I really need to pick them up more often.

But how did I like this stick formula?

First, let’s hear the claims.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Stick Foundation is a full-pigment cream foundation stick that delivers buildable coverage with a natural-looking matte finish. Formulated for face and body, this essential matte foundation stick comes in 26 foundation shades, 3 contour shades and 1 highlighter shade to cover every skin tone—and undertone—and is ideal for oily and combination skin types. This easy-to-apply creamy face makeup stick is a multitasking complexion perfector for concealing, highlighting and contouring that’s also ideal for on-the-go touch-ups.

I rather enjoyed using this formula this week actually. It is definitely buildable and once in place, it stays there. It is matte and very natural looking. I found it was very easy to work with on a low makeup day.

Now, when I use stick foundations, there are two ways I like to work with them. One is to dash strips across my face in key spots and then blend out with either a make up sponge or a brush. The other is to use a brush on the stick and then just apply with the brush. While the first makes me feel like I am applying war paint and getting ready to attack my enemies (sometimes a desirable feeling – just don’t go as far as the pillaging, embrace the feeling, but don’t feel you have to act on it). It does automatically apply more product to the skin than the second method, at least with this particular formula. If you know you are going for a super high glam look, this is probably your method. (although to be honest if going for full coverage, this wouldn’t be my formula of choice, but I’ll get to that in a minute.)

The formula can be a little stiff in the tube, so just hold the tube in your hand for a moment or two to warm it up, and then apply. It is a somewhat thick cream so I found a brush works better than a sponge for application. You can touch up with the sponge, but full application with the make up sponge is a bit of work. The brush is much easier. Save yourself the trouble and use the brush.

If you aren’t going for a high glam look and just want light to medium coverage, don’t go for the stripes. Instead, roll the product up a little bit so that it is barely over the rim of the tube, then brush over it with a your foundation brush, and apply it to your face. Don’t be tempted to roll it higher as it will just sort of get pushed over the sides and make a mess.

Dressed for a casual day at the computer screen (hair fixed later)

If you have a red patch you are trying to cover, but still want a lighter makeup look, I would take a smaller brush and dip into the foundation, then go over the red spot lightly to give it slightly more product than the rest of your face, then use the foundation brush to apply the rest. Use the makeup sponge to adjust the edges and blend the one spot you spent more time covering. If you need more coverage, then just dip back into the foundation for another go round. Then, if you find it necessary go back in with concealer.

I find this method gave me all the coverage I wanted for a regular day, and used far less product than the striping the face method. I found the formula light weight when only a thin coat was applied. Applying more layers made it feel a bit waxy and slightly heavy, so I think if I was going for a full coverage look, I would choose a different foundation. But if you are going light coverage, this is a good foundation to use.

Now, I will say I tried one day of the heavy application and didn’t like it, so I shifted to the lighter side very quickly. On the day I used it more heavily, I did notice that I was getting some settling into lines, particularly around my mouth, by the end of the day. With the lighter coverage I didn’t get that at all. It stayed in place with no settling for a full eight hours. I suspect that while the formula is buildable, it really is the type of formula where less is a better idea. I really didn’t have any issues with oil seeping through, It is Tennessee in June so there is a bit of glistening, but nothing really damaging.

While I wouldn’t wear this for a full coverage look, it is a very nice formula for me to wear on a daily basis, and it is my summer shade. Both of these things mean that it will be staying in this summer’s rotation. This is a foundation, you will see returning.

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation Review

I know many of you are looking at the above picture and thinking, Maybelline Fit Me? That doesn’t sound like the foundation that I thought was in this week’s make up bag? What gives, Mimsy?

No flies on you.

The foundation I chose for this week’s makeup bag was in fact a Nars foundation. What happened, you may ask? Like the Becca Foundation before it, the Nars foundation was too light. That won’t prevent me from testing it, but I will either be waiting until my tan fades a bit or at least pick a week where I am not leaving the house.

This week me and my face mask left the house to stand in a peaceful group with others from my area instead of staying home.

So I went with a foundation in a shade that fit my summer skin tone better.

Instead of Nars, I tested out the Maybelline Fit Me. Oddly enough, I picked it up on a whim. Actually Maybelline really got me that day. I was in the section because of my ongoing love affair with primers. I picked up a Master Prime and then heeded the seductive call of the lip products. In between the two was the foundation and I thought, why not? Luckily I happened to pick up a shade that suits my current skin tone.

Actually it almost perfectly fits my current skin tone. I thought it too might be a little light, but it oxidizes just enough to fit me (Ha) perfectly. It turns out there are 40 different shades so it stands to reason that one would work for me. Its more surprising that I actually picked the right one than anything else. So because I was out and about, the matching tones made this it’s week for testing.

my bare skin showing some of the red and dark spots I want to cover

The Maybelline Fit Me Matte and Poreless Foundation is the one I went with (in the shade 115, in case you were wondering). While I picked mine up at the drug store, they do have a shade finder on their site. It paired me with 115 as well so at least for me it was accurate. According to the website…

This lightweight foundation mattifies and refines pores and leaves a natural, seamless finish. Ideal for normal to oily skin, our exclusive matte foundation formula features micro-powders to control shine and blur pores. Pore minimizing foundation. Dermatologist tested. Allergy tested. Non-comedogenic. Apply foundation onto skin and blend with fingertips or an applicator.

I copied down the application line from the website because it is actually important. This foundation wasn’t too happy with the brush as an applicator. I think because it is supposed to be a poreless formula it wanted to fill in the gaps between the bristles. At least that is my thought. I did find out that there were plenty of brush strokes that needed to be worked out with a sponge when I used the brush. I’d suggest using a makeup sponge as your applicator with this one, or just go old school and use your fingers.

One thing right off the bat that I did not like about this foundation was the bottle. The glass was fine, even preferred. However it is an open bottle. There is no pump or dropper in sight. I know that sounds persnickety, but the first time I used it, far too much foundation came out of the bottle. It was messy and wasteful. I especially hated the waste because it is a good foundation.

Luckily I already repurposed a dropper when my Cattrice foundation dropper had issues so an extra dropper was on hand. I would suggest if using this foundation, you find something to dip into the bottle rather than attempting to pour it. There is a lot less waste that way. The screw top of the bottle will still get messy, but you won’t hove foundation coating part of your sink.

Like it claims, this foundation is weightless. Once on, it was easy to forget I was wearing it. It has no noticeable paint smell, in fact it has no real scent at all. When used on its own, it was a good foundation that did cover up some of my pores. When used with a primer it was absolutely fantastic. While I did pick up a Maybelline Primer, the primer I chose for this week’s make up bag was the NYX pore filling primer. When the two pared up it was magic. Fine lines and pores, gone.

While it didn’t settle into my lines during the day, the foundation did sweat off a bit when worn outside all day. It is getting really warm and humid where I live and even though I go outside for an hour or so at a time, I am not used to spending the entire day outside. I work at a computer most of the day. On the days I was working at my desk, there were no problems. It is however not an all day outside sweat proof formula.

As I am not all day outside sweat proof myself, I can sympathize.

With that small caveat, I had no issues with this foundation. It worked well for me and I will be putting it into rotation. At $7.99, I may actually pick up a winter shade. Incidentally in the photo below the makeup can’t be blamed for my baggy eyes. The day I took this was Tuesday and Tuesday was a really long and frought day.

Speaking of winter shades…

What I noticed when going through the foundations I’ve tried is that since I started my foundation quest back in the winter months, I matched them to my winter skin. All of the foundations that I keep in rotation are kept because I like the formula. So I find myself avoiding certain ones not because I don’t like them but because they are the wrong shade for this time of year.

So for now I will be saving the lighter toned products for when I am lighter in tone and not doing a head to head test as I did with the first section of Foundations I tried. I have some summer shade ones I will be testing and I will leave the winter shades to the winter and then just rotating the ones I like and can wear in until they are used up, or until my tan fades. I think the items I chose for my makeup bag repeatedly as well as what ends up in my empties bin will be a more accurate gauge than a head to head challenge per section.

So that was the foundation this week, along with the slight change in my makeup bag formula. For those awaiting the Nars trial, don’t worry, it’s time will come. Just not this week.

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Testing out Becca Ultimate Coverage 24 Hour Foundation

I have to admit, I started this trial with pretty high hopes for the Becca Ultimate Coverage 24 hour Foundation. The reason was that my old foundation, the one that I stockpiled when I found out it was discontinued, was a Becca Foundation. Plus, I tend to like a lot of Becca products. The pink tinted loose powder is absolutely amazing on a day when I don’t wear a lot of makeup. I can just put on a primer and a light dusting and be good to go all day. The tint gives a nice healthy glow to the skin.

So with several excellent products behind me from Becca, hopes were high at the start. But first off, what does this foundation have to say for itself.

the pump was a little messy but not that bad

A lightweight, full coverage foundation with 24-hour wear. A balance of water and concentrated pigments give skin a flexible, natural finish that is water and transfer resistant. Camouflage acne, redness, hyperpigmentation and discoloration with breathable coverage that won’t clog pores.

That is quite a list of claims for just one bottle.

Now first off, I need to admit, I picked the wrong shade. Or maybe I picked the right shade but not for this time of year. Either way, it is a little too light on me at the moment. So please try to ignore that in the photos.

Luckily, I didn’t really leave the house during the week I was testing the foundation so even though my baby doll shook his head at me and asked if I was doing kabuki theater, the color wasn’t that big a deal. My outside time was mostly working in the back garden and if anyone minded the non-match and called me out on it I could have just yelled at them for looking into my garden. No one did though.

Now normally when I apply foundation, I put it on my hand and then dab it on my face, use a brush to blend it out and then a sponge to make sure there are no brush streaks and to complete the blending and get into little edges.

This foundation did not like the brush at all. If you have ever dragged a broom across a muddy floor, then you know the lines the brush put in the foundation. I finally just had to abandon the brush and go with the sponge from the get go. Application went much better after that. Also remember that with this foundation, a little goes a long way.

There is no wiggle room in the coverage of this foundation. It is full coverage. Period. You can’t really sheer it out for medium coverage if you are having a good skin day. It is a full coverage foundation. Which is fine. While I don’t like full coverage on a daily basis, I do like it for when I go out and at the moment I don’t have a really good full coverage foundation that I like.

This was full coverage without being cakey. I did not experience any oxidation, so keep that in mind when determining your shade. It did feel lightweight on the skin which isn’t typical of many full coverage foundations I’ve tried in the past. While I didn’t wear it for a full 24 hours, because quite frankly I simply don’t tend to wear makeup for a full day and night, I did push it to ten hours and had no problems with it creasing.

However you really need to wear a primer with this foundation. I found applying a pore filling primer and then waiting a few minutes to let the primer sort of settle into the skin really helped with this foundation. It made my skin look amazing. There was no creasing and I didn’t have to apply any powder during the day to decrease shine coming through. The final picture below is after 10 hrs of wear (I did reapply the lip gloss, but not the face powder, admittedly I did use a lot of powder and bronzer to try to adjust the color). There is a little shine in the t-zone but it really isn’t that much, it just no longer looks fully matte, in my opinion. And it is something I could definitely live with.

I think if I got the color right I would consider keeping the Becca Ultimate Coverage around for nights when I went out to an event or something. I like the pump of the bottle and the glass bottle itself. It may actually be the full coverage foundation I keep around for such things. However I know that it is not a foundation that I am going to wear on a regular basis, just because I don’t wear full coverage every day. For that reason, even though it passed the wear-ability test, I am not going to keep it in the running for my daily foundation search.

I know I am not going to reach for it right now, partially because of the coverage level and partially because of the color. What I am going to do is put it back in the drawer to use this coming winter (This week was the first time the foundation was opened so I have some time on it.). I don’t know how many holiday parties there will be this year, or how many of them will be via video call instead of in person, but this is the foundation I would use then.

I think the color would match my winter skin and the full coverage would be useful for events and gatherings. To try and keep it out for use now would just be wasteful. So even though I like it, the Becca Ultimate coverage will not be going up against the previous three foundations. If I like the way it performs over the winter with the shade actually working better with my skin, then I will get a darker shade to wear for warmer months events.

I know that is sort of a mixed review, but I think what this means is that I may have to go and search out a more medium coverage foundation from Becca to test it out for daily wear. I do think that this will end up being my go to full coverage foundation for when I need a full coverage foundation.

This was the fourth foundation of this five foundation set. The next up is a product from Nars. However I do also have several trial sized tubes of foundation to try as well as a couple of BB and CC creams and I think even a tinted moisturizer or two as well as at least one stick foundation. So this quest is far from over. Given the fact that I love to try new products, I’m perfectly okay with that.