Blogtember Day Two: Favorite Drugstore Foundation!

Revlon ColorStay Foundation for Combination/Oily Skin

Hello Friends!

I already failed at keeping to my schedule! *SIGH*

Since I did my favorite high-end foundation Monday, I thought I would do my drugstore foundation today! It seems like this stuff is everywhere right now, and for good reason!

This foundation was recommended to me by several people, and I was looking for something a bit lighter than the Cover Fx cream, since it's been awfully hot and humid here lately, so I thought I'd give it a try when I saw it at the drugstore.

To my surprise, I found the right shade my first try! I wear shade 180, Sand Beige, and I went for the Combination/Oily version of the foundation (they also make a version for Normal/Dry skin, which I hear is also amazing).

On first inspection, I wasn't thrilled with the packaging- I don't like foundations that have an open top (as opposed to a pump), but the foundation is relatively thick for a liquid foundation, so it's not going to pour out really fast. 

I find that the coverage is medium to full, and I was really impressed by how much redness it covers up (I rarely wear concealer with it). I apply it with a rounded, fairly dense brush (my favorites is the Real Techniques buffing brush), and it goes on very smoothly.

The foundation sells for $11.99 full price, but Revlon products are often on sale at drugstores (I got mine for 50% percent off!). I also recommend buying at store that has a good makeup return policy. I found out that Rite-Aid and its affiliates will return or exchange any beauty products for any reason, so that takes the stress out of choosing a shade! (I am not sponsored by Rite-Aid, but that got me excited, and I thought I'd pass that along!)

I love this foundation, and I am definitely planning on re-purchasing!

Always,

Nani xx

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Drug Store Lips!

Hello Friends!

Over the last few months, I've been exploring different lip glosses and lip sticks. When I first started wearing makeup, I was all about lip gloss, but slowly my focus shifted to the eyes, and i fell in to a lip product rut. That's all changed now! Here's the lip products I've been using lately. Note: My lips tend to be quite dry, and all of these products work well for me.

This is the Covergirl LipPerfection lip color in 325, Spellbound ($5-8). (Note to my UK readers- I'm sure some of you know this, but Covergirl is the US equivalent to MAX Factor) I've been seeing this color a lot, and I thought it was time to give it a try.

 It's so fresh for spring! It's so vibrant and intense. I'm very pleased with the wear and the staying power of this stuff (it's also very moisturizing).  Unfortunately, those factors add up to  lip color that stains any and EVERY thing. Here's what it looks like after it was on my arm for 10 minutes, and removed with makeup remover.

Staining that quickly, you can imagine what can happen when you've worn it for hours. The first time I wore it, I had a few dry patches on my lip, and, even after I did a sugar lip scrub, I had fuchsia patches for two days! *sigh* I also recommend applying with a brush, since it does stain, so any mistakes are hard to hide. Staining aside, I really love this product. I'll be on the lookout for a dupe that doesn't stain, though!

This is Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in 006, Pink Blush ($4.92). I think Rimmel lipsticks are such a great value for your money. They wear very smoothly! I like this shade for spring as well (can you tell it's on my mind? Spring comes slowly in the Pacific North West!)

It's really a lovely petal color. It's an eight hour wear, but I'd think it was closer to 6, which still isn't bad. My only complaint is that if you have any rough spots, it really... clumps up, for lack of a better word. Otherwise, I'm happy with it.

Kate Moss has joined with Rimmel to design a new line lipsticks ($5.19). They're 8-hour long wear (and I think that's actually accurate) and infused with black diamonds to reflect light. I really like that, since it's reflective without being shimmery.

I picked up number 008 (they're not named, as far as I can tell). It looks a lot oranger in the picture, but it's a really nice neutral. My lips are naturally quite pigmented, so it looks really natural on me. I like it!

Now, for my very favorite- L'Oreal Colour Riche Wet Shine Stain ($9.99, but I got mine on a Buy-one-get-one half off sale with a $2 coupon!) I found out recently that L'Oreal owns the YSL makeup line, and according to beauty gurus, it's almost an exact duplicate of their Rouge Por Courture Glossy Stain ($34). It even has the same applicator- almost a heart shape.

 I've been really impressed by this line. I first purchased 184 Rose On and On (the middle shade in the picture above), which I liked so well (and which Louise from Sprinkle of Glitter has also reviewed here), that I went and bought two more, 188 Coral Tattoo (top), and 183 Pink Resistance (bottom). The shades are swatched in the same order below.

This stuff is FABULOUS! The color is intense, but sheer at the same time, if that makes sense. It lasts like a stain, but wears like a non-sticky gloss- perfection. I applied this at 4 pm today, went to dinner, and now, at 11:30 pm, it has just begun to fade, so I'd say it has six solid hours of good color. Also... Remember the one above that stains? This one actually is a stain. This is after... MAYBE five minutes.

Anyway, these are my favorites! What color(s) have been you been loving this spring?

Always,

Nani xx

Ulta Haul, Part One- The Products!

Hello Friends!

I totally failed guys! It was final exam week, and I had to choose whether to blog or pass my exams... I'm on break now, so I should be able to make up for it with a couple posts next week!

Anyway, last week I promised you guys a review from my trip to Ulta. I think I'm going to split it into two parts- products and brushes- and upload them separately, because it's just too much for one post!

If you've been following along with my blog, this first purchase shouldn't be much of a surprise to you: I bought more foundation. It turns out that the Rimmel foundation that I thought was perfect ALSO turned pink on my skin. After doing a little research, the best explanation I can find is that it has something to do with the the foundation reacting to the mix of oxygen and the pH of my skin. Whatever the reason, I've been using this new foundation for a week, and I haven't had any problems with it (fingers crossed!), and I've given the rest of the Rimmel to my sister. :)

 

This time, after explaining the pink/oxidation and my oily skin to the lady at Ulta, she recommended the Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 hour Full Coverage Foundation ($38) in Light, their third shade out of eight. I have used this foundation before- I bought it for my trip to Costa Rica last summer, in shade four, Medium, but in the winter that's far to dark for me. I really the color palette this line has. Most of the shades are neutral tones, so they work wonderfully for me.

The clay in the foundation works wonders for oil control, which is perfect for me. The coverage is definitely full, but it doesn't wear heavily on the skin. It feels really nice going on, and I really don't need much of it, especially when I use my new brushes (review to come). I've definitely found that it wears for almost exactly 12 hours, just like the label says! We'll see if things change, but as of right now, about a week and a half into the use of it, I'm pretty happy with it.

I had intended to buy a Lancome mascara that Fleurdeforce recommends (Hypnose Star, $28), but Ulta doesn't carry Lancome. When I asked about it, however, one of the employees had just quit Lancome, and so she was able to recommend a similar product, Lorac Pro mascara ($23), which happened to be on sale for $10. (The sale is still available on their website... very tempting!)

Lorac Pro is a nice deep black formula that doesn't flake, but what sets it apart is the wand.

The wand is almost conical, and I think the secret to it is that the bristle length is designed to match to the length of the lashes in that area of the eye (short on the inner corner, etc), at least for me. I find that if I curl my lashes I can get away with two strokes of this stuff, as opposed to the 3-4 strokes of Benefits' They're Real mascara (which I also liked). It also separates the lashes well. I've used the plastic wands for so long that it took me a bit to get used to the spoolie brush, but I really like it. My only complaint about the mascara is that it is NOT waterproof in the least. I have to put it on after I use my setting spray, or I look like the prom queen runner-up... lots and lots of mascara all down my face.



I had heard a lot about Nyx, but I hadn't ever tried it (it's not widely available in my area), so I got pretty excited to see it at Ulta- and it was on SALE!

I picked out this eye shadow, Nyx Nude Matte Shadow in "I Have a Headache" ($4.49), to use as a base for other eye shadows, since I've found that if your put a color similar to your skin tone all over your lid, the other colors you put on blend better and wear more evenly. I've been using "Desire" from Stila's In the Moment palette, but I'm running it out, and it's not available on its own (and the palette is way too big to carry!). This is almost an exact dupe, and way better quality than I was expecting. The only downfall- the packaging. It looks a lot like the Urban Decay individual eye shadow pots, but the inner liner that holds makeup is loose- just loose enough to be annoying, and the plastic feels really cheap. For the price, though, it's understandable.

I also picked up this Nyx Concealer in Green ($4.99). With all the stress I'm under from school right now, my skin is a MESS. I've never used a red-cancelling green concealer before, but I think I like it. It's definitely working. I think I'll go with a liquid next time, but that's just because I'm not a fan of stick concealer. No complaints!



The last thing was this little set of EOS lipbalms in Strawberry and Passion fruit. These lip balms are everywhere right now! I saw the cute spring packaging, and the pastel-ness lured me in. I like them a lot, particularly the purple passion fruit one!



Ok guys, this is the end of part one! Stay tuned for part two, the brushes!

Always,

Nani


(P.S. This post was written during WWF's Earth Hour. Did you #DoItInTheDark?)

I (re)Discover Drugstore Makeup!

Hello Friends!

Okay... Confession time:

I am a makeup snob. I never use drugstore makeup.

I don't mean sometimes, occasionally, every once in a while... I mean never.

When I was first allowed to wear makeup, my mom insisted that I only use Clinique, since sensitive skin runs in our family. This did two things. Firstly, it allowed her a high level of control over what makeup I owned, since, at twelve, there was no way I could afford to buy it (good thinking, Mom!). Secondly, it instilled the "you get what you pay for" value very deeply into my soul.

Once we determined that I wasn't allergic to most makeup, I was allowed to buy drugstore brands (still with Mom's supervision, thank goodness... although, there was that hideous electric blue mascara... but I digress). Since at that point, most of my money was from babysitting jobs (and I was a young teen), I gravitated to the cheaper, teen-oriented brands, like NYC and Jane. (the culprits behind the shocking mascara)

I liked the drugstore makeup, but I could feel the difference. The Clinique was smoother, had more pigment, and lasted longer... but the NYC was so much cheaper.

This carried on until I was 15, when we got a mini-Sephora in a larger department store in our mall. There were (in my mind) so many brands, and so many colors.. and they encouraged -or helped (!!)- you to try it out! I was in heaven. Then, a few months later, the mothership landed. We got our very own GIANT Sephora store.

Since then, I have rarely bought makeup anywhere else. It's an addiction. You've had the best, and it cost $39, so how could a $7 product compete?

Well... Here's where it gets real:

I have never found a foundation that I liked for more that a few months. I always find something wrong with it- wrong color, wrong texture, didn't last long enough (I'll never forget coming out of class with a perfect hand print of makeup missing my freshman year... yikes!)- there will be something. When you're paying $20-40 for foundation, switching every few months really adds up!

So when my latest foundation purchase, the new Make Up Forever Pro Finish powder (see my initial review of it here), ended up disappointing me after only a few weeks, I snapped.

I bought drugstore foundation.

And yeah- I only only spent $7 on it. And I LOVE it.

No, it's not the perfect foundation. No, it's not an exact match. But it's pretty darn close. SO. without further ado, I give you my new foundation:

Rimmel London Match Perfection Foundation, in 120 Ivory (about $7 at Target).

After doing some research (read: watching Youtube reviews), I had decided on the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation, but I'm pretty sure we don't have that here in the US, so I settled on this one. 

Application:
The first thing I noticed about the foundation was it's smell- it's fruity, and really pleasant. It's a thin, liquid foundation, which goes on really smoothly with a "precision"/beautyblender type sponge. I haven't tried it with a stipple brush yet, but I'm intrigued to see how that goes.
Like I said, it goes on smoothly, and, maybe because it's so thin, it layers really well. 

Wear:
When it first goes on (at least on oily skin like mine), it's almost... sticky. Not like honey... more... tacky. I really dislike that, but with a light dusting of setting powder, that goes away, and doesn't come back.
It doesn't last very long on it's own, maybe 6 hours, but with powder, and especially with a setting spray, it can last close to 12 hours. 

Removal:
This is my only concern with this foundation. Not that it's hard to take off, but the opposite. If you leave it on for a long time, like I do, then it can kind of disappear into your face, and lull you into complacency with your removal process (it's gotten me twice!). Always, ALWAYS remove your makeup before bed or a shower!


Anyway, I love the foundation, and now that I've broken down my prejudice, I went back for more. Today I went back to Target and picked up three lipsticks for spring! (Review to come!)

All this to say... Don't rule out anything completely.

Always,

Nani <3