My current foundations - this may be a long post.........

Realisation dawned this morning, as I had to wade through a collection of tubes and bottles in varying states of emptiness and move several bottles out of the way to reach the one that I wanted – I have LOTS of foundation.  Quite possibly more than one human could ever possibly need, especially all at the same time.  What the yellow rubbery fuck is wrong with me?

In my defense, they are all slightly different shades, and slightly different formulas, therefore they serve different purposes and fulfill different needs at different times of the year.

Hmmmm……. How many times can one person use the word “different” in one sentence in a forlorn and rather pathetic attempt to persuade yourself that you actually mean it? To be honest, I know I’ve got too many, and that I do occasionally get suckered in to hype as I try to find my Holy Grail. But I love buying new foundations – testing them in the shop, finding some natural light, browsing for other stuff while waiting to see if they oxidize……… it’s a ritual that I adore and will never get bored of. In the meantime, the collection grows.

So, for those of you out there that are relatively fair-skinned, with neutral to cool undertones, here are the foundations that work for me.

From left to right:

Lancome Teint Miracle in 010 Ivory

Nars Sheer Glow in Mont Blanc

Estee Lauder Double Wear in 1C1 Cool Bone

Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation in 15 Opal

MAC Face and Body in N1

Revlon Colourstay (normal/dry skin) in 150 Buff

Estee Lauder Double Wear Light in Intensity 01

Diorskin Nude in 020

 

I may have mentioned this before (!) but I have dry skin. Frequently, this turns into very dry skin. Occasionally, this turns into oh-my-god-my-face-is-so-tight-I-think-it’s-going-to-rip skin. With that in mind, I usually go for hydrating formulations (or at least, ones that don’t suck moisture out of my already parched skin). Therefore I don’t suffer much with oxidizing – in fact, hardly ever, as I don’t have much oil on my face to turn things orange. Foundation also normally lasts a relatively long time on me unless I have been sleeping at my desk that day and it’s ended up on my sleeves……. So bear in mind your mileage may vary.

Here are some arm swatches, taken in different lighting so you can get a feel for the range of tones between the brands:

L-R: Lancome Teint Miracle (010), NARS Sheer Glow (Mont Blanc), EL Double Wear (1C1), Vichy Dermablend (15 Opal), MAC F&B (N1), Revlon Colourstay (150 Buff), EL Double Wear Light (01), Diorskin Nude (020)

 

Both the Lancome Teint Miracle and the Diorskin Nude are very neutral, almost ashy. This is great when I feel as though my skin is a bit pinker than normal, which it does occasionally, seemingly entirely randomly. The are lovely and hydrating with a dewy finish, but consequently they don’t last long – about six hours – unless I powder over the top. Defeats the object really. Love them both, though, and these are both repeat purchases.

The Estee Lauder Double Wear doesn’t see much action, unless I’m having a spectacularly good skin day, or if I know in advance that no one will be getting within fifteen feet of me.  This stuff has a tendency to flake off my face if I don’t meticulously prep first – shame really, because the coverage is awesome and it lasts FOREVER. The Double Wear Light is better for my skin, and is easier to apply (a job for fingers rather than blending with a brush) but doesn’t last quite as long – I normally get eight hours before it starts to disappear. Both of them are a little peachy in tone so they brighten up the skin nicely if I'm having a sallow-and-tired day.

The Vichy Dermablend is one I use as a concealer rather than all over – the pigment is so concentrated it would look like a mask on me if I tried to use it in the normal way. I would imagine this is the stuff for you if you have scars or marks that you want to hide. A few dots under the eyes is all I need to minimize dark circles, but I only tend to use it on days where I think my skin couldn’t cope with the heavier formula of MAC Studio Finish concealer.

I bought the Revlon Colourstay entirely because of the beauty blogging hype (damn you MakeupGeek!). I must say though, for a “drugstore” foundation, this one lives up to its reputation (this is my third bottle, and I will need a new one soon). Great coverage (on a par with Double Wear) but not quite as flake-inducing.

MAC Face and Body tends to be my summer foundation as it is a little darker than my winter skin (bordering on peachy, similar to the Estee Lauders), but I have recently found myself turning to it even in the cooler weather – my skin is going through a rough patch (literally) so needs something a bit kinder to skin, and Mac F&B is it. Although the coverage is initially quite sheer, it can be layered easily - for shits and giggles one day, I tried several layers just to see what would happen – I managed to get to five layers, and the coverage increased with every “coat” but showed genuinely hardly any sign of caking. It contains some kind of film-former which means it miraculously “sets” on the skin (whether you are using it on your face or elsewhere) and I tend to get a good eight hours of wear out of it even without powder.

Lastly, NARS Sheer Glow. Possibly my all-time favourite as it is the best all-rounder – the best colour match to my skin tone as it is so pinky-peach, so it melts invisibly into my skin and gives me a genuine “no make-up” look, but evens everything out beautifully. It can be layered a little bit, but I would stop at two layers because three can start to look mask-like. My only gripe is that the staying power isn’t great – I tend to have to touch it up a little at lunch (five hours of wear).

Next on the list is Bobbi Brown’s Repair Foundation, although I am not overly taken with the concept of dipping my fingers into a jar – I could put up with that if it's as soothing on the skin as the blurb would suggest. For the sake of my poor wallet though, it will have to wait until next payday…………

Jen

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Old faithful – Diorskin Nude Natural Glow Hydrating Make-up

Don’t you hate it when everything runs out, all at once? Well, no, actually. I love a good Boots splurge, me. My wallet isn’t so keen, but I find there’s no greater feeling than wandering into Boots with a product list and a determined look on your face.

Part of the point and purpose of the trip was to also try out a new foundation, which I’ve had my eye on for a while – Chanel Vitalumiere Satin Smoothing Fluid makeup – unfortunately, although the texture felt divine and coverage was fabulous, it was far, far too yellow for my skintone (I tried it in the palest colour, Limpide). Shame really, I was a little bit gutted.

Sigh. Back to the old faithful, then. Back to the only foundation I have ever repurchased, and several times at that. I’m talking about Dior’s Diorskin Nude Fluid foundation.

Boots had got a fab offer on, where a £50 purchase of premium beauty products entitled you to an instant tenner off. Not sure how long it will last, but my sister and I loaded up on stuff and managed to qualify twice for this promo (by putting the purchases through in two separate transactions).

Anyway, back to the foundation. Diorskin Nude is the only foundation I’ve tried which fulfils the Holy Trinity of Foundation Purchasing – right coverage, right colour and right for my skin type. Coverage is medium-sheer, the colour has is a lovely neutral beige undertone and although it doesn’t seem to actively moisturise my skin that much, it certainly doesn’t dry it out or go flaky at all, which is a mini miracle.

If you haven’t tried Dior foundations before, their numbering system is actually quite good. They use three digits, which is a bit superfluous really. The second number indicates the intensity (how light/dark it is) where 1 is the lightest. The third number indicates the undertone, where 0 is neutral, 1 is warm (yellow/olive), 2 is cool (pink) and 3 is peachy (warm, but not olive). As a word of warning though, not all intensities are the same in the different Dior formulas – in the Diorskin Sculpt, for example, the 010 Ivory is almost white, whereas in Diorskin Nude it is a tad darker. The undertones do seem to run true, though.

My perfect colour in Diorskin Nude is 020 – Light Beige. Please bear in mind, that this foundation does oxidise ever so slightly – not so bad for me, with super-dry skin, but if you’re slightly oilier this may cause you an issue (having said that, if you’re oily-skinned, I wouldn’t recommend this foundation anyway).

From the Boots website:

“Containing nearly 40% water, this fluid foundation offers an instant sensation of well-being and complete skin hydration. A very natural looking foundation that illuminates your face for a healthy glow. With daily use, the skin becomes more beautiful for an ever more natural and radiant result day after day.”

Let’s have a look at it in 020 - Light Beige:

 

I prefer to apply this with either my fingers or a stippling brush to blend out the edges seamlessly; having said that, this foundation doesn’t take that much effort on the blending front. I can apply a second coat without too much caking, but generally I tend not to bother – the medium-sheer coverage of this foundation is its major selling point, so putting on an extra layer would probably defeat the object.

It definitely gives a glow to the skin, without being overly dewy (which usually means “shiny”). I can get away without powder, but do usually put a little bit on round the nose and mouth in order to up the staying power, which is actually not bad even without the powder (about eight hours-ish on me). A little touch up of powder mid-afternoon and job’s a good ‘un.

Using this every day, I will get a good few months of wear out of this – a little goes a long way. One good, solid pump is usually enough for my whole face.

Diorskin Nude Natural Glow Hydrating Make-up is available from Boots.com for £31.00.

Jen

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Products I am loving - April 2012

Yes, I know April hasn't finished yet. But seeing as I don't have anything new to test out for the rest of the month, I thought I would share a few of my April favourites with you all!

Shampoo: Tresemme Vitamin E Moisture Rich for dry/damaged hair
Conditioner: V05 Give Me Moisture Conditioner / Nourish Me Truly conditioner (they’re on two-fer in Boots at the mo….!)
Styling products: the old faithful CHI Silk Infusion Silk Restructuring complex
Shower Gel: Johnson’s 24 hour Extra Rich Bodywash
Body moisturiser: Body Shop Brazil Nut body butter – smells good enough to eat but PLEASE DON’T
Deodorant: Mitchum Powder Fresh for women – the only one that can cope with such a Sweaty Betty as me
Cleanser: No. 7 Radiance Boosting Hot Cloth Cleanser
Exfoliator: Body Shop Vitamin C microdermabrasion
Primer: Erm, none……… I’ve been putting a bit of tinted moisturiser on (No. 7 Triple Protection TM in Fair) before foundation for extra coverage, as I am having a rubbish-skin month
Foundation brush: Crown Brush flat bronzer, used as a stippling brush

Foundation: Diorskin Nude in shade 020
Concealer: NARS cream concealer duo in Vanilla/Honey
Powder: NARS loose powder in Flesh
Blusher: NARS powder blush in Gilda – although you have to use a light hand, it gives a fantastic natural-looking flush to the cheeks
Bronzer: none – it’s only April! Maybe in June………
Highlighter: NARS illuminator in Copacabana
Eyeshadow base: MAC paintpot in Painterly
Eyeshadows: NARS eyeshadow trio in Ramatuelle (swatched here)
Eyeliner: MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack; NYX retractable eye pencil in Black (for a cheapy (£4.00), this one is brill – doesn’t go green and patchy in the slightest!)
Curler:  No. 7 – had it for donkey’s, it could probably do with some new pads because it has started crimping my lashes rather than curling them……!
Mascara: L’Oreal Voluminous in Carbon Black; MAC Mascara X
Lipstick: Chanel Rouge Coco in Mademoiselle (swatched here); MAC amplified crème in Shy Girl
Lipgloss: NYX Juicy Red; Lanolips Lip Tint in Mulberry (limited edition – review coming soon)
Nail Colour: Bog standard Natural Collection clear polish – can’t be bothered at the moment, and my nails are in too poor a condition to take a bashing with heavy colour!

What products have you been loving recently? 

Jen

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Me and my skin

I am a dry-skinned gal. No two ways about it. Although I have always suffered a little bit (tight face after washing, the occasional flaky patch in winter), since hitting a certain age it has got exponentially worse. It means my face routine has had to change dramatically over the past few years (I’ll post about that one day) but thankfully, I seem to have hit on the right combination to cease and desist the whole Sahara-desert skin thing. But I still have to be relatively choosy about which primers and foundations I use. I tend to favour a dewy-satin look for the daytime, but do also occasionally dig out the more flawless and matte look for the evenings (if I’m having a good skin day!).

Just in case you were wondering, here are my current foundations. Unfortunately, now I’m getting on a bit, my colouring changes daily – but generally, this is the stuff I buy and wear regularly. I am neutral to cool, but do occasionally have “warmer” days.

Foundation matches:

Diorskin Nude – 020

MAC Face and Body – N1

Nars Sheer Glow – Mont Blanc (I usually use this one more in winter)

MAC Studio Fix Fluid – NW20 (I don’t usually wear this one – it oxidises like a bi-yatch)

NARS Loose/Pressed Powder – Flesh

Guerlain Lingerie de Peau – 02 Beige Clair (not a completely perfect match – might try 12 Rose Clair next time)

I’m always on the hunt for my “holy grail” foundation – the one that gives perfect coverage while looking natural, lasts all day but doesn’t clog pores, is buildable but not cakey-looking etc. I’m not entirely convinced that it exists, but so far it’s been fun trying to find it! Not sure my wallet would agree though……..

Anyone got any suggestions of good foundations to try for dry skin?

Jen

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