My Foundation Collection

Rimmel, Maybelline, Revlon and MAC!

Here are the foundations I have in my makeup collection. All but one are drugstore. I really want to try more high-end brands, however they are just so expensive that I can not justify spending the money.

From L-R: Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation, NEW Revlon Colourstay Foundation, Rimmel Match Perfection, Maybelline Super Stay Foundation and MAC Pro Longwear Foundation

 RIMMEL - WAKE ME UP FOUNDATION:

402 BRONZE

Easy to control pump

 Rimmel says:
- Reawakens skin with a healthy radiant glow
- Light, moisturising texture
- Leaves skin feeling soft
- Flawless natural finish
- Visible anti-fatigue effect with peptides and a vitamin moisturising complex
- Available in 5 shades
- SPF 15
My verdict:
- 3/5
- Easy to blend
- Nice radiant glow
- Medium coverage
- Dewy finish
- Personally I can see the sparkles in the foundation, it is especially visible in natural sunlight. I don't like wearing it out during the day because of that.
- I get oily half way through the day
- Lasts for about 4 hours
- Thin consistency

Maybelline: SUPER STAY FOUNDATION 16 hour wear

I hate the fact that it doesn't have a pump

True Beige

 Maybelline says:
- 24 HOUR wear
- Medium Coverage
- SPF 19
- Looks naturally flawless all day
- Microflex formula, no transfer
- Oil free, fragrance free, dermatologist tested
- Suitable for all skin types
My Verdict:
- 4/5
- Easy to blend
- Medium to buildable coverage
- Wears for about 8 hours
- Minimal transfer
- Water/sweat resistant
- In between dewy and matter finish
- The only negative about this foundation is the fact it doesn't have a pump!
- Thin - moderately thick in consistency

Rimmel: MATCH PERFECTION FOUNDATION 

300 SAND

 Rimmel says:
- Undetectable in any light
- Light perfection radiance
- Lasts all day
- SPF 18 (random)
- 10 available shades
My Verdict:
- 4/5
- Lasts for about 6-8hours
- Medium to buildable coverage
- Easy to blend
- Thin - moderately thick in consistency  
- Dewy finish
- In regards to the statement that it is undetectable in any light, I totally disagree with that. When wearing this foundation, you ca definitely tell that you are wearing make up.
- Easy control pump
- I start to get oily towards the end of the day

NEW! Revlon: COLOURSTAY FOUNDATION

 (If you want to know a bit more about this foundation, scroll down further and read my recent blog entry)

MAC: PRO LONG WEAR FOUNDATION

Easy control lockable pump

As you can tell this foundation has a lot more yellow undertone in comparison to my other foundations, which are more pink. This foundation out of the rest definitely suits my skin tone the best.

MAC says:

- Long wear foundation

- Wears up to 15 hours

- Lightweight and creamy

- Sheer to medium coverage

- Controls Oil

My verdict:

- 5/5

- I love this foundation

- Long wearing - wears pretty much all day that I have it on

- Controls my oil

- Medium to buildable coverage

- In between dewy and matter finish, quite velvety 

- Thin - slightly thick in consistency

- Easy control lockable pump

AND THAT IS ALL :) 

disclaimer: all photos are my own unless stated otherwise 

PRIME that baby!

STEP 2 in achieving that perfect base for your make up is finding the perfect face primer. Now for those of you who are quite new to make up, a Primer basically is a product that minimises the appearance of pores and smooths out your skin to allow easy application of your foundation and also increase the longevity of your make up. Now some people choose not to apply primer before their foundation and that is completely okay, primer is not a must but is something that may help applying foundation easier to provide a flawless look and to allow your make up to last that much longer. 

Personally for me, I love using primers. Now when I first start using make up, the only brand that I would use was Napolean Perdis makeup. If you haven't heard of Napolean Perdis make up, it is an Australian based brand, which is sort of equivalent to MAC, but of course MAC is much better. Napolean Perdis has also recently broken through to the USA market, which is pretty awesome. The first ever face primer that I had purchased (well my mum purchased it for me) was the Napolean Perdis Auto Pilot. 

This was the old package. The new package is in Gold. I'm not sure if the formula has changed though.

"NOT TO PRIME IS A CRIME" - Napolean Perdis himself!

Quite runny in consistency.

As you can see it is very "wet" and shiny

The product according to Napolean Perdis:

- Vitamin E

- Chamomile

- Yarrow Extracts

- Keeps skin happy and hydrated

- Allows foundation smoother landing

My Verdict:

I give this product a 2.5/5. This product for me was not a winner unfortunately. I'm all for supporting Australian based companies but I did not love this product. It felt as if I was applying a second layer of moisturiser. It took a while to settle into my skin, it felt sticky, it did not control my oil and I didn't notice any difference in the ease of applying my foundation (as it stated).  This product retails for AUS$55 (which is definitely not worth it). You can definitely find a drugstore primer that works much better. 

The next primer, which I love right now is the Benefit Porefessional face primer. I know I haven't tried many primers but I know if I try others, this will still be my holy grail. I love this primer so much that I don't want to hit pan because it is so damn expensive. This primer retails for AUS$53. This primer is absolutely amazing.

When I purchased this item, the sales assistant was nice enough to give me a travel sized one, which I demolished

Thick but light in consistency

Not noticeable in this picture, but it creates a beautiful base

 According to Benefit:

- Minimise the appearance of pores and fine lines

- Silky and lightweight 

- Translucent

- Complements all skin types/tones

- Oil free formula

- Contains Vitamin E derivatives 

- Helps make up stay put

- Can be applied before and after make up (YES AFTER MAKEUP! This product can be applied anytime during the day after make up has already been applied when your pores come out o hiding)

My verdict:

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS PRODUCT! I give this product a 5/5! I definitely recommend this product to anyone of all skin types. It is definitely not drying and it controls my oil very well. It is very hard to describe the texture of this primer, as it comes out looking like a cream/liquid but when blended, it is so thin, silky, lightweight and disappears like a powder. It definitely fills in my pores to create that flawless foundation finish. 

What are your favourite face PRIMERS??? HAVE you tried these before? Leave me a comment!

disclaimer: all photos are my own unless stated otherwise

Moisturizers

Before applying foundation or any sort of make up product, it is very important to have a well primed base and to help allow your foundation to glide on seamlessly and avoid looking cakey then starting off with a great face moisturiser is key! Now I can go through all sorts of moisturisers and the types but I'll be here forever, so I'll briefly run through my skin type and the two moisturiser's that I am currently using.

My skin type:

- Oily t-zone

- Combination skin

- During the winter I develop some dry spots

- A few blemishes

- Under eye dark circles

- Not acne prone

I consider myself lucky because I only suffer from pimples when it's that "time of the month" and I only get the one pimple that usually likes to grow right in the centre of my face! But that's only once a month, which is awesome. Other than that, I think my skin isn't too, the only problem I have is uneven skin tone, which I think everyone has. So when I look for a moisturiser, these are the things I look for:

- Oil control

- Moisturising (duhh!!!)

- Softens my skin

- Does not have that sticky feeling after application

- Settles into my skin quickly

- Fragrant free

- Thin in consistency

Now the first face moisturizer that I have using for the last couple of years and which I consider to be one of my holy grail products is the Neutrogena Oil Free Moisturiser for Combination skin. 

Love that it has a pump for easy control

I love this moisturiser and the reason why it is one of my HG products is because it does exactly what I want it to do. It moisturises my dry areas yet controls my oil in my t-zone. This moisturiser absorbs really quickly into my skin and according to Neutrogena it does not clog pores (which obviously is a plus). 

Neutrogena states:

- allergy tested

- fragrance free

- alcohol free

I give this product a 5/5!!!!

The next product, which is a recent discovery is the Cetaphil moisturising lotion. I've heard a lot about the Cetaphil face products on youtube and thought I'd give it a go since their prices were quite reasonable. Now, doing my research, I've realised this product is definitely up there in people's Holy Grail list, however, it still hasn't won me over just yet. I've only used it for a couple of days so I guess I can't really say much. 

Squeeze bottle for ease of control

The reason why this moisturiser has not won me over just yet is because of how thick it feels on my skin. Once applied it takes a while for the product to sink into my skin and when touched, it feels quite sticky. Therefore, I've been using this product at night after I wash my face and before I go to bed. It feels quite heavy when I wear it under my make up during the day. However it does control my oil quite well. 

Cetaphil states:

- a non greasy formula

- contains emollients and humectants (proven to bind water to the skin to prevent moisture loss)

- ideal for total body moisturisation

- ideal for all skin types

I rate this moisturiser so far a 2.5/5 (just not winning me over just yet)

*I forgot how much these moisturisers cost but from the top of my head the Neutrogena one was about AUS$12-13 and the Cetaphil about $10* Both very affordable . . .

So, what are you holy grail face moisturisers? Any suggestions for my combination/oily skin?

disclaimer: all photos are my own

Benefit Cosmetics

The only two Benefit Cosmetic products I own are cheek products, a blush and a bronzer. Benefit here in Australia is so freaking expensive it's just "CRAY CRAY", which is why I don't own a lot from this high-end brand. If it was, I would most likely go out and purchase all their products because they're awesome! The Benefit blushes and bronzers retail for AUS$51 and in America, guess how much? US$28! If anyone from America is willing to purchase items for me and send them over to me, please please please contact me! lol

So the blush that I purchased was the "Coralista" blush, which is one of the most talked about products from Benefit and I think everyone in the beauty community owns it! It is a very nice coral-pink shade. It is such an amazing colour and stays on my cheeks for a very long time. Because I have an olive skin tone, the blush does not show up on my cheeks very well, however gives me this amazing highlight iridescent finish, which I love. For this reason, I mostly use it as a highlight to give me that sun kissed glow.The blush is very easy to work with and blends in so nicely.

8.0g of product

The blush with flash

The blush without flash

The bronzer that I picked up was obviously the "Hoola" bronzer, which I'm sure most of you have or is on your current wish-list because it is the most amazing bronzer that I have ever used and own. It is so hard to find the right bronzer that does not have an orange tone to it and this one definitely does not. It is very pigmented, which is why you must have a light hand when applying this product! A little definitely does go a long way with this product. The other thing that I love about this product is that it is matte! AND you can't contour without a matter bronzer.

8.0g of product

The bronzer with flash

Swatch with flash

Without flash

Benefit products in Australia can be purchased from Myer and David Jones. A few online sites also sell Benefit products for discounted prices:
au.strawberrynet.com/
www.adorebeauty.com.au/benefit-cosmetics.html‎
http://www.allcosmeticswholesale.com/ 

disclaimer: all photos are my own unless stated otherwise