Tag Archives: Foundation

I Tried a Full Coverage Foundation and I Liked It

August 3, 2016

The gravitational pull of a new complexion product is strong. I have my favs but I find that formulas always improve. How can I not investigate? I obliged that feeling to give this triangular tube by Hourglass a try. Goes by the name Vanish and is probably the most concentrated foundation I’ve ever worn. A little scary to go from my Glossier Skin Tint to a formula with double the amount of pigment than a traditional foundation. But, fear not, this is Hourglass. I trust in the makers of the Ambient Light. Somehow Vanish disappears on your skin, living up to the promise of invisible full coverage. There isn’t a dark circle, blemish, redness or spot that this cannot handle with ease. I found a perfect match in the shade Linen. Dare I say this feels lighter than even my tinted moisturizer? I noticed that throughout the day it doesn’t wear off but I don’t get any oil or residue or redness creeping. My skin looks the same all day: no extra concealing or layering needed.

There was a learning curve, however. I opted not to get the Vanish Foundation Brush (same price as the foundation itself!) in favor of using one of the many brushes I already have. There’s no doubt this brush is probably the perfect match but I couldn’t quite justify that when I have so many brushes already. My results varied but the stars eventually aligned. If at first you don’t succeed, pick up another brush and try again.

I started every morning by dabbing about 4-6 triangular spots directly from the tube to the center of my face.

First, I tried my fingers. Nope. While the creamy formula adjusts to your body temperature almost immediately, fingers just don’t spread it around enough. Too much work.

Next, I tried the bareMinerals Smoothing Face Brush. This was made to be used with the Complexion Rescue and I use it for that and to apply liquid highlighter. I’m going to stick with that strategy – this one wasn’t quite right with the Hourglass.

I was certain this was a job for my Sigma Beauty 3DHD Kabuki Brush. GUYS, this brush is incredible. It is super dense and has ridges and curves to navigate tricky to reach spots. While it diffused the foundation around pretty seamlessly, I still felt like I could tell I was wearing makeup.

I use the Real Techniques Triangle Foundation Brush mostly for liquid highlighters or bronzers. It has a flat edge and tapered edges so moves around the contours of your face well. I found it blended out the Vanish really well around my nose and lips but I didn’t feel like the coverage was as even on the sides of my face.

RMS Skin2Skin Foundation Brush most closely resembles fingertips. If you look at the top of this brush you see a swirl of fibers at all different lengths, this helps you get just the right amount of product on the skin. With Vanish, it blends and physically picks up the triangular dabs and moves them around the face for even coverage.

There isn’t much the Beautyblender can’t do. Admittedly, I’m a little lazy with mine. I like it for blending concealer or diffusing highlighter but get fatigued with a full face of foundation. It’s me, not you, Beautyblender.

Final verdict? RMS is where it’s at. It makes sense given that the RMS “Un” Cover Up and Vanish are similar creamy, concentrated bases. I highly recommend both, especially if full coverage foundations are your jam.

Doodle Your Face Off

April 5, 2016

I have an audience when I’m doing my makeup. There are usually two eyes staring intently at my every move. It’s intense, sure, but I like to think of Betty (my Boston Terrier) as my sidekick. After all, I did teach her the “get pretty” command. Oh you don’t know about that one? It’s when your dog crawls into your lap and gets into a cozy position on her back so that she can get nails clipped and buffed. I am not even kidding. I’ll have to Snapchat it sometime. She’s such a special little pup.

I’m sure I’ve given Betty some entertainment lately. I’ve been drawing and doodling on my face like a kid who just discovered crayons with the new Clinique Chubby in the Nude Foundation Stick.

It’s the newest member of the Chubby posse. You know the crew, twist up pencils (that you don’t have to sharpen!) for lips, cheeks, eyes, even contour and highlight. It makes so much sense that there is a Chubby Foundation Stick now. I’m here to officially tell you that it is awesome. It covers what I need it to – lately a blemish on my cheek that I absolutely cannot ditch – and gives skin a healthy brightened look. It all blends in so evenly, no matter how you doodle. My skin adapts to a few shades but right now my best match is Intense Ivory.

I’ve got to say, it’s pretty liberating to color all over your face. And I’ve been getting rather artistic lately.

There’s the Curious Kitty. I have permanent red nose so this technique, which brightens your eyes when blended, works great for me. Even before I started Doodling, I placed makeup here on my nose. Way more fun to draw Whiskers and look at your dog to see if she identifies.

How about Dollface? It can be a way to define cheekbones. After blending in, I’ll grab the Chubby Highlight and draw a line right above and across the cheekbone. Instant pop and my stubborn cheek blemish is safely concealed by my doodle.

Here’s Tick Tock Clock. Doodle four lines at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock for sheer coverage. When I’m having a jump for joy good skin day, this is all I need.

One morning when I was feeling really romantic, I also scribbled my boyfriend’s name on my forehead. It’s only three letters so it was actually really effective placement. It’s the makeup equivalent of putting his initials in a heart.

After doodling, I used Amp’d Up Apple on cheeks and Mighty Mimosa on lips. And lots and lots of mascara.

Photos by Rachel Dickens

This post was sponsored by Clinique. Thanks to Clinique for giving me some Doodling ideas – the artwork, results and opinions are all mine!

Makeup that Mimics an Insta Filter

January 28, 2016

Matte makeup scares me. Give me a dewy or what’s the point, right? Well, maybe not. Ever since I read Skin Cleanse, I’ve been more aware of how we talk about our skin. We’re accustomed to classifying our skin to a few types: dry, oily, combination, but these are symptoms, not types. It’s like when I tell my friends with “oily” skin to start using facial oils and they look at me crazy. I can’t just reject an entire category because I have “dry” skin. These characteristics may impact how we use products but not necessarily what we use.

Because I’m makeup curious, I gave the NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tint a spin. Holy whoa. I think this might be bae. It’s soft and velvety to the touch – this finish is really becoming a NARS signature across products – and is like putting a soft focus lens over the skin. I like to apply with my fingers and only have to use the tiniest bit. It’s modern day matte. A velvety tinted moisturizer, if you will. It diffuses skin, controls shine (to my delight – I needed this!) and has plenty of moisturizers (though it is oil-free) and vitamins to make sure skin doesn’t dry out. The most telling part is how it manages to just keep on looking better as the day goes on and into the night, too. It’s like wearing your favorite Instagram filter. Done and done.

The colors are the same as all other NARS foundations as well so it was really easy to find a match. I’m the shade Alaska! It’s the little things, guys.

Any foundations to shout out on your end? Let me know what you’re using these days.