Tag Archives: This or That

This or That: Budget Concealers

Best-Drugstore-Concealer

If I let myself loose mid-day at a CVS, sometimes I just buy without thinking. Navigating the drugstore aisles is not always easy. Sometimes I get blinders for what’s new and shiny, but perhaps not the right product for me. Every now and then I get it right. It’s only fair to share – in my opinion – the two best concealers that cost under $8 apiece!

My drugstore dream team is Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer and Revlon Photo Ready Concealer. While both billed as concealers, they’re very different in terms of use.  I’ve purchased the Maybelline a handful of times already. I use the second lightest shade, Radiant, and use it under my eyes and as a brightener on areas I want to appear lifted, like my brow bone and that area on the side of my nose close to the inner corner of my eyes. It has a peachy pink undertone and is decidedly YSL Touch Eclat-ish in application (click pen) and formula (gel-like). Best for brightening but not necessarily covering up blemishes or problem zones.

As for the Revlon Photo Ready, I use it nearly daily to cover up redness and blemish marks. This was an accidental discovery. I’d been hanging on to a tube from last year that I had from a partnership I did with Revlon and InStyle for Product Girl and rediscovered it on a weekend morning while cleaning. I decided to try it again and had a total moment! I’ve since bought a new tube in the ‘light’ shade.  It photographs extremely well, hence the Photo Ready, and becomes one with skin, which is what I want when trying to act like I don’t have a red dot on my forehead.

Depending on your concealing needs, one or both of these options are worth a second look at the drugstore. Anything you’ve discovered recently that you want to share? Please spill all the deets in the comments!

This or That: Makeup Primer for Summer

Makeup-Primer

Any time the temp hits above 85, I know I have my work cut out for me. Looking (and feeling) put together in the summer requires some premeditation. I know I’m going to sweat (tote around the deo) and I know my thighs will rub together (can’t fight heat expansion). But wearing primer, even if just under CC cream, sunscreen or bronzer, keeps my face from looking like it is melting off. Don’t think of it as wearing another layer — this is the one that counts. Primer helps fill pores, smooth skin and make for an even canvas for whatever you need to layer on top of it. I’m in the pro-prime camp. I’ve narrowed the field down to two vastly different formulas that I think cover all summer woes.

Matte skin is never my default since I want all the radiance I can get, but I cannot deny the need for BECCA Ever-Matte Poreless Priming Perfector on those awfully hot days. My pores appear massive in that kind of weather and this formula is designed to control excess oil and stand up to humidity. The bonus? You can dab on throughout the day like you would blotting paper and it doubles as an eyelid primer.

On the flip, we have NARS Light Optimizing Primer, the newest in the brand’s pro-prime lineup, which gives skin the luminosity that I crave. The slight iridescence in the formula is the perfect balance of white/champagne/pink tones to light up the skin. It also extends the longevity of your makeup but in a dewy way. This formula practically doubles as a highlighter and it doesn’t hurt to have the added SPF 15.

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