Random Days: New Things To Come!

So! I hinted I was looking at another foundation after the non- matching Double Wear, and today the eBay listing ended and I got it! So (drumroll please) welcome to my life Laura Mercier Oil Free Foundation!

I've been intrigued by Laura Mercier for ages because their reviews are so glowing, and they have high praise for their pale shades. I've stayed away because I always thought they were a little too expensive (we're talking £33-45). In actual fact they aren't that much more expensive than say my Clarins (which is about £24 I think?), but I seem to have an imaginary line beyond £25 where it becomes 'serious money'. However in a stroke of good luck I managed to get a new bottle, in the right formula and the right colour for £20! BARGAIN. 

I've also taken the plunge and ordered a Nyx foundation from Cherry Culture (it's somehow cheaper to order it from the USA, with postage, than the UK website... crazy times) because I've heard good things about their shades too. If you are interested in Nyx, see the Cherry Culture website because they are all on sale at the mo I think! I have my eye on a couple of other things too... groan *sells whole house on eBay to pay for everything*. You think I'm joking, it's definitely going that way!

A quick update on NARS Sheer Glow... it's on eBay, and I think I made the right call. Following some comments from my earlier blog  ( see here http://tinyurl.com/44zb33b) I purchased the Cosmo... Blender Sponge? (literally no idea what it's called) but it's essentially a copy of the Beauty Blender. I had a quick last gasp go with it to see. The coverage was ok, bit patchy but that was my application rather than anything else, but after a few hours... No. Cakey, melty, rubbish. I do (really really) want to try the Sheer Matte version sometime (I stayed away because the reviews were hit and miss) but right now I can't afford or risk that much money on something I may have the same issue with, and I don't live any near a counter to try a sample (if anyone does and wants to send me one, I would LOVE you and would pay for postage!). So that's a wishlist dream right now. Also here is my eBay if anyone wants a look: http://shop.ebay.co.uk/luxiehoney/m.html?_trksid=p4340.l2562

Update 2: I had feared for my NOTD from Sally Hansen that with no topcoat I'd be in chip central... I can report, no chips, no top-ups and very little tip wear. They look a little bashed up now, but overall I'm very impressed.

So what's coming up? (when I actually get round to writing things) Ummmm *hastily checks blog folder on computer*
* Review of No.7 face creams
* Reviews of Collection 2000 mascaras
* Lily Lolo foundation review
* Some film, TV and literature thoughts
* Lights of my life series (essentially things I love)
* DHC cleanser reviews
* ... some other stuff

Hope you're all good!

Loves, Luxie xx

Random Days: Estee Lauder Double Wear trial

Soooo I've tried the Double Wear! I tried it yesterday from about 7pm to 4am (I'm really a night owl) and I've had it on for the last few hours. Yesterday was to test wearability and today to check the colour.

Firstly: wearability. This stuff... is tough. I remember someone describing it as 'bomb-proof' which sums it up pretty accurately! It can be quite heavy feeling (although it will depend on how much you put on) but that isn't a huge issue for me. Essentially after my first trial, pretty much nothing had come off. I had to double cleanse (something I rarely do as my skin doesn't like it) just to get the damn stuff off. It was particularly ironic as I'd just been thinking how well my new cleanser gets off other foundation! So it is hardcore this foundation, but if you are looking for that it's not a problem.

Today's test (in slightly better but not great lighting) was to see whether the colour matched properly. From yesterday... I had my doubts. But I wanted to give it a proper chance. As a warning, bare face coming up...

Terrifying. I do apologise. Next primed with Shu Uemura UV Under Base Mousse (not a primer I love but I wanted to give it as fair a trial as possible):

Again, I apologise. Then we have the base. Now I know the lighting isn't great, but I didn't want to use flash so it would be as natural as possible. If you just look at my face it's ok:

But then you add the neck in:

Yeeeeees. Bit too pink! The problem I think I have here, as in a fair few ranges, is the tendency to have Warm or Cool shades. I believe my skin is Neutral, although with a more pink tint.

So will I buy the full size?... No, probably not. As I say, a bit of pink I can get away with, but this is too much. My Clarins Everlasting Foundation (which has a slightly more pink tint and is longlasting) really covers everything this foundation could do for me, but is a bit better colour. Not perfect, but better. I'm really glad I gave it a trial though!

My next mission is secret (it's all rather dependant on an eBay listing, so you understand the need for secrecy). Tomorrow I am hopefully going to try for a sample for that, and will of course inform you if I get anyway.

Luxie xx

Beauty LAT 104: Gosh X-Ceptional Wear Foundation says 'Stop Ignoring Me!'

GOSH X-Ceptional Wear foundation is something else I came across in my ‘must get pale foundation’ spree, and I’ve kind of ignored it for a while. See… I’m a bit scared of it. It’s one of those foundations where, if you get it right, it looks SO good. As in airbrushed perfection. But it’s quite easy to get wrong, and so out of about the first 5 times I tried it, I loved it once, which makes it difficult to choose as a good everyday foundation.

The issues I had were these: this is a very high coverage foundation. Which I like actually (I’m going somewhere with this I promise). But if you put too much on you will look like you are wearing make-up (although that can work in a vintage 40s pin-up way). The other big issue is that it clings to dry patches pretty badly and cakes on them. When I first got this I didn’t have a primer to smooth those bits over, so that issue pretty much killed this foundation at first.

But then I got a primer. And I gave this foundation a proper test. I wore with it, with a primer on my dry patches, on a tough day. It was hot, I went on a long walk uphill with my dog, I took the train from home to uni home (a 4-5 hour trip) carrying heavy suitcases and with a train change in London and in Kent to deal with. Long hot day, lots of exertion, about 12 hours worth of time to last me. So let’s face it, a day that would kill most foundations stone dead. This one… lasted. And lasted well. My major check-up was in London at 10pm, so about 10 hours after application. Admittedly my nose coverage (the oiliest part of my face) had mostly gone, but I expected that, and a quick powder sorted it out. My cheeks and chin and forehead coverage were flawless, and I was so pleased! By 1am when I got home it was suffering more, but after 12-13 hours that’s pretty good going.

So really this ought to be my perfect foundation. My shade Porcelain, no.11, is super pale, it’s high coverage, lasts really well and it’s reasonably priced and accessible (I believe most Superdrug stores carry the line, their website says £7.99 although I’m sure I remember it being more than that, but hey it’s even cheaper now anyway!). And yet… I almost never pick it up to wear it. Recently I was reminded of how stupid this was. I did a mini makeover trying products the other day and used the GOSH with my Sigma Flat Top Kabuki Brush. This is the photo on my Twitter from that mini experiment:

And another:

Look how perfect my cheeks look! No cakiness even with no primer (better brush, more moisturiser). I’m not trying to show off, just trying to point out how stupid I am to not use it if it works. Anyway, I’d forgotten about these photos, and then yesterday looked at my Twitter photo and went ‘I look really good in that. The colour and the coverage is really good!’. I then had a brain fail. I couldn’t remember what base I was wearing! Anyway 10 minutes later I pulled my rubbish brain together and scolded myself. Ok this isn’t the easiest base. But it looks so good when done right, and for that I can make the effort more often. So I’m going to make an effort to not forget this and actually use it.

Honestly though, if you want all the things I mentioned for a base and you don’t want to spend a lot, give this a go. Be careful with dry patches but I think it’s worth trying.

Rating: 8.5/10

Random Days: Estee Lauder Colour Matching Adventure

So! After re-reading and posting my NARS review, I decided to go and explore Estee Lauder and the Double Wear line. After a ridiculous complicated plan to get it at Boots (it was very complicated and they didn’t even have the Lauder brand in the end) I ended up at Fenwicks in Canterbury, where they have a lot of high end brands (I just about avoided the Laura Mercier I’m dying to try thank goodness!).

I generally avoid being colour matched, partly because of the horror stories on various blogs, but also because my skin colour is quite deceptive. Due to years of acne scars, freckles, general blotchiness and lack of proper sunscreen, my skin colour on my face looks quite dark. However as soon as you put a lot of ‘pale’ foundations on it becomes blindingly obvious that they are too dark, and I didn’t want to come away with yet another foundation that makes me look like a sunburnt tangerine.

I sneakily managed to spot the shade I wanted to try, 1C1 Shell, before the sales assistant got there and swatched a bit. My reaction: ‘Ooh… that’s a bit dark for the palest shade in the range. Hmmmm. Will that suit me?’. Then the sales assistant caught up, and I asked her to find my shade.

I was very impressed I must say! She sat me down, knew right away I’d need a pale pink shade and wiped some of my foundation off my jawline. Using a cotton bud, she applied a little of the Shell shade (good eye SA lady) to my face and blended it in with a brush. The best bit though? What she said next. She said ‘Yeah… it’s a bit dark on you. Take it home and see what you think because that’s the palest one.’ Wow! I know it sounds odd, but I think it’s such a good thing to be honest with the customer and say it might not suit them. This lady knew that this was a big chance to sell to me and instead she was honest and confirmed my own suspicions (let’s ignore the alarming fact I seem to know as much as the sales staff shall we) whilst trying to encourage me to give it a go. If you are in Canterbury, I thoroughly recommend the Estee Lauder counter in Fenwicks, I’m very impressed.

So I came home with this:

It’s quite cute! I like the fact this should allow a few applications (I don’t think it’d do 10 as it says, but that’s a small quibble) and that unlike drugstore brands I can actually try it in my own house with my own brush rather than blowing all my money on a too dark foundation again.

Initial reactions to the foundation are a bit doubtful, I do have another foundation on my face so it’s unfair to judge until I’ve tried it properly, but I think it might be a tad too dark. Coverage looks nice though. I’ll come back with a proper review in a few days!

Loves

Luxie xx

Beauty LAT 102: Nars Sheer Glow and my broken heart

NARS Sheer Glow… has broken my heart. I’ve never had such a painful affair with a foundation in my life. I will elaborate.

Over the holidays I decided I wanted to try a high end foundation (something in the £30 area). Mainly I wanted to do this because I was fed-up of drugstore foundations being the wrong colour. I’m pale and I’m neutral with slightly pink tones and it was just irritating how all my foundations were terrible on me. Now to my credit, I researched the heck out of what choices were available. I’m fairly sure I read the whole internet. I looked at swatches, I read reviews, I did everything.

NARS Sheer Glow caught my attention because of the sheer number of reviews (geddit?) that were around and how glowing they were (really I’ll stop it now). I can’t count the number of people raving about how this was their Holy Grail (i.e. perfect) foundation, and I was pretty convinced it would be mine too. In fact, I bought thinking that it would be, and was imagining our beautiful future together… until it arrived.

I can’t get it to work on me. The first time I used it? It looked cakey, and after about an hour was blotchy and horrifically bad. I was unbelievably upset. One, I thought I’d made a very expensive mistake, but two, and even worse… it’s the perfect colour on me. I have Siberia, the lightest shade, and it’s beautiful. It matches my neck perfectly and I’m not constantly thinking ‘it’s just not quite right’. So my perfect shade and yet everyone else’s HG foundation didn’t work on me. 

I went a bit crazy with my obsession over it. I was determined I could make it work, that I must be doing something wrong. I made excuses for it. Now yes I was having the worst skin week ever when I first got it. Yes I’m not the most accomplished applicator of foundation (I couldn’t think of a better word). But that said… I shouldn’t have to make these excuses. One of the best things I read recently was Lipglossiping’s thoughts on foundation (read here http://tinyurl.com/3j6hv37), and she is absolutely right. It should work whatever I do, on bad days as well as good. Even knowing this, I went on a mini trial, even trying it at 3am some nights to see whether I could make it work. The results?...

Application with fingers: This is how the NARS leaflet in the box tells you to do it. I don’t like it. I’m honestly rubbish at applying bases with my fingers, because it just looks unblended. And trying the NARS like this proved my suspicions correct. The only way I’m getting it on is with a brush.

Application with GOSH foundation brush: I love this brush, but no. Cakey, not blended properly, tendency to apply too much I felt? Again a no.

Application with Sigma Flat Top Kabuki: I ended up at this out of desperation, because I so wanted it to work. I got the brush a week ago (it had to be ordered from America, and so was a last ditch attempt) and the results from 2 applications?... It looks better. Not quite perfect, but much much better. I’m pleased.

So the positives from this experiment/car crash… the colour is fantastic and I think the range is fairly good from what I can see. I’d actually say the coverage is more like medium to high, it’s not really sheer. It is beautiful at evening out and covering up blotchy, blemished skin even without concealer on. It’s beautifully presented, and I’m not actually bothered by the lack of a pump

The negatives… the price. It’s a lot for the same amount of product as a standard drugstore brand. Lasting power (on me at least) is rubbish. I wasn’t expecting anything miraculously long, but even with a lot of powder and a primer this isn’t going to be my choice for a long busy day. The high coverage also means when it fades off you are going to notice it.

I don’t quite know how to feel about this product. On the one hand logically I ought to have returned or sold it ages ago, because it’s been more trouble than it’s worth, especially as I ended up having to buy an expensive brush to make it go on half decently. But I can’t let it go. I just can’t. I can’t get it out of my head that now the application is better, I can make it work for something, although I can’t really think of any situation it’s going to work that well for. My final thoughts are these: by all means read reviews. If a product does well for a lot of people, that means it generally is good. But don’t assume it’ll be a HG product for you just because it is for everyone else. Really try for a sample or at least a swatch before you buy. Don’t fall in love before you’ve tried it properly. It’ll only end in tears.

Anyone have any hints for me where I’m going wrong?

UPDATE: Yes sorry I know this is the longest review ever! I’m thinking I might sell this. It just isn’t useful enough for me, and if I can’t wear a foundation out of the house because I’m terrified of it melting, then frankly, why bother owning it? I’m considering going off to the Estee Lauder to get the Double Wear (which they also do in very pale shades), buying that, and selling the NARS and another foundation to cover it if I like it. Sorry NARS, I’m feeling brutal.

Rating for colour: 10/10

Rating for formulation/heartache: 3.5/10