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Favorite Compact Setting Powders

December 4, 2018 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Hi guys! A few months ago I did a roundup post of my favorite loose setting powders, you can check it out HERE. This post is a continuation of that, but this time, we’ll be talking about my favorite compact powders. Some of these powders may be meant as compact powder foundations or as pressed powders, but I tend to use them as my setting/finishing powder since I mostly rely on liquid or cream foundations for good coverage. Yet, there’s also a few that I really like to use which are good as worn-alone sheer everyday foundations for whenever I have good skin days.

Excited to see which products made it to my list of faves? Read below.

High-End

Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Powder Foundation in #4.5 (0.31 oz: $62) – This is the powder version of the award-winning Armani Luminous Silk Liquid Foundation (reviewed HERE) and it’s as good as it gets. This may not have a full medium coverage as the liquid one since this goes a bit sheer, yet this is very buildable it can really stand as a powder foundation alone. This powder is so soft and smooth, oil-free, and feels really creamy and very weightless. I tend to use this as a setting powder and it does a good job at setting my foundation, especially whenever I use the Luminous Silk Liquid. The finish is subtly luminous and quite natural, and it doesn’t make my face look flat. It is pricey though but it’s worth having and it stays on for hours.

Giorgio Armani Neo Nude Fusion Powder in #4 (0.12 oz: $58) – I am absolutely crazy in love with this glowy finishing powder. It is great to use with just about any foundation to achieve that radiant look, and it’s also perfect to balance and set a matte foundation so as not to look very flat. If worn alone, this makes for a perfect glassy skin effect, which is sheer yet glowy, radiant and youthful but not super blinding and over-the-top. I love how this makes my skin look luminous for everyday makeup look.

Tom Ford Illuminating Powder in 01 Translucent (0.21 oz: $79) – I was a bit wary when I got this powder because it looks a little too bright and too yellowish for my taste, but this actually goes on as a true sheer and translucent powder with a brightening effect. It’s perfect for the undereyes or to set any type of foundation since this doesn’t leave any flashback and it feels super fine. The finish of this a bit matte so it does a good job of controlling shine on the face as well. The packaging is also TDF.

Dolce & Gabbana Perfect Matte Powder Foundation in 100 Warm – Been buying this for a long time and this has always been my preferred overall face powder due to its soft sheer consistency with good coverage and soft-matte finish that lasts a long time without making my face look flat and cakey. The packaging also looks luxe and elegant with a nice sponge applicator where you can apply this powder wet or dry. However, lately, it’s been difficult for me to get my hands on this since this compact has been sold out everywhere. I hope this gets restocked soon.

Chanel Le Teint Ultra Tenue Ultrawear Flawless Compact Foundation SPF 15 in 30 Beige (0.45 oz: $60) – This is one of those foundation powders that are just all-around so good in every aspect. This goes on as creamy and smooth and it smells divine. The finish of this is velvety-matte but it doesn’t make the face look flat, and it truly has a buildable medium coverage that feels weightless and simply blurring. It may be perfect as a worn-alone powder foundation, but this also does a good job at setting the makeup and controlling shine for hours while protecting the skin due to its sunscreen ingredient. This also has a nice soft sponge for a flawless application.

Drugstore

Maybelline Super Stay Better Skin Powder in 25 Nude Beige (0.32 oz: $10.99) – This is the drugstore dupe of the Chanel Le Teint Ultra Tenue Flawless Compact Foundation above and it’s also pretty good. I love how this powder incorporates skincare with its salicylic acid ingredient, and this is also oil-free, non-comedogenic with a natural to matte finish. This provides a pretty good sheer to medium coverage and this has a sponge applicator as well, but it’s not as soft as Chanel and it doesn’t wear as well as Chanel’s, so you’re still gonna need a blotting paper after 3-4 hours of using this if you’re the oily type. However, this is the next best thing to the Chanel Compact Foundation and this gets the job done whether as a stand-alone foundation or as a setting powder.

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Pressed Powder in 30 Light-Medium (0.34 oz: $12.99) – This has always been my go-to drugstore pressed powder for just about anything, from setting my makeup to oil-control and frequent retouches, I couldn’t count how many times I’ve repurchased this ever since I was younger. This actually used to have SPF in it which I love but now it doesn’t, which is a bummer. I mainly use this as a blotting powder for my oily-prone skin and this never caused any breakout, though I still have to use blotting papers from time to time. I love how sheer and light this is and when used as setting powder, this never cakes. The new formula of this compact is now blended with antioxidants.

L’oreal Infallible Pro-Glow Powder in 23 Nude Beige (0.31 oz: $12.99) – This is a duo compact finishing powder with the top half being glowy and can be used as a highlighter, while the bottom half is matte-ish and can be used as a setting powder. When combined, they give a nice very subtle luminous effect to set the makeup. It may not have the same glowy and radiant-effect as the Armani Neo Nude Fusion Powder above, but this is a nice good affordable alternative.

When choosing between a loose finishing/setting powder versus a compact setting powder, I think I have my preference towards the compact ones because they’re less messy to use and they travel well. What are your favorite setting powders? Do you also prefer the compact ones?

Giorgio Armani Rouge D’Armani Matte Lipstick Review & Swatches

November 15, 2018 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Hello Friends! Giorgio Armani Beauty recently released another lipstick to love and it’s matte. I’ve been dying to try this Rouge D’Armani Matte Lipstick (0.14 oz: $38) for some time and I’ve got some shades swatched for you all in this review. To tell you honestly, I’m a big fan of Armani Cosmetics and there isn’t one product from their line that I don’t love. From their beautiful foundations down to their gorgeous lipsticks, I’m a sucker for anything Armani Beauty, LOL, and this new Rouge D’Armani Matte Lipstick has truly captured my heart.

At first glance, this lipstick is beautiful and it screams “Si Passione” with its sleek matte red-black casing and a magnetic closure. It has a bit of a flattened oblong-shaped case that you’d find typical in most Armani lip products, like the Lip Magnet (swatched and reviewed HERE). It also feels slightly heavy with an overall robust solid feel.

This Rouge D’Armani Matte is a full-coverage lipstick that feels incredibly smooth and easy to swipe on the lips. It is extremely pigmented and it’s one of the most pigmented lipsticks I’ve ever tried. Such intense pigment that you only need to swipe it once on the lips and you’ll get maximum color that will last for pretty much the whole day. This never dried my lips and this feels really weightless. It’s hard to define this lipstick’s texture and I actually find it to be quite fascinating because this feels light yet also thick and creamy, but its finish is totally matte and it doesn’t dry nor emphasize the lip lines that much. In other words, it’s complicated, LOL, but it’s a beautiful well-done matte lipstick with a breakthrough formulation that truly delivers what it’s supposed to be, and it exceeded my expectation being it as a matte lipstick.

Here are my favorites

102 Androgino – Antique Rose, great as an everyday lip color this season.

201 Nightberry – Described as Scarlet Red, but looks more like a vamp.

400 Four Hundred – Red Crimson. This is a muted scarlet red with a hint of orange, quite similar to the Chanel no. 5 lipstick (seen HERE). I prefer this shade better than the Chanel one because this has a bit more red that is intense yet more muted, and its texture is more matte.

501 Milano – Smokey rose. Had mixed emotions about this shade at first because it looked like a mauve rose when I swatched it on my arm, but when I tried it on my lips, I kinda looked half-dead, or in need of resuscitation, LOL. Without much light, this shade looks greige and I can’t pull off greige, but on a bright light, this actually looks still greige but with a bit of rose, which I then realized that I could still manage to pull off after all.

502 Kimono – Muted pink with a bit more rose.

Two things I wanna point out about this Rouge D’Armani Matte Lipstick. First, this lipstick tends to lose its shape easily after a few applications because it’s actually soft so it’s kinda hard to accurately line your lips with just this. You may wanna need a lip liner or a lip brush in the long run. Second, the colors of this lipstick at a glance may look pale in comparison to its actual application in which it’s actually super saturated in color. So it’s always a good idea to try to swatch this in store or look at online swatches very carefully. Other than that, this lipstick is one of my favorites this Fall/Winter season and I’m not kidding when I said that this lasted the whole day on me, even after lunch and dinner plus a couple of teas and coffees without any reapplication. Now that’s marvelous!

Giorgio Armani Rouge D’Armani Matte Lipstick is currently available at Sephora, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Harrods, Bloomingdale’s, Barneys New York and GiorgioArmaniBeauty.com

Dior Addict Lacquer Plump Review + Swatches

April 13, 2018 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Whaddup Everybody! Happy Weekend! Anyone shopping for the Rouge First Access Sephora Beauty Insider Event? Oh, I’ve got my wishlist right in my pocket. If you haven’t seen what’s inside it, click HERE more details.

Here’s something to look forward to when you hit Sephora today or this weekend. I just recently tested the newly-released lip product from Dior, the Dior Addict Lacquer Plump (0.18 oz for $37). It is a plumping lip stain that is comfortable on the lips and also long wearing, according to Dior’s description. I was really excited to get my hands on this particular lip product because I’m a big fan of Dior lippies especially the Rouge Dior Liquid (seen HERE) and the Dior Addict Lip Glow (reviewed HERE). I purchased two shades online that I seemed to like based on the swatches I’ve seen at Dior’s website and Sephora’s. When I received them, I thought the packaging is really pretty and different. It is sort of shaped like a lipstick inside and the brush applicator looks robust and well-made.

Upon application, I noticed a very slight floral scent that really didn’t bother me since it fades away immediately. The formula feels a bit cooling on the lips but I didn’t notice any plumping effect at all. It feels very much like a glossy lip stain but not very glossy like a patent finish. It reminds me a lot of the YSL Glossy Stain (seen HERE) and is also very similar to the Dior Addict Lip Tattoo (swatches HERE) especially with the way the formula stains the lips, like being lightweight and very pigmented. However, unlike the Lip Tattoo which dries into something of a natural to a satin finish, this Dior Addict Lacquer Plump has a glossy finish and it stays that way all the time.

The formula never dried nor chapped my lips after hours of wear and it is indeed lightweight, creamy, non-sticky, and overall very comfortable to wear, but the application can be streaky and may require you to put a bit more of product on the lips since the coverage can be patchy at times. Although it has a medium to full coverage, I find myself constantly swiping the brush on my lips to get that good amount of color.

With that being said, I really love the shades that I picked even though I have never swatched them in-store. I’m inclined to think that the shades in this lineup must be all pretty because the shades I got are not only very wearable, they really do brighten the face with such nice pop of color. However, I find that their swatches online are very misleading because the actual shades of these lipsticks are so different than when applied to the lips and are also very different than by just looking at their packaging alone. Some of the colors appear bright and washed-out on the packaging and can also look very different in the brush, some mostly turn out to be darker in tone especially if you have pigmented lips. So I suggest probably to take a closer look at these lipsticks in-store or look at the swatches online very carefully before you decide.

426 Lovely-D – Rosy Nude. In Sephora’s website, this shade looks like dark red (yes that’s weird), but it’s actually a medium nude beige in real life. I love this shade as an everyday lip color and it suits really well if you have a fair to light or light-medium skin tone. Even medium and deep skin tones can rock this as a perfect nude lip color.

456 Dior Pretty – Rosewood. More like a rose berry shade actually, and it’s a very pretty shade that truly brightens the face but not looking over the top. It’s actually a darker shade than it looks on the packaging and in my arm swatch. I find this color to transform into a shade darker once applied on the lips.

I love both of these shades and they are really pretty but I feel like they’re not true to what Dior described about them as being plumping. They do leave a good amount of stain on the lips but you may still have to reapply after eating or drinking. Somehow, I wanted to buy more shades of these but I’m kind of holding back because it’s quite too similar to YSL’s Glossy Stain or the Dior Addict Lip Tattoo, both of which I already have. So, I’ll probably just save my money for some other better liquid lipsticks out there, especially some other new releases like the Tom Ford Lip Lacquer.

Overall, this is a very good Dior liquid lipstick that has a good staining power and with a comfortable formula. It also has a pretty packaging and some very lovely wearable shades to choose from. So, I recommend this lipstick if you don’t own a lot of Dior liquid lipsticks already or are just venturing into Dior lip products, and with the sale going on at Sephora nowadays, you may wanna look into this particular lipstick, just don’t expect any plumping effect of this because you most likely won’t get it.

The Dior Addict Lacquer Plump is currently available at Sephora, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, JCPenney, Selfridges, and Lord & Taylor,

Ciao folks! until next time…