la mer the bronzing powder

La Mer The Luminous Lifting Cushion Foundation SPF 20 & The Soft Fluid Long Wear Foundation SPF 20 Review

January 24, 2019 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Hello Friends! Several weeks ago, I stumbled upon a sample of the La Mer Soft Fluid Long Wear Foundation and I was really impressed with it. Before that, I think I may have only tried a few La Mer products, like their famous Creme de la Mer and their Moisturizing Soft Cream (reviewed HERE). But when it comes to La Mer makeup, the last one I’ve tried and reviewed was the limited-edition La Mer The Bronzing Powder (read HERE), after that, I don’t think I’ve talked about La Mer items lately until I tried the amazing Soft Fluid Long Wear Foundation sample which was kind of life-changing for me.

I wasn’t really on the market for new foundations but since trying the La Mer Soft Fluid Foundation, I felt like I’ve got to have more of it. Since then, I also got curious about their Luminous Lifting Cushion Foundation and have read good reviews about it. So, here’s a side by side comparison and contrast of two of La Mer’s bestselling foundations.

The Luminous Lifting Cushion Foundation SPF 20 + Refill in Warm Vanilla ($120) – This cushion in Warm Vanilla is definitely meant for light skin with warm undertone. On my skin, I don’t find it to be very warm or too golden, but more like a subtle one. The cushion itself has the same scent as the Creme de la Mer but perhaps slightly milder. It has a really lightweight feel on the skin, to the point that it almost feels like not having anything on the face. It has has a natural to dewy finish that doesn’t make your face look flat or cakey. Also, there is no need to dip the sponge applicator that hard on the cushion because there is a lot of product in this sleek compact. Since the coverage of this foundation can go from medium to full, you only need to lightly tap the sponge applicator to your face. I really love the no-mess fuss-free application of this, and I find the finish to be very complementing on my skin, it’s kinda like a second skin that lasts the whole day without giving me any breakouts and I get lots of compliment whenever I use this cushion. Most of the feedbacks I typically get are from people saying they like the way my skin looks, or that it looks more even and almost poreless and flawless. Can you imagine? LOL! I also love the fact that it’s so easy to take this cushion to my travels and it’s perfect for a quick foundation application or a retouch. On top of that, it’s great to use as an everyday foundation for that minimal “no makeup” makeup look, and though it’s pricey, I’m glad that there’s a refill and an additional sponge applicator included in its packaging. Overall, this La Mer Luminous Lifting Cushion Foundation is definitely now in my holy grail list, but I feel like I also wanna test the Cle de Peau one which I heard is also good, and I’ll be giving you my two cents of the La Prairie Skin Caviar Essence-In Foundation (seen HERE) when compared to these two high-end cushion compacts. In fact, since I’ve been loving the cushions lately, I’ll be reviewing my favorite cushion foundations both high-end and drugstore pretty soon here on the blog. So stay tuned for that guys.

The Soft Fluid Long Wear Foundation SPF 20 in Shell 11 (1 oz: $120) – The Soft Fluid Long Wear Foundation sample shade that I’ve tried several weeks ago was called Natural 12 which really fits me well, but it did kinda pull a little too warm on me, so I got the regular size in Shell 11 shade which is meant for light skin with cool undertone and this shade seems perfect on me. My skin right now tends to have a neutral to cool undertone although I can still pull a mildly warm undertone like the Warm Vanilla shade of the La Mer cushion above, it just all depends on the product’s pigment, its tendency to oxidize with time, and of course the season. So far, with these two La Mer foundations, I haven’t noticed any extreme oxidation, and if there is, it’s probably very light. So back to this Soft Fluid Foundation, I find this to be very liquidy and very light, which kinda reminds me of the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua (reviewed HERE) or the Dior Forever Perfect Foundation (seen HERE). These are the type of foundations that are weightless, set well, and almost feel like second skin. The La Mer Soft Fluid Long Wear Foundation doesn’t settle into fine lines and doesn’t make you look like you packed on a ton of makeup. It has a soft luminous glow to it, kinda like a lit-from-within finish yet still very natural and the packaging is really luxurious with a heavy weighted glass material. The coverage of this foundation is medium and can be layered. I really don’t need to apply much of this on my face and I only dab a little bit of setting powder on top of it just to set the foundation well. My top favorites for setting powders are HERE. In total, I find this foundation to be very long-wearing and it stays on my face throughout the day without making it look too oily. However, this does have a weird alcohol scent blended along with its typical La Mer cream fragrance which really doesn’t seem to be so enticing to my senses, but apart from that, this foundation gives a nice youthful finish to the skin, giving you that “your skin but better” effect, blurring all the fine lines, blemishes, pores, and some other imperfections.

Final words, I love both of these foundations, but I think I may be slightly biased towards the Luminous Lifting Cushion because it’s easy for traveling and it’s perfect for a mess-free foundation application. As for the Soft Fluid, I adore its skin-perfecting effect, but the smell can be too much at times and it’s not ideal for traveling because of its heavy glass packaging. Both foundations are expensive but they’re totally worth it for their natural luminous skin effect or that effortless lit-from-within glow that lasts the whole day. They don’t slide off the face and they are definitely long-wearing. Because of these reasons, I think these foundations might be the best I’ve tried so far.

Have you tried these already? What do you think of the La Mer Makeup line in general?

The La Mer Luminous Lifting Cushion Foundation SPF 20 and The Soft Fluid Long Wear Foundation are currently available at Sephora, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Barneys New York, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, Harrods, Selfridges, and Net-A-Porter

Pink Jade Roller is from Amazon
Fenty Beauty Foundation Brush 110 is available HERE, reviewed HERE
An Inspired Life Book Journal is from Anthropologie
My Favorite Essie Gel Couture Nail Colors are swatched HERE

Guerlain Terracotta Light Healthy Glow Vitamin-Radiance Powder Review + Swatches

June 8, 2018 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Summer is almost just around the corner. I bet you guys are getting your bronzers and tanners ready. Speaking of Summer and bronzers, I have another bronzer to talk about. But before that, please do take a read of the amazing face bronzers I’ve tried and reviewed a couple of weeks ago, starting with the La Mer The Bronzing Powder (HERE) and the Becca Gradient Sunlit Bronzers (also HERE). Now, we have to talk about the very interesting Guerlain Terracotta Light Healthy Glow Vitamin-Radiance Powder (0.3 oz: $53). For the longest time, I’ve been trying to get my hands on these. Fortunately, I got lucky and found three shades that I’m about to review in this post.

The Guerlain Terracotta Light Radiance Powder is a vitamin-infused bronzer that is meant to be skin-loving and is composed of different colors that are sort of like a gradient and are almost complementary to each other. It has an absolutely beautiful presentation for a bronzing compact and it’s simply pretty to look at. Its overall packaging feels light and has a fantastic feel on the hands. It’s one of those most beautiful bronzers you could find nowadays. Looking at the compact, it resembles a color wheel with three shades alternating. In the middle, there’s a round shade that varies its tones from brownish beige to something of a dark brown. The bronzer has a nice floral-powder scent that spreads around you. It can be quite strong, but it smells really good. As for the texture, it feels really fine and has a luxurious feel on the face. I noticed at first glance that the shades seemed a lot lighter in real life than in the photos seen at Guerlain’s website or at Sephora. Upon application, the shades tend to be so light as well and that the varying colors on the compact tend to not make that much of a difference because all of them seemed quite too similar to each other, except for the pinks or peachy orange-golds you’d see on the compact. It’s a bit of a mixed feeling for me because I expected these to be more pigmented and the colors being much more distinctive to each other. But then again, the name of the compact says it all. It’s meant to be “light”, so don’t expect heavy contouring on these, unless you go for the darkest shades of this bronzer’s range. I find these compacts to be ideal for an everyday wear, just like the La Mer Bronzing Powder, although the La Mer one can double as a blush as well, while these Terracotta Lights seem to pull a single-tone with a spectrum that falls on the light peachy-orange side.

01 Light Warm (Clair Doré) – This shade looks really light in reality. It’s has a light peachy color besides a shade that looks like a beige-brown and another beside it that looks like a matte light-medium brown. Then there’s another light matte beige-brown in the middle. There is very minimal glitter noticed on this compact and I could barely see this shade on my NC25/30 skin. I feel like this shade is perfect for those with very very fair or very light complexions.

02 Natural Cool (Naturel Rosé) – A pretty blend of light pink shade with something that looks like a medium brown, a dark glittery brown beside it, another light brown as well, and another medium brown in the middle. When swirled, the shades still looked very subtle on me but at least I could see it on my face.

03 Natural Warm (Naturel Doré) – This shade has a golden-peach tone, with a matte light brown, a glittery dark brown, and another matte medium brown. It looks much more pigmented among the three compacts at a glance, but upon application, it still is very subtle on the face. It pulls off as a slightly pigmented version of the 01 Clair Doré shade above but with more glitter, even though the glitters don’t really show much on the face once applied.

These Terracotta Light Bronzers can be blendable, but given the subtleness of their shades and their shimmers, you can only blend so much and still get the same color and intensity on the face. As I mentioned before, they tend to be on the light peachy side, which gives enough warmth and definition on the face. I cannot speak for the shades 04 and 05. Lasting power for these bronzers are good, they stay put as long as you avoid too much humidity and sweat. They tend to stay on my face even though I tend to have an oily skin type. Overall, it’s good to have a few of these depending on how you like to wear your bronzers. If you like them subtle and you wear them everyday, then you’re going to love the Guerlain Terracotta Light Bronzers.

Stay tuned for I’ll be reviewing a roundup of the best bronzers I’ve tried this Summer. Follow my Instagram for more details.

Happy Friyay!

The Guerlain Terracotta Light Healthy Glow Vitamin-Radiance Powder can be found at Sephora, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale’s, Dillard’s, and Selfridges,

Becca Gradient Sunlit Bronzer Review + Swatches

May 17, 2018 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Hey you guys, this season is definitely going to be a bronzer season for me. That’s because there’s been a couple of really gorgeous beautiful bronzers being released out there lately and I just can’t help but feel like I wanna try each one of them. So expect to see more bronzer stuff on my Insta and in my next future posts. A few weeks ago, I talked about the amazing La Mer The Bronzing Powder (seen HERE) and how it’s the perfect sheer bronzer for everyday use. Now, we’ll talk about a more pigmented bronzer that not only looks beautiful on the outside but also applies beautifully on the face. The Becca Gradient Sunlit Bronzer (0.25 oz: $38) is a love at first sight for me from the moment it was released. It was something I’ve been waiting from Becca Cosmetics even though they’ve already released their single-shade bronzers in the past, called Sunlit Bronzers (0.25 oz: $38). I’ve been wanting those bronzers for a long time but I just couldn’t make up my mind as to what shades I should get. I felt like there were too many beautiful shades to choose from and I ended up not being entirely sure as to which shade matches my skin tone. I thought “If only they’d make a combination of this stuff then I would be more inclined to buy them.” So finally, these Sunrise and Sunset Waves Gradient Sunlit Bronzers are just the perfect bronzers to have this summer especially if you’re looking for one that truly delivers in terms of pigment, lasting power, and natural effect.

These two bronzing compacts are limited-editions and each of them come in four different shades – combining one of Becca’s Shimmering Skin Perfector plus the three shades of their Sunlit Bronzers. Isn’t that amazing and convenient? You not only get one of Becca’s cult favorite iconic highlighters, you’re also getting three tones of their popular bronzers all in one single compact. Speaking of compact, the packaging comes in a signature Becca compact which looks well-made and is simply gorgeous. It comes in a rounded mirror and that pattern of gradient columns of bronzers surrounded by such flattering highlighters is very stare-worthy. You can’t help but think that you’ve made the right splurge.

Sunrise Waves – Has three Sunlit Bronzers:

Bali Sands (soft golden-beige)

Capri Coast (warm golden brown)

Bronzed Bondi (medium amber)

One Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Highlighter:

Opal (golden opal pearl)

Sunset Waves – Has three Sunlit Bronzers:

Maui Nights (sienna-kissed bronze)

Ipanema Sun (medium auburn-brown)

Bronzed Bondi (medium amber)

One Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Highlighter

Rose Gold (soft gold infused with rose tones)

Both compacts retain that signature Becca quality when it comes to pigments. All shades show on my skin with the darker colors being more pigmented and staining than the others. The colors’ intensity varies depending on what type of brush to use. A loose powder brush applies some light pigments on the face and the dense brush creates a more contoured defined look. Whichever brush you’d use, you will still see the colors on your face. I find the Sunrise Waves compact to be perfect for my light-medium skintone and it gives that enough healthy glow on the face. Also, each of the shade in this compact can be worn alone or combined. You can even use the incorporated Opal highlighter as a facial strobe, while you can choose any of the individual bronzer shade (some matte and some shimmery) for contouring. Once swirled, the effect is kind of a light golden-brown glow, which is really pretty, a perfect blend of highlighter and bronzer in one. On the other hand, the Sunset Waves compact is also a pretty shade and one that I couldn’t ignore, even though it’s meant for someone with a deeper complexion than mine. Each of the bronzers in this compact is super pigmented and you could see that it starts with the Bronzed Bondi shade as its lightest color, which is also present in the Sunrise Waves compact as its darkest tone. The Rose Gold Highlighter is really pretty and once swirled with all three bronzers combined, the effect is dramatic and also very beautiful. On my skin, it looks quite too saturated given its strong pigments, so I try not to put a lot of it and the effect is interesting. It gave me a nice natural flush because of the terracotta-ish Maui Nights shade, and it’s also bronzy and shimmery. I quite like the combinations. It’s like a blush-highlighter-bronzer in one.

Overall, I love the look and feel of these two compact gradient bronzers. They have that same slightly powdery and velvety feel that can only be found in Becca’s products. The pigments are their best selling-point and once applied on the skin, the colors stay put and the effect is very natural. I highly recommend these and I think they are a much better option than the Sunlit Bronzers which only comes in one single shade per compact.

The Becca Gradient Sunlit Bronzer is currently available at Sephora, Ulta, and Revolve

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