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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

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Highlighter Review & Swatches

September 10, 2018 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Hey there. Ever since falling in love with the Bobbi Brown Mini Glow Set that I got from the last Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, which contains the mini Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Sunset Pink and the mini Face Blender Brush (seen HERE), I knew right then and there that I’ve got to have more of the Shimmer Brick Highlighters especially in their full sizes. I may be late in the game of liking these amazing blush-highlighter hybrids, but I just wanna take a moment to tell you how good these beauties are.

The Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Highlighters (standard size 0.4 oz: $48, mini 0.14 oz: $25) are the iconic face highlighters loved by a lot of people and is also an Allure Best of Beauty Winner. If you’ve never tried these compacts before and are wondering what’s so special about them, well there’s definitely a lot to love. For starters, these are meant to be as all-over face highlighters that deliver soft-focus color and lit-from-within glow, the kind that is natural and one that gives a subtle shimmer finish. Each compact delivers a glow that can be rosy, bronze-gold, lush coral, or metallic pink, and since there are five shades in one compact, the colors are multidimensional and forever changing once they get hit by the light. The pigments are good in these and they can be layered easily. Blending them is such a breeze and you can never go wrong if you put too much of the product since the colors have a soft-focus effect.

I mostly use these as highlighting blushes and these literally made me fall in love with face blushes all over again. I haven’t been a fan of blushes in a long time and it’s a beauty product I normally shy away from because I already have “somewhat prominent” cheeks and I did not want to emphasize them further. Literally, the only two face blushes I could tolerate are the Tarte Paaarty and the Nars Orgasm (or Goulue, but it’s currently sold out). Never knew I could love a multifaced highlighter/blush hybrid like these Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Compacts.

Bronze – deep bronzy glow. True to its description, this is a golden glowy blush/highlighter/bronzer.

Nectar – soft, coral glow. Adds a nice coral-pink shimmer flush on the face.

Pink Quartz – soft, warm pink glow. Appears like a metallic pinkish-pearlized highlighter on me.

Rose – soft, rosy glow. Very subtle rosy pink with a very slight shimmer.

Sunset Pink – Nordstrom Exclusive and is still available at BobbiBrown.com. Has a nice complex blend of rosy golden-bronze shimmer. At first glance, it looks like a combination of some of the shades from Bronze and Pink Quartz, but upon application, the closest shade it matches with is Bronze. Swatched HERE.

These compacts are so long-wearing that they’d still be on my face for a full day and they definitely elevate my makeup look. Also, they can be used as eyeshadows if you’re traveling and they can literally make you look well put together in a few minutes. Just brush a light stroke of these on the cheeks, add an eyeliner, emphasize the brows, a little lip color and you’re good to go. Oh, and add some hair flip drama, LOL.

Another thing I really like about these Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Highlighters is the fact that they’re not orangey or too pinkish, instead, their glow is very natural, versatile, and healthy-looking. You could pretty much wear them beyond Spring/ Summer and the radiance they have on the skin can still be wearable even if you’ve already applied too much product. They’re not super blinding, though they can be if you want a more dramatic effect. They’re just slightly shimmery and they have a nice glowy flush that adds warmth and directs light to the high points of the face. These are definitely my most favorite Bobbi Brown products and the ones I highly recommend.

The Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Highlighter is currently available at Sephora, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Barneys New York, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale’s, Harrods, Macy’s, Net-A-Porter, Violet Grey, and BobbiBrown.com

Chanel Haul

June 19, 2018 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Why Hello There! I’ve got some Chanel goodies to review today including one of the new shades of the Le Vernis, and of course, a really beautiful bronzer. I actually had to restock some of my favorite Chanel products like their eyeliners, but I couldn’t resist checking out what’s new in their beauty department.

First off, I repurchased the Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Eyeliner ($33). I’ve been using the Pomme de Pin shade which is a very dark black blue tone but it seems like that shade has been long out of stock, so I decided to try and swatch some other colors in-store. I settled on the Espresso color which is the darkest matte brown shade available, and I would have also settled on the Ebene shade had I not known that there’s a more intense pure matte black color available, the Noir Intense. The reason behind why I picked the Espresso color is that I wanted something that is more for an everyday wear or daywear eyeliner that doesn’t look too sharp, is quite natural and doesn’t have any shimmery effect. And the Noir Intense color is the perfect classic black eyeliner.

Next up is the Chanel Poudre Universelle Libre ($52) in 30 Naturel. This is basically Chanel’s Universal Natural Finish Loose Powder that is very versatile for any makeup or skincare situation. I purchased this as a replacement for my previous Chanel Loose Powder in 40 Doré which I gave to my sister because it had gone too dark for me. The 30 Naturel shade is the perfect shade for me right now and I am in love with this loose powder so much so because it comes in this hefty tub with a huge puff that’s so easy and practical to use. I just tap it on the powder and dab some on my face in order to control shine or set my foundation for the day, and it doesn’t leave a white cast. The powder is very soft and smooth and it’s pretty much time-saving to use.

A Chanel haul won’t be complete without checking out what’s new in Chanel Beauty. With the Chanel Cruise Collection 2018 being released, there’s a lot to see, starting with the new shades of the Le Vernis Longwear Nail Colour. There was one shade that really drew me, it’s called Chicness ($28) and it’s sort of a nude purple pastel shade. It’s so pretty and it’s really chic. Wear time is great because I have the color on my nails for more than a week now and it’s still looking great, no chipping so far. Also, this shade really complements my skintone.

This year’s Les Beiges Collection comes with the limited edition multicolor bronzers which are a sight to behold – the Les Beiges Healthy Glow Luminous Multi-Colour Powder ($58). Each glow bronzer has a stripe of six shades and if I’m not mistaken, there are one or two shades that look very similar to each other. Nevertheless, it’s so beautiful and so summer-ready. I purchased the Medium which really suits my skin tone very well and its effect is quite subtle but it gives my face a nice natural warm glow and definition. It pulls off as lightly peachy on me which reminds me of the Guerlain Terracotta Light Bronzers (reviewed and swatched HERE). It’s definitely slightly more pigmented than the La Mer Bronzing Powder (HERE), but it’s not as super pigmented as the Becca Sunlit Gradients (seen HERE). Texture-wise, this Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Bronzer feels very soft smooth and velvety, and it applies nicely to the face. It has a light floral scent and it comes with a round brush applicator.

Bottom line, I love this haul! the Stylo Waterproof Eyeliners are the best and are very reliable as they perform in any weather and in any activity, and they also don’t budge. They don’t irritate the eyes and they come in several beautiful colors. The loose powder is fast, practical and easy to use. It’s one of my most favorite loose powders of all time simply because it’s very versatile. And who doesn’t love the Chanel Le Vernis? They last a long time and the Chicness color is just pretty. Plus of course, the limited-edition Les Beiges Healthy Glow Multi-Colour Powder will have your heart skipping a beat.

Have you tried these beauties already?