Reviews and Other Stuff

Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Ultra-Longwear Foundation in 2N2 Linen

Loving Right Now. Winter Faves

best beauty skincare products this winter

 

In a few weeks, Spring will be here and I’m pretty sure we can’t wait to welcome it. Aren’t you just glad to see some colors and more sunshine again? But before this chilly season ends, I’m about to feature some of the stuff I’m loving lately in this post. I will also be releasing another post featuring some of the products I’ll be reaching out constantly for Spring. I will definitely update you guys soon. For now, check these out.

 

COMPACTS

 

Hourglass Ghost Blush Palette

 

There are a lot of face compacts released this Winter, but I’ve been especially loving the Charlotte Tilbury Instant Look In A Palette in Gorgeous, Glowing Beauty because it has everything I wanted in a palette. It’s an all-in-one face compact that is easy to use, well-pigmented, and perfect for when you’re on-the-go. See the swatch here. For blushes, there are a lot of lovely blushes lately and I really love them all. I do have a special liking for the Hourglass Ghost Blush Palette because it gives a multidimensional pop of color on the cheeks, so each shade won’t make your face look flat. Read the review of this blush quad here. For bronzers, I’m surprisingly amazed by the Too Faced Toasted Peach Bronzer because it’s so creamy and it’s easy to blend. I don’t think I’ve ever tried a very creamy bronzer like this before, and it’s so good. Also, it stays on the skin for hours and it smells divine. Its packaging is also very beautiful. On the other note, I hit pan on my Armani Neo Nude Fusion Powder in #4, so I repurchased it in shade #3 because my skin lightened quite a bit this Winter. Read more about my favorite compact setting powders here.

 

Armani Neo Nude Fusion Powder in #3 swatch

 

BROW

 

Burberry Beauty Full Brow Effortless All-in-One Brow Builder in #3 Ash Brown

 

I’m testing several eyebrow products lately ever since I got disappointed with my Anastasia and Benefit brow products which kept on breaking every time I travel. So far, I’m really impressed with the Hourglass Arch Brow Sculpting Pencil in Ash because it gives a nice volumizing effect. It will give you that kind of Hepburn-ish brows, and it can make you look youthful. Also, the spooley of this is really soft and not scratchy on the brow. I am also enjoying the Burberry Beauty Full Brow Effortless All-in-One Brow Builder in #3 Ash Brown, although it’s a little tricky to use, but it does give a nice volumizing effect as well. The one I seem to love the most is the Shiseido Brow Ink Trio Pencil, Powder, Brush in #3 Deep Brown. This is a very interesting brow product because you can apply this using its pencil tip or using the powder that’s also incorporated in this product. On top of that, this also comes with a spooley. I find myself using the powder and sponge tip applicator a lot because it’s fast, easy, and precise to use. It gives me a nice natural volumized brow in a few seconds, and the formula adheres well and is long-wearing. All three of these brow products have robust packagings.

 

Burberry Beauty Full Brow Effortless All-in-One Brow Builder in #3 Ash Brown

 

 

 

FOUNDATIONS

 

Tom Ford Illuminating Primer

 

I’ve repurchased the Tom Ford Illuminating Primer because it’s still one of the best skincare primers I’ve ever tried and it’s moisturizing for this dry season. The Marc Jacobs Beauty Under(cover) Perfecting Coconut Face Primer is also a very good hydrating primer that I tend to use this Winter as well. I’m also finishing up the Sunday Riley The Influencer Foundation which is an overall good foundation that gives a natural matte sort of second-skin effect and has skincare benefits. It’s a pity that it’s already discontinued. Additionally, I really love using the Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Ultra-Longwear Foundation in 2N2 Linen because it gives a really nice lightweight matte coverage on the skin. See the swatch here.

 

Armani Beauty Power Fabric Concealer in #4.5

 

As an eyeshadow primer, I use the Too Faced Shadow Insurance because it’s creamy and easy to apply on the lids. For concealers, I have a couple of them that I like and I will be reviewing them pretty soon here in the blog. One of them is this Armani Beauty Power Fabric Concealer in #4.5. I like this a lot for my undereyes and it’s creamy, easy to spread, and it covers well. It also lasts a long time. On the other hand, the Ilia Liquid Light Serum Highlighter in Nova (see the swatch here) is a beautiful golden highlighter that you can use alone or combine with your favorite foundations, which I like a lot. I’m also finishing up the Urban Decay Quick Fix Hydracharged Complexion Prep Priming Spray in mini size and I’m planning to have it in regular size because it’s so easy to use. You just spray it on your face and you get a nice prep and primed skin in seconds.

 

For lippies, I am so in love with the Charlotte Tilbury K.I.S.S.I.N.G Lipstick in Stoned Rose. It’s a warm coral rose that is perfect for Winter and its formula is hydrating. Also, as a lip conditioner, I’m enjoying the Laneige Lip Glowy Balm in Berry. It’s a very delicious yummy lip balm that I think is way more sanitary to use than its lip sleeping mask counterpart.

 

Pat McGrath Labs MatteTrance Lipstick in Femmebot

 

Another lippy I’m loving is the Nars Satin Finish Lipstick in Tolรจde, which is a pink rose shade that feels hydrating and looks like a natural pop of rose flush on the lips. Speaking of rosy lips, I’m also loving the Rouge Dior Ultra Care Liquid Lipstick in 786 Rosewoodย (swatched here) because of its long-wearing, diffused, and blotted rosy lip shade that looks so stunning. Another lip shade I’m loving lately is the Pat McGrath Labs MatteTrance Lipstick in Femmebot. It’s a pretty natural nude pinkish shade. I will be reviewing my favorite PMG MatteTrance Lipsticks soon, so stay tuned for that.ย 

 

nars satin lipstick tolede swatch

 

BRUSHES

 

Sephora Collection PRO Contour Blender #77

 

There are four brushes I’m loving lately and will probably be loving forever. The brushes from Real Techniques are really superb and they’re really affordable too. I’m really impressed with their Blush Brush and Eye Blend Brush because they’re so soft, so functional, and they feel like high-end brushes or way better. The Eye Blend Brush can pretty much work as my eye shader brush and blending brush at the same time. The Make Up For Ever 122 Blending Brush is a brush with a very interesting shape and design. Some people don’t like it, but I really do. I find that it has a specific purpose, and at first, you may feel like it’s way too light and too fluffy to use that it may not pick up enough product. Well, that’s exactly its purpose – to pick up less products. I love to use it with my Armani Neo Nude powder or with any setting powder because it will help set the foundation in a very light natural way, thus, minimizing cakiness. Also, as an easy contour brush, I love the Sephora Collection PRO Contour Blender #77 because it gives you a more defined well-chiseled cheekbone.

Another thing that I really find interesting lately is the Beauty Blender Wave Shadeshifter Makeup Sponge. One of my old beautyblenders broke, and I had to replace it with this cool and fun makeup sponge that changes its color depending on the water’s temperature. For nail colors, I’m still in love with vampy nail polishes, but the Dior Limited Edition Diorfic Vernis in Dream shade is too pretty to ignore. It’s a gorgeous berry purple color contained in a luxe bottle.

 

Dior Limited Edition Diorfic Vernis in Dream

 

Last but not the least of the stuff I’m loving lately is the Boscia Yes, She Can Peppermint Blotting Linens which smell great and an oily-skin savior. This absorbs excess oil from the pores and it smells fabulous like real peppermints on your fingers.

 

These are the products I’m loving lately, and stay tuned for more beauty and skincare items I will be loving this coming Spring.

 

Boscia Yes, She Can Peppermint Blotting Linens

 

Have you tried or had any of these before? What are your beauty/skin-care go-tos every Winter?

 

SHOP THIS POST

 

 

Best Matte Foundations

Dior Diorskin Forever Perfect Foundation Broad Spectrum Spf 35

 

Hello all of you! Matte foundations have been gaining a lot of popularity lately. Every brand has its own version of matte or soft matte foundations, it’s kinda hard to choose which one would suit you. Even when the weather is dry, it seems like there are no hints of matte makeup products going away. If you have the oily skin type, you’re definitely gonna need at least a few of these mattifiers, but at the same time, you don’t wanna risk buying anything that will ghost on you, or cake at least. Personally, I find matte foundations to be quite a challenge to use with. They just kinda make my face look flat, undefined and kinda aged.

 

I’ve been testing a few mattifying foundations lately and most of you may have heard their names/brands already. I narrowed down my choices to the top 5, or should I say, the best 5 matte/mattifying/soft matte foundations according to my test and experience with them. I’d like to say that they’re all really great matte foundations, but some are much better than the others.

 

Dior Diorskin Forever Perfect Foundation Broad Spectrum Spf 35 in 034 Almond Beige

 

5 Milk Makeup Blur Liquid Matte Foundation in Medium Light (1 oz: $40) – A water-based, weightless, oil-free, silicon-free, full-coverage mattifying foundation. It has a fruity smell in an easy lightweight packaging. This formula doesn’t need to be applied a lot because even though it’s water-based, it’s still very pigmented. The matte effect is on the soft side, so it still gives a natural look, and it does a great job of hiding imperfections.ย  However, after 4 hours of being into it, this foundation started to break apart and it was kinda sliding. It also settled into the pores and crease lines, so wearing this for long hours is not a good idea. I suggest using this only for a couple of hours, like running errands.

 

4 Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation in 210 (1.08 oz: $34) – Another oil-free foundation that’s meant to be lightweight, buildable, with a medium to full coverage. It doesn’t have any strong scents, and it’s one of those true soft matte foundations I’ve even tried. I like that it feels really light on my skin and it blends into it easily. I also notice that it’s really good at resisting sweat and humidity. Though I wish that it had an added Spf, I still like the fact that it doesn’t break on the skin after hours and hours of wear, so I didn’t have any caking issues with it. This foundation’s effect is a soft natural matte, which still allows for facial definition with complete skin coverage. It might have kinda settled on my pore’s hours later, but only very slightly and it decreases the shine on my face for a long time. On top of that, there’s a whole lotta shade range in this line, so for sure, you will find that right tone for your skin.

 

Milk Makeup Blur Liquid Matte Foundation in Medium Light

 

3 Yves Saint Laurent All Hours Full Coverage Matte Foundation in B30 (0.84 oz: $58) – Here’s a high-end full-coverage mattifying foundation that is also oil-free, noncomedogenic, and infused with black tea antioxidant. This has a soapy-floral scent that is kinda not my cup of tea. When I first tried this, I didn’t really like it. The formula feels too thick and too creamy, so I could feel it kinda sitting on top of my skin. Also, this slides and moves a lot, but I realize that it takes quite a while for it to settle on the face. It has a soft matte effect but you cannot go overboard with this because it’s so pigmented that it almost feels like a concealer. I was gonna put this at my top four, with the Fenty Pro Filt’r as my top three, in fact, I was really torn, but what I like about this is that it didn’t settle on my pores at all, not even on my fine lines. Several hours into the wear, and this foundation seems to keep getting better and better. It didn’t dry my skin, no caking, and it gave me a soft natural glow. Also, love that it comes in Spf 20.

 

 

2 Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Ultra-Longwear Foundation in 2N2 Linen (1 oz: $48) – Oil-free, long-wearing, matte with a medium to full coverage foundation. I really like that this formulation has no detectable scent. It feels really lightweight on my skin and I love that soft matte effect while covering all my redness and blemishes. It’s also sweat/water resistant and you also don’t need to apply a lot. It’s pretty well-pigmented being a lightweight matte foundation, so too much of this can give you that cakey foundation look if you’re not careful. This just gives me a nice no caking coverage. I’m a long time fan of Laura Mercier foundations, especially the Candleglow Soft Luminous Foundation (reviewed HERE), and I feel like this particular foundation is a good matte alternative. I just wish it came with an SPFย and more range of shades. Sigh…

 

1 Dior Diorskin Forever Perfect Foundation Broad Spectrum Spf 35 in 034 Almond Beige (1 oz: $52) – My first honor in all matte foundations so far. Never knew I could love a matte foundation this much, and frankly, I didn’t really expect much from this foundation. I’ve never owned a lot of Dior foundations before, and I was never really a fan. But this 16-hour medium-coverage luminous matte foundation deserves its Allure Best of Beauty Award. Something is really nice about this foundation. It’s mattifying but it doesn’t cake, it doesn’t settle into fine lines or creases, and it has a natural matte effect that just doesn’t make your face look flat. The formula is the lightest I’ve tried, not too creamy, not too watery, it just melts right into your skin without moving around, and it sets fast yet you still have enough time to blend. No need for finishing powders or some extra exorcisms, just spread and go. LOL, my kind of foundation. It takes away the shines off my face while feeling really comfortable with it all day long. Somehow, it reminds me of Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet (reviewed HERE), but with more pigment and coverage to it. It’s almost perfect, even the strong floral scent is a delight and it doesn’t bother me, but it does tend to oxidize slightly on me, but it’s hardly noticeable, so not a problem at all. However, I wish there will be more shades to choose from this range in the future, but anyways, I highly recommend this.

Milk Makeup Blur Liquid Matte Foundation in Medium light

There’s goes my top 5 favorite matte foundations. I like them all and they’re all good but they’re not all the same. If you’re looking for a good almost all-around matte foundation that is not super high-end, I think Fenty’s Pro Filt’r is a good choice, but it doesn’t have any Spf though. If you’re into fancy schmancy matte foundations complete with Spf, gorgeous scent, medium to full coverage that lasts a long time, then go for Dior Forever Perfect Foundation.

 

3 Yves Saint Laurent All Hours Full Coverage Matte Foundation in B30

 

Hmmm, I’m currently eyeing the newly-released Diorskin Forever Undercover Foundation which is a water-based, 24-hour, full-coverage foundation. We’ll see how it fares with the Dior Forever Perfect Foundation. Updates soon…

 

 

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