Thursday 13 June 2013

Thompson's Tips: The Highlighter

HIGHLIGHTING! HIGHLIGHTING!

Hello everyone,

2012 was the year of what I like to call the "Highlighting effect". Everywhere you turn girls were all going highlighter crazy. Highlighting has been around for ages but since Kim Kardashian's makeup artiste has revealed some of his secrets. Highlighting and contouring are just a few of these amazing secrets.
The issue with this Highlighting craze is that it has moved from being natural to almost drag queen in nature.
How many of us have watching makeup videos where the individual is showing us how to highlight using heavy cream or liquid foundations that creates an amazing effect on camera but when translated to the everyday setting is WAY too harsh and unrealistic. I am sure there are people who can do that makeup look everyday but for me I hate the feel of ALL that makeup on my skin.
A very popular technique for highlighting is using a cream concealer such like MAC studio fix in a shade that is at least 2 shades lighter than the person who is applying it. So someone like me would use MAC NW 40- NW43 studio fix concealer under the eyes and other sections of the skin that usually call for highlighting.




Enough with the chatting what is Thompson's Tip.

My tip is simple: Use a highlighting concealer in YOUR shade. These highlighting concealers while they are referred to as concealer are not for concealing but for highlighting the area in which you want brightening. You can apply your concealer in your shade to under your eyes and then apply  the highlighter. What it does is highlight your skin as if you have a natural glow or provides that dimension that you loose when you apply your foundation without the harsh look that lighter shade concealers provide.

A highlighting concealer that I would recommend is the Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer or the L'oreal Studio Secrets Magic Lumi Highlighter

Rant, Rave and Misbehave: Ruby Kisses No More Blemish Liquid Foundation


Hello Everyone!

Wow two foundation reviews for the week girlies and well my gents. We are on a roll. So I bought this foundation back in January. It was purchased at Wonderful World. This is the Fredrick Street branch. This was an impulsive purchase. I was on my way home. I was super tired after walking up and down looking for someone. So after that ordeal when I saw WW open I raced to the store.
Anyway y'll don't care. So I will jump into the review:

Description

According to company's website:


Our No More Blemish Liquid Foundation is enriched with 0.5% Salicylic Acid which offers healing and the confidence of coverage.  Fresh and natural wearing, this non-irritating and oil free foundation is designed to gently keep blemish-prone skin comfortable and balanced by minimizing excess sebum without drying out your skin. Natural antioxidants, such as green tea leaf extract and goji berry extract will help improve your skin, and then continue to safeguard your skin against future breakouts with acne fighting ingredient, salicylic acid.
Blemish free skin is possible!



Packaging:

This foundation comes in a standard tube like packaging with a blue cap. It reminds me of  a baby bottle. I don't know why. It also reminds me of a eye drop bottle. That is the perfect description of the packaging.  The plastic label comes off easily after multiple uses. It could be annoying for me as when it come to makeup I am a clean freak of nature. But for others it is simple as  just removing it.
When it comes to the function of this squeeze tube I think like any foundation once it contains enough foundation it is pretty simple to get the product out. Once you have used it for a few months it starts to be quite difficult to get the product out of the bottle. You really have to squeeze and put a lot of pressure to get some foundation . I realized by April that I no longer had sufficient product for it to be easy to obtain foundation which became really tedious as my other foundations were low in supply. That is the problem with using more than one foundation at the same time. When one finishes the others may be low as well. The foundation I reviewed previously is the only one I have left.

Product:

It has a thick consistency, however it isn't too thick. When you first place it on your hand or face you assume it is the typical light liquid foundation. Based on the consistency, you know it is medium coverage. It takes a while to blend into the skin. It isn't horrendously thick or anything but as someone who has only used either light foundations or full coverage foundations it was a shock. It does offer the coverage it promises. It can be built up to full coverage if needed without being too cakey. I actually love this foundation very much. Some days it may appear too pinky for my skin but most times I just love how it looks on my skin. That is just the thing about my skin. A foundation can be perfect shade today and the next day it appears too dark. Sometimes it could be oxidation of the product or it could be just the day your skin looks because I have had foundations look perfect today, next day it is too light. However, I loved it so much that I wasn't really willing to get a new foundation which is a shock for me as I love to purchase new foundations on the market. I have two shades in this foundation. Last year June, I purchased it in Cognac and it was too dark so it looked blotchy and didn't offer much coverage. I think because I didn't shake it up or something because the Cognac didn't apply this way when I tried it the other day when I got my ideal shade. 
My perfect shade is Caramel. (Apparently I am a Caramel in every foundation now. Only in foundations anyone would describe me as a Caramel girl. ROFL).

I think this is the first foundation I have had that was true to the company's description. It does have a semi matte finishes. It is not oily or grease. It is not drying or dead looking like many matte formulations tend to produce. It is your skin but enhanced. It will give you glowing skin.

I forgot to mention the foundation comes in 8 shades and appears to target those of African, Asian and Hispanic descent.

Here is a swatch of the foundation in Cognac on my left hand (Hence the mole lol):



 This shade was used as a contour shade.

Here is a swatch of the foundation in Caramel on my right hand:



This is my first application of the Caramel shade

Price:

It can be purchased at Wonderful World branches for $60. I purchased the darker shade at Trincity Mall and the Caramel Shade at the Fredrick Street branch.


Overall Rating:

A.






















Wednesday 12 June 2013

Rant, Rave and Misbehave: Revlon Colorstay Whipped Creme Foundation


Hello everyone!

I am back with a foundation review. I was so excited to try out this foundation. Usually when people do reviews on a product and they are favorable, I always hype up the product in my mind and it is never as good as I anticipated. For me, foundations are like movies. The more people hype it up, the more I want to purchase the foundation.

So enough with the talking and lets get down to business






Description:

According to the company's website:

Finally, truly decadent makeup offers ultimate performance. The mousse-like texture feels like silk on your skin. And, the time release formula balances skin for a flawless look. All day flexible wear without flaking, caking or feeling heavy. 

Packaging:

It comes in a glass jar with a black lid. In my personal opinion, it looks SO sleek and professional. I really love that aspect of the packaging. My issue with the packaging is what many have said in their reviews. The glass packaging while elegant looking makes it very heavy. When I carried it in my purse, I could feel the weight of it. I felt like I was toting something way heavier than a foundation. I keep my essential makeup products in a small little pouch. I can't see myself carrying this around. 
I would say that if you are going on vacation and you have a huge suitcase then it may be okay to carry with you. But if you are going to a friend's house or spending the weekend out, in MY opinion I don't see this as travel friendly at all.
Another issue that I have with the packaging is that like many glass products, it is more packaging thatn product. The bulkiness of the product you would think it contains more than it really does.
It comes with the standard 0.8 fluid ounces that most foundations contain.
Many came with a white cap that was sandwich between the black lid and the jar. However, I was not so lucky. 
The jar can make it quite difficult to see the foundation and compare it to other shades. I didn't really need to look much at other shades as I bought this in Pennywise so the consultants just gave me the shade that they thought would be best.
This product does not come with a tester. I wanted to purchase this for Christmas at the Tunapuna branch but they did not have testers. I purchased this one at their Arima branch which Surprise Surprise didn't have testers as well. Is that just normal for this product? I don't know. I would have to consult with my peers.

Product

Now for the product. It goes on very smooth and very creamy. When you place it on your face, it does feel like it would be super thick and disgusting. However, as soon as you blend it in, it gels with your skin. To me I have worn it many times and people don't realize I have on makeup. I wouldn't say it is full coverage at all. I would say it is a medium foundation that could be built up to full coverage. I think for it to be full coverage you would have to pat it on instead of blending it on. 
It has a butter like consistency when first applied to the skin. 
I love the look of the foundation on the skin. It needs to be applied with a good moisterizer or else the skin would look dry and unappealing.

Price
It was $72 at the Pennywise branch in Arima. I am pretty sure it is about $69 at Tunapuna and Trincity branches.


Overall Rating

A