 Guys.....I'm going to be yet another person to tell you about the Makeup Revolution Conceal and Define foundation that they recently released. I'm going to give you some details and also I will start by saying this is one of the best foundations I've tried in 2018. No joke. So far I only have about 3 foundations that I've tried this year among many, that I am in love with it. So lets talk about it.
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 As you may have heard, NYX released a new foundation it has a shade range of 45 shades in a matte finish. Which is fantastic. I'm glad that there's more options becoming available with extensive shade ranges. This was sent to me by Influenster and they also sent the CSWS Primer that is also matte.
I haven't done one of these in a while. Now is a good time because I'm loving a lot of stuff from Wet N Wild. That makes me happy because they're really affordable, they've put out some really cool, and equally as great performance wise, products lately. So let's get into some of my faves that I think you need to consider getting.
 I finally got around to trying some new launches in makeup. My no buy is over. Which gave me a full month to watch releases, reviews, and really see what I wanted to try. One of those products being the NARS Natural Radiant Long Wear foundation. It had good reviews from everything I saw. I in general, love NARS foundations. So I was very excited.
 It's time for a "Why Isn't Anyone Talking About This?" post. This time it's hard to say what this product is other than a base. It's the Color Me Underglow Hydrator and I love it. I've worn it as foundation, I've used it under foundation, and over foundations. I've used it as a base for highlight on the cheekbones. So for me it's very versatile.
 Time for another "Why Isn't Anyone Talking About This?" post. This products has actually not been out very long, but I've heard no buzz about it at all. No buzz before it launched and no buzz afterwards. Not that I seen anyway. I can not figure out why. This is the second time Bare Minerals has made it into this series. So I'm going to go ahead and say that their latest makeup that they've been putting out like the Invisible Bronzer and Invisible Glow. Plus their Gen Nude Matte Liquid Lips that have been out for a while, which are my absolute faves, are solid products. I'm also a huge fan of the Bareskin Concealer, talking about it several times on here. I'm happy to add another solid product to that list. So I'm talking about the Bare Minerals Bare Pro foundation. It's still new. I've had mine for about 3 weeks I guess. I kept waiting on people to talk about it and no one did. So I will! This is a light weight, liquid formula. However, the pigment in this is unreal making it full coverage without the weighted down, pore clogging, cake-y looking, side effects from most full coverage foundations. It's a pump packaging in a glass bottle. You get 1 oz and it runs for $34. Which I'm cool with because every, single, foundation I'm seeing these days are up around $40-$50 or more. Which I have and would pay for a very good foundaiton but still it's nice to see them sticking to the price point that I've always seen them have. There are 30 shades which in my opinion is impressive. The pigment in this is so strong that you definitely need your correct color. I normally can make a shade slightly darker or llighter than my actual skin tone work with other foundations. This one I could've went with a bit of a darker shade because again the pigment was so potent that it was easier to tell that it wasn't going to be the exact color match. Which I fixed with bronzer and concealer in some spots. So definitely not a catastrophe like sometimes that can be. I have used this with a stippling brush and a sponge. I recommend a brush and stippling it on to get the most coverage but using a really dense sponge like the Elf teal sponge or Morphe Sponge still worked just fine, it just caused me to use more product which I'd rather not do if I can avoid it. So yea, there ya go. I think you should check this out. It's at Ulta and Sephora. I love it. I've not used anything else since I got it. Below is a gallery of me wearing shade 03 Champagne  I've not done a foundation review in a while so let's talk about a new "drug store" one I picked up recently. I'm gonna be the first to tell you that I am not the biggest fan of Covergirl makeup. Nothing personal at all it just never has worked out for me. There will however be a special place in my heart for my first compact (and piece of makeup) which was from Covergirl. So there is that.
 So for this post I thought I'd give you a beauty hack of mine that makes a difference on prolonging my foundation, and keeping it as flawless and luminous as possible. Without being oily. My trick plain is simple is I mix together difference primers with not just different benefits, but different textures also. The ones I mix together are for my T-Zone and the areas I get the oiliest. Now the luminizing part comes in with using it only on the perimeter of the face. I don't mix luminizng primers because I do not feel that would be beneficial since it's going around the outside of the face. My luminizng primers that I rotate are: Smashbox Radiance Primer Dr Brandt Pores No More Luminizng Primer The Smashbox is almost like a cream highlight, it's a golden hour effect. It's a bit thicker and I use it with a beauty blender. I really enjoy it. It's also a moisturizing primer due to the Hylauronic Acid that's in it. So it's got more benefits that just a pretty glow. Dr Brandt Pores No More Luminizing Primer, is a pearl shade but basically invidible one the skin. It really does make pores vanish and it is luminizng. In the most subtle way. It gives foundationa a satin finish and it's nice to mix into foundation as well. It's a typical lotion style primer therefore it's easy to mix it into other liquid and cream foundations. Of coure you could do that with the Smashbox one but the peach tint would change the color some in the foundation and the Hylauronic Acid would make the foundation more moisturizing. If that's not something you need because you get oily, or oily in your T-Zone, I would avoid mixing the Smashbox Radiance Primer with foundation. Now the primer mix that I do consists of primers that have these benefits: Oil Control Pore Minimizing Smoothing This is the little custom cocktail that I put in my t zone only because that's where I get oily. I don't see the point in putting these potent products in areas where you don't get oily. Now most primers that will control oil will also smooth lines and texture but I like to be extra. So I use 3 usually and they all have different textures. Which I think that's why it works because sometimes a primer can be fantastic but if it's not tacky enough it doesn't have the staying power. Get what I'm sayin? It may also be smoothing but if it's too thin and like a lotion it's going to absorb into the skin more than it should. Another reason why I do it, is because primers that have a ton of silicone (dimethicone, etc) in them, for some reason, my makeup slides off my face if I use it by itself. Honestly, it does. A great example of that is Smashbox original primer, that is like a cult favorite, the one that started them all. Yea, makes my makeup slide right off. So what I like to do is get travel size or deluxe samples of primers when there is a promo for one or whatever because: 1) I do mix them, so I don't need much product 2) it's easy for me to find ones I may really like that way without spending tons of money and having a bunch of duds. Recently the ones I've been mixing, have been: Smashbox Pore Minimizing Primer (always in there because of the thick texture) Becca EverMatte (always in there because it's the most mattifying primer I've used) NARS Pore and Shine Control Primer (This is because of the thin consistency and it has the benefits I want) Alone the NARS isn't enough. It's too thin. Alone the Smashbox one will work on pores but it doesn't control the oil and it doesn't keep my makeup on. Alone the Becca is enough to keep me matte and keep my makeup on for sure but I still have the noticeable pores and lines issue. So therefore instead of have a quest where one can do it all I'd rather mix less than a pea size of samples or travel size and use those for months on end. I really think the key here is having one that is thin as well. So bear that in mind if you're gonna try this. Have one that's thin so that it'll mix them properly for you and have a good consistency. I really like mixing in the Smashbox Pore Minimizing (it's the purple one) because it's so thick which is why it works to fill in pores and lines but at the same time it's almost too thick to blend out, thus we thin it out. Some people layer primers and I think that's fine especially if the primers are thin or like a lotion for the most part. Like I know some who use the Smashbox Primer spray and then use the Nivea After Shave Balm (which is a good primer by the way). Then my friend Alaina layers a color correcting actual cream not primer (for redness), the Cane and Austin primer and then the Becca EverMatte on the more oily areas for her skin, with EverMatte being on top. Which is perfectly fine because the thicker consistency is on top. Where as if it were in the middle or something it would start to ball up. Which is the other reason why I mix these and apply the mixture because some primers will ball up on the skin with too much blending and/or rubbing on the skin. Also they can ball up when you go in with foundation as well if you blend that in too much, depending on what primer you've used, so again that's why I apply a mixture. Sometimes I will apply the Nivea Shave Lotion over top of what I've already done or mix it into the other primers because it is a very tacky finish which makes foundation stick like glue to the face. I know this is a lot of information and kinda confusing but the jist is: if you're primer is not working for you like it should, be it pores are still noticeable, makeup isn't lasting like it should, you're getting oily, etc. Get some samples or what have you and try mixing different ones and see if that helps the situation. Focusing the mixture on the problem areas while using a different one if you want around the perimeter of the face that doesn't cause you any issue typically. If you're reading this the day when it's posted (4/15) or early the next day, there is a complete GRWM on my Snapchat where I explain the tips and tricks and why I do this and that. Along with other tips. Follow me on : Snapchat: loveandmascara Instagram: @lovemascara Twitter: @loveand_mascara I now have a Facebook page so feel free to follow me on there too it's Love and Mascara as well.
 I feel like when it comes to Smashbox, I've always kinda looked over their products. Not intentionally, I knew they had good products, I just never got into them so much. They are consistent. They are professional grade. They're a huge brand. In short they're almost intimidating. Not in a bad way though. I feel like for their price point, they're professional packaging that has no bells and whistles because it doesn't need it, and because they're aren't named as much as say Make Up For Ever or NARS within the beauty influencer and youtuber world, that's what makes them intimidating in a way. Basically, you know its probably gonna be good but are you sure you know what to do with it?? Cause let's face it unless we've seen 4,000 youtubers talk about 3 times a piece and use it, then we aren't sure if we're gonna use it correctly. (That part was a joke, relax) None the less, some of their products you don't hear much about. Now some products you do. Their PhotoFinish primer the clear one, that's a cult favorite. Personally I like the Pore Minimizing (purple one) better. They have a whole range of those and they're all really good. The BB Cream is also a cult favorite. For yearssssss. At one point I'm pretty sure everyone in the world had tried it. Maybe not everyone but a lot. More recently they have had a lot of popular success with their Be Legendary liquid lipsticks which I must say are very good. I really enjoy them. Around Christmas they released several palettes for $29 a piece, which is very inexpensive for this brand, they have 6 colors in them and from what I can tell very consistent in quality. Although I've not seen as many influencers or youtubers talk about them, they seemed to be very popular with regular customers. I must say I find them beautiful, especially Smokey and Ablaze. Moving onto the products I would like to talk about, these are newer and not much has been said as of yet about them that I have seen. I actually have only seen one talked about so far and it was only on Wane Goss' instagram post. So what I have here is: ⦁ Photo Finish Radiance Primer with Hylauronic Acid ⦁ Studio Skin 15 hr Wear Hydrating Foundation ⦁ Photo Op Under Eye Brightener Pretty sure all of these are new I know the primer and the foundation are, can't be sure about the under eye brightener though, I don't think it really is. It looks like they've released a highlighting pen style called the Halo Wand with different shades that seems to be similar but much bigger than the under eye brightener, and it's actually a highlighter pen. The reason I make mention of this is because I don't care for the under eye brightener and to me with highlighting pens they're so subtle that many people use them under their eyes so perhaps that would work more so than this. Either way I wouldn't get the under eye brightener. I just wouldn't, it's too watery, it doesn't brighten and all I can see is that is has a bit of glitter. However that is my only fail product from them here and it wasn't a major loss. What I want to talk to you about the most is the Radiance Primer. This is not something I really suggest for very oily skin because of the fact that it is a moisturizing primer, thanks to the Hyaluronic Acid. Now, if you are determined to try it then perhaps use it in place of your moisturizer although I don't really recommend you do that if you're going to lose out of some skin benefits (aside from hydration) that a moisturizer provides you with, that this does not. Don't compromise your skin care for a subtle, yet beautiful glow. You can accomplish a glow with other things if you're skin is more oily and can't handle this primer. For those of you that are going to give it a go I have a few thoughts on it. First of all, as of right now this can only be purchased on Smashbox.com. It is not in Sephora or Ulta stores or on their websites as of yet. I do think it will be eventually. So don't go scouring for it, it's only on Smashbox website. This is a peachy/bronze tinted primer but don't let that scare you if you are lighter in skin tone. I'm very pale and I still use this and enjoy it immensely. This is a golden bronzey color because it mimic "golden hour lighting". Which is essentially the one part of the day where the lighting is absolutely perfect for photos because the skin looks radiant and glowy against the golden and amber colors of the sun, but it is also gone super quickly. It's usually the first hour or the last hour of sunlight in a day, more commonly associated with the closest the sun gets to the horizon, so either sun rise or sunset. You'll hear in professional photography, or photography tips in general that time of day is super important. So what this product does is mimic the glow the actual "golden hour" would give your skin. So that it glows that way all the time. That glow comes from "Micro-fine amber & bronze pearls that create a warm glow" which in turn gives you the subtle golden tint of the product. Along with Hyaluronic Acid this also is packed with Shea Butter for all day moisture. Also it has "4K, high-definition spheres blur imperfections". If you're wondering what 4K means, it's basically better than HD. There are now cameras out that film in 4K to give you the most high definition of an image possible. As far as the claims of this product. I feel like they're true. I've used this everyday since I've got it, I apply it with a sponge everywhere except my t-zone area where I tend to get shiny at the end of the day. In which I use a mattifying primer in that area actually. This can be worn alone for a glow to the skin, under foundation as a back light effect or glow from within look, and on top of foundation on the cheek bones for extra luminosity because it is very luminous. It's not like a strobing cream or anything but you can't have crushed pearls and it not be luminous, you know? This is $39 for 1 oz. I personally feel like it's worth it. Especially if you have more dry skin. I believe the blurring claims are true. You don't need a lot of product either so I think they did a fantastic job with this. I don't feel like my skin has a golden or amber tint by any means it just has a nice glow to it that looks natural. I do want to give you the ingredient deck. I'm trying to do that in my reviews more because it's useful to know so this is from the product page on their website: "Water\Aqua\Eau, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Acrylates Copolymer, Sodium Potassium Aluminum Silicate, Nylon-12, Lecithin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Silica, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Tin Oxide, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, [+/- Mica, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491)] <ILNILN43325> Please be aware that ingredient lists may change or vary from time to time. Please refer to the ingredient list on the product package you receive for the most up to date list of ingredients." Moving on to the StudioSkin 15 hr Wear Hydrating Foundation. I thought I would hate this. I actually swatched it in store at Ulta, and was like "no" because it didn't dry down as quickly as other foundations so thus I thought it would stay "tacky" feeling for a while and I didn't like that. My friend then purchased it who has oily skin and told me that she loved it. So when she said that I was super intrigued because this is a hydrating foundation and most oily skin types steer clear from that. So I bought it online without swatching it again because I didn't want that to make my decision. When I got it I put it on the back of my hand and really looked at it. It was very luminous and then after about maybe 1 minute or less it had dried down to a satin/matte finish. I was absolutely shocked. It didn't oxidize. The color was dead on and you honestly couldn't tell I had foundation on my hand, my skin looked photo-shopped people! So I was super stoked for that. I tried it the next day with the Radiance Primer and I've loved it ever since. It's not heavy but I feel comfortable saying it's right at full coverage and even buildable on that. It's definitely more than a medium coverage, I think, although it isn't going to mask a tattoo or anything. As far as hiding blemishes and discoloration, I feel like it does that very well. I have minor redness and very few blemishes, if any at times, so I'm easy to please with the coverage aspect of foundations. I feel like this could be a foundation for every skin type though and I think that's truly amazing. I've never seen anything like it. It is super hydrating when it first goes on and then it dries to a beautiful satiny/matte/ but natural finish that looks like perfect skin. I full blown believe in this product kids! It's not as full coverage as Milani Conceal and Perfect but also doesn't look as cakey or show texture as that, nor is it as heavy. It's not as matte as Marc Jacobs ReMarcable foundation but again it doesn't show texture or dry patches like that one either. It's not a dewy foundation once it's dried down. I feel like it's a dream in a bottle and I full out bought this so I'm not sponsored. Pretty sure Smashbox hasn't ever read my blog or anything. I just really really love it and I don't know why more people haven't tried it or realized how good it is and I'm afraid it's because they're not giving it a legit try. This is $42 for 1 fl oz and they have 22 shades. As with most of their Photo themed products this is tested under different lights and photography labs. They are the "only brand with a Flashbox Photography Lab" where they can test the consistency of their shades in different lighting. Not just photography flashes but different natural light as well since light changes as the hours go on throughout the day. This is available at Sephora and Ulta as well as the Smashbox website. Here is the ingredient deck and there is a seperate one for Canada apparently: "All Shades Contain: Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Butylene Glycol, Trimethyl Pentaphenyl Trisiloxane, Silica, Phenyl Trimethicone, Magnesium Sulfate, Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate, Tribehenin, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Bis-PEG/PPG-14/14 Dimethicone, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Glycerin, Ethylhexylglycerin, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Methicone, Tetramethyl Hexaphenyl Tetrasiloxane, Phenyl Methicone, Dimethicone, Laureth-7, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Hexyl Laurate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Cellulose Gum, Propylene Carbonate, Alumina, Xanthan Gum, Dimethicone Silylate, Sorbic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin. May contain: Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891). Canadian Ingredients: Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Butylene Glycol, Trimethyl Pentaphenyl Trisiloxane, Silica, Phenyl Trimethicone, Magnesium Sulfate, Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate, Tribehenin, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Bis-PEG/PPG-14/14 Dimethicone, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Glycerin, Ethylhexylglycerin, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Methicone, Tetramethyl Hexaphenyl Tetrasiloxane, Phenyl Methicone, Dimethicone, Laureth-7, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Hexyl Laurate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Cellulose Gum, Propylene Carbonate, Alumina, Xanthan Gum, Dimethicone Silylate, Sorbic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin. May Contain: Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891)." So that's that. Those are my thoughts. We had one miss but that's okay because the other two products more than made up for it. I truly underestimated Smashbox with these products and didn't believe they were going to live up to the claims or perform as well as they did and they blew me away so, I'm sorry Smashbox for underestimating you. lol In both pictures below I'm wearing the primer under the foundation. The under eye brightener I just mixed in with my concealer to brighten it up. The 2nd picture I had been wearing the primer and foundation for about 6 hours or so.    Recently L'Oreal released a new foundation called the Infallible Total Cover. I got mine at Ulta and as far as drug store prices go it was kinda pricey. It is $12.99 at Ulta and comes in 12 shades. Definitely not as expensive as some foundations of course but still that's kinda high for a drug store brand in my opinion. I believe Wal-Mart is a bit cheaper. None the less I think it's a very nice foundation. You can not however, go by the color on the tube. For example my shade is 302 but the tube looks quite pink in my opinion when actually it's more of a neutral beige as far as the product goes, because the tube is actually colored and not clear so that's why it's gonna differ in color. The texture is very light and mousse like (also just my opinion). I really love it because it is light and because it does cover really really well. It's not going to cover absolutely everything but I'm comfortable saying this is full coverage. It can easily be made medium coverage but it's intended to be full and I feel like it is. My favorite way of applying it is with a stippling brush. I do feel like whether you use a sponge, brush or whatever, that it's going to apply beautifully. It has a nice satin finish. I won't say it "looks like skin" because it doesn't. Pores aren't incredibly visible under it, and lines are more filled in so you look better than your natural skin. Which should be the goal of any foundation. I find that where I kinda have combination skin I have a certain routine in getting the best long lasting and flawless finish when using this certain foundation. First I use a mattifying toner in my skin care. A lot of toners say they are for combo/oily skin but I've only found one that works best during the day with oil control. Which is the Botanics Shine Away Mattifying Toner. I also recently got this as well at Ulta but it's also available at Target. I absolutely love it, you have to shake to activate it, it reminds me of sulfur in it's appearance and then you apply like any other toner. Botanics is a more "nature driven" line which I like, because there is no added fragrance. This toner is around $9 on Ulta and I feel it does a better job than my Clinique toner that is for Oily/Combo skin. It's basically the best toner I've ever used for "oil control". Keep in mind I'm normal to combo skin and not super oily. The next step is using a smoothing primer. I'm using the Bronx Colors Pore Minimizing Studioline primer. Which is actually the same price as the foundation, it's online only at Ulta. I find it just as good as all my high end smoothing primers. With the toner and the primer combined, my foundation looked fresh all day long. After a few more tests removing both toner and primer, an then another test removing just the primer. I've found that for optimal results it's better combined with the other 2. Using it on it's own it lasted about 4 hours and then I started to looks a little shiny. By 8 hours it was pretty much done. However using the 2 steps before it, it went for about 10 hours without any touching up. For those with dry skin, I think you won't have that issue. It's not a hydrating foundation in my opinion so I actually don't think any skin type would have a hard time with it but I do notice some shine as I do with most foundations after a few hours. I didn't set my makeup any of these times with setting sprays either. So there's that as well. This is a squeeze tube which I like because you don't get out too much and waste any. It's 1 oz like most foundation which I'm very happy about because since it was a liquid. I had my concerns that they wouldn't do the standard amount of foundation you usually get. I'm glad to see that. Like I said earlier it's very weightless. Often I find myself forgetting that I even have makeup on and touching my face and then realizing that I do in fact have makeup on. The only complaint I can think of is the price and I wish the color of the tube was truer to color of the product. I never would've bought it had I seen that first. The good news about the price is there is always a coupon available for L"Oreal or Ulta. Especially if you're getting the Botanics toner as well. So you can at least save some money. Like I said you may find this cheaper at Wal-Mart or Target possibly.   |
 
ErinI'm a makeup and skincare lover. I have always enjoyed creating looks but I love to help people with product knowledge and application even more. I've been able to do these things because God has seen fit to bless me with the opportunity. 
  
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