5 Top Things You Should Know About Foundation

I still remember the first time I wore foundation. It was five years ago and at that time my makeup collection only consisted of pressed powder, eyeliner, eyeshadow palette, blusher, lipstick and mascara. Back then, I wasn't aware of the beauty blogging scene hence the only option to learn about it was by experimenting. Today I'd like to share with you 5 top things you should know when selecting the best foundation for your skin. Lets begin.

1. Skin Type

Foundations come in three different categories. They cater to skins that are oily, dry and combination of both. Condition of skin changes when the environment changes. As for me, I have oily combination skin during summer and dry during winter. So after numerous testing on different types and brands, I've identified two best foundations for these two separate seasons.

2. Yellow toned or Pink toned
Knowing which undertone you have is as important as knowing your skin type. If you have yellow undertone, your skin looks more flattering with yellow toned foundation. Same goes with pink. It just makes a huge difference to your whole appearance. You can refer to this guideline here to find out your undertone.

3. Matt or Dewy
This depends on your preference. Matt makeup is great for photoshoot events such as weddings because it won't reflect the lights around you. Dewy makeup on the other hand makes your skin looks more hydrated and radiant and for some people they would perceive as oily. I personally like dewy make up more. I would go for the matt look for weddings, birthday parties etc.

4. Coverage
Knowing how much coverage you need is also important to get the "purrfect" makeup hehe. If you have minimal problems (redness, acne, scar or freckles) you can go for light to medium coverage to get the smoother even toned look. If you have a lot to cover up (like moi) medium to full coverage is a big yes yes.

5. Consistency

This is one magic formula that makes me impressed with certain foundations. Normally foundations that give full coverage would have thick consistency. But thank you to few cosmetic companies that able to make some of their foundations highly pigmented with quite thin consistency. Shoutout to Loreal True Match and Covergirl + Olay Simply Ageless foundation.

So what are your favourite foundations?

Models Prefer Color Portfolio Cosmetic Kit

Normally I'm not a huge fan of a "all-in-1" makeup palette but I had to give this an exception when I swatched some of the eye shadows in the store.

This kit comes with 64 shades of eyeshadows, 32 lip glosses, 8 blushes / bronzes and small brushes. The eye shadows were quite pigmented for the price I paid which was $18. There are just a lot of warm earth tone colors to play with and I can't wait to try out different looks with these selections. My only complain about this kit is that there are not much products in the lip glosses pans. One pan can only provide about two times of applications so if you like a certain color you have to find it elsewhere. But if you're like me, you'd like to experiment with different kind of colors but wouldn't want to spend $10 bucks for a blue lipstick, then maybe this makeup kit is for you.

 

I'm going to play around with this beautiful baby soon. Hope to see you again in my next entry. And don't forget to add me in my Instagram. I'll be posting more make up looks, swatches and mini reviews in it. Till then see you next time =)

October Favourites and Least Favourites

So October has been crazy for me. There were sales everywhere! I bought a lot of drugstore makeup that had 30-50% discount. I spent hours at the makeup section trying out three to four shades of foundations on my face, trying out lipsticks in every colors, do swatches for all the eye shadows. And I had to hide all my purchases away from hubs cuz you know. Saving myself from a huge lecture. He still doesn't know how much I spent this month till this day though. Haha. That's it I'm banning myself from shopping till Boxing Day. I just hope I can make it through this time.   

So as a pledge to write honest reviews and such, not every makeup you buy will give you that feeling like you've made the best choice. Sometimes when you test at the store it looks great on you, but when you go home and try it out again, you feel like you've made a mistake. There goes your money down the drain. So instead of making glorifying comments on monthly favourites, I thought why not add in the least favourites as well so we can educate each other to become better consumers huh? 

Invincible Zinc Face and Body Sunscreen SPF 30+ UVA - UVB

This is a staple product for me. I don't ever, EVER leave the house during the day without slathering this on my face. If you haven't read my earlier posts, I mentioned that I have very bad freckles going on. I've been wearing sunscreen religiously for the past few years and little did I know I was wearing the wrong type of sunscreen (chemical), which actually can worsen my skin problem. So I found this product at a local pharmacy store, and gave it a try. Even though it claims to rub in well and dries clear, I find it to be not true. It still leaves a white caste on my face like how titanium dioxide does, which doesn't bother me at all since I know it sits on top of the skin to block the sun. 

Maybelline Super Stay 24hr Waterproof Powder in Nude

Got it during a sale at Chemist Warehouse. Love that it's big (means more product in it) and they're generous enough to put a mirror in it! In terms of the waterproof properties, I haven't really tested the product long enough to support the claim. But I think I've worn it 3 to 4 hours before I see any oil seeping through. I shall do the test soon, I promise! 

Mac Fix +

My first impression of this product was who would pay AU$27 for a bottle of water just to spray on your face? After reading a lot of reviews and did a LOT of contemplating within myself, I actually caved in and bought myself one. Just because I longed for that glowy dewy look that everyone is raving about. And thank god, it does the job! And I've been using it everytime I wear makeup, and I have a feeling the bottle can last me for at least two years. So not feeling too guilty about it!

Maybelline Cover Stick Concealer in Medium Beige

The best drugstore concealer to cover up those little dark freckles spread all over my cheek bones. There's no other concealers in my drawer can do the job as good as this one. I only use this for that kind of purpose, not to highlight or prep my eye lid. I use water-based concealers for that.

Maybelline Dream Sun Bronzing Powder in Sun Baked 

Love the size of this bronzer. I know it will last me forever. And it has a nice smell too. Reminds me of baby talcum powder. I also use it as an eye shadow on days when I want to have minimal eye makeup (like doing grocery shopping).

Okay, here comes the second part of the post which is..... 

The Least Favourites!!! =(

Revlon Colorstay Stay Natural Makeup Foundation in Natural Beige

I don't know what to say about this. Revlon used to be my favourite foundation of all time. It was the first foundation I've ever bought and people actually thought my skin was flawless and thought I didn't have anything on my face back then. They changed the packaging now, it comes with a pump (which is great!) but I have the feeling the formula is a little bit off unfortunately. My skin feels itchy after few hours wearing this. The finishing looks great on photos but in real life, it doesn't look like 'skin'. It does look like I'm wearing foundation. And the consistency feels a bit thick too. Wished it was lightweight but still able to maintain its full coverage. It would've been perfect for me.

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Blushed

Reviewed the lipstick over here few weeks ago.. The color is simple, it goes with anything and it doesn't accentuate the color of my teeth (I'm a daily coffee drinker, what do you expect?) My only complain is wished it's more pigmented on the lips. And the color from the label doesn't match the outcome of the lipstick, so I'm a bit disappointed on that. 

Loreal Paris Revitalift Magic Blur

Bought this for $20 I think. It's just an ordinary primer, you can get the same result with a cheaper alternative like Elf for $12. It does give a smooth base for makeup but did nothing major to blur out the fine lines I have under my eyes. 

Maybelline Fit me Blush in Light Nude

It's okay but it didn't blow me away. I recently purchased a blush palette from BH Cosmetics which I think was better value for money and I get more blush pans and options for almost the same price (without shipping). But yeah, the packaging is cute though. Travel friendly. That's all.

That's it for this post, I hope it's not too boring for you to read. And I hope this mini review is somewhat useful for you. If you like this post, feel free to comment below. I would love to know your thoughts. Till then, thanks for reading and see you soon! Oh and have a nice weekend!!

Bh Cosmetics Haul!

These are the items I *naughtily* purchased from the website. The prices are just too good to be true but the shipping cost to Aussie was about $15. No other words but URGH! It's not fair!! But after watching countless videos of these stuffs on Youtube, I just know I had to get them. I spent about $44 including shipping for these items which is not too bad right? No? Sigh.

I think I'm done with eyeshadow palettes for now. I might look into Australia's brands at Priceline. Some are still quite pricey though, I just have to look out for their promotions. Hopefully the quality is at par with Nyx and Bh Cosmetics.

Till then, see you in my next post =)

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick

Retails at AUD$18.99

I picked this up at My Chemist store last Saturday. Few brands were having a huge sale and Revlon was one of them. Foundations worth of $39.90 went down to $20, buy one lipstick and you get another for free. It was crazy.

And I can't help not to beat myself up for stocking up on so many Revlon foundations at Priceline's sale last month. I could've saved at least like $20 but yeah whatevs. 

Note to Sarah in the future: Wait for My Chemist October Sale Next Year!!! Only buy Revlon foundations and you get better deals on Maybelline at Woolies!! =P

Anyway,

If you're still here let's get to the swatches.

Left - Blushed
Right - Smokey Rose

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick - Blushed

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick - Smokey Rose

side by side comparison
L: Smokey Rose
R: Blushed

Pros: They both feel hydrating, I feel comfortable wearing them. 

Cons: Show signs of creases especially Blushed Lipstick. Also, I feel the pigmentation is not that excellent. It could be better. 

Conclusion: Not so satisfied with my purchase and looking for a good drugstore lipstick that are very VERY pigmented. Do you guys have any suggestions? Would love to know your thoughts.

E.L.F. Studio Under Eye Concealer & Highlighter Review

Remember those time when you can just simply walk out of the house with just a compact powder on your face? How I miss those days when I felt my skin was flawless, my pores were tight and dark spots were just non-existent. If I can recall correctly, I think I started getting freckles at the age of 23-24. I thought it was just a temporary thing like a sunburnt, it will stick with you for few weeks and disappear. But I'd guess this damn thing wants to become your BFF and it's really hard to get rid of them. Either you have to splurge on expensive prescription skincare or go for a laser treatment but that would still not guarantee they won't come back *sigh*

Anyway, those expensive things are just not my options at the moment. So at the meantime, I've been searching high and low for a great make up, concealer in particular, to cover up those annoying hundreds of tiny spots on my face. I have 3 concealers in my collection at the moment, but I will review the other two later. For now, I'd like to write my opinion about this product from ELF.

Retailed at AU$8.00 

Texture: Light to medium coverage

Buildable: Yes

Under Eye Dark Circles : Doesn't conceal completely but my eye bags are pretty bad actually

Freckles: I would say, up to 70% gone with the help of foundation

Dark spots: Slightly visible

Stickiness & Cakeyness: I've touched up twice and don't feel anything but dry

Redness: Concealed

Here are some photos for you guys to compare. Please be warned, my face without make up is quite horrifying.

If you can see (I'm sure you can) I have hundreds of freckles spread on my face especially at the cheekbone areas, little bit of redness on my nose, upper lip and on my forehead. My eye bags are quite dark and sunken (this is hereditary, my father has it too)

And this is a photo with two layers of Loreal Super Blendable True Match in Golden Beige applied to my face.

Will you agree with me if I say 60% of my freckles are already gone with this foundation? This foundation is pretty awesome but not that awesome to cover all the freckles completely. The redness on my nose is still peeking through so this is when I need to put on the concealer.

So what I did next was, I dabbed the product on the areas where I have freckles, redness and dark spots. Then I tapped gently with my fingers to help it blend with my complexion. I did this two layers on the problematic areas as I felt one layer is just not enough.

I had to put these two photos as they had different lighting under tone. The tiny faint freckles are basically gone but the really dark ones on my upper lip and on the cheek bone are still obvious. But overall, I'm quite satisfied with this product. But will I buy again? I found another concealer that works better for me so not for now :) (will review the other two concealers soon so stay tuned!)

Purr's Ratings: 7/10 points

  

Daiso AUD$2.80 Cosmetics - Are They Worth It?

Going to Daiso is like going to Disneyland for me. I get very excited and can just stay in the store for few hours and look at each one of the items. They make solutions for any little problem that you can think of. Sometimes you end up buying things that you don't really need just because you think it doesn't hurt your pocket so much. You can find anything there from beauty, health, kitchenware, organizers, snacks, sports equipments and so forth. However, I do find that some items are great for the price and some are not. This includes cosmetics.

Recently, I purchased few eye shadow items to test out the quality and I was very surprised that some 

are quite pigmented. If you're getting the palettes, I recommend the four quad and below, as anything above will leave you with chalkiness and powdery eye shadows. 

Four Quad Eye Shadow Palette 

Dark Brown Cream Shadow Stick

Swatches

As you can see the colours came out very pigmented and shimmery. It doesn't show a huge sign of chalkiness which is really great for the price. These four harmonious "earth tone" colours are perfect for everyday look and it's not too glittery for those want to stay humble and down to earth. The swatches of the four quad palette look slightly paler than the cream stick shadow though but it is expected as the colour alone is worth AUD $2.80. Plus, it glides on easy onto your lid and quite waterproof. You can expect it to last throughout the day without creasing, flaking and fading.

Next is the 6 eye shadow palette (which I'm not really fond of)

Hmm. The photos can speak for themselves right? The only colour that I can accept is no 4 as I don't have it in my eye shadow collection. But look at the highlighter (no.1). It's unbelievably pale. I really wish I hadn't bought this, I'd rather spend it on another cream shadow stick.

My only complain is the stick can be a little bit fragile. Avoid dropping or throw them around when using it. If you're not careful it might end up looking like this..

.

.

.

.

.

Sigh! But for $2.80, what do you expect?

Hope you find this useful. If you like this review, please comment below I would love to hear from you. Thanks! :)