Perfectly not what I expected...

Greetings:

Today I tried Clinique's Perfectly Real Foundation, which is described by the company as "Feels like nothing at all. Yet creates your skin's most perfected, natural look. Patent-pending* micro-mirrored technology optically resurfaces skin. Ultra-lightweight liquid formula is oil-free, non-acnegenic."  The micro-mirrored technology was not a mirror I want to look into after a few hours.  Intially, it looked good:

It took quite a bit of product to get coverage, I generally use about a pea size of product, with Perfectly Real I need about a nickel size.  It emphasized my pore size more than any of the products I have used so far and you do not want to use a setting powder because it turns cakey!  So I think it you really, want to be Perfectly Real that's how you have to wear it - perfectly by itself.  My blush (powder) caked as well, a cream blush may fair better.  This formula is touted as moderate coverage, which I would agree with.  If you just wear foundation and mascara this may work for you, but as a foundation base I'm perfectly disappointed.

Next up...my old friend Chanel,

Jasmine

I'm not all that worried about the sweat...

Greetings again:

Today's foundation face is Avon's ExtraLasting Liquid Foundation (it used to be called PerfectWear).

  It is a medium to  full covergae foundation and the company describes it as "Always fresh, never cakey or dry. Resists water and sweat. Stands up to heat and humidity. Feels featherlight and flexible all day. Comfortable coverage up to 18 hours."  The resists water and sweat comment kinda throws me for a loop, can you wear this while swimming? And if it resists sweat is it not letting it through, thus suffocating your skin?  These are not things I really want to try, but for me it did wear comfortably for 12+ hours and it did not look cakey or chalky. 

It does not give as good of coverage as the Lancome Teint Idole Ultra, but it is still a good foundation for evening out skin tone.The main drawback is the application, the product is very dry and does not smooth on to the skin easily.  I had to really blend, blend, blend it with my brush so it was streaking or globbed on in one area.  I like the results enough to keep it because I know it is workable, but I don't think the average user would be pleased.  Tomorrow we move on to a brand I've actually never tried before.

Next up...Clinique,
Jasmine

Full Coverage

Hello:

Today's foundation face is Full-Coverage.

Most Full Covergae foundations are made to last 12+ hours and some are even 24 hours!  Lancome's Teint Idole Ultra is described as "14-hour ultra-resistant makeup delivers flawless, full-coverage that lasts. The retouch-free, oil-free formula features Lancôme’s SoftFeel™ technology glides on to comfort skin with flawless full coverage. Divine comfort leaves skin feeling soft, comfortable and silky-smooth hour after hour."  I will say it is super comfortable and it does a realy nice job of evening out my skin tone and creating a nice soft matte look - here I am in Buff 2:

I usually don't need much powder with this foundation and it has great staying power.  I also need less concelear as the formula seems to cover redness very well.  As you can see I will still need to use a concealer for my undereyes but that's pretty normal for me.  So now that we have seen what Lancome has to offer, I'm going to move on to a less expensive brand and see how it compares.

Next up...Avon,

Jasmine

More than Natural

Wow! Two posts in one day!  The hardest part of blogging for me is not content but getting images for the posts.  I try to take the pictures in the same quality sunlight each morning, so these foundation posts are one image a day - because I want to see how it performs.

  In this photo I am wearing Renergie Lift Makeup from Lancome in Lifting Clair 20.

The company describes the foundation as:
"An innovation in age-defying foundation; this lightweight, moisturizing fluid visibly “lifts” slackening skin, and blurs lines and wrinkles for up to 12-hours. The magic behind this makeup is Lancôme’s Micro-Lift™ technology with Pure Vitamin E that optimizes luminosity and leaves skin looking younger than ever. Instantly, your complexion appears flawlessly even and line-free."
If you look at this versus past posts you can definetly tell this is a full coverage foundation (my freckles are hidden in bright light) and I will say I think it does give a good 10 hours of wear, but I don't really look "luminous", and I have lines on my face!  I am definetly not line free.  This foundation is aimed at women over 40 and I will say it is my favorite for achieving a smoothing, fresh look for an older client that does not have very dry skin. 

 Next up...Teint Idole,

Jasmine

A little more than natural...

Greetings:
Today I want to continue with my foundation conversation and have photgraphed myself wearing Lancome's Teint Miracle in Buff 2. 


 Their website describes it as: "With Aura-Inside™ technology, Lancôme invents its 1st foundation that recreates the true natural light of perfect skin. Its unique weightless texture provides perfect buildable coverage with a bare sensation. Instantly, complexion appears lit-from-within, visibly flawless."  It is oil free and fragrance free and has SPF 15.   Ok, I would say it does feel weightless, the coverage is only buildable if you truly know how to buff in more with a brush so for most it is a "natural" look foundation.  I really don't know how "lit from within" I look, but it does cover some redness, and as you can see my give me a more even skin tone, which for me is what I really want.

It is an 18 hour foundation but I start to see chalkiness (from my facial oils, and environmental stuff) at about 6 hours. I actually don't know that I have ever worn it 18 hours, but I have taken a nap after 5 hours with this on and it looked the same when I woke up 2 hours later and there was no pillow residue!  I like this foundation but I think there are better natural look foundations out there for me!  The search continues...


Next up - full coverage from Lancome!

Jasmine

Prepping the Palette

Hello!

So now that you've seen me in the"buff" I thought I'd start showing what different type of foundations can do.  There are 3 major questions you should consider when choosing a foundation(s) (I really feel you need 2 in your arsenal, as I have yet to find one that can be light enough for "day" looks and be built up enough for the full coverage you may need.) Anywhoo.. 
#1 - Consider your skin type (dry, normal/combination, oily) and look for one that caters to your particular skin - though I will say 85% of us are normal/combination skin.  Truly dry skin is rare (most the time people just need to exfoliate and use a moisturizer) and truly oily skin is not that common either. In my years working at the cosmetic counter I have seen maybe 1 or 2 people that had OILY skin and they were under a dermatologists care. 
#2 - What do you want you foundation to do?  Do you want full coverage or natural luminessence (the dewy look), do you want to cover redness, do you want it to be super long lasting? etc, etc...  Most foundations can do a few of these things at once so do a little research online of the major brands and you'll be able to narrow the field down quickly.
#3 - How much do you care?  If you just want something quick - tinted moisturizer is great.  If you want more coverage then do it right, get thee a foundation brush!
Now that you know what you want your Foundation to be, where do you get it?  Head to the mall!  Almost all of the major lines Lancome, Clinique, Estee Lauder, MAC, Dior and on and on will ask you the exact questions I mentioned and color match you for free any day of the week.  Many will give you a sample to try for a few days.  So let them know what you are looking for and try it out!  Some may not want to spend as much so find out your local drug stores return policy and you can often try products and return them.  There are so many prducts out there, you will definetly find the right one for you.  Or in my case the right 5 or 6....

So here's some of mine! I decided to start with tinted moisturizer as I honestly think that's all most people really want and/or need, and most have an excellent amount of SPF which is a super bonus! 

Here I have on Physcian's Formula Healthy Wear SPF 50 (tinted moisturizer) in Fair

 along with Chanel loose powder in Clair 1.  It looks very, very natural but I like that it evens out my color a bit (I tend to be pink on the chin and nose and cheeks) and the SPF is great!  My chin needs concealer, but that a whole different post!  My next post will kick it up a notch with "natural appearance" foundation. 

Jasmine

The skin I'm in

So as I mentioned last post, I believe I have "good skin" so I decided I better put out some proof - so here I am freshly scrubbed with just my serum and moisturizer and eye cream on :)  Please excuse my goofy look!  I also need, need to get my eyebrows done!  When I have makeup on I can fake a better arch with my brow powder. I also don't think of myself as being that "freckly", but I think the face self tanner I use is bringing them out, if that's possible.  Yes, I did say self tanner I'm normally about 4 shades lighter than this, but New Year's is one of the few times I dress up and take pictures so I need to not blind the flash. Again comments and thoughts are appreciated!  :)

Skincare is the ultimate Makeup

This is going to come across terribly vain but it's the truth and I have a point - people often tell me I have beautiful skin and I do.  But it is because I work at it!  I was on the SPF train back in the 90's people, I have always been very, very careful to protect my skin from UV damage and it's paid off.  I don't smoke I rarely drink and I get a lot of sleep. I would be really in good shape if I would just drink more water :). I said I had a point and this is it - Make up can only do so much. You have to take care of the palette the art is going on.
I have a rigorous skin regime (AM -> wash, tone, serum, sunblock, eye cream, skin cream) and (PM -> wash, tone, serum, self tanner, eye cream, skin cream) and when people ask me how I keep my skin looking good I tell them my system and they say "Oh I could never do that, it's soooo much." I try and explain it takes all of 3 minutes, and you just have to want to do it, (Like anything else in life.) But I do do it, and EVERY day. But that is why I have nice skin, it's not luck, it's effort. So when I put on that make-up I love so much I am not spending so much time trying to hide what I don't like but rather enhance what I do like and enjoy the art. Once you start taking care of your skin, you would be surprised how hard of a good habit it is to break.

Making pale - pretty,
Jasmine