Dior Diorskin Nude BB Crème

This summer, Dior has launched a brand new BB Cream formula, Diorskin Nude BB Crème ($44).  I picked it up at Sephora but it is readily available at several department stores as well. It comes in four different shades, which is more than most BB creams.  I chose the shade Fair 002 which seems to match my skin perfectly right now but might be a tad dark in the winter.  The lighter shade was too pink. Here are the details from Sephora’s website:

What it is:
A BB cream with SPF 10 that moisturizes, smoothes, protects, and corrects.

What it does:
Diorskin Nude BB Crème provides the benefits of skincare and makeup in a fresh and airy formula. Enhanced with mineralized floral water and a blend of antioxidants, it moisturizes smoothes, protects, and corrects skin with sheer coverage. Available in expert shades to match every skin tone, the complexion is illuminated with a unique fresh glow and dewy finish.

Diorskin Nude BB Crème provides pretty good coverage for BB cream; it’s a light to medium coverage. It’s a creamy formula that leaves a completely natural healthy finish.  I think this product would suit just about any skin type.  The texture is really nice; smooth and creamy. It feels and applies like a lightweight foundation. It truly did perfect my entire complexion, leaving me with only a bit of touching up under my eyes.  It blended beautifully on my skin and looks completely natural.  I did find that I needed to set the product with a little bit of powder, since my skin is oilier in the summer. I have been skipping my moisturizer and just using this. I have tried a few different BB creams (Smashbox, Bobbi Brown, Boscia, Urban Decay…) since they became so popular and I would say that this one is one of the best so far.  So if you are looking to try one out, check out Diorskin Nude.  I have also been trying out the newly released CC creams as well that are suppose to color correct/fade imperfections as well as nourish.  Smashbox has a great one and I will be doing a review on that in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Full Coverage Broad Spectrum SPF 15 Foundation & Airbrush Finish Bamboo Foundation Brush

Tarte describes their Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Full Coverage foundation as a “long-wearing, skin-perfecting full coverage foundation with UVA/UVB SPF 15 infused with Amazonian clay for better, longer, truer wear.”  The formula is powered by Amazonian clay which is a “nutrient-rich, multitasking and total-skin balancing clay reduces dryness and flakiness, improves skin clarity, elasticity, firmness, and texture while removing oil from the skin's surface for smooth application and wear.  I decided to try out the shade fair but will probably need to switch to light in the summer months.

For being a full coverage, this foundation was surprisingly light-weight; it felt like nothing once applied to my skin. I’d say it provides light to medium coverage that can be built up for a more coverage where needed (t-zone).  After a few hours of wear, this formula didn’t make my combination skin look too shiny or oily at all. As time wore on (about 8 hours of wear) I was a bit shinier, but nowhere near as oily as I usually get with other foundations. I found that this foundation wore great all day (about 10 hours), without needing any major touch ups.

The Journey to Natural Beauty kit comes with the Buffer Airbrush Bamboo Foundation brush to apply the Amazonian Clay foundation. It is a densely packed yet fluffy large brush with super soft bristles, it normally retails for $32. I have never used such a large brush to apply foundation before (I was a little intimidated by it...), but I must say it does a fantastic job of applying and buffing the product into the skin. The brush manages to blend out edges and gives a smooth coverage, a semi-matte airbrushed finish.

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation

After reading a lot about Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation via various other beauty blogs and hearing that it really is a great drugstore foundation, I thought I would give it a try. Currently this foundation is not available in the US so I had to order it from Asos.com. Wake Me Up Foundation promises to instantly re-awaken skin with a healthy, radiant looking glow. It also says that it will eliminate visible signs of tiredness and premature ageing and help fake a daisy-fresh glow by disguising the look of pores, fine lines, and wrinkles and giving an even, flawless, but natural-looking finish for up to 10 hours.

There are only six shades available in this formula, which is kind of a bummer because you don’t know if the color will be an exact match but I decided to try the second to lightest shade True Ivory (#103). When I first received this product, the shade looked a little dark in the bottle compared to other foundations I have, mostly Chanel foundations in B20, but surprisingly it matches my summer skin tone quite nicely. Wake Me Up has a light fresh scent which is soft and not overwelming. The formula glides on with ease without feeling heavy or thick and is easy to blend, it didn’t settle into my fine lines at all. Coverage is medium with a natural, slightly dewy finish, which probably comes from the illuminating radiance pearls. I found that this foundation does really awaken the skin and gives your face a fresh glow. It set well on my oily with the addition of some pressed powder and it lasted for around 8 hours which is pretty good to me.

Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation

I am always down to trying new foundation, especially one that has gotten rave reviews. So when I picked up a couple items from Illamasqua, I thought I would give their newly released Skin Base Foundation ($42) a try. Illamasqua describes this foundation as follows: “Inspired by the cult Asian market Beauty Balm creams, Skin Base Foundation is a brand new, refined formula unlike anything on the UK market. Easily blendable, it effortlessly creates a perfect complexion, and like the entire Illamasqua foundation range, is undetectable in a professional HD environment. Suitable for all skin types, it smoothes, softens and conditions your skin whilst providing natural, buildable coverage.” This foundation is cruelty free and comes in a large range of shades, Sephora offers 17 shades and Illamasqua’s website offers all 26 shades.

I was super excited to try out this foundation. I have seen it used by Sam & Nic of Pixiwoo in several of their videos and it always looked great on their skin, pretty flawless. I was matched to 6.5 which is described as light with yellow undertones. It comes in a squeeze tube similar to what most tinted moisturizer and BB creams come in. This is nice because it is easy to control how much product you need. The formula is thick but extremely blendable and smooth. I have been using my Real Techniques Expert Face brush (review coming soon) to apply and it helps to really buff the product into the skin. Skin Base is also highly pigmented so you don’t need much of it to do the whole face. Applied, the finish is a bit dewy but that can be toned down with a little pressed powder. I’d say that this foundation gives medium coverage but can definitely be built up to full coverage because of the high pigmentation. I also liked that the product lasted for the whole day on me and looked natural and really evened out my skin tone. Overall I am glad that I gave this foundation a try, it’s great for everyday and gives a flawless finish. Definitely go check it out!

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Ultra Light Skin perfecting Makeup

Chanel recently released a new foundation formula called Vitalumiere Aqua ($45) to replace their Teint Innocence Liquid formula. Since I have grown to love most of Chanel foundations I decided to give it a try.

I went to my local Chanel counter and got some samples from my favorite Chanel artist Jessica. Jessica explained to me that this foundation is super lightweight, oil-free, has SPF 15, and will give a second skin effect to your face. This new formula comes in 10 shades, 5 shades for pink undertones (BR) and the other 5 being for beige undertones (B). Since I have more of a beige undertone, I decided to sample to shades B10 & B20. At the time when I picked up the samples I was still pretty pale, that is why I want to try the B10. But since then, I have been self- tanning, so the B20 came in handy to try. After trying out this formula, I decided that I really enjoyed the light coverage and how it feels on my skin. I hardly feel like I am wearing anything. It has a slight fresh floral scent which is a little different for me, but I like it. I went back and purchased the shade B20 and got a sample of the B30 just in case I get a little more color in the coming weeks. So far I am quite pleased with this foundation. It’s only been a few weeks using, so we will see if I change my mind. (Probably won’t!)

Foundation Search 2011

Up until recently, I have been religiously using Chanel Mat Lumiere foundation.  But with the weather being so dry, i have found that this Chanel foundation isn't working for me right now.  Its been difficult to blend into my skin, even with moisturizer, and the color has gotten a little to yellow/orange on me.  SO that being said, I have been out looking for another foundation that might work better for my skin right now.  I normally use Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation in the weather months but I am about to run out and thought I might try out some other brands before buying another bottle from Bobbi.  The search will begin this weekend and I will keep you posted on the results.  Here are some brands and foundations I have been wanting to try just by word of mouth from other bloggers and youtubers.....

Estee Lauder Double Wear
Estee Lauder Double Wear Light
Hourglass Veil Fluid Makeup Oil Free SPF 15

DiorSkin Forever Extreme Wear Flawless Makeup SPF 25
Korres Wild Rose Foundation
NARS Sheer Matte
Burberry Sheer Luminous Fluid Foundation
Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation

Any suggestions for foundations for my combination skin, let me know!

Chanel Mat Lumiere Foundation Review

As you all may have read in my other post about my foundation search, I am always searching for a new foundation that will blow my mind.  One that will give me flawless coverage, not break me out and last throughout the day. I have read so many great reviews about many of Chanel's foundation formulas that I decided to give it a whirl when I stopped by my local counter to check out the new Extrait de Gloss.  I sat down with the MA there and we discussed my skin type and what kind of coverage I was looking for.  She explained the different formulas to me and we decided to try on the Mat Lumiere and Pro Lumiere (both $54). After trying both formulas on my skin, I decided that I really liked the feel of the Mat Lumiere.  Pro Lumiere felt a little heavy and greasy on my skin and looked a little too dewy for my taste. So I went home with Mat Lumiere in the color Clair 20.

After applying it myself at home, I have to say that I really enjoy this foundation.  It has a soft matte finish with slight luminosity (not greasy) that is easy to apply and gives nice medium coverage.  It’s perfect for my combination/oily because it’s oil-free and contains silica powder to help with oil control. This formula seems pretty long lasting to me, I don’t find myself using my blot powder too often throughout the day.  Chanel Mat Lumiere has met my standards for a great foundation and has made its way to the top of my foundations list.

Chanel Mat Lumiere Clair 20

Foundation Search

 As I mentioned in my earlier post on my foundations, I had gone to Sephora and picked up three samples of foundations that I wanted to try.  I got samples of NARS Sheer Glow, Make Up Forever HD and YSL Teint Resist. Here are my thoughts after trying all three…..

Out of all three foundations I tried, I would say my favorite is the YSL Teint Resist ($55).  The color I was matched to was #4 Sand which is for light to medium neutral beige complexions.  This is an oil-free foundation with a spf 10 that claims to smooth out your complexion and absorb excess oil.  First, I noticed that this foundation has a nice clean smell. Some foundations I can’t use because they smell awful.  Teint Resist applies nicely with a foundation brush and provides a light coverage although it can be layered to create heavier coverage if needed.  It found that this foundation wears very well and doesn’t feel tight on my skin like some oil-free foundations can.   I didn’t need to touch up with Blot powder hardly at all through out the day, which is always nice because I can get pretty oily.  All in all, I am pretty impressed with this foundation and might possibly be purchasing a bottle in the near future.

Next, I tried the Make Up Forever HD Invisible Cover Foundation ($45) in the color #120 which is a soft sand color for medium light complexions with yellow undertones.  I have read so many reviews were people have raved about this foundation so I finally gave it a go.   This is also an oil-free foundation that offers medium to full coverage and give you a flawless finish.  Swatches of all the shades available can be found on KarlaSugar’s blog here.

The last foundation that I tried was NARS Sheer Glow ($42) in Fiji (light#5).  Once again, I had read and seen amazing reviews about this foundation.  I was a little hesitant because it was not oil-free, which is not always good for my skin.  This foundation offers a satin finish that gives you lightweight coverage and glowing skin.  When I first applied this foundation it seemed light and non-greasy. It gave a nice coverage and did give my skin a subtle glow.  After time though, my skin became greasy looking and felt greasy, which led to endless blotting sessions.  I really do wish I could use this foundation because I like the coverage I get with it but my skin will not deal with it not being oil-free.  If you have normal to dry skin, you should definitely give NARS Sheer Glow a try. Swatches by KarlaSugar here.

My Foundations

I am as picky about foundations as I am about skincare. Looking for the perfect foundation can be difficult. What I like in a foundation is light sheer coverage, like my skin but better. Some foundations can be too heavy and cakey. I have combination/oily skin so oil-free foundation is usually a must. I also like to look for long-lasting foundations, so I don’t have to worry about touching up too much during the day. Here are a few of my favorites right now!

I picked up Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation ($45) last fall when I was on the look for a new foundation. The MA suggested the Skin foundation because it provides weightless coverage and still covers imperfections and minimizes pores. I was a little leery because it is not oil-free, but she assured me that it would not break me out. So I trusted her suggestion and purchased the color Warm Sand 2.5. I have to say that I really enjoy this foundation. It does give perfect light coverage and melts into my skin nicely. It leaves a natural dewy finish that is not greasy at all, you almost glow a little. I used that foundation all through fall, winter and spring and now the bottle is almost empty. I think this is my go to foundation for the colder months and will definitely be purchasing again.

Since I love my Bobbi Brown Skin foundation, I was super excited when I found out that Bobbi was coming out with a new oil-free foundation to replace the original. Natural Finish Long Lasting Foundation ($45) I believe came out earlier this year. As soon as I heard about it, I rushed to the counter to try it out. The MA matched me to the shade Beige 3.0. I love this foundation! It gives a soft matte finish on my skin and absorbs excess oils so I don’t have to powder as much. It is not heavy at all and wears beautifully. I have been using it since I purchased it this spring and find it to be a great summer foundation.

When I don’t feel like dealing with a liquid foundation, I head straight for my MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation ($26). This has always been an old favorite of mine and I think I have been using for going on 15 years. In fact it was one of the first things I ever purchased at MAC. My shades have changed over the years from N4, C3, NC25, and NC30. Right now I hover between my NC30 & 25 depending on how much color I have at the moment. This powder foundation is super easy to apply with a fluffy powder brush and easy to carry around in you purse for touch ups. I like to use this when I feel super oily because I feel like it really absorbs the oil in my skin all day.

L to R: BB Skin, BB Natural, MAC Studio Fix

I stopped by Sephora the other day to pick up a few samples of some foundations I have wanted to try out for some time. I picked up Make Up Forever HD Invisible Coverage Foundation in #120, NARS Sheer Glow in Fiji and YSL Teint Resist in #4 Sand. I will be trying them out this week, so I will let you all know if either strike my fancy. Talk to you soon!