What I love:
- Triple milled powder, belong in one of the softer ones I have tested. Reminds me of the quality of Chanel’s powder foundation’s softness.
- The compact comes with a mirror for easy touch ups
- Affordable pricing
- Doesn’t clog my pores or break me out
- The velvety finish that leaves my skin shine free and fresh looking.
- #Light Skin matches my skin tone perfectly.
What I don’t like:
- Plastic feel of the compact, I am in a constant fear that if I drop this compact everything would break into a million pieces.
- Coverage is very light despite the packaging says it is buildable.
- Have to be light handed in application to avoid looking too cakey.
- Not sure why BB has to do with this, I think it is more of a marketing thing rather than a BB thing.
RRP AUD$26.95
Available on L’Oreal Paris counters now
Earlier this month, Rimmel London released a new foundation – Rimmel London Match Perfection Foundation. This collection is designed for un-detactable coverage under bright lights and to match skin tones flawlessly. There are a total of 12 shades to choose from and are mostly suited for very fair skin to medium skin tones. There are also 2 medium/dark shades.
Personally I love matching both #010 and #100 to get the perfect match for my skin tone. Both of which belongs in the yellow tone family. Texture wise, this is quite similar to most liquid foundation in the market; however coverage wise, this is light to medium. I would definitely recommend to apply concealer after foundation to add to areas where additional coverage is needed. The finish of this foundation is comfortable and dewy.
The foundation also has fragrance in it. If you don’t mind fragrances in your foundation with a sheer to light coverage + illuminating, dewy finish foundation; you will love this.
RRP AUD$17.95 each
@rimmellondonau
Call 1800 812 663 for stockist
I am a #02.
This is another long overdue post. When Giorgio Armani released Luminous Silk Foundation, there were heaps of reviews about how great this is and that it is the ultimate real skin foundation.
I like how this is oil free and is ‘quite’ lightweight however, I can still feel that there was a mask feel on my skin. I have experimented with both finger and brush applications with this foundation and find that this foundation is best applied with a foundation brush (I love using Shiseido Perfect Foundation brush). Coverage wise, this is medium and potentially buildable; this is definitely quite effective in covering redness but not so much with scarring and dryness. Also, this isn’t very hydrating so if you have extremely dry skin, this might not be the right foundation for you.
I can see that those with oily/combination skin will love this however for its price, I can think that there’s quite a few options in the market that can easily be comparable to this foundation with a cheaper price.
RRP AUD$98
Available on Giorgio Armani counters now
Owned by Kanebo, Kate is a popular Japanese drugstore make up brand carrying mostly make up products. A while back, I picked up the Kate BB Gel Cream which was newly launched earlier this year. As with all BB creams, you have the option to use this as a base or use it on its own. Personally, I prefer make up that isn’t heavy so I often use BB cream on their own and top with concealer/powder if I need that added coverage.
Kate’s BB Gel Cream is alcohol free and fragrance free. It has SPF 30 PA++ in it to provide broad spectrum sun coverage and contains water soluble collagen to deliver hydration and protection at one go.
I went with Shade 1 (assuming it is OC-B, I have thrown away the packaging). As you can see in the swatch it has a distinct yellow tone and rubs off clear. Texture wise it is light weight and smooths beautifully due to its gel cream texture. Upon first blending, the BB gel cream looked really yellowish but after blending it matches my skin tone perfectly.
I find that this BB gel cream is particularly great at covering acne scarring, discoloration, pores and redness (not many lightweight BB cream can achieve this!). Despite the medium buildable coverage, this BB gel cream still feels lightweight to skin and doesn’t feel like heavy at all. I am guessing it has something to do with the mineral content of the BB gel cream that helps blend it in very easily and efficiently.
As you can see the finish is smooth, doesn’t settle into fine lines and very natural. I love the matte finish, its ability to control oil and this BB gel cream is proving to be a favourite during warmer months. Definitely recommend this to those with combination to oily skin. If you want dewy skin finish you’ve gotta look elsewhere.
Note: This product was purchased from Taiwan and I am not sure how much it was but I am certain it was under AUD$20! Good value!
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For the longest time, I was a liquid foundation type of girl. I only had my eyes locked on liquid foundation because that was all I knew back in the days and some MAC sales assistances shoved it down my throat many moons ago. As I am exposed to more options throughout the years, I have learnt to love cream, gel, powder and mineral types of foundations.
Clarins has done quite a few amazing foundations in the past especially the Skin Illusion liquid foundation, this time around they have released a loose powder version of this foundation and it comes in 6 shades to choose from. For those who wants a matte finish, this mineral loose powder is infused with mineral and plant based ingredients that helps to illuminate skin despite it being a powder foundation.
Packaging - Comes with a retractable in built flat round brush that surprisingly buffs the powder foundation really well. The foundation comes with two compartments a plastic cover to prevent the loose powder to get messy when closed and a plastic sieve to get a proper amount of powder at a time.
So far with these two plastic trays in place, I find them helps to keep everything in place and not messy at all. Packaging wise, this is unique and definitely a well thought out product.
Coverage – Depending on how you apply this, I find the coverage can be sheer to medium and can be full if need be when you buff more in. I use the brush that comes with this powder foundation for application and be sure to prime my skin with a silicone based primer like Dermalogica’s AgeSmart Skinperfect Primer.
This is where the foundation won my heart over, it covers my pigmentation, uneven skin tone and acne scarring perfectly well. It also reduces the look of my pores and controls oil well.
Texture – Quite fine & silky texture that doesn’t feel heavy on skin.
Finish – I love the smooth, matte finish with a hint of radiance. The foundation feels really natural and lightweight on my skin and the shade #109 Wheat matches my skin tone perfectly without making me appearing too pale. Best of all it doesn’t oxidise on my skin or smudge throughout the day. It’s just the way the foundation settles onto my skin that really stood out for me.
Needless to say I am calling this my HG powder foundation!
RRP AUD$60
On Clarins counters today
For the longest time I wanted to trial RMK make up brand because their base make up is notorious for being top notch and has been used by quite a few celebrities and nominated and awarded by magazines overseas. One of my main concern with purchasing base make up products online is that I can never tell if the shade will match my skin tone especially when there isn’t any counter locally.
Couple of months back when I was in Malaysia for a trip, I made it to a point to visit the RMK counter to pick up some products. I picked up the RMK Liquid Foundation (in shade #202) and ordered the RMK cult item Make up Base online later because it was sold out in Malaysia.
Let’s start with the RMK Make up Base, this make up base has a lightweight liquid emulsion texture that you smooth and massage onto skin prior to foundation step. This comes in a heavy glassy packaging; it makes me thinking twice before packing this with me while I travel. In addition, it can also be quite messy if you pour directly out of the bottle opening.
So the trick to get products out of this packaging is to put a finger over the opening of the packaging and tip the jar upside down and there will be small amounts of product on your finger, now smear this on your face. Repeat until you get your desired amount and blend all over face with fingers. Be sure to shake the product prior to using.
The way I see it this make up base is suitable for those with normal, combination and especially dry and dehydrated skin who needs moisture minus the shine. So far this makeup base works really well with the RMK Liquid Foundation that I am trialling with, shows no signs of smudging or make up coming off after a long day of wear. Essentially if you want a primer that moisturises your skin and holds foundation well, this has to be it.
As for the RMK Liquid Foundation, this comes in 11 shades and SPF in the foundation. This foundation feels quite lightweight from a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being super lightweight, I’ll call this a 2. Again, I am not liking the product packaging and it would be a far better product if it comes with a pump. This glides onto my skin very easily and I buff this in after the primer with my trusty Shiseido Perfect Foundation Brush. Coverage wise, this is sheer to medium with buildable coverage. Especially great at covering veins, scars but not so much with redness.
Overall, I like both products but not their packaging. The Make Up Base score high points for its moisture and dewy finish without grease and ability to control oil flow throughout the day. The Liquid Foundation is great for a natural and breathable finish without appearing cakey.
Both products are 30ml
RMK Liquid Foundation RM155 / AUD$51.66
RMK Make up Base £28.00 / AUD$43.55
Recently, Estee Lauder launched a new foundation, the same one I have hinted previously with my exclusive interview with Tom Pecheux for Estee Lauder. You see their tag line for this foundation is See No Makeup. Feel No Makeup.™ - big call and I knew I had to trial it to believe it myself.
The new Estee Lauder Invisible Fluid Makeup contains Estee Lauder’s exclusive new, patent-pending IntuiTone™ technology (something to do with the colours of the foundation working with your skin’s undertone to match all skin colours), meaning it blends into skin of every ethnicity (score!) and gives this natural shade match. Upon application, this foundation feels very watery but somehow absorbs into skin very quickly leaving a light coverage that feels almost weightless.
After trialling this foundation for a couple of times, this was the ONLY foundation I took with me to go on my 4 weeks holiday (aside for a few other BB creams). Reason why I took this with me is because it gives me a natural finish, one that boost translucency without oxidise on my skin after hours of wear and doesn’t appear cakey, drying or smudges after long hours of wear. On top of that, for some reason this foundation worked really well at oil controlling even without the help of primer/translucent powder. Coverage wise, this is light to medium so if you need heaps of coverage you might need to look into using concealer.
One of the best quality of this foundation is that it is capable of covering redness (mild redness) so it saves me from spending additional time to use concealer to cover redness. Be sure to shake the bottle prior to application to ensure a smooth flawless finish. Don’t forget to pop by your nearest Estee Lauder to professional colour match your foundation shade.
Oil free, alcohol free, non acnegenic, dermatologist tested.
RRP AUD $68.00
Stockist Number: 1800 061 326
Available on Estee Lauder counters and online now
It is no secret that I love liquid foundation. So when a new one comes along that promises oil free properties, brightening (very rare) and provides moisture to the skin – I knew I had to give it a whirl.
Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow SPF 25 blends well with fingertips (my preferred way) application, no issues there. With the current trend of “skin loving foundation” aka foundation that contain skincare ingredients, this liquid foundation contains Vitamin C (for brightening) and Vitamin E derivatives (to repair skin and prevent signs of aging). While I haven’t seen a huge improvement on my skin by using this foundation, I firmly believe that having skincare ingredients in a foundation is BETTER than not having anything in it at all.
Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow SPF 25 comes with 8 foundation shades to choose from and they have some really dark shades to suit all types of skin colour too. My match is the lightest shade – #”I’m pure 4 sure” Ivory. I really liked how the colour matches my skin tone perfectly and doesn’t have any annoying white cast like most brightening make up does. Recently, I also wore this foundation for a photoshoot and here are the pictures.
Taken by photographer’s professional camera, unedited (only cropped). The coverage of the foundation is medium and helps to even out all my imperfections. I only had a very light dust of translucent powder around my t-zone area.
Another picture taken by my iphone, unedited.
Needless to say, this is my current go-to foundation especially during winter and we all know how drying and unforgiving the weather can do to our skin. If you get a chance, trial it on the counter, I am sure you’ll love it as much as I do.
RRP AUD$55
Available on Benefit counters now
