Archives August 2022

because I finished up my MAC Mineralize Skinfinish natural (MSFN) powder last month, I finally got to open up my MAC Studio Sculpt Defining Powder (SSDP), which has been sitting in my stash because it launched in Sept 2014.  I know… I have a tendency to purchase stuff and then not open it for months.

The compact costs $37 for 10g and is made in Italy.  I primarily purchased this because the tester at the MAC store felt so smooth.  I told the MA that I love the MSFN and she said this was comparable but even much more smooth looking. I was intrigued!  I was matched to the Light plus shade.

MAC’s description of this powder:

This long-wearing gel-infused powder glides onto the skin and effortlessly blends for a flawless look.  Created using slurry technology, in which this powder formula starts out as a liquid-gel and dries to its powder form to give it a distinct creamy feel.  Can be worn on its own, over moisturizer or used to set and stablize makeup.  Features sheer buildable coverage.

Compared to MSFN, SSDP has a sheerer coverage.  I would compare it to the MAC Blot powder in terms of coverage.  However, the SSDP isn’t as shine controlling as the Blot powder (nor is it marketed to be).  I really dig the design on the powder surface, for some reason it looks really futuristic to me:

I read online reviews that complained they could not pick up any product onto their brushes, and I can understand why – this powder is packed quite densely into the compact, I think primarily due to how fine the powder particles are.  I made a point to use my natural hair bristled Clarins kabuki brush and it picked up the powder just fine.  So keep that mind – in general a synthetic brush just can’t pick up powders as well.

I’ve been wearing this for a couple of weeks and I really like it!  It offers a very flawless looking skin: blurs fine lines and pores, doesn’t look cakey, and gives a natural looking radiance.  I can even use this powder to set my under eye concealer because it’s not a flat matte powder.  I would say that based on how it performs, this is MAC’s response to Hourglass’ hourglass Ambient lighting Powder.

The only weakness for me is that it doesn’t offer much oil control, but for the upcoming winter season months, it’s not as much of a concern.  This powder would be best suited for normal to dry skin or combination skin – but not for the oily skin types.  I would certainly repurchase this!

Pros:
• blurs skin imperfections
• not drying
• natural looking
• good range of colours (8 in total)

Cons:
• not much oil control
• expensive

Stash worthiness: 8/10

Have you tried MAC Studio Sculpt Defining Powder? What’s your preferred face powder?

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MAC foundation samplesI got 3 MAC foundations samples when I went in the last time to redeem my “free” lipstick for the Back to MAC program.  I’ve now had the chance to try all 3 foundations at least twice each, so I can offer a first impressions type of review on them. The…
November 23, 2015In “Beauty”

Project focus 10: Nars Light Reflecting loose setting PowderHappy 1st day of February!  Continuing with the next item in project focus 10, today we’ll look at the Nars Light Reflecting loose setting Powder: This product retails for $44 for a 10g jar. In Canada, it’s available at Sephora, Hudson’s Bay or Holt Renfrew.  I purchased mine from Sephora. I’ve had this…
February 1, 2016In “Beauty”

Favourites Lately: Late 2016This year I chose to do quarterly favourites so I’ve had lists for early 2016 (covering January to March) and mid-year (covering April to June), and now I’m showing my third quarterly favourites to cover July to September: It’s mostly sunny products but a little bit of autumn is creeping in……
October 26, 2016In “Beauty”

Her smize, though!
Well, this is probably the best makeup I’ve worn in weeks.

Possibly months.

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This is what the first day of Christmas break looked like ’round these parts. First, Coycoy did my lewk, and when I asked her to break down the essentials she said, “It’s bold. It’s fashion. It’s a mustache.” ?

Then she did her own FOTD.

Seriously, how did this child figure out that unblended, over-drawn, ’90s style lip on her own?! LOL! I will never know.

On that note, this week’s reading!

Because swatching is on lockdown, many beauty lovers have been relying on selfie technology to virtually “try before you buy.”

Speaking of selfies…Google launched a new AR (augmented reality) feature on search so holiday shoppers can “try on” lipsticks and eyeshadow from home.

My makeup spirit animal, Sir John, put his signature makeup spin on a bunch of Barbie dolls, and the results are all sorts of fabulous.

The ancient town of Kannauj is the perfume capital of India.

In case you were looking for a new nail polish line to try…

There’s also this one (hint: it involves one of the members of the Backstreet Boys)!

Bakuchiol is a buzzy skin care ingredient that’s supposed to be a comparable alternative to retinol.

I may or may not have just added everything in this video to my wishlist.

This look is super pretty.

YUM

When two worlds collide!

Because I’ve watched all the episodes of The Crown and I neeeeeeed MOAR

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How’s it going?! What are your plans for the day? Rosie and I have some wrapping (rapping?) to do while El Hub and the Coywolf go for a hike, so that’s my day. how about you? I hope all is well.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Today’s entry was written by my good friend, AngelWearsPrada.

She’s passionate about high-end, exclusive fragrances and sent a lengthy email to me describing a brand that I knew nothing about, By Kilian.  I’m no perfume aficionado, and I thought it would be a great change to have another voice on this blog, so I’ll let her describe why By Kilian has captured her heart.

In the following entry, all text inside square brackets [  ] are my comments.  The rest are AngelWearsPrada’s!

By Kilian is the brainchild of Kilian Hennessy.  The heir to the Hennessey of the LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton S.A. fame.  A snippet of his bio reads:

His childhood haunts included the family cellars in Cognac. before graduating from CELSA (School of higher Studies in the information and communication Sciences at the Sorbonne) he wrote a thesis on the semantics of odors in search of a language common to gods and mortals. In search of the “angels share”, he encountered the world of perfumery.

It’s a hard life. photo courtesy of Metro.
Full Kilian Hennessey bio here [warning, the site has loud music that autoplays – click the volume symbol at the lower ideal corner of the site to mute]

A sampling of By Kilian scents – I have denoted an asterisk beside the ones for which I have samples of:
L’Oevre Noir Collection
♦  Prelude to Love*
♦  Love, Don’t be Shy*
♦  Love and Tears, Surrender
♦  A taste of Heaven
♦  Straight to heaven – This is the one I own and what I wore on Friday night that you all commented on! [our girls’ night]
♦  Back to Black* – I hate this one
♦  Dangerous Liaisons, normal Me – My husband wears this.  I love it too.  I wore it once and a coworker accosted me – told me I smelled expensive.
♦  Cruel Intentions, Tempt Me
♦  Sweet Redemption

You can see that all the names are decidedly seductive!
Note: I gotten the “Travel” set for myself (cheaper) and the “Refill” set for my husband (also much more affordable and he doesn’t care for all the fancy packaging – it’s lost on him anyway).  So I did NOT spend the $270 CDN + taxes = $300-ish that Holt’s is charging. and overall – it was more affordable to get in France, not here [Canada].

There are also a few other collections of note:
v  Asian Tales Collection – normally not a fan of any of the scents in this collection, but I do have lots of samples of these.
v  In the garden of good and Evil Collection – this is where the “Good girl Gone Bad” scent is from. That was my runner up scent. It was between Good: “Straight to Heaven” and Evil: “Good girl Gone Bad” and good won out!  [AngelWearsPrada gave me a sample of “Good girl Gone Bad” which I checked and made a decision it smelled too “sensual” on me]

Photo courtesy of Ideal.az
There are 4 scents from this collection:
♦  Good girl Gone Bad*
♦  In the City of Sin
♦  Forbidden Games*
♦  Playing with the Devil

By Kilian also launched a collection of “Vodka” and “Brandy” scents which are part of the “Boutique Exclusives” collection. These were awesome, if you don’t mind smelling like a drink. honestly though, when these perfumes settle, for the most part, they are genuinely unique.  I have one sample each of these.

Part of the allure of the brand is the shopping experience, here are the By Kilian shops that I have visited:

London (at Harrod’s – 5th/top floor – it was a whole “fragrance mall” of perfume boutiques – quite the experience!)

Paris

Overall my experience with the brand has been quite lovely. I do take pleasure in the decadence of it. The boutiques are charming in London/Paris. In Canada, it is exclusive to Holt’s but they don’t do it any justice here – it is merely a “counter” like any other fragrance. but the packaging is beautiful and there is a made a decision air of “sophistication” with this brand. Also, not lots of people are familiar with it so I can walk around and know that no one else will smell like me! love that!

They also have a boutique in nyc – and its on my list to visit this year:

[For a providing of all By Kilian’s fragrances and in-depth scent notes and reviews, please visit the By Kilian page on fragrantica.com. I just went through to see what I may like to try from By Kilian and “Beyond Love” with its Tuberose, Coconut, and Jasmine scents might be up my alley. thanks AngelWearsPrada, for introducing me to this brand!]

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An unexpected gift from fivezero (we met up!)I’m sure you’re all familiar with Chris of fivezero – she of the nail swatches that launched a thousand lemmings – she was also one of the winners from my giveaway.  When I sent her the notice to claim her prize – I tossed out a suggestion: perhaps we could meet up, considering that we live…
February 26, 2016In “Beauty”

Tokyo Milk wisdom No 26 perfumeHappy Black Friday!  I may or may not be out trying to nab a deal on wintertime boots. I haven’t made a decision if I’ll brave the crowds.  I might just buy online. 😛 Today I’m examining Tokyo Milk wisdom No 26 perfume.  I’ve heard a lot about Tokyo Milk fragrances -…
November 27, 2015In “Beauty”

My least checked out articles of 2015Since I posted the other day about my top articles of 2015, I thought I’d show some love to my least checked out / commented on articles of 2015!  I personally liked these entries but hey, my blog was quite new at the time or maybe no one else thinks these…
January 12, 2016In “Beauty”

Today is Boxing Day in Canada, which is our version of “Black Friday”.  We get this day off work as a holiday as well (I only just recently discovered out that this is not the situation in other countries!).  Since Boxing Day falls on a Saturday this year, we get this coming Monday off instead – I likewise took Tuesday off since I have some leftover vacation days.  This means… additional long weekend as well as SHOPPING!

Boxing Day is excellent since you can utilize all those gift certificates you’ve got for Christmas as well as get things at dramatically discounted costs – maximizing the value of those gift cards!  Most stores will not enable for Christmas gift returns or exchanges on Boxing Day since the stores are so busy, so keep that in mind.

I’m truly lured to go have a look at the Sephora clearance sales however I’m *so* close to the end of my No-Buy… on one hand, I’ve been great all year, on the other hand, I’m been great ALL YEAR, so I can enable myself… right?  BUT, I won’t!  My No-Buy ends on December 31st… so only one more 5 days, or 120 hours, or 7200 minutes to go…

Hope you had a marvalous Christmas – have fun buying the Boxing Day / Week / Month deals!

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What I got for Christmas 2016I hope you all had a great Christmas! It’s excellent that Christmas day fell on Sunday – we have Boxing Day off (yesterday) as well as we get an additional day off since Christmas day was on the weekend. So we don’t have to go back to work up until Wednesday. 🙂 It’s…
December 28, 2016In “Beauty”

Blogmas 2016: The Christmas beauty TagEven though I decided to do a shortened Blogmas this year, I was rather challenged as to what topics to compose about, since last year’s Blogmas quite much covered all the major Christmassy topics like Christmas music, movies, gift ideas, etc. So I was excited when I spotted this tag…
December 19, 2016In “Beauty”

Blogmas Day 6: Christmas CardsI like greeting cards. I like looking at them. I like collecting them. as well as most of all, I like providing them!  Christmas time is the very best time for a greeting card fiend like me (ecards just don’t hack it!). every year I go on a search for boxed Christmas cards…
December 6, 2015In “General”

hugging myself since today is a excellent day! ?
I got my second vaccine shot yesterday and, FYI, this Band-Aid is officially the very best Band-Aid that ever was or ever will be. After it falls off, I may tuck it away in an envelope to ensure that years from now, when whatever is back to “normal” (“air quotes”) as well as we’re doing things like going to the Catalina white wine Mixer once again without feeling creeped out about crowds, I’ll discover this Band-Aid as well as think, “Eww, you’re incredibly gross, Karen,” as well as “Gosh, I sure was delighted that day.”

You understand this is one of my preferred movies, right?

This is the most hopeful I’ve felt in a long, long time.

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Because I didn’t want to fail to remember exactly how delighted I feel, I put on some fun momentary tattoos by Tattly as well as some makeup to honor the day. I’m using a mish-mosh of traditional NARS eyeshadows (the Cordura as well as Isolde duos, as well as Blondie, Biarritz as well as Abysinnia) as well as a few new-to-me products for whatever else.

I’m using a mix of traditional NARS as well as a few new-to-me base, cheek as well as lip products
Some very first impressions

Revlon Colorstay Light Cover Foundation: I (incorrectly) presumed that since this has “Light Cover” in the name, it was a shot-out to sheer coverage, however nope! — it’s a recommendation to exactly how light this full-coverage matte liquid foundation feels on skin. It’s light as a feather! The protection of one layer is just timid of full, which is sufficient to hide red areas, freckles as well as unequal pigmentation. Then, you can add a lot more layers, which is simple to do since it blends so well, if you want to bump up the protection to full. For reference, my skin is dry on my cheeks as well as oily on my forehead, as well as this foundation handles both areas like a champ. offered in 12 shades, $13.99 each.

Clinque even much better All-Over Concealer + Eraser: Normally, full-coverage concealers look thick, dry as well as cakey when I wear them in my under-eye area, so I type of prevent them, however this demi-matte liquid concealer totally steers remove of fine lines. even after it dries down, it stays smooth as well as flexible, which is extremely cool! I plan to utilize this as a foundation, actually, since I believe it’ll be excellent for that too. offered in a whopping 42 shades, $26 each.

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L’Oreal shiny Lip discolor in Be Outstanding: This is neato. It’s a long lasting, lightweight, non-sticky liquid lipstick with an ultra-shiny finish. kind of like an amalgam of every lip product under the sun! This specific one, Be Outstanding, is a rosy brown, however there are great deals of other colors to select from in the line, which, FYI, is BOGO ideal now at Ulta. offered in 12 shades, $11.99 each.

Laura Mercier blush in Chai: I like LM’s blushes for their pigment as well as smooth finish, as well as this matte increased is one of her prettiest as well as a lot of natural-looking ones, IMHO. offered in 10 shades, $32 each.

Best Band-Aid ever!
Temporary tattoos by Tattly
The pandemic as well as the lockdowns have transformed me into something of a hermit, as well as I’m still freaked out a bit (OK, a lot) about the believed of being among big groups of people, as well as like…doing things. LOL! I keep reminding myself that this as well shall pass, as well as we’ll be able to do a lot more things extremely soon. Like, I texted an old good friend I utilized to work with at the bakery as well as asked her if she wished to go on a hike in a couple weeks. I’m likewise starting to psychologically psych myself as much as go to an outside small-group HIIT class at the fitness center sometime in May!

Part of me still concerns that we might backslide if the virus takes a different course, so I keep telling myself not to get as well ecstatic about returning to typical life ideal away…but one more part of me likewise wishes to be hopeful.

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This past year has altered me so much, as well as I’m betting it’s altered you too.

Your friendly community appeal addict,

Karen

Saturday Chanel adventures!
Oh, my gosh! look what greeted me very first thing this morning (see above, however I caution you — brace yourself). I hadn’t opened this Chanel cream shadow in a while, as well as this morning when I took it out to play, it fell out of its jar.

The horror!

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Could this be the universe’s not-so-subtle method of motivating me to go to a counter to get a new cream shadow to love? Hmm…

In other news, while we’re on the topic of cream shadow, what are your faves? let me understand in the comments. Inquiring minds want to know.

This week’s reading

Some winter season makeup patterns to keep an eye on!

Here’s exactly how to figure out if your makeup is expiring.

Is your long-lasting makeup toxic?

How Avon transformed the economic landscape for women around the world.

In situation you’re searching for some concepts for your buying cart for the Dermstore sale.

A step-by-step guide to making your preferred fragrance last.

16 nude lippies produced darker skin tones.

Allegedly, these are universal red lippies!

Science confirms what feline women have understood because the dawn of time.

Note to self: paint your paws.

United Airlines provides all of their flight attendants the okay for tattoos, nail polish as well as makeup.

Summer street style in new York

Note to self…

I am consumed with Gemma!

One of my favorites…

So pretty!

Say hi to my husband, Keanu.

You understand what’s on my mind this morning? Resting. Man, I’ve been feeling used down lately… It’s my nature to go-go-go, as well as when I’m tired, I typically just try to push with it, however I’m realizing much more as well as much more exactly how essential it is to listen to your body as well as just sluggish down. I don’t understand if you requirement to hear this, however if you do, I hope you take a long time to rest your mind as well as body this weekend if you’re able to. Don’t imply to preach, however you understand what I mean. Gotta recharge your batteries.

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Extra squeeze-y hugs to you today. have a fantastic day. speak with you soon.

Your friendly community charm addict,

Karen

Today’s Project focus 10’s review product is Clinique Pop Lip Colour in #02 Bare Pop:

I redeemed optimum points for this lipstick – typically it retails for $22 for 3.9g of product.

This lipstick formula has been on my wish list because it was launched in mid-2015. I initially wanted the colour #05 Melon Pop because it seemed to be the most popular shade at the time – I guess it made sense because it was summertime and a corally colour looked great against tanned skin. fast forward to November – I swatched Melon Pop and wasn’t feeling it. The colour looked plastic and unnatural on me.

So I evaluated a few other colours in the nude end of the spectrum and came away with Bare Pop. The colour isn’t so much nude as it is a MLBB shade – it has a neutral rosey tone with golden shimmers that I would imagine would flatter a lot of skin tones.

This shot is much more accurate for colour:

As for the formula, Clinique claims:

Luxurious yet weightless formula merges bold, saturated colour with a smoothing primer. Glides on effortlessly to a modern-velvet finish. Colour stays true, keeps lips conveniently moisturized for 8 hours.

I’m puzzled by Clinique’s claims, actually! This is NOT a bold, saturated colour. It’s certainly moisturizing and comfortable to wear. but it is NOT a velvet finish. On the site, it lists the shade Bare Pop as a “demi-matte” finish. What the heck? There’s no way in the current popular understanding of the word “matte” is this formula anywhere near demi-matte. It’s a shimmery, balmy lipstick with sheer to medium colour payoff. and while it does wear quite well for a balmy lip product (must be that built-in primer), I would not say it lasted 8 hrs – it lasted me around 4 hrs without eating / drinking.

Left was the brand new bullet, and best photo shows the current state.

However, I would say that despite the disconnect between the claims by Clinique against its actual performance, I really delight in wearing this lipstick! I was a bit uncertain about the shimmery finish at first, but it is a refined shimmer that gives the lips fullness and dimension. I did not feel any grit from the shimmer, and it wore off evenly (nothing worse than glitter in the corners of the mouth and in lip lines). I’ve been tossing this lipstick into my purse pretty regularly lately (and not just because of this project focus 10!) It’s a great everyday, no thinking required type of lip product; a step up from a tinted lip balm for me.

Of course, a MLBB type of shade is worthy of to be compared against others in my stash:

Left to right:
• urban Decay revolution in Rush*
• Shiseido ideal Rouge in PK303 Pink Mesa
• Mary Kay true dimensions Lipstick in Tuscan Rose
• Clinique Pop Lip Colour in Bare Pop
• Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in 001 Pink Truffle
• Elizabeth Arden exceptional Lipstick in 17 Breathless
* I *just* realized the shade I got is rush and NOT Rapture as I keep claiming. another case of the MUA grabbing the wrong shade and I didn’t notice until now. but I do really like the colour, so no harm, no foul!

The UD and Shiseido have the coolest tones in the range – they also offer the most coverage. Clinique Pop Colour’s pigmentation is just a tad much more than the Revlon Lip Butter. I do find that the Clinique’s long lasting power is far exceptional to that of the Revlon Lip Butters though – it doesn’t have that glossy slip that the Lip Butters have.  The Clinique is the shimmery-est of the bunch.

Left is the full size Pop Colour (Bare Pop) and best is the gwp one my friend gave me (in #13 love Pop)

The packaging is another noteworthy feature of the lipstick – a squared off, modern looking tube with a base that matches to the lipstick shade inside. I appreciate the effort but it’s a bit bulky in practice. The silver portion – the cap – actually makes a good reflective surface and, in a pinch, can double as a mirror for applying the lipstick.

Those who are sensitive to scents will rejoice, this lipstick is completely fragrance-free, although there is an initial waxy smell when first applied, it rapidly dissipates.  Interestingly, this product is made in Belgium. I’ve not owned anything made there before – neat!

Pros:
• Creamy formula feels comfortable on the lips
• Shimmer adds dimension but does not feel gritty
• Hydrating formula – no need for lip balm beforehand
• No added fragrance

Cons:
• Not as bold or demi-matte finish as described
• wears for 4 hrs (not 8 as claimed, but 4 hrs is still pretty good in my books)
• slightly bulky packaging

Stash worthiness: 8/10

I’m thinking about getting #14 Plum Pop next! have you tried the Clinique Pop Lip Colour lipsticks yet?

Tidbits on other project focus 10 items:
• once again, I failed to use the Smashbox double exposure palette all week – I’ve been using the Lise Watier simply nude palette mostly, and then using my rediscovered MAC Woodwinked (I used to hate this colour but somehow it worksfor me now)
• Still using the trusty Orly Bonder – no much more peelies!
• The L’Oreal Voluminous Butterfly mascara has on my lashes probably 5 days out of 7 because I opened it, I’ll be evaluating it next week

Please go check out my collab buddies for their project focus 10 posts:
♦ Ingrid of Curly.Spring.Blossom
♦ Jodi of A Brash Attitude
♦ delight of Styled With Joy

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Optimum points Redemption Extravaganza!Since everyone is posting their Black Friday loot, I thought I’d post my optimum points spend Your points loot!  I did go into consumers drug Mart (SDM) armed with a shopping list, let’s see how well I did sticking to the plan: Firstly, I ended up redeeming for $300 worth…
November 29, 2015In “Beauty”

Lemmings #1This is the first time I’m posting a wish list type of entry, but I’ve chosen to title it “Lemmings” instead. The reason for this is because most, if not all, of my wish list items have been brought to my attention due to other people’s messages about them. The…
August 23, 2015In “Beauty”

Collab: project focus 10New year, new collaboration!  This is another brainchild of miss Ingrid (aka Curly.Spring.Blossom) who approached me with a 10 week long blog series called project focus 10.  The idea of this series is to focus on beauty products to try to either use them up, or give them much more attention: •…
January 18, 2016In “Beauty”

great morning to ya. How’s your Caturday going so far? Good, I hope. With whatever unfolding in the world this week, I’m grateful to just have shelter as well as feel risk-free at this moment, since a great deal of people don’t have that best now…

I hope your stomach is full anywhere you are. I hope you feel safe, warm as well as content, as well as I hope you’re surrounded by people who care for you as well as like you.

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I try my finest to keep MBB light as well as bright because, as I get even more into adulthood (*ahem*), all of the real-world issues feel heavier as well as heavier, as well as my hope is that MBB can always be a short-term shelter from the huge scaries — a location that feels risk-free to just prattle on about things that bring us joy, whether it be makeup, cats or pop culture. I hope you always feel great when you visit.

But, as you extremely well know, in some cases the genuine world intervenes.

On that note, hi again. Oh, assumption what? This woman is going back to Sephora today since I just tried on a few of the new things I purchased yesterday, as well as they looked funky…and not cool in a great way.

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The Ilia very Serum Skin Tint looked heavy as well as grayish eco-friendly on my skin (the color I selected was Morgat), the Ilia Concealer seemed just a touch as well thick, as well as the Caliray Mascara refused to hold a lash curl.

Hmm… perhaps I’m pickier than I utilized to be. All I understand is I’m still searching for a mascara, concealer as well as skin tint that sings to my soul.

This week’s reading

The OG charm influencers? ancient Egyptian royalty!

Gwen Stefani has a new makeup line.

For my good friends with fair skin tones, these are allegedly the very best bronzers for lighter lasses, according to makeup artists.

Hair as well as makeup artists working at The Atlanta Opera are at the center of a labor conflict that might have extensive implications across all industries.

Euphoria-style makeup is still a thing.

How Thierry Mugler permanently altered the perfume world.

Love me some Florence.

Oui.

I requirement a few of this style.

Love, love, love.

The tap dancing intro!

Anyone else like these videos?

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Please have a excellent rest of your weekend!

Your friendly community charm addict,

Karen

YES!
1. The taste like Schitt Unofficial Cookbook of Schitt’s Creek

Schitt’s Creek fans, now you can cook Moira Rose’s famous cheese enchiladas for dinner (“Fold in the cheese”). I have yet to make anything, however I’ve checked out the recipes are supposed to be legit.

2. OPI infinite radiate in I’m Not truly a Waitress

Speaking of Schitt’s Creek, I feel such as this is totally a Moira increased nail polish. Right?

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I just just recently chosen this up as well as so far am in like with the color as well as formula. tons of pigment, super shiny as well as a 20-minute dry time from begin to finish. I’m three days into this manicure as well as have no chips so far.

OPI infinite radiate in I’m Not truly a Waitress
3. The morning Show

Jennifer Aniston as well as Reese Witherspoon both have major game in this show! I’m totally hooked.

4. Creekside Bakery Pie

This bakery in Marin region makes the very best pie. The crust is super flaky as well as buttery, as well as the fillings are the perfect balance of wonderful as well as tart. I extremely suggest the cherry pie. Strawberry rhubarb is great, too.

5. It’s a great Day by Peggy Lee

My jam lately. Plus, look at her makeup in this video! Classic. I like IT.

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What’ve you been loving lately?

Your friendly community beauty addict,

Karen

because I’m guilty of purchasing new foundations instead of using up my current open bottle(s), typically I have at least 12 different ones on the go.  Some of them are better suited for the summer, while others are only used during the winter season months.  My skin tone often straddle between light and medium shades, so I typically mix 2 different shades to get a suitable colour match.   In addition, mixing different foundation formulas helps to get a finish that works better for my combination skin type.

Typically, I like to mix foundations to both colour match and improve on the formulations to my liking.

Here are some of my tried-and-true foundation mixes:

The Body Shop Extra Virgin Minerals liquid foundation in #108 golden Ivory – $25 for 28 ml (this item is no longer available in Canada)
+ 
Vichy Aera Teint Pure fluid foundation in 23 Ivory – $28 for 30ml (it’s nearly impossible to find information about this online but it’s readily available at drugstores in Canada)

The Body shop foundation in #108 was the lightest shade they provided that wasn’t pink toned. On me, this foundation is very yellow (almost ochre) and too dark. The formula is good though – an emollient liquid with a dewy finish. The shade could work if I was self-tanned in the summer months, but the formula was better suited for winter season time. This is where the Vichy foundation comes in. The Vichy foundation in #23 works well on its own for my winter season skin, however, its is a bit drying on its own. Mixed together, this concoction is ideal all year round.  I get a good shade match, and a medium coverage foundation with a satin finish.

Bourjois Mineral Matte Mousse foundation in 83 Sable – $26 for 18 ml (got this on clearance, this item is now discontinued)
+ 
Revlon PhotoReady Airbrush Mousse makeup in #003 Nude – $12 for 39.7g

Alone, each of these foundations are a disaster.  The shade of the Bourjois is too yellow and dark on me.  The mousse texture was also quite thick, and somewhat challenging to blend into the skin.  The Revlon mousse dispenses through a foaming aerosol can that creates a frothy cloud of foundation that has visible glitter.  The shade nude is also slightly ashy on me.  However, when I mix these 2 foundations together, they seem to cancel out each other’s bad parts and I’m left with a somewhat glowy foundation that lasts very well on my skin.

Maybelline instant Age Rewind Eraser treatment Makeup in #260 Buff – $16 for 20ml
+ 
Sephora perfection mist Airbrush foundation in fair – $31 for 53g

I purchased the Maybelline foundation with the objective of mixing it with other foundations or using as a contour because I knew that the colour was way too dark for me (this was the only shade in the clearance bin and I really wanted to try it because I love the corresponding concealer so much).  There’s nothing bad about the formula – it’s got a lot of silicone in it so it’s quite slippery to blend – maybe a little too slick.  The Sephora airbrush foundation was a “Youtube made me purchase it” item – after seeing numerous rave videos, my curiosity got the better of me.  I really like the formula, however, the shade is a touch too light for me (although, I think the next shade up “Light”, would have been too orange on me).  And let’s be honest, it’s not really an airbrush foundation – it dispenses through an aerosol can, but there is no way to spray this directly onto my face to create an airbrushed look.  The best way to apply this is spray onto the palm of your hand, then use either a brush or a sponge to apply to the face.

Tips:
• There are no guidelines for mixing foundations (most of these were trial and error), but a essential element in success is to first make sure both formulas are either water based or oil based – mixing a water with an oil based liquid will result in foundation separation and pilling (little bits rolling off the skin when rubbed).
• in some cases I pre-mix the foundations in the palm of my hand before applying to my face, in some cases I just dab dots of each straight onto my face and blend (pro-tip: apply the darker colour at the perimeter of the face and concentrate the lighter shade in the center to do a contour / highlight).
• I don’t always mix 50/50 of each foundation – I just eyeball the mixture ratio depending on what kind of finish I’m aiming for.  Another bonus, depending of the time of year and how pale or tanned I am, I can customize my shade by adjusting the mixture ratio.

Do you ever mix your foundations to get the best colour or finish?

Header image source: goodhousekeeping.com

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