Pretty Sassy

So this is how the whole “I’ll review make-up” thing came around.  I was using Bare Minerals at home and happy enough with it but found it to be a bit messy to carry around.  Even after spending $32.00 on the Bare Minerals Flawless Face Case, I wasn’t happy.  The case was big and heavy, and though it greatly increased the mineral portability, it was awkward and didn’t let my carry any warmth(a brickesh color that totally rocks at giving you a tawny glow) or mineral veil.   

Drugstore Picks

Then there was this morning.  I had gone to the gym and was standing at the counter around all the other women putting their faces on.  The silver sneakers class had just let out and this sweet women was bemoaning her make-up bag because she had filled it with the stuff “she didn’t really like, but couldn’t give away”.  A bell went off.  At that moment I was spreading around Neutrogena Mineral Sheers(I love the brand Neutrogena, hate this makeup) and looking ashen and not covering anything and ending up looking worse than when I started.

I had to find something for the gym and something to keep in my purse for touch-ups.  For the gym I keep a tube of Almay Smart Shade because it’s easy and it works.  For touch-ups I use Jane Be Minerals or Revlon ColorStay Minerals.  I did figure out a very important portability trick.  I started cutting pieces out of round, foam cosmetic sponges and nesting them tightly inside the little, various powder containers and found them to be marvelous for mineral waste issues.

Drugstore Picks
Jane Be Minerals($6.00): A definite best buy.  The nicest minerals I could find at this price.  The portability is exquisite and the color is good.  This is not the best minerals you can find, but they are very good.

 Maybelline Mineral Power($9.00): My personal favorite of the drugstore bunch.  The most like Bare Minerals.

 Revlon ColorStay Minerals($14.00):Travels very well, nice color, more opaque than Maybelline.  Great stuff for touch-up.

Make-Up Counter Picks

The only make-up counter product I tried was MAC Mineralize.  It is actually not a mineral make-up but rather a mineral powder for setting other make-up.  It does an exceptional job of setting make-up. 

The month of a Million Foundations sure has been fun.  I tried every foundation I could get my hands on and now am ready with my list.  This is the first in a 3 part series of liquid, powder and cream foundation.  This list is just my favorites.

Best Liquid Foundations
Drug Store

1. Almay Smart Shade $12.00(approx) My review
Notes: Smooth, long lasting, medium coverage, good match with a velvet texture. 
2. CoverGirl Advanced Radiance Foundation $10.39(approx) My Review
Notes: Super hydrating, goes smooth over imperfections.  Can be a little heavy, but good for dry skin.

Cosmetic Counter: I didn’t do any cosmetic counter reviews of liquid foundations

Though until now I had never tried Bobbi Brown, I had always admired her.  Her concept that most women have some yellow undertones was a relief for me from pink foundation, her idea of a natural classic face was hopefull.  She seems to do really well for normal, imperfect faces.

At $40.00 this is the most expensive foundation I tried and I really wasn’t sure what to expect.

Packaging: A shiny black compact with crisp lines.  A cosmetic puff hides underneath the base.  There is a mirror on the top perfect for touch-ups.

Consistency: Really creamy and somewhat sheer.  Straight out of the package I thought there was a piece of clear plastic on top of the foundation.  It looks to be plastic smooth and shiny.  After a few wisks with my handy MAC Skunk brush the product started to soften into my brush.  This foundation has a sort of sheerness and clarity in the package that is hard to describe but easy to identify. 

 Application: Goes on like a dream covers redness and just blends, doesn’t settle into fine lines or acne scars.  I don’t look like I have makeup(or pores).  I look at myself at the mirror and I look like one of those girls with fine pores and tight skin.  

Wearing: This is not an extraordinarily long wearing foundation.  Because of it’s creamy nature I needed a little touch-up every 4-5 hours.  This is a foundation that benefits from a primer and a little powder(I like to  use the Maybelline Minerals) to help you get the most mileage from.

Final Analysis: This is good foundation that is really portable.   This might not work for you if you have really oily skin or need extremely long-wearing foundation.  This foundation is gentle and it does a good job without being heavy.  It’s expensive, but if you’re having trouble getting the right foundation, this is worth a peak at.    For me, for my skin that has big pores, acne scares and little “expression lines”, I’m willing to pay more for foundation.

Here is the website and it also has great instructional videos of how to use the products.  I was fascinated in the tutorial of how to use concealer and corrector around the eyes. 

Here are some other reviews(since everyone has different opinions).

http://beaut.ie/blog/?p=4274

This is CoverGirl Advanced Radiance Restorative Cream Foundation.  I actually heard about this foundation from my Aunt Karen who basically said it was so good it would make you look 12.  During the begining of my project I was really looking for something to smooth out my acne scars.

Scent: This has a definite scent.  I’ve been trying to pin down what the scent is and it’s kind of floral and reminds me of Fabreeze, the original scent.  I sort of like the scent(but don’t love it).  If you dislike your cosmetics having a scent or are sensitive to scents, this might not work for you.

Texture: Thick and creamy.  Almost like a rich face cream.  It applies nice and smooth and finishes to a nice matte finish.  It feels really good on a dry skin day.  In fact if you have oily skin, you might not need this much foundation. 

Coverage: Nice medium coverage.  It does seem to do a better job than most liquid foundations at avoiding lines(it has some reflective particles) and smoothing over.

Overall: My skin is not dry enough to need this much moisturizing foundation and it feels a little heavy.  I keep it in my rotation for days I’ve neglected to exfoiliate and days I feel dry.

Reviews(Though I couldn’t dig up very many)

 http://teamsugar.com/group/88093/blog/138533

L’Oreal Bare Naturale was actual the first mineral foundation I ever tried.  I liked it okay, but I didn’t love it and it seemed a little overpriced($15.00).   The $6.00 Maybelline Minerals is like Bare Minerals evil twin and I really think from a mineral viewpoint your money is better with Maybelline.  It should be noted that Maybelline and L’oreal  are actually the same company.  Maybelline is a L’Oreal brand.

Color: L’Oreal is less sheer(more opaque) and more picky about color.  I required two containers to find the right color.  The good news is there are 10 shades, so you will find what you need.  The bad news is if your drugstore doesn’t have a tester it could require a few trips.  If you do go with Bare Naturale buy it from a drugstore with a good return policy(Rite-Aid has been good to me).

Coverage: Good, buildable coverage.  But the product contains talc and gets mask-ey and chalky.  It’s more pronounced chalky-ness if the color is off by a little.  Maybelline and Jane are both more forgiving and don’t get this chalky-ness and cost around 1/2 of Bare Naturale.

Container: Messy.  One solution for traveling is to cut a small circle out of a round foam applicator and place it between the sifter and the lid. 

Brush: Good for an attached brush.  Perhaps the best attached brush in the mineral arena. 

Overall: A little underwhelming.  I feel like the minerals could be milled finer, they could lose the talc in the formulation and make the container easier for travel.  I really like L’Oreal, but I’m just not crazy about this mineral product.  A lot of money(in drugstore terms) for a powder that isn’t much different than a regular loose powder.   It’s not horrible, but I think you can make your buck go further and get better results..

I requested a sample of Jane Mineral Be Pure foundation a few weeks ago and was thrilled when they sent me some samples.  The retail value for this is about $6.00.

Then I was worried.

They sent me “fair”.  I’m more of a medium, a buff beige girl.  So I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to review it well since it might not match so good. 

Which made me a little sad since I’ve always thought good things about Jane.  They make some awesome affordable lipsticks (the reds and berry colors are so wearable and sophisticated they really belong in a Clinique counter, not in the drugstore). 

The container is a brush on top with a resevoir of powder on the bottom.

Application: Just undo the cap and brush.  If you need more powder tap the side.  It works pretty good.  The applicator seems controllable(always my fear with these self feeding things).  The brush is soft but firm.  It feels gentle on my skin but still does a good job of buffing.

Formula: No talc and no wax.  A mineral powder that is true to it’s identity.

Coverage: So I explained I didn’t get the right color?  Well Jane Be Pure has more play with colors(as does Bare Minerals).  The result was I didn’t look cakey or ashen, I just looked like me with good makeup.  The brush makes it tricky to get into corners or really cover a small blemish(since it’s not a concelear brush).  The overall look was really natural, moderate coverage, a little more matte than say Bare Minerals and surprisingly good.  This is a review from somebody who didn’t even get their ideal color.

Portability: Finally a tube of powder that does a good job.  You can toss this in your bag and go!

Overall: This is a good thing for the budget minded girl who is short on time, needs portability and moderate coverage. 

And seriously, check out their lipsticks.  The colors are that good.

Here is what other people thought:
http://www.blog.makeupmoxie.com/2007/08/jane-be-pure-mineral-powder-review.html
http://www.beautyandfashiontech.com/category/mineral-makeup

I have a real deep love for Max Factor.  Their pancake and panstick was just about the only drugstore cosmetic that could cover my acne during the really bad bouts.  They also had a better range of colors for my asian-irish-french-german skin tone and they have really good red lipsticks.  Probably some of the deepest, richest, best movie star reds you can get from a drugstore. 

I saw this at my local CVS Drugstore and had to try it.  I paid around 9.oo dollars for it.

 Color: There are only 3 color choices light, medium and dark.   I purchased medium but sort of wished I had it just a pinch darker. 

Portability: This shines.  A kabuki brush or a foam applicator in your bag and you’re ready to go.  No loose, messy powder no fuss.

Coverage: The coverage is a little light with a kabuki brush, but buildable.  The coverage is richer with a foam make-up applicator but easier to get a little cakier.

Compare to loose powders: It feels like a middle ground between loose minerals and pressed powder.  It has a little of that “glow”, but not as much as Bare Minerals. 

Final thought: I’m thinking I may like this better if I purchased both medium and dark and used the dark as a sort of bronzer.  Then in two compacts I might have a full face.

Review: Great portability, good if you only need light-moderate coverage.  More matte finish than most minerals, not a great choice of colors.  My biggest fuss was that medium probably wasn’t right for me.  If I had a better color for my skin, I think I would have liked this more.  If portability is Uber important, this might work.

 Kelly

Here is another review that was really pro the product(since your milage will vary).

http://15minbeauty.blogspot.com/2008/01/max-factor-color-genius-powder-and.html

Almay Smart Shade is the make-up that is suppose to instantly change to your skin tone.  I’ve been wanting to try it since it first came out(Beauty and Science..  Count me in) and was thrilled  with Almay offered to send me a sample.

Day 1: 1 decide to try with the Light/Medium foundation.  I plop some into my hand and it looks like semi-melted cookies-and-cream ice cream.  It’s white with little black flecks in it. I’m running late for work and afraid that this is not going to work.  I really don’t have time to re-apply. I begin to apply it with a cosmetic brush but it’s more like suntan lotion than foundation so I start blending it with my fingers.  And out from the white comes this really natural beige. It’s as if rubbing has activated it up. Up close it’s covered all the blemishes and redness pretty darn well, it’s not in my lines and my skin has this silky, satiny texture all day.  I’m impressed.

 Day 2: I decided to try the “medium” shade today to see if it would give me that sunkissed glow I’ve always dreamed of.  But the truth is, the make-up color looked about the same(very good) on me using the medium as it was using the medium/light.  I did notice by about 3:15 I needed a little powder to touch up my nose and chin.  This is good foundation, with moderate coverage and is really quick to apply and gentle on your skin.  And the smart part of the smart shade means you have a little leeway in color choosing.

Day 3: I had a long day of important meetings and a dinner with my team to celebrate the latest version of Norton Security Scanner hitting PCP(project checkpoint).  I wanted a little extra coverage so I applied the Mac Full Coverage Foundation(which is so awesome you could tattoo loser on your forehead and nobody would know if you used Mac Full Coverage) on my red marks and acne scars and the topped it off with Almay.  The two worked together well.  I really like the Almay and will recommend it.

I’ll tell you a secret.  I’ve always dreamed of having one of those airbrush makeup kits.  This is because they are both makeup and technology.  It’s like a bacon wrapped steak, it’s two things I really love, combined.

I called MAC requesting a sample of their Studio Mist Foundation for review.

They provided it to me and I was so excited.  If you don’t know about MAC Studio Mist let me explain.  It’s foundation in a can.  But instead of spraying your face, you spray it on your hand and apply it from there.  My fantasy was I would have skin that had that airbrushed perfection and nothing else.

Well, for me it had a learning curve.  A three day learning curve.

Day 1: I apply it to my face using MACs standard foundation brush.  It looks OK.  But a little cakey in some spots and too sheer in others.  As the day goes on it makes all the areas that are dry on my face drier and flakier.  The matte coverage doesn’t wear off through the day, but everyone at work now knows that I am suffering from dry winter skin.

Day 2: The night before I exfoliated my skin with Neutrogena’s Micro Dermabrasion kit(which is sooo cool).  And that morning I apply MAC Primer and I apply the makeup.  This is better but still is a little cakey in my smile lines and my forehead when I scrunch my face up.

This is mad making.  I know that all the stars airbrush there skin and swear by it.  I know for HD-TV they had to switch to a lot of airbrushing because regular makeup didn’t look natural.

So I read.  I read from MakeUpAlley and I read on blogs.  And a lot of women have a lot of mixed reviews.  What I discover is that the women who like the foundation apply it with a kabuki-like brush or their fingers.

I try this on a freshly exfoliated face and I get it.  The bushy brush moves the make-up around and gives you this matte, natural finish.  It just sits above all the bad things on your faces and blends like a dream.  This is still a pretty sheer makeup, so for most mortals of imperfection… You’ll need a concealer and probably some powder.  But the soft matte finish looks totally natural and really makes it a very nice lightweight foundation.

 Use a normal concelear brush if you are going out on the town with your girlfriends and use a kabuki brush to lightly apply if you are headed to the office.  And for heavens sake EXFOLIATE!

This is Revlons latest addition to the world of Mineral Makeup.  I liked the idea of it being “Colorstay”, I imagined the slippery little powder holding on for dear life tight to my skin.

Container(4 stars): The is best traveling container I have tried.  It has a brush cap that you twist off for application.  The well inside the make-up pot that holds the brush is snug and the brush acts as a lid inside to keep the powder from sloshing around.  Also where most mineral makeup companies just use a sticker over the sifter, Revlon uses a little piece of moldedplastic with a handle.  This is reusable and it can provide you more mineral protection.

Brush(2 Stars): This is, so far the second worst brush I’ve used(Neutrogena still wins that).  The brush is only about 1” tight inch in diameter and the first few applications tended to send little black hairs all over my face.  The brush does not lend itself to blending well.

Coverage(3 Stars): The interesting thing about this makeup is that instead of a mineral sheen that most minerals provide, this one is matte and sheer.  The make-up is very sheer.  If you need much coverage, don’t look here.  You can build the coverage up pretty well, but then it starts looking a little powdery.  But it’s saving grace is as a softer makeup.  It glides over lines and dry skin and things you wouldn’t rather have pointed out.  That is one of the things that saves it.

Summary: Revlon Mineral Stay is a sheer mineral foundation with a matte sheen.  It’s saving grace is that it does very very well with fine lines and unexfoliated skin.  This might be a good Saturday foundation when you just want a little something to keep your nose from being shiny while your picking out rutabaga’s in the produce section.  But probably not what to wear on that important first date or court arraignment

Overall Score

9/12

Try it, you might like it.  If you bring a brush along, you’ll probably like it even better.