Hello Flawless

To be honest I didn't have high hopes for Hello Flawless when it was given to me at a Benefit event a few months ago. But since the first try I have been wearing it every day.

Hello Flawless is a powder foundation and I was matched to the shade Honey, which is a great perfect for my skin tone in the winter months.

I wouldn’t say that the foundation makes me look flawless but I get pretty close, and that’s good enough for me on a daily basis. 

The foundation provides a light to medium coverage at best. It isn't very long lasting, but because of the size of the packaging I carry this round with me to touch up my foundation if I am planning on going out in the evening.

The finish is matte and you can see the level of coverage and shade in my last makeup post here. 

The application is a little tricky to get right, only because you need lots of thin layers to get the coverage level you want or you risk looking cakey. Surprisingly, I found that the brush and the sponge stored underneath the foundation are best for application.

I use the sponge to press the powder onto my skin where I want the most coverage, and then with the brush apply the light layer over the rest of my face making sure to blend well.

The foundation costs £25.50, a little pricy in my opinion for that money I would want something with a few more skin benefits but I wouldn’t say no to buying it again when I run out.

Sample session: Perricone MD No Foundation Foundation

I’ve really tried hard to love this product. But I just don’t. I’ve applied it sparingly, slapped it on, buffed it in, let it settle, but whatever I do I can’t seem to achieve that flawless skin everyone else describes.

The No Foundation Foundation by Perricone MD is meant to correct skin undertones, blur lines, wrinkles and pores and offer all-day moisture with an even, dewy finish. It also contains lots of anti-ageing ingredients to help to firm skin and reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles over time.

The first few times I used this my skin was at its worse, lots of spots and scars and the dewy formula just made me look greasy. The orange tint it left my skin also did nothing to tone down the look of the spots and I didn’t notice any reduction in the appearance of my pores.

So I decided to let my skin settle and try again. This time it did even out my skin tone but the orange hue remained. I did hope that by leaving it to settle product would adapt to my skin tone but I didn’t find this to be the case.

My conclusion is that if you have flawless skin the first place and need the security that comes with applying something on your face then this is for you. But if you are someone looking for more coverage, then this wouldn’t work. That being said if the colour does work for you this would be a great choice to use on holiday — although it wouldn’t provide much in the way of coverage the skin benefits would make up for that. 

At £47 for a full size bottle, this isn’t something I would repurchase right now. If I ever achieve my goal of flawless skin it may be something I revisit but only because I would want to benefit from the ingredients it contains. 

Let me know if you have tried this and what you thought, am I using it all wrong? 

Sample session: Urban Decay Naked Foundation

After feeling inspired by Lisa Eldridge’s foundation video series, I decided to get my hands on a sample of Urban Decay’s Naked Skin foundation, which is the product that initially piqued my interest in trying liquid foundation again.

Urban Decay describe the Naked Skin as “weightless ultra definition liquid makeup,” which blurs imperfections to deliver a flawless finish that looks professionally retouched and feels invisible.

There are a total of 18 shades, each catering to different undertones, I was matched to shade 4, which is perfect for me. 

Aqua (Water/Eau), Cyclopentasiloxane, Butylene Glycol, Silica, Cyclohexasiloxane, Dimethicone, PEG/PPG-18/18 Dimethicone, Sodium Chloride, Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract, Litchi Chinensis Pericarp Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Tribehenin, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Sodium Hyaluronate, Glycerin, Dimethicone/PEG-10/15 Crosspolymer, Dimethicone/Polyglycerin-3 Crosspolymer, Isopropyl Titanium Triisostearate, Polysorbate 20, Disodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Propylene Glycol, Carbomer, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Hexyl Laurate, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol 

As you can probably tell from the picture the formulation is very watery but you only need a small amount of product to get a light to medium coverage and the foundation sets quickly. The foundation does have a very faint scent but it doesn’t linger. I applied using my fingers but have also used a brush to buff in the product.

The foundation gives a demi-matte finish and is very natural looking, so it is great for use on an everyday basis. I was told that the foundation is buildable but I didn’t find this to be the case. Although it was very good at evening out skin tone I needed to use a separate concealer for my scars.

Used alone, without primer or a setting with a powder, the wear time was between 6 to 8 hours, but using a primer I was able to wear it for over 12 hours without noticing any fading (with the exception of my scar).

I found that the foundation did highlight some of my driest patches, but overall on my dry skin I really liked the look and my skin felt smooth and hydrated throughout the day. I think that oily combination skin types will also like the finish and formulation of this and I had no problems with my skin breaking out in the week that I tested this. 

I am very tempted to purchase a full size bottle. At £27 it is expensive, but the formulation is worth it in my opinion.

If you are interested in Naked Skin I would definitely recommend getting a colour match and a sample from Urban Decay, the sample is meant to last over two weeks, which is plenty of time to get a feel for if you like the product.

Naked Skin can be purchased from Urban Decay online, Debenhams, House of Fraser, Beauty Bay and Look Fantastic.

Sample session: Revlon age defying foundation

My spending ban has made me come across lots of samples and sachets that I keep meaning to use but never get round to. I intend to use them on trips away but I never do (mostly because I don’t actually go away as often as I would like to think I will!)

So I decided I should make a point of using things once a week and share my initial thoughts, after all the purpose of these samples is to tempt you into buy a full size.

First up is foundation from Revlon. As regular readers will know, I am a mineral foundation girl, but I more recently I have become tempted to try liquid foundations.

Revlon Age Defying with DNA Advantage Cream Makeup combines makeup and anti-aging skincare and is meant to help protect skin's DNA to fight the visible signs of aging. The scientist in me has a few problems with that sentence, but generally I am a fan of makeup that has skin care properties. The foundation does contains SPF 20, which is always a nice addition and something I would expect in a product that is focused on ageing.

Revlon say: “96% of women saw flawless, younger-looking skin in two weeks. Lines and wrinkles are visibly diminished while skin is refreshed, hydrated, revitalized.” Of course I can’t comment on those claims having only worn it for 12 hours, but for a first dip back into liquid foundation I was impressed.

The foundation applied well and had a medium to full coverage, which was achieved using only a small amount of product. I liked that it could be built up without looking too heavy and after applying a translucent powder to set, I was left with a natural look. My skin felt smooth and didn’t feel dry throughout the day and I didn’t notice the foundation gathering in dry patches. I also didn’t get any transfer of the product to my phone or clothes — always a good thing! The wear time was around 8 hours before I started to notice my scars and uneven skin tone.

I had the sample of the shade soft beige, which was an ok match for my skin tone but I would want to check out the other shades if I were to buy a full size.

At £13.99 for 30ml this seems to be a good value foundation, and if the skin care claims are true it would be well worth the money.

In all I am pleased that my return to liquid foundation was a positive experience, but I don’t think the sample has done enough to persuade me to go for a full size.

I have a few other liquid foundation samples I will be trying, but I really have my eye on the Naked foundation from Urban Decay, or is there another that you would recommend?

Quick review: Afterglow cosmetics

After my holiday I came back a shade too dark for my regular foundation and was reluctant to buy a foundation just for the short time I am tanned. I felt lucky when I came across an old foundation I had that just happens to be the perfect shade.

The foundation is by Afterglow cosmetics an American company I believe which has an online supplier in the UK. I received a starter/tester pack as a birthday present about 2 years ago. Unfortunately because you can only order online colour matching is difficult and they do not accept returns.

My tanned shade is caramel. It is a very fine powder and when buffed into the skin blend well and looks very natural. It gives a light to medium coverage but can be built up if needed. The kit came with a small kabuki brush which is the softest brush I own and such a pleasure to use.

As much as I like afterglow cosmetics I would not order them again in the UK since colour the problem of colour matching is such a problem and at £30 for the full foundation it is not something you can just afford the luxury of buying to test out. If you are in the US they are happy to take returns so worth looking into if you are after a mineral foundation.

Probably my only foundation review…….Bella Pierre

After the longest title ever, this post is a review of my favourite, and only foundation that I now use, Bella Pierre Mineral Foundation.

I first discovered Bella Pierre after being stopped at a shopping centre and asked if I wanted to try their foundation out, I agreed and sat down and was then colour matched and explained the benefits of minerals in general as well as their product. I had been aware of the idea of mineral foundations previously having used an L’Oreal version (which I know isn’t a true mineral foundation) and having seen other brands.

There are a few things that made me love Bella Pierre the most, compared to other brands. Firstly and most importantly, every time I have sat down to be colour matched, I have had the same shade selected. Every makeup artist/sales assistant has picked the same colour for me first time, I have no idea how they do this, but it gives me a huge amount of confidence that when I do hand over money I am walking away with the right product. I personally hate the process of shade matching and have ended up disappointed with other brands when I have come home and realised they are clearly not right.

Another plus of Bella Pierre for me, is that the foundation acts as an all in one under eye concealer, blemish concealer and setting powder. Other brands will try and sell you separate components to cover these areas and I have never seen the value in this. I like to know that for weekends away, holidays etc, I can use this one product.

The finish on it in my opinion is perfect, I don’t get any transfer, it covers marks and evens out my skin tone well with what I consider being a light application of product. It also lasts fairly well throughout the day without a primer. I believe you can layer it up to be full coverage, although in my opinion there is a fine line between it looking great and then looking overdone, as long as most marks are concealed I am happy. The key for application is to keep buffing the product in, occasionally I will also use a small, dense concealer brush to add extra foundation to any blemish on that one area rather than all over. There is a temptation for me to pick up the Vichy Dermablend just for times that I do want full, flawless coverage which is why I probably said this will be my only foundation review! However, I am aware that with that product it will have an expiry point and potentially be wasted on me since I am happy not having full coverage on a daily basis. The benefit with this mineral foundation is that there is no expiry.

Other points to mention, having dry skin I have not found the foundation took look cakey or to cling to dry patches, which I would expect since mineral foundations are meant to be suitable for all skin types. It also contains SPF which is great if you are not in the habit of applying sun protection daily.

The cost is probably the only negative, only because I have always been a drug store brands girl and never paid more than £12, so anything more than that seems very pricey. If you buy from House of Fraser, the loose mineral foundation is £34 for 9g of product. I was told that this should last you a year if used daily. I don’t actually remember when I started using it to judge if that would be true. I personally brought a starter kit which included 2 brushes and a blush suited to my skin tone (based on my foundation colour - cinnamon) which was better value for me since I did not have the suitable brushes. If you were interested in this foundation, I would recommend visiting House of Fraser for a colour match, then going home, seeing how you look and feel with it and then decide. The staff I haven’t found to be extremely pushy which is always a good thing (plus you can find the foundation cheaper with some sellers on eBay!)

Now, the moment I have been dreading, the scary bare faced photos. I really dislike my face without makeup, so it is scary for me to be so bare, and I am sure the camera makes my skin look worse than it is! Anyway, needs must, since you will only see what I am raving on about with this foundation with before and after photos.

Up close, my clean, bare skin, unevenness, blemishes, scarring, large blocked pores, the works, everything I am wishing I will solve with a good skin care routine (suggestions welcome!!)

Using just the Bella Pierre foundation as an under eye concealer, blemish concealer and all over cover. Before and after! 

My everyday face, adding a bit of blusher, contour and filling in my eyebrows to look a little more acceptable. Done.

I hope this review was helpful to someone! Let me know your experiences with Bella Pierre or any other mineral foundations if you have tried it.