The Big Issue: Foundations

Hello everyone :) !

As makeup addicts, we know there are many different brands of eyeshadows, liners, etc. that are pretty great, and even if sometimes we encounter bad quality eyeshadows, we know most do a decent job, even if its a cheap brand. Mascara-wise, I think most separate and lengthen a little bit the lashes, but few of them are really amazing and holy grail products, but even though, you can own hundreds of mascaras, and none will make your lashes look WORSE. 

The only product I think is more extreme is foundation. You can either LOVE a foundation, or downright HATE IT. I see no middle ground, even if you try some foundations you wouldn't normally use, you still love something about them. And I believe most of us want similar things from our foundations, even if some of us want matte or dewy finishes, full or light coverage, powder, liquid, mousse, gel texture...

But what you want is that the final result is natural, not cakey at all, beautiful and that makes your skin glow. And that it STAYS that way, so it doesn't oxidize or melt away.

I own three foundations (at the moment, I threw out previous ones I didn't use at all and didn't like either):

(L to R: BodyShop Extra Virgin Minerals Powder, BodyShop Oil Free Balancing Foundation, Nars Sheer Glow) 

(My foundations are pretty messed up, I'm sorry. But on-the-go,
it's quite difficult to put on foundation without messing them up a little, right?)

One of them is (was) my holy grail foundation: NARS Sheer Glow, in Montblanc. But lately, I decided that this sat too much on top of my skin and it wore off after a couple of hours, because of my oily skin, I didn't want that, even though I love the glow it gave to my skin. So if you're trying to look for some coverage, and you have combination skin, or dry skin, this foundation will work wonders for you. It doesn't cling on my dry patches, which is something I really appreciate from a foundation, and it just delivers GLOW. (And you guys know I love my glow.)

After that, I bought two BodyShop foundations, one was a mineral powder foundation (Extra Virgin Minerals with SPF 15, which was 20€) and a matte "liquid" foundation (Oil Free Balancing Foundation SPF 15). My initial idea was to use the liquid foundation and use the mineral powder as a finishing powder.

 (L to R: BodyShop Oil Free Balancing Foundation; Nars Sheer Glow; Real Techniques Stippling brush)

(I  apply them both with my RT Stippling)

I have ended up ditching any hope of using correctly the Oil Free Balancing Foundation, because it dries INSTANTLY, and it cakes A LOT on me. It's way too matte to look natural, so even if this stays for hours on my skin, I don't think it makes my skin look beautiful, fresh or anything. It just looks dull and matte. The shade range is not good at all, and the lightest color was still too orangey and dark for me. It accentuates any bump you might have on your skin, or any dry patch, so I wouldn't recommend this to acne prone skins, or dry skins. I actually wouldn't recommend this to anyone, if I'm honest.

I'm in shade 04.

You can practically see the mud-like, mask-like consistency of this when blended downwards,

which dries into a sort of waxy mask. [Sucks!]

Comparison between top (Nars Sheer Glow, lightly applied) and bottom (BS Oil Free Balancing, blended)

(You can definitely see the top foundation camouflages pores and lines, 

while the BodyShop one just makes them more obvious!)

On the other hand, my Extra Virgin Minerals Powder has worked wonders for me. The coverage is really light, and so you definitely need to use concealer under your eyes and on blemishes, but this gives the most amazing finish ever. I think my shade is also a little bit darker (nothing that you can really notice at all) so it also makes me look bronzed. I can't use it as a finishing powder, but it evens out your skin beautifully, it gives a really natural sheen to your face, it doesn't accentuate dry patches, and just looks NATURAL. It gives the effect of your skin being tanned and glowy, but not greasy at all. I just fell in love with this powder. It does absolutely everything I wanted it to, without full coverage, but when my skin is looking good, this is the foundation powder I use to make it look EVEN BETTER.

Tap some onto the lid, like the TINIEST amount possible, and then brush it softly with

a kabuki brush, such as mine. [Perfection!]

I'm in shade 205 rose vanilla,
a little bit darker than my skin, but doesn't look orangey at all, only beautifully and glowy tanned skin.

Right now, NARS Sheer Glow has too much coverage for my liking, so EVMP I think this will be a great alternative, specially for spring and summer! With a kabuki brush, you just put it on, and it's a breeze, there's no blending needed, just a little powdering and you're done! 

Bottom line
I love my NARS Sheer Glow as much as the next girl, and it has definitely been there when I was in need of some SERIOUS coverage, to look air brushed and beautiful. But my skin is better now, and packing it with foundation will only make matters worse, right? So I think that the mineral powder foundation will be an excellent alternative for me, so that my skin can breathe.

On the other hand, if you need coverage and a beautiful foundation, then I CAN'T stress enough: NARS Sheer Glow! NARS Sheer Glow! NARS Sheer Glow! NARS Sheer Glow!
MUFE HD Foundation I heard is also really good, but I haven't tried it on myself, and don't know anyone who wears it, so I can't recommend you something that I have not previously tried out on myself or at least, a friend. And there are many others you can try out, hopefully you'll find the perfect match for you!

I can go on and on about foundations, so I hope this post wasn't too long and boring, guys!


Do you own any REALLY AMAZING foundation? (Or would you rather keep it a secret?) Do you have any kind of oily, combination or dry skin and you find that there's this one product that solves all of your problems? 


Any question, ladies? Post a comment below!


Love,
Maria.

My NARS collection

Hello ladies!

I have been loving NARS products since I discovered them some years ago. I own the NARS Sheer Glow Foundation (in Montblanc) which is my favorite foundation ever, a couple of Velvet Matte Lip pencils (you can see swatches in previous entries), a lipstick (in Funny Face), a lip lacquer (in Baby Doll), a blush (in Orgasm, of course, it's an essential!), a nail polish (in Purple Rain) and some eyeshadow duos.

EYESHADOW DUOS

NARS eyeshadows are quite varied and there is an amazing range of colors available. You can buy them in singles or in duos. Since the price of duos and singles isn't very different, I have bought some duos instead of singles (although I have some written on my Christmas list for Santa). 

I have only one cream eyeshadow duo, which is Burn It Blue, and I don't like cream eyeshadow very much because it tends to crease, but the colors are just AMAZING, and in my local store they had run out of the eyeshadow duo called Persepolis (which has similar intense turquoise and blue colors).

My favorite of all three would be Jolie Poupee, because it has a matte light lavender color and a shimmery beautiful purple, and both of them work really well and look beautiful. I think these pictures don't do justice to how pretty this duo is, but the close-up might give you a better idea.

My less favorite (although I don't dislike it) is Demon Lover, because it's a toned down color, which, if you look at the picture just below, looks like a muted version of Jolie Poupee. In this case, the purplish color is matte and the bluish gray is shimmery. This duo works very well for everyday looks and darker smokey eyes if combined with black eyeshadows or darker versions of blue and purple.

 (Burn It Blue, Jolie Poupee, Demon Lover)

(Burn It Blue; cream eyeshadow duo)

 (Jolie Poupee)

(Demon Lover)

BLUSH

I am afraid I'm not quite a person who loves having different blushes, because since I found my perfect color, Orgasm, I haven't needed any other color just yet. Orgasm is a beautiful pink coral with some fine shimmer which doesn't show up but looks amazing under every light.

(Orgasm)

You can see the goldish shimmer under the light, but it disappears once applied on the cheeks.

LIPSTICK

I love love love lipsticks, but I have quite a collection so I only buy a new one when I think its color is too attractive not to have. NARS lipsticks are quite expensive (the same as eyeshadows, etc.) so I only own one lipstick, but it has soon become one of my favorites, due to the fact that the color is so BEAUTIFUL. I can't wear it on a daily basis, but I do use it when I go out with my friends or when I want to look especially nice.

(Funny Face)

It's a bright fuchsia, but I think these pictures don't do justice to how beautiful it really looks.

LIP LACQUER

As you already know, I love lip products, but in this case, I raved about this product for some time. The problem is, it didn't look as good on me as I would've liked but the finish is beautiful and I think any other person might've loved it for more than I did. My problem is the color is too light for my pigmented lips.

 (Baby Doll)

Ok, looks at THIS! It looks so beautiful. I am definitely going to try it again, 

because I just feel bad not giving it another chance!

NAIL POLISH

I am a downright nail polish junkie. I know, my family knows, my friends know. And that's okay. But I am a cheap nail polish junkie. I mean, I don't like to spend too much on nail polish, even if my collection is outrageously large. I haven't got any China Glaze, or Essie, etc. products because they're not sold in Spain. But most of my collection is Kiko Milano, and I have them in every color, every finish, etc. (I LOVE THEM) and they are quite cheap.

So, when I bought my NARS nail polish, I just did it because it was the most amazing color I had ever seen and I HAD to have it. Since my favorite color is purple, and I had no purple nail polishes, I think it was just fair that it was way more expensive than the rest of my nail polishes. You do pay for quality at NARS, that's what I always tell my mother when she says I buy too many expensive NARS products.

(Purple Rain)

The flash picture didn't pick up the pinkish undertones and shimmer of the purple nail polish. 

Isn't it just BEAUTIFUL?

P.S. I'm wearing Kiko Milano's black nail polish on my nails.

(Last but not least)

FOUNDATION (SHEER GLOW)

(Montblanc)

I had never found my perfect match, because I have quite a pale skin but I have yellow undertones, and many brands haven't got a wide range of colors in the foundation department. When I tried out this foundation, I just jumped with excitement! It's my perfect color match and it looks amazing on my skin! 

The only problem I have with this foundation is that my skin is combination, so some hours after applying it, my T-zone starts getting greasy and the foundation starts moving around, with the result of having rubbed off after 4 or 5 hours after application.

CONCLUSION

I will not review the Nars V.M. Lip pencils because I have already done this in a previous post. About NARS, oh.. what to say? I am in love with all of their products. This Christmas, my wishlist will be full of single eyeshadows from this brand (for my Christmas list, check out my next post) and some duos I haven't been able to get before. 

NARS love to you all,

Maria.