Review: Yves Rocher Waterproof Eye Pencil

(photo courtesy: yvesrocher.ca)
I bought this eye pencil for adding some extra for free shipping.

This eye pencil is with a retractable tip, which is very good for me. I hate eyeliners you cannot twist them back, I dislike waste my makeup.

The eye pencil glides on smoothly. The color is very intense. I got it in Black and it looks as intense as gel cream liner.

The texture is ultra creamy therefore you can can slightly touch on your eyelid without too much force to make the color show up.

It claims to be waterproof and I believe so. It stays on for more than 6 hours without smudges and it does not transfer.

What is interesting about this eyeliner is that, when I try to rub the liner swatched on the back of my hand with face cream, it does disappear immediately. It does not stay on the back of my hand either when I rub with water.

However it does not rub off easily with cream or water on my eyes.

All in all, it's a very good eye pencil. It's easy to twist, easy to apply, and stays long.

Review: Yves Rocher Hydrating Toner

What I like about Yves Rocher  is that it always have expiration dates on its products. I don't see it very often in cosmetics here in Canada. Even the higher ends brands such as EL or Dior do not put expiration dates on all the products. Who knows if they sell old (or very old expired) products to us? I do see expiration dates on products with SPF with almost all brands.

(photo courtesy: yvesrocher.ca)

This hydrating toner is for normal to combo skin. It is not as sticky as some Japanese toners. It is not serum like Estee lauder nutritious toner. It is water like. The texture reminds me of Yves Rocher's Micellar cleansing water.
(micellar cleansing water/ photo courtesy: yvesrocher.ca)


This hydrating toner can actually work as micellar water. It removes the traces of make up very well. Though it's not sticky, it's quite hydrating for my skin at this time of the year--late August in Canada.

It helps the following skin care routine goes on easily. The cream goes smoothly on my face after this toner. I can use less products than usual after this toner.

It does have a light scent but it does not bother me. It has a nice fresh smell which relaxes you. But if you are sensitive to fragrance you'd better to try it in the store or ask for sample when you order it online.

It does not sting my eyes.

Overall, it's a very good hydrating toner/ micellar cleansing water.

How to: Make Revlon Nearly Naked covers better and less runny

In my previous review on Revlon nearly naked foundation, I mentioned some of the cons about it. I recently found a new way to apply it and to solve some of the problems.

1. Moisturize your skin.  Here I use Yves rocher hydrating toner and  Lancome blanc expert emulsion. Since it was a tasting home, I don't wear sunscreen. (photo courtesy: yvesrocher.ca)

2. Put a thin layer of powder with light coverage such as Loreal true match pressed powder; Yves Rocher loose powder or Yves Rocher matte comfort powder.


3. Apply Revlon nearly naked foundation with your fingers. Since there's a layer of powder, the liquid is less runny on your face, and it becomes easier to apply. It also have almost full coverage since there's a layer of powder with light coverage before.

However you have to blend it carefully. It becomes a little bit hard to blend because of the powder underneath. Foundation brushes can make blending easier than fingers.

4. Set it with transparent loose powder. I use Cle de Peau's loose powder. You can skip this step if you want. Because we put a layer of powder before the liquid foundation, it becomes not sticky on the face. I prefer the luminous effect CDP powder offers.

5. Now you get  better coverage and longer staying power with nearly naked foundation.

However, it takes much longer time to do apply your base makeup than usual. I feel that I can get the same effect in a minute by using Cover Girl aquasmooth or some powder foundations with good coverage.

But it's a good way to make some use of the foundation that I am not crazy about.

Review: Sana pore putty BB Mineral Powder spf 35 pa+++

(photo courtesy: adambeauty.com)
This mineral powder is too dry for my normal skin in the summer.

This compact comes with the powder, mirror and a puff. There's only one shade and the shade is light ocher. It's best for nc 20 to nc 25 skin.

The powder is quite creamy. Since it has such a creamy touch than dry feel to it, I though it would be moisturizing for the skin. To my surprise, it's quite dry for my skin. At this time of the year -mid August in Canada, my skin is in normal condition. If I do not moisturize enough before applying this powder, it accentuates dry flaky spots on my skin.

The finish is not very matte nor glowy, it's just in between. The finish reminds me of the covergirl clean whipped cream foundation.

The staying power is quite good, it does not transfer.

The coverage is medium. I do not recommend to use the puff to apply the powder if you are going to use it as a foundation. With the puff it gives light to medium coverage; with mineral powder foundation brush it can build up to full coverage.

Overall, this powder is best for people with oily to combination skin. I am sure it can keep your oil on the bay in the summer. Plus, it has spf 35 protection, you can add it on top of your sunscreen and it will give better protection from sun.

Review: Yves Rocher Velvety Loose Powder

(photo courtesy: yvesrocher.ca)

I got this loose powder in Beige Transparency. 

The loose powder is stored in a plastic purple jar. The puff comes with is not ultra soft-- but as a free puff the quality is nice enough . It is not as good as cle de peau's loose powder puff which you should spend more than 20 dollars for one. 

To be honest, I was a little bit disappointed with this loose powder. I thought it was transparent, but it's not. It's actually quite pigmented. I was looking for a loose powder that does not take away the beautiful glow from my cream foundation and unfortunately, it fails to do so.

The powders is very finely milled and airy light. It fixes make-up well. The staying power is good, it does not transfer for more than 6 hours.

The finish is too matte for my liking. The Beige Transparency is a little bit darker than my nc 20 light skin. However, since it's so light, it does not leave marks on the skin. 

It has the same scent and same coverage as the Yves Rocher's Matte Comfort Powder. It's actually the loose powder version of Matte Comfort Powder. The compact is 8g while this loose powder is 20 g. 

I would say this powder is for those who prefer light buildable coverage with matte finish and for those who are not sensitive to fragrance and have combination skin. 

Review: Yves Rocher Matte Comfort Powder

(photo courtesy: yvesrocher.ca)
I am a big powder person.

Though I have slightly dry skin, I  prefer to wear powder as my foundation routine because it's convenient to apply and good powder foundations save me a lot of time on makeup.

I bought this powder 3 years ago. Somehow it did not impress me that much and I stored it somewhere and forgot about it. Recently I have been starting shopping with my stash and I digged it out and try to rediscover it.

The shade I got is 100 very light mat. It's light enough for my skin, however it's more towards to a slightly pink-y side on my skin. I probably will try the 200 light shade next time when it's on sale.

This powder is stored in a very elegant and sleek case. This compact has a big mirror in it yet manages to be light weight and portable. The sponge that comes with it is too small and I do not use it to apply my powders.

This powder foundation gives a light to medium coverage. It covers better than most of the liquid foundations such as revlon nearly naked or revlon photo ready bb cream. I use Shiseido's foundation brush and The Body Shop mineral foundation brush to apply this powder.

The finish is a matte but not flat. I agree with what it claimed on Yves Rocher's site: It gives bright, velvety and powdery finish. It reminds me of Loreal True Match powder. They both can work as pressed setting powder and light powder foundation. The Yves Rocher powder is also creamy and finely-milled.

The only thing that I dislike and cannot stand is the scent. It has too strong scent to it --even after 3 hours of applying the smell lingers. I wish it can  be fragrance free as most of the Japanese powder foundations are.

It retails at 30 CAD plus tax, but you can get it when it's 45% off. It can be cheaper than Loreal's true match powder since Loreal cots around 13.99-19.99 in Canada plux 13% tax.

All in all, it's a good pressed powder/powder foundation and gives a adjustable coverage.

Reveiw: KATE Concealing Cover Powder Foundation

(photo courtesy: Adambeauty.com)
Japanese foundations are famous for their coverage and sun protection facts. I always use a liberal amount of sunscreen before any makeup. It seems that Japanese powder foundations are usually get alone well with any sunscreens. This Kate Concealing Cover Powder Foundation is no exception.

I remember years ago when I bought Kate powder foundation first time, I was not very impressed by its quality. The powders were chalky and the shade did not match well. The foundation seem to oxidize.

Kanebo Corporation has been improving a lot over the years with with every products, especially their drugstore foundations (Note: Kate is owned by Kanebo). Somehow Kanabo has become one of my favorite Japanese cosmetics company. The powders become creamier and softer. The shades matches better and the rate of oxidation is almost zero.

The shade I got this time is BE-C. It's matches perfectly with my skin tone. I also got a OC-B, will try it later.  Japanese BE shade has a truly yellow under tone, which conceals the redness and imperfections very well. I also found the BE hue to be lighter than OC tone.


The finish of this powder foundation is a satin finish. It's not as powdery or matte looking like other powder foundations I have tried. It gives you a youthful and healthy look. The staying power is excellent, never oxidize, no transfer and it stays on face for more than 6 hours.

I have a normal to dry skin in the winter and normal to combination in the summer. At this time of year in Canada (I started using this powder foundation from May to August), this powder foundation performs well on my skin. I am a lazy person to do touch up and I don't not feel I need do it most of the time. This powder foundation does not require me to touch it up either.

I don't  feel dry when wearing this powder foundation at all. Japanese powder foundations seem to be more moist and cater to more different skin types, while most western brands powder foundations are for oilier skins.

I tried to use Olay sensitive moisturizer spf 30, Clarins mineral sunscreen spf 40 and Loreal ombrelle spf 50 before applying this powder foundation and they all work well with this powder foundation.

I apply this powder foundation with TBS extra minerals powder foundation brush and it gives a flawless finish in 30 seconds.

Overall, I am very pleased with this powder foundation. I wish KATE does not discontinue this powder foundation soon.