Review: My brush Collection: The body shop Slanted Kabuki vs Minerals powder foundation brush

If memory serves, this slanted kabuki brush is a limited edition last Christmas. It retailed at $28 and I got it for $10 when Body Shop had 3 for $10 sale. At first I did not like it that much as TBS mineral powder foundation brush. But ever since I have been using liquid foundation due to drier skin more often, my love to this slanted kabuki brush grows. 

If I apply for liquid or cream foundation, I usually set it with translucent finishing powder--no matter it's in a pressed powder form or loose powder.


Since I like so much the glowy and dewy finish liquid and cream foundations give, I want the beautiful sheen to show. In order to help the makeup last longer I set with powders. However almost all powders I have tried so far are too matte for my liking.

So one day I picked this brush up and decided to give it a try. It works wonders! It picks up the powders and distribute them evenly and lightly on my skin. It gives a very beautiful air brushed look with light- handed application process.

The synthetic fibre hair of this slanted kabuki brush is not as soft as the mineral powder brush though it does not irritates my skin. 

As you can see from the above pics, the slanted kabuki brush is almost twice bigger than the mineral powder foundation brush. 

To sum up, if you are going to apply powder foundation with better coverage, try the mineral powder foundation brush; if you want no powder- on- face look, go for slanted kabuki brush. 

Empty Review: Skin Food Red Orange Sun Pact SPF 50 PA+++

Compact foundation is one of the makeup items that I use up most quickly. I like the convenience and easiness of applying compact foundations since it saves me a lot time to get myself ready. 

One of the reasons why I prefer to buy compacts instead of liquid or cream foundation is because compact foundation usually comes in different and unique packaging. Each compact has different personalities inside and outside, and this Skin Food Sun Pact is no exception. 

It seems that Asian cosmetics companies take more care about the packaging than the Western companies. They go with every detail no matter it's higher end products or cheaper ones. SkinFood is not a makeup brand with high price tags, however, they do make their products look fancy. 

Look at the packaging below, how cute and elegant the compact is! Would you ever throw away this compact when you finish the products inside? I will never do that. 

Skin Food Red Orange Sun Pact is a sunscreen in the pressed powder form. Though Health Canada does not recognize sunscreen powders, I use powder with sunscreen very often. I always put liquid or cream sunscreen before applying sun powder because I feel it protect my skin better. 

The Orange Sun Pact works very well as a finishing powder. It's translucent. Though it can be a little bit pale and pink when you swatch it heavily, the powder is usually very forgiving on the skin because of it's ultra light weight and finely-milled powders. 

The powder locks the makeup very well, it extends the makeup life on the face. However since it's with sunscreen ingredients, the powder can be a bit dry if you apply it too much. Therefore I do not suggest to use this sun pact as a sunscreen since the more you reapply it, the more you feel dry and pasty on your skin. 

The powder had a sweet scent but it does not linger on the skin once you apply it on. Actually I can barely feel the scent after 3 months of using it. 

I am not sure if it protects skin well from sun damage because I do not use it as a sunscreen. It is for sure a very high quality pressed powder. The finish is very beautiful if you apply it very lightly; if you apply it heavier you it can make you look very matte, which I think oily people would enjoy. 

Overall,  a very good quality pressed powder which sets makeup very well with a beautiful finish. 

Review: Yves Rocher Derma soothing day moisturizer--a dupe for Clinique moisture surge intense skin fortifying hydrator gel-creme

Yves Rocher Derma soothing day moisturizer is definitely a dupe for Clinique moisture surge.

YR's moisturizer is housed in a small portable jar with a pink lid. The jar looks small though it contains 50 ml.

The moisturizer is supposed to be a day time moisturizer without spf. I checked the ingredient list and did not find any sunscreen ingredients so I think you can use it in the night time as well.

I do not understand why some products claim to be day cream but with no SPF in it. I mean why bother it if it's just a moisturizer which can be used anytime anywhere?

The texture of Yves Rocher's Derma Soothing day moisturizer is gel to cream. It's lightweight, yet moisturizing.

 

You can see from the picture above, the textures are similar between the two. Clinique is a little bit (just a very tiny little bit) watery than YR. But when you apply it on the skin, you can not feel the difference. They are both light weight, hydrating and they do not irritate your skin at all.

Both of them claim to be suitable for sensitive skin, however, they do have some very light scent to it. Clinique is with a chemical scent while YR is floral. But the scent is really not detectable and it disappears immediately once you blend the cream into your skin.

All in all, if you like the texture and the feeling of Clinique moisture surge and do not want to spend more than 50 dollars for a jar of 50ml gel cream, give YR a try. At the price tag of $27 CAD it cannot go wrong--especially when it's 50% off!!

Yves Rocher Matte trio eye shadow first impression review and swatch

Review: Estee Lauder ESTEE LAUDER Futurist Age Resisting Makeup

I have been owning this foundation for more than 2 years. I recently rediscovered it from my drawer. This foundation is probably one of the foundations live up to what they claim.

The foundation is with SPF 15 and the active ingredient is octinxate.

The shade I got was soft ivory. It is a bit darker and pinkier than my skin tone. But once I blend it well it look OK on my skin. The shade is close to Japanese OC 10 shade. 

The foundation is light on the skin. It's silky and liquid-y but not runny. You feel you are wearing moisturizer instead of foundation. 

The foundation is super easy to blend, I applied this foundation with my fingers and it looks even on the skin.

The coverage is very good, it's medium to full coverage. The finish is not as matte as double wear. It's full coverage with luminous finish, which I like so much. 

When first applied on the skin, it does not look as beautiful as other foundations. But as time goes by, the finish become more and more beautiful. It does not transfer and the lasting power is superb. 

it does not settle into crease 

If you dislike the disadvantages of EL Double Wear but love its staying power and superb coverage, you can give this foundation a try. The foundation has a pump (which DW has not), it contains SPF 15 (DW has only spf 10, and it looks like the new formula has none at all), it is light and easy to blend (DW is harder to blend), it does not settle into crease (DW is too dry for my under eye area), and the finish is flawless and natural radiant. 

iT 

Review: Yves Rocher Flawless Finish Corrector

 

Yves Rocher claims this corrector is with ultra-comfort texture which I disagree with. The texture is very hard and thick. It's almost not easy to blend with fingers. I have tried lots of concealers with harder but creamer texture that I can apply it easily with fingers.

The corrector is not easy to blend because of its texture. I have to use a foundation brush to make it looks even on my skin. The texture reminds me of some old Japanese cream concealer which melts and becomes smooth when I touch with my finger. But YR's corrector remains hard, unless I warm it with my finger for longer time. 

The corrector is very dry and heavy on my skin and it settles into creases. I would not recommend you to conceal it under eye. 

The coverage is great but I found that it transfers and spread a little bit.

I really need to figure out some other ways to apply this corrector. Maybe I can bring it with me as a touch up concealer since it's very small and portable. 

With the price tag and little amount I don't think it's was a good buy for me.

 

Review: Yves Rocher Comfort Cream Foundation

This is probably the only foundation with the largest amount in my foundation collections. As you can see from the above picture, it contains 40 ml. When foundation become more and more expensive with less amount contained inside(some of the foundation are around 20 ml only ), Yves Rocher's cream foundation seems to be with very good value, especially when it's 50% off.

The foundation is stored in a heavy glass jar, which makes it a fancy look. The packaging and the texture of the cream foundation reminds me a lot of Kanebo Lunasol Skin Modeling Cream Water Cream Foundation.

 



The texture of the foundation is creamy and watery. It's a cream, but not as heavy thick as some other cream foundation I had. It's definitely not as heavy as bb cream or mousse foundations, it's a little bit like Revlon Color Stay Whipped Foundation texture.

You can see the texture of the cream foundation from the photo above. 

The cream foundation feels very light on the skin. You don't feel yourself wearing any makeup. It's hydrating, blendable and it does not settle into creases. 

The coverage is medium. It does unify the complexion, and conceal "small" imperfections and red blotches. It you have more flaws, you may want to add concealers on the top. 

As to the finish, the foundation give the skin a luminous and youthful look. It does not have any shimmer inside of the cream foundation, but the look is really luminous and healthy. 

 


Since the foundation is store in a jar, it's not as easy to get the product out as the foundation with a pump. It can be unsanitary as well.  However because of the texture of the cream foundation, the application is very easy. You can apply the foundation on with fingers or anything else, the finish is always beautiful.

It's not oily but hydrating. Nonetheless I suggest people with normal to dry skin to use because of its luminous finish. I think combination to oily skin people would find it too shiny for them.

Overall, it's a very good foundation which gives you beautiful finish and decent lasting power with no difficult makeup techniques required.

The ingredients list with expiration date.