Review: Chanel Perfection Lumiere Foundation

When I first caught word of Chanel’s new Perfection Lumiere foundation I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it – a new long wear foundation with a matte finish from Chanel? Sounds fabulous! When it came time to cash in some handy dandy AMEX points in the form of a Nordstrom gift card, I couldn’t help but treat myself to a full size bottle of this new formula from Chanel.

Chanel Perfection Lumiere in B20

While I found a few aspects of this foundation I really enjoy, my overall experience with Perfection Lumiere has been one of trial AND error. My favorite aspect of this formula is how light weight it is. It has a medium, buildable coverage that looks natural and is great for everyday use. I also love the packaging; the pump is super handy and you gotta love the iconic ‘Chanel’ emblem on the cap.

In terms of long wear, I found Perfection Lumiere to hold up for a majority of the day (about 8 hours), but this formula didn’t hold a candle to some of my other favorite long-wear formulas such as Estee Lauder Double Wear / Double Wear Light, Mac Pro Longwear and Revlon Colorstay. By the end of the day, I could see the coverage dissipating with a good amount of oil breakthrough. With that, I found the finish to be a bit tricky – what starts out as extremely matte upon first application (almost too matte) quickly becomes natural, or almost ‘dewy’ by the end of the day. As someone who typically loves a matte finish, I found the finish of Perfection Lumiere to be overly matte, almost making my face look flat and one-dimensional for the first few hours of wear. The foundation also has a fast drying time, making application a bit difficult and in the ‘high maintenance’ category. This definitely isn’t a ‘throw on and go’ foundation like Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua, which seems to diminish my skin’s imperfections and make it appear healthy and radiant.

While Chanel offers 20 shades in this formula in three color families, I still had a hard time finding a color match. I had read other reviews saying the foundation oxidizes a bit, making the color appear darker over time so I chose opt for a lighter shade than I typically wear in Vitalumiere Aqua (B30) and bought B20. At first it seemed too light, however after trying a sample in B30 I confirmed B20 was a better match. While B30 was too dark, I still feel B20 makes me look a bit ghostly. Be forewarned, while the color labeling system in Perfection Lumiere and Vitalumiere Aqua are the same, the actual shades are not.

Swatch of Perfection Lumiere in B20

As a total foundation junkie I was super excited to give this new Chanel foundation a try, but I’m sad to report I think Perfection Lumiere may be going back to Nordstrom! At $55 a bottle for 1 fluid oz., I’d prefer to stick with another one of my much-loved foundations that performs better with a lower price tag (re: Mac Matchmaster below).  

As a side note, I bought Mac’s Matchmaster foundation a couple weeks before trying Perfection Lumiere and I find them to have a lot of similar properties (long wear, light weight, matte finish, etc) but I’ve much preferred the Matchmaster. In general, I found Matchmaster to have better color matching properties (designed to adjust to skin’s natural undertones), a more luminous demi-matte finish that seems to make my skin look radiant while controlling oil and longer wear (despite not being classified as a ‘long wear’ formula). At $32.50 and 1.18 fl oz. I’d definitely recommend checking out Matchmaster as a cost effective alternative to Perfection Lumiere.

Mac Matchmaster Foundation Review

Mac’s Product Description:

New Foundation technology using translucent pigments to enable a fully personalized finish influenced by the subtleties of your own skin’s undertone. Moisturizing demi-matte finish. Medium buildable coverage. Line-reducing soft-focus powders.

My Opinion:

I’m loving this foundation! As someone with a neutral undertone, I’ve always had a difficult time finding a color match, especially with Mac’s NW/NC coloring system (NW is a bit too pink and NC way too yellow). Mac’s Matchmaster foundation truly takes the guesswork out of finding the perfect foundation shade, as it blends and adjusts to your natural undertone. Wearing this foundation, I have virtually NO foundation line. I wear Matchmaster in the color 1.5 (typically I’m an NW20), although I’m sure I could wear 2.0, as this foundation blends and adjusts seamlessly into the skin.

Matchmaster has a demi-matte finish that is great for those with normal to oily skin. The finish isn’t overly matte or drying, but perfect for those that don’t want a glowing or ‘dewy’ finish. I would consider the coverage of this foundation to be light to medium buildable coverage. If you’re looking for a bit of extra coverage, I’d recommend pairing this with a good concealer, particularly for the under eye area. Because this foundation isn’t full coverage, you’ll definitely need to partner it with a good concealer for your ‘problem’ areas.

As for longevity, I wouldn’t consider this a long wear formula (which it doesn’t claim to be), but it definitely holds up for a good 8-10 hours. As someone with normal to oily skin, I didn’t find myself needing to blot or powder as frequently as I usually do with this foundation, which makes me think there may be something oil-controlling about the formula. As for the ‘soft focus powders’, I can’t say anything about that because I don’t have many fine lines or wrinkles.

At $32.50, the price is a bit steep, but Mac has thrown in an extra 5 ML (or 0.2 fl oz). Even though $32.50 is a lot of money to spend on a Mac foundation, I do believe it is worth the money for the great color match!

For swatches and a color matching guide, visit Karla Sugar here.

Love: Estee Lauder Sumptuous Mascara

Why did it take me so long to find this mascara? Seriously, why didn’t anyone ever tell me about this?

I’m genuinely surprised I’ve never heard a single beauty blogger mention, recommend or use this product in a tutorial – I swear, it must be a HIDDEN GEM! Luckily, I discovered this product myself via an Estee Lauder gift with purchase a few months back and let me just say I’M IN LOVE.

What do I love about this mascara?

• Dramatic but without clumps – perfect for everyday use
• Lengthens, thickens and curls all at once
• Eliminates the need for an eyelash curler
• Brush is large enough to grab all my lashes, but not so large that I’m constantly wiping mascara off my lids
• Doesn’t flake or run throughout the day
• Doesn’t irritate my sensitive eyes
• Easily washes off at the end of the day

To recap: If you haven’t tried this mascara, please do! This rivals my former (and perhaps still) favorite mascara, Tarte’s Lights Camera Lashes. I will certainly be purchasing a full size tube once my tester runs out.

PS: Has anyone tried Estee Lauder’s Sumptuous Extreme Mascara? I wonder how is compares to Sumptuous. . .

Mac Haul: NEW Cremeblend Blushes and Gaga 2 Lipstick

I was thrilled to see Mac had reformulated their cream blush formula to the NEW Cremeblend blushes. The Cremeblend blushes are part of the permanent collection and just became available as of March 3.

Since I’m such a huge fan of cream blushes in general, I decided to give these a try. I picked up three of these in the colors So Sweet So Easy (a bright blue toned pink), Something Special (a pale peach) and Tea Petal (a warm browny red).

(Left to Right) So Sweet So Easy, Something Special, Tea Petal

(Top to Bottom) So Sweet So Easy, Something Special, Tea Petal

The formulation of the Cremeblend blushes are less thick and sticky than the original cream blush formula. I’m not sure if there are any more long wearing (I’d probably have to say no), but they are a lot more lightweight on the skin and less “glossy” looking on the face.

I also picked up the new Viva Glam lipstick endorsed by Lady Gaga, Gaga 2. It is an Amplified Creme, so its extremely pigmented. I’d describe the color as a yellow toned nude with some pink undertones. I was a little taken aback when I first applied this color, because I don’t typically go for the opaque nude lip look. With this being an Amplified Creme, it doesn’t look at all sheer, glossy or shimmery on the lips – something I prefer with a nude lip. Overall, I think its a good color if you like nudes, and I like the formulation of it (super creamy and pigmented) but I’m not sure if I’m a fan of these types of nudes in general. I tend to prefer something a bit more brown toned or pink toned.

Gaga 2 on my lips

Here is a picture of me trying it on for the first time. I think it would look even better with a pink gloss over the top, or with a dark dramatic smokey eye. Definitely something I’ll wear, but not something I’d reach for on a daily basis as I tend to go for more of a neutral eye with bright lip rather than the alternate combination.

What do you think? Is Gaga 2 a wearable color? Are you hoping to pick up any of the new Cremeblend blushes?

Benefit’s NEW Bella Bamba Cheek Powder

Benefit recently released their new Bella Bamba Boxed Cheek Powder. Bella Bamba claims to create the illusion of sculpted cheek bones with its 3D features and watermelon hue. Not only is this the first “3D” innovation from Benefit, but the company has switched up the packaging  a bit adding a flip open lid with mirror and a new and improved tapered blush brush.

While I’m not typically a fan of Benefit’s flat, blunt cut brushes included in their previous boxed powders, the new and improved tapered version applied to the cheeks very nicely. I’d still prefer using an angled face or fluffy blush brush but the new applicator, flip up top and mirror make application much easier during those “gal on the go” moments.

The color of Bella Bamba is divine! Its a highly pigmented watermelon pink with subtle golden shimmer. I enjoy the shimmer in Bella Bamba because it apparent yet not obvious. I think the color of this blush would be universally flattering on anyone from a fair to deep skin tone. In my humble opinion, Bella Bamba is even more universally flattering that NARS’ infamous Orgasm blush. I didn’t notice any “3D” or sculpting effects, but I definitely think this helps bring out the cheeks bones (as most blushes do).

The best part of this blush is that its so highly pigmented. You barely need to use any product at all!  While Bella Bamba comes with only .28 oz of product (far less than the .35oz  or even .42 oz of product that come in the previous Benefit boxed powders) I still feel like it is worth the money because I prefer to use highly pigmented blushes. With Bella Bamba, gone are the days of layering and layering your blush so that it will show up!

Overall I think this is a great blush, and definitely a must have if you’re a fan of Benefit’s boxed blushes. Never tried a Benefit boxed blush before? I’d definitely opt for the Bella Bamba over all others Benefit boxed blushes – its about time Benefit made a super pigmented blush! This product definitely rivals NARS blushes in color payoff, texture and overall quality. I give it two thumbs up!

Tarte’s Smooth Operator Tinted Moisturizer

I picked up Tarte’s Smooth Operator Tinted Moisturizer during their December friends and family sale. The foundation typically retails for $36.00, however with the 40% off sale I picked this up for $22. This is the first tinted moisturizer I’ve ever used, and I have to say I’m really loving it so far.

The Claims:

• Lightweight, water based formula blends easily into the skin
• Formulated without oil so it won’t clog your pores
• Mineral pigments diffuse fine lines and wrinkles while giving a natural finish
• Contains SPF 20 to defend against harmful rays and a skinvigorating ingredients like chamomile that help repair dry skin
• Contains no parabens, synthetic fragrances or phthalates

My Experience

This tinted moisturizer is almost more like a foundation. It provides light to medium coverage and comes in a variety of shades (11 to be exact) with cool, neutral and warm undertones. The thick formula is moisturizing to the skin without making the skin appear greasy, oily or slick. As someone with combination oily skin, I’m typically apprehensive about “moisturizing” products as they make my skin look shiny, but I didn’t experience that with the Smooth Operator at all. While the product provides a more “natural” finish than matte, I didn’t feel as though it was an unflattering finish. If anything, it made my skin look extremely radiant.

I typically enjoy applying my foundation with a traditional foundation brush or a synthetic flat top kabuki or buffer brush however I found the best way to apply this foundation is with your finger tips. I did set this foundation with a power (but you may not need to if you have dryer skin), and still used my daily moisturizer underneath. The lasting power of this foundation is about 5-8 hours (depending on skin type, primers, whether you set it or not etc).

Overall, I really enjoy this tinted moisturizer and I’m really glad I gave it a try despite my original apprehension. I think this replaces my former “weekend” foundation of choice- – Bare Minerals. I find that the Tarte Smooth Operator gives me the same radiant finish as my Bare Minerals Original foundation, however the Bare Minerals made my face very itchy. I also like knowing I am applying all natural ingredients to my face. I never broke out or had skin irritation as a result of using this product.

I think the price is a little steep, but if you can pick this up during a sale I definitely think its worth the money. Tarte often has coupon codes available online, or you can get it at Sephora or Ulta during one of their sales. If you’re not someone with sensitive skin, or if you aren’t looking for something all-natural, fragrance free and vegan you might want to check out Cover Girl’s new Nature Luxe Foundation. I found the finish and coverage level of the Nature Luxe to be very similar to the Smooth Operator.

For more information on Tarte’s Smooth Operator, check out my video review below.

NEW: Maybelline’s Fit Me Foundation

As I was reading the Beauty Biz issue of Woman’s Wear Daily the other day, I couldn’t help but notice an article that mentioned Maybellines new Fit Me line. The line is designed to provide hassle free foundation color matching to women with accompanying pressed powder, concealer, blush and bronzer shades. The idea is once you find your perfect foundation match, you can find all your other shades as well.

Lucky for me, I came across the display at Walgreens a few days after seeing it in the magazine and couldn’t help but pick up the foundation. The foundation itself if priced around $7.00, but Maybelline was having a buy one get one 50% off, so I picked it up in color 130 along with my favorite Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse foundation.

Watch my video review below, or keep reading for the full review!

Initial Reactions

I’ve only worn the product for one day but I already have some initial reactions to share. The consistency is very light weight with light to medium coverage. I wouldn’t consider this foundation to have buildable coverage- I tried adding an extra layer to my chin and cheek area but it offered little extra coverage. Surprisingly, the foundation didn’t get cakey when packed on. This is great because it makes the product fool proof! No matter how you apply it, it will provide an extremely natural finish (almost similar to a tinted moisturizer but better).

Many reviewers have mentioned that this product gets oily after a few hours and isn’t very long wearing. I haven’t had a problem with the foundation making my skin oily, but it does have a very satin, or dewy finish. Some women love this look and others despise it, so oily skinned ladies beware! Even when set with a mattifying powder this foundation will have a natural/satiny glow, so if you don’t like this kind a finish I’d steer clear.

As for longevity (the product doesn’t claim to be long wearing), I’d have to agree with other reviewers that this foundation doesn’t provide lasting coverage. I wore the product for about four hours tonight, and I could already tell the product was dissipating, or as I like to say “evaporating” from the skin. My skin still looked good, but it just didn’t look like I was wearing much makeup.

High End Comparison?

This foundation reminded me of Lancome’s Teint Miracle in coverage and consistency.

Revlon Colorstay Liquid Lipstick

A while back, I picked up some Revlon Colorstay Liquid Lipsticks at the drugstore during a two for one deal they were having. I hadn’t heard much about the product previously, but decided to give them a try because Revlon is one of my favorite drugstore brands and I was looking to try more colors. I picked these up in the colors Grand Garnet and Prized Peach. I have to say, this product is definitely one of the most unique formulas I’ve ever tried (and I mean that in both good ways and bad).

This product claims to be a long wearing 12 hour lip color, and boy they weren’t kidding! This stuff lasts all day! Rarely is there a time when I’d want my lip color to last 12 hours, but recently I’ve been loving this formula for its long wearing capabilities and matte appearance. While the product comes in a tube which resembles a lip gloss, its far from a gloss! Within minutes of applying the product it drys to a matte finish, and literally stains the lips. You if don’t like a matte lip, try layering this product with a gloss or lip balm (it still won’t fade).

I’ve especially loved wearing this product in Grand Garnet because typically I have trouble keeping a red lip looking fresh all day. Red glosses smudge, and red lipsticks feather and fade. I found this stain-like formula to be the perfect solution, because the color is highly pigmented and lasts all day. It almost acts like a liquid lip liner to help prep your lips for a colorful gloss.

I also like that this product extremely easy to apply with the doe foot applicator provided. The only downside I’ve encountered with this Liquid Lipstick, is that the formula is extremely drying. You can try and combat this by using a chap stick or balm over the top, but I still found it made my lips peel after a day of wear.

Have you guys tried Revlon’s Colorstay Liquid Lipstick? What do you think of them?

Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 HR Foundation

If you’re looking for an affordable foundation formulated for dry skin with medium to full coverage then Rimmel Lasting finish is a great pick for you!

The Claims:

Sweat, heat and humidity proof for up to 25 hours. Transfer resistant. Enriched with a revitalizing Mineral Complex and moisturizing Aqua Primer. Skin feels energized and hydrated all day.

The Pros:

• Easy to blend, easy to apply
• Good coverage (medium to full)
• Moisturizing for normal to dry skin
• Lasts all day
• Nice packaging, good for travel
• Available for $7 at most drugstores
• Nice natural finish for a somewhat dewy glow

The Cons:

• Limited color selection
• Limited undertone selection
• Not good for oily skin types, especially in warm winter conditions
• Can look cakey if applied too heavy, or not blended well.

Overall:

This is a great foundation for $7 (IF you can find a color match). If you like a more lightweight coverage, stay away from this! Also, if you have extremely oily skin, stay away from this! For those with normal to dry skin, or for someone looking for a foundation more moisturizing for the winter time I’d definitely recommend this foundation. My favorite part about it is how blendable it is and what great coverage it gives!

Have you ever tried Rimmel Lasting Finish? What did you think of it?

Review: Clinique Acne Solutions Liquid Makeup

The Clinique Acne Solutions Liquid Makeup is a foundation designed to blend away blemishes, neutralize redness, treat existing breakouts and keep them from coming back. It contains .5% salicylic acid and is therefore considered a “medicated” foundation.

I decided to give this a foundation a try because I love Clinique foundations, and I was looking for one with a matte finish that was good for oily skin. According to the Clinique website, this foundation is suitable for skin types from combination-dry (type 2) to very oily (type 3). I have combination oily skin (type 3) and this foundation works amazing well for my skin type. In my experience, I probably wouldn’t recommend this to someone with normal to dry or very dry skin.  While the salicylic acid content is very low, it still may end up drying areas of the skin that are in need of extra moisture.

The Pros:

• Medium to full coverage- great for everyday use.
• Great packaging! Love the squeeze top applicator.
• Very easy to blend. Doesn’t dry to quickly or look streaky at all.
• Natural matte finish. Provides a matte looks with a hint of a fresh glow. Doesn’t look dry, flat or flakey at all.
• Staying power. Wears for about 8-12 hours depending on your skin type, and how often you blot/powder.
• The price- only $24.50!
• Didn’t irritate my skin or cause dryness.
• Helped control and reduce breakouts.

The Cons:

• Only 8 shades available. Not a variety of undertones available.
• May cause extra dryness for those with very dry or combination dry skin.
• Not good if you are already taking acne medication, or if you have extremely sensitive skin.

Overall, I really love this foundation! It is perhaps one of the best I’ve ever used. I would definitely repurchase! I think this would be great for summer and warmer climates. In general, this reminds me a lot of my Make Up Forever Mat Velvet +. So if you like that, then you’ll definitely like this!