Tag: bb cream

21
Jul

My fave picks from Clinique, Revlon, L’Oreal…

So many brand.

So many product.

Sometimes you just want to know which is The Golden One.

CLINIQUE

I am a BIG, LOUD, CAPS LOCKY champion of Clinique makeup. I think they do a fantastic job of colour, and are completely underrated because everyone focuses on their skin care, (yknow, chubbies aside). My pick of their current range is Beyond Perfecting Foundation and Concealer, which I saw getting amazing press and had to try because I am a sucker for hype just like you. It’s full coverage, quite thick in fact, (you need only a wee bit; try mixing in some BB if you need more spread. I tend not to use the wand applicator, but apply onto fingers then face) but radiant (something you usually only get in sheer formulas.) And it lasts.

It covers pigmentation beautifully AND acts as a formidable undereye concealer, which is one of its selling points, yes, but generally speaking foundation-and-concealer in one is a terrible idea because the skin is so different (in texture and tone) on the eye area compared to the rest of the face. However, in this case, it’s an unterrible idea, because the eye area is beautifully concealed, and not at all crepey or dry. I care less about my smile lines these days (more comfortable in my skin as I age? Nah. Just less time to worry about shit like that.)

Please note: The shades are darker than you think. Test before buy.

CLiniqueBP

REVLON

Revlon make some outstanding foundations and lip/eye products (such as my favourite orange lip product: Colorstay Lip Balm Stain in Rendezvous) but it’s the Revlon Brow Fantasy I am back in love with at the moment: a simple, old school brow pencil and gel in one. Even though I have dark hair, I use the dark blonde as it lacks the red undertones you often get in brunette/brown shades. I also love the Revlon Colorstay Brow Liner, which is waxy and high pigment, but far from foolproof, unfortunately.

(Special nod to the Revlon PhotoReady Eye Primer + Brightener, which is meant to be a kind of Touché Éclat eye illuminator, but my preferred application is all over the eyelids to conceal all the veins and redness, and make the eye seem super bright and awake. It’s a good primer for shadows, but worn alone you get this super fresh, youthful natural look.)

RevlonBrowFantasy

RIMMEL

I’m a crazed fool for BB and CC creams, so was happy to discover Rimmel’s BB Cream Radiance while in a bit of a BB-CC rut lately. It is the perfect lo-fi daily coverage for those who need a bit more than BB cream or a tinted moisturiser, but still want to look fresh. (This is not a matte finish. Matte is not for me. I will never write up anything matte cos I have dry, not oily, skin, and also matte once said I couldn’t dance and I will never forgive him.)

Rimmel BB Cream radiance

 

L’OREAL PARIS

Their BB cream is diamonds, but it’s their tinted brow gel I’m into right now, the Brow Artist Plumper. It’s far more natural/subtle a look than pencils/waxes/powder etc, and ideal for when your brows are already tinted, say, (or not too gappy) and you just want to groom them with a touch of tint. It’s way less pigmented and thick than Mac’s Brow Fix, (read: less room for error), and I use the xxx shade on its own for get-out-the-door face, or to finish expertly filled in brows when I have more time. I like how it allows me to have the brushed-up, Olsen-Twins bushy look, which is hard to get with pencils and spoolies. Oh and hey, wipe the brush off before you apply, mate, or risk globs and mess.

Loreal-Brow Artist plumper

 

FACE OF AUSTRALIA

A cheeky little brand that makes cracking products for about 1/400th of the price of So Many Others, I usually have at least one FOC product kicking around in my kit. (Did I just use the word ‘kit’? What, I think I’m a makeup artist now? What a dickhead.) I particularly like their powder blush in Primrose, which is ‘known’ in makeup and beauty blog circles. It looks a bit intense and shimmery in the compact, but is in fact wildly flattering (I have olive but relatively pale skin). It’s a rosy, ‘I’m blushing’ flush of pink, with a subtle sheen but very HIGHLY pigmented, so for the love of Liam Hemsworth, use a quality blush brush (I use the Bobbi Brown blush brush because of the dome top) and go easy.

face-of-australia-blusher-primrose

 

In this photo I did a bit of a mixy mixy thingo with most of the above products, and wore a cosy wool sweater because winter. I am wearing Rimmel Radiance BB cream all over, Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation and Concealer under the eyes and blended over pigment on cheeks and forehead, L’Oreal Brow Artist Plumper in Dark Brunette over brow shadow, and the Face Of Australia Powder Blush in Primrose. (On my eyes it’s just mascara and Revlon PhotoReady Eye Primer + Brightener. No shadow. That ‘liner’ you see on the lashline is a smudge of mascara. So profesh.)

 

ZoeFB5products

 

Responses to this drivel: 19 Comments
16
Sep

The makeup you need to look good after a long-haul flight.

…. is 12 hours sleep, a facial, a blow-dry and some professional makeup. Easy!

Alternatively, there is this sassy little kit which I take with me for a long-ass flight, which is Every Flight really, because I live in Australia, land of farawayness from everything.

Travelmakeup

As a beauty editor, it’s easy to overpack on the cosmetic front, but after long enough in the game, you start to learn which products are clever and multi-purposey enough that you can leave behind the other 2289 ‘essentials’ and just pack those.

Important note: I highly recommend having some lash extensions popped on before you go. I usually just get the outer corner so it’s not too obvious when they go wongly and start falling out. Just add it to that annoying Lady Prep List of waxing, nails, tan, elbow polishing, etc etc. They’re a tops idea for holidays in my opinion because you look lovely even when you have no other makeup on, and they negate the need for mascara in hot and swimmy environments.

The Long-Ass Flight Kit

1. A BB or CC cream with moisturising and illuminating properties, like the Napoleon Auto Pilot BBB cream, $49.50 which is my new fave, and which does wonders on my dry, thirsty skin. Great coverage too – halfway between the usual BB cream sheerness and a foundation.

2. An undereye concealer that brightens and hydrates, which the Benefit Cosmetics Fake Up, $38.50, does because it has a concealer embedded in a hydrating gel stick, so you avoid those fine lines that are the first to show when your skin is tired and thirsty, and you get a wallop of concealer too. Clever!

3. Some creme blush to rapidly and authentically wake up the cheeks (and lips if required) with a flush of colour, like the very fresh and delightful Becca Cosmetics Lip and Cheek Creme in Tuberose, $24. That the compact is tiny, unbreakable and has a mirror means it ALWAYS comes travelling with me. (I love Becca to travel. Their eye palettes esp.)

4. A genuinely hydrating and protective lip balm, care of my very own Go-To Lips!, $14.50. Planes thieve so much moisture: do not leave it to a shitty, non-last, mineral-oil filled tube or stick to do the job. Because it won’t.

5. Much gum and mints (not pictured) cos no one’s cute with breath of an ox. Also, you can offer it around if the chap or lass next to you has manky breath and you look generous and kind even though really you are deeply offended by the bacteria in their mouth and two seconds from asking for another seat.

Responses to this drivel: 6 Comments
14
Jun

Some Current Cherished Beauty Products: June 2013

Because why not?

I love them, I am gibbering about them to friends and strangers alike (my taxi driver was VERY rude when I was busy explaining the benefits of a gel blush stain, it was almost like he didn’t care at all) so they must be pretty cherished.

SMASHBOX CAMERA READY CC CREAM SPF 30

I was banging on about this at the Amazing Face Masterclass* Wednesday night. Why I like it, is because like a (good quality) BB cream, it’s far more skin-perfecting and gives more coverage than a tinted moisturiser, which is essentially just a face cream with some tint. You see, a BB or a CC cream works to make sure your skin looks even-toned and perfect (as well as providing some sun protection and priming qualities depending on which you buy), it’s far more cosmetic.

And a CC cream, (stands for colour correcting) works even HARDER to even out and perfect your skin. Which is terrific for someone like me with brown spots/pigmentation… or someone who has redness, or someone with sallowness or even some post-acne scarring, say. It just makes everything look… better. But not like you’re wearing a kilo of makeup.

The coverage from the Smashbox CC is light-medium, and the finish is healthy, but not shiny. The texture is quick thick, and I apply it with my fingers, or a brush so I use only what I need, and get precise coverage.

I use alone on clean skin, unless:

– My skin is thirsty or I am going to be outside for more than 30 minutes, in which case I add daily moisturiser with SPF underneath (The sun protection is actually more than token with this CC! Imagine that.)

– I want more coverage, in which case I blend with some foundation, or add foundation on over the top in certain areas.

Like many BBs and CCs it claims to fade/brighten dark spots over time, but I have my serious skin care for that, I’m more interested in the instant and cosmetic effects.

I was also just sent the new Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream SPF 30 Hydrating Colour Corrector, (let’s just call it “their CC cream”) which is copping some sweet reviews overseas, so I will try that out and let youse guys know on a standard bomb rating, just how much of the bomb it is.

 

Smashbox-Camera-Ready-CC-Cream-Broad-Spectrum-SPF-30

ESTEE LAUDER PURE COLOR CHEEK RUSH IN POSE ROSE

Cheek stains can be terrifying.

BUT, if mastered, can become quite the addiction (cue Benetint/Posietint/Chachatint) due to their lasting power and the way they sink perfectly into the skin, rather than sitting on top of it. Also, they make for a gorgeous flush of colour on the cheeks when dabbed on with ones’ index finger.

Pure Color Cheek Rush in X-Pose Rose

 

Application tends to be where people come unstuck. Best used over liquid products (they can drag and mess up on top of powder) fingers can get real stained, and sometimes leave blend lines. But blush brushes are too dense. I use a synthetic stipling brush for all my creme/gel/liquid cheek products because it is so soft, and so good for quick buffing into the skin.

To be specific, I use the MAC 188 brush:

MAC188brush

And after squirting some of this fun, translucent pinky gel onto my wrist (to be VERY quickly scrubbed off post cheek application), I dab my brush into the gel, then swiftly work the gel into the fleshy part of my cheek, taking it up and back towards my temple for a youthful, uplifting fresh pop of colour that will last until the very last season of Two and a Half Men in 2019. See?

Photo copy

 Like I’ve been out for a play in the leaves. Lovely.

*It was a one off. But it was very successful and fun, so maybe we can do more. I will let a dame know.

Responses to this drivel: 19 Comments