Clinique Beyond Perfecting foundation and concealer in 'Breeze'

My skin began acting crazy after spending a very humid Summer in NYC. My foundation was oiling up by the end of the day and yet my skin was breaking out while looking quite dry in some areas. I decided to splurge on a higher end foundation that would give me the coverage I need for my breakouts but was designed for my combination oily/dry skin. I went to Sephora and picked up the Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer.

This foundation is your standard 1 fluid ounce and it is housed in a glass container. One interesting part of this foundation is the gigantic doe foot applicator. Some people think that this doe foot is not 'sanitary' for application directly the face, but I don't mind. I use one dip of the brush and put the foundation on my cheeks like wiskers, a stripe down my nose, and then a few dots on my forehead and chin. I've been using a beauty blender to blend this out which works beautifully. 

L: no makeup on at all!!!**GASP**, R: one coat of Clinique foundation applied with beauty blender

I got shade matched at Sephora to the lightest shade of this foundation which is the color 'Breeze' (0.5 VF-P). I noticed that this shade range is a little limited as far as lighter shades. A lot of the shades had quite a yellow undertone to them which on me makes me look a little sick. This color 'Breeze' was more pinky which is why I selected it. I think it might be a bit light for me but with blush and some bronzer it looks just fine. I find this foundation wears really well over an entire work day and does a beautiful job at evening out my skin tone while my freckles can still peek out to say hello. I find this foundation does well with a powder on top to set it and performs fine with products layered on top without caking up or emphasizing pores or fine lines. The finish of the foundation is quite natural (as in NOT MATTE) and allows for some light dewiness without making me look like an oil slick by day's end. 

This foundation costs $27 which is pricey compared to drugstore, but a very fair or even inexpensive price compared to other brands at Sephora. I am finding this foundation lasts quite a long time as well. I think I am only about 1/3 of the way finished and I have used it daily for 2 months. That is much better value than the L'Oreal cushion foundation (Click HERE for my review on this foundation!) which costs $15 but only lasts for a month...think about it. 

I'm all about this foundation, you guys, and I highly recommend it if you have similar skin to me. It just does what its supposed to do which is so refreshing. 

Check it out from Sephora HERE!

xxSJ

L'Oreal True Match Lumi Cushion Foundation

With Korean beauty trends taking the Western world over by storm, it was about time a cushion foundation made its way to American drugstores. This gorgeous rose gold packaging caught my eye and after reading a couple positive reviews about L'Oreal's new True Match Lumi Cushion Foundation, I wanted to give it a try.  I selected the color N2, which is the lightest color I could find in the line. Buyer beware, this foundation line does not have extensive shades to pick from! 

The pretty reflective compact opens up to reveal a little puff settled into a plastic cover. Lift the cover up to reveal the saturated cushion sponge on the inside. 

Make sure after every use you close the plastic part tight to ensure your foundation doesn't dry out! 

Since the cushion is totally saturated, the foundation appears pretty dark in the container. A very light bounce with a beauty blender (my preferred method of application) or a finger gives you A LOT of product. One bounce is enough for me to cover my whole face, and then another extra bounce will cover problem areas. 

L: no makeup, R: L'Oreal Cushion foundation, one coat

I find this foundation to give medium coverage and does a great job of evening out skin tone while giving a natural, dewy finish. Speaking of dewy, now that NYC is becoming a bit more humid as we get deeper into the Summer, I'm finding I need to blot my skin nearing the end of the day as my t-zone and forehead get rather oily. I definitely think this is a lovely foundation for the drier fall and winter months, however, and will give you a healthy glow. This foundation is pricey for drugstore at $15.99 and only lasts about a month before you're pressing into the cushion hard to get the same foundation payoff. I have flipped the sponge over in mine and resorted to pressing into it in different ways to get all the product out. I suppose that is the drawback of the fun little sponge is that you may be wasting quite a bit of product!

I definitely like this foundation and see myself repurchasing it once I escape the humidity of this NYC summer.  Check it out if you're looking for a beautiful foundation with a gorgeous finish in unique packaging!

Check it out HERE!
xxSJ

The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette

Hourglass has taken the beauty world by storm with their beautiful finishing powders that are supposed to mimic the look of skin in different lighting. At $45 a pop, these powders come at a steep price, so when Hourglass released this palette including three of their Ambient lighting powders (one of which is a palette exclusive), it was a quick hit! 

The packaging of this palette is outstanding. The three powders come in this brown reflective plastic packaging. It is incredibly sleek and soft to the touch. I also appreciate the whole palette is dipped in some sort of coating so the Hourglass brand written in gold on the top won't rub off the packaging after use.

Preeeeeeeetty. 

The powders inside are 3.3g each and seem to be very securely adhered to the packaging. There is a large mirror on the inside cover of the palette. The powders are Talc free and have no fragrance to them.

The colors included are 'Dim light,' which is the all over face powder I was most excited for, 'Incandescent light' which is the palette exclusive, and 'Radiant light' which is a deeper bronze shade.  Hourglass describes these as all over face powders to create a soft focus effect mimicking the light of whatever powder name you're using (ie use Dim light, your skin will appear as it does in Dim lighting).

The powders are so finely milled that they feel silky smooth to the touch yet they don't kick up a ton of excess powder when you dip your powder brush into them.  Dim light is my favorite shade in the palette because it goes well with my skin tone and I can use it as an all over face powder. Incandescent light is a very light color that I've been using to highlight my nose, chin, and cheekbones. It creates a beautiful yet understated finish. Radiant Light shows up quite dark on my skin and I think it will have its turn in the Summer when having that exaggerated of a glow will make a little more sense than it does now in Winter.  I can see the difference in the appearance of my skin immediately when I put these powders on. The glowy, soft-focus effect this product touts is the real deal. 

I am so happy to have gotten my hands on this palette. I've been using it daily since Christmas and I have yet to make any sort of dent in any of the colors so I'm hoping it will last a good while! I appreciate the range of colors Hourglass included (all over face powder, a highlighter, and a bronzer) and think this product is a definite hit. This palette is $58 for 3, 3.3g powders. As far as price per gram, this is NOT a better deal than buying a $45 powder on its own, so don't purchase this palette thinking you've hit the jackpot as far as value. However, having 3 different powders to play with is a huge selling point as it gives you more freedom for only $13 more.

I love this palette and I think I will be interested in buying 'Dim light' on its own when I run out of that shade. Check out the Hourglass Ambient Lighting palette HERE! if you're interested! No need to rush... this palette was so popular when they first released it that Hourglass has made this product permanent.

xxSJ

Erase Paste Concealer by Benefit

Did you know that the 'f' in Benefit stands for 'fun?'  They certainly have the cutest and most fun packaging!! I'm always drawn to the Benefit section in Sephora and Ulta because of the fun packaging and bright colors, but I really haven't tried many of their products. I was recommended to try their 'Erase Paste' concealer by a past employee, so I thought I'd give this a shot and see if there is some quality product underneath all of the adorableness.  

Inside the little pinky purple box is a lesson right on top to teach you how to correctly use this concealer.  

The box also contains a tiny spoon to scoop out product if you don't like the hygienic implications behind dipping your finger in the same pot over and over again.  I myself will admit that I don't mind dipping my finger in to get product out so the spatula won't be useful until there isn't much product left and I'm scraping out of the crevices!

I picked the color Medium (no. 2). There are only two shades available for this concealer which is definitely a downside if neither of the colors work well for you.  This concealer is meant to be a brightening product which is why there is such a limited color selection.  The concealer is a salmony pink color rather than color matching to your skin.

This concealer is SUPER creamy and easy to blend on the skin.  I recommend applying it with your fingertips because the warmth from your fingers helps melt the product onto your skin, further blending it in.  Since it is a creamy product, setting it with a light powder will keep it from creasing or sliding around. 

I learned a little trick while buying this as I was complaining about my dark under-eye circles.  The tip is to layer or mix concealers! I never thought of doing this before as I was worried about creating some serious cakiness on my skin, but it makes so much sense! Laying down a skin tone concealer on its own does a pretty good job of covering the dark circles, however it can leave an ashy-gray tone behind since it can't completely cancel out the purple.  Putting a highlighting pinky concealer on top brings liveliness back to the skin color! 

The top picture above is my blank skin.  The second picture is with Maybelline Fit Me concealer in Light (a nude concealer).  The third picture is with Benefit Erase Paste added on top of the Maybelline Concealer.  It does a great job with further canceling out the purple tones of  my undereye area.

For some reason this concealer gets a bad rap from what I've read in other reviews online.  I recommend trying this out in the store layered on top of a nude concealer because I'm telling you, this stuff works! Benefit can be found in Sephora, Ulta, some department stores and a few free standing stores in America. It costs $26 for 0.15oz of product.

xxSJ

Bobbi Brown Blush in 'Apricot'

You know that 'aaaaaahhhhhh' noise a bodiless angel chorus makes when a character in a movie opens a book or something miracle-like happens?

Yeah, something like that?
That happened when I opened the box containing my brand new Bobbi Brown blush for the first time.

Gahhhhhhhh this is another one of those products that I just want to hold and stare at, maybe even more than I want to actually use it. That's when you know obsession has overtaken a simple hobby. Oh well!

This Bobbi Brown blush comes in sleek, shiny, black plastic packaging with a see-through window to peek at the blush within.

No mirror in this compact! It is a bit small for a mirror anyway so I don't mind! In fact I really like the minimalistic packaging.

The color I chose is Apricot, a very bright peachy pink color. This was the most unique of the blushes I saw from this line and I just had to have it!

This blush is PIG-MEN-TED! A light dusting on the cheek gives such a pretty flush on the cheeks. It is the perfect tone for my skin where it makes me look more peachy rather than red. I have a lot of pink undertones in my skin so I don't like it when blushes highlight that lovely quality of mine (sarcasm..do ya sense it?).  The product is super soft but not in a chalky way. I would use a natural fiber brush to apply this to make sure I don't pick up too much product.

Annnnnd here comes my only gripe with this beautiful product. Do you see how much blush this contains? 3.8g. That's tinyyyyyyy! The only thing I keep reminding myself to remain okay with the fact I purchased a teeny $26 blush is that it's so pigmented it will last quite a long time despite its small size.

Overall I'm very pleased with this little blush. It's a perfect color for the Spring and Summer and I think it would be very flattering on all skin tones. Also, I freakin' love Bobbi Brown's makeup brand. Bobbi Brown is a BAMF and I suggest reading up on her if you don't know much about the namesake of this company. She's all about bringing out in women what makes them individually beautiful and highlighting natural beauty rather than covering up imperfections. Beautiful products, beautiful sentiment.

xxSJ