First Look| Natasha Denona Face Glow Foundation

The Natasha Denona Face Glow Foundation ($42) is ultimately a disappointment. 

Keep in mind that I was not expecting miracles due to its sheer coverage and glowing (nyuck, get it) claims. A girl can live with a separate concealer for blemishes and blot if need be, but I cannot tolerate the poor lasting power AND sheer coverage when there are better foundations in the market for dry skin. 

I was an idiot and forgot to take a picture of the packaging. Its a sanitary pump tube, but the pump has trouble delivering product if you don't hold it upside down and often twists off along with the cap. For $42 I would have appreciated a glass bottle with a pump OR a squeeze tube. 

I purchased #20, which seems to be a match for NC20/NW15 rather than NC25-30 as I expected. Reviews also told me that 30 would be too pink and 40 is too tan (NC30-35). #2 is a cool yellow. From left to right: Bourjois Healthy Mix in #52, IT CC Cream in Light, D&G Perfect Reveal Lift in Caramel, and Natasha Denona in #20.

Pros? It's very kind to dry skin. The product is thick and creamy in consistency and evens out skin texture. You need to blend it in with fingers. 

Cons? 

• Sheer to light coverage. This could be a pro or con depending on your skin. 
• Lasts for only 4-5 hours before requiring a good blot even with a setting powder. 
• Poor shade range. I know the coverage is sheer, but I still have an aversion to spreading something pink toned all over my face even if it's the correct depth of color. 

Technically, those with very good skin or those who like using a powder foundation may benefit from this foundation. It gives off a gorgeous finish to the skin, even if I lay it underneath a powder. It really is a gorgeous foundation, to be fair, but I have very similar foundations that perform better in terms of lasting power on the skin while providing the same glowy effect. I would consider a re-purchase If she had a shade for NC25 that did not lean pink. 

I've included close shots in direct natural sunlight for your reference. As you can see, it makes me look ghostly pale (but flawless!) My skin texture looks very...smooth. This is the product by itself. 

The glow is not outrageous and doesn't contain any fine shimmer or glitter. It just looks like very healthy and dewy skin with loads of moisture. 

If you are neutral toned and very dry skinned, you may be in luck! 

Xo Be

Review| MAC Studio Waterweight Foundation

MAC Studio Waterweight Foundation ($33) is my new go-to foundation for every day. I think MAC has been killin' the game with their foundation releases this year and this one is no exception.

Let's get to the point. Here are my thoughts.

Product: It's a very runny liquid consistency with no scent and SPF 30. I wouldn't suggest using a sponge. Fingers seem to be the best method to apply. Although it comes in a dropper style bottle that requires you to shake well, there's no drying alcohols in here that will accentuate dry skin concerns or pores. It could've been packaged in a sanitary squeeze tube but the dropper also makes it easy to apply on the skin (it squeezes!) and spread with fingers or a dense buffing brush. 

It squeezes product in and out of that little nub, so be careful that you point it towards your face and not your white silk shirt!

Coverage: I would say it has more coverage than their Face and Body foundation or your average tinted moisturizer, but less coverage than medium. It cancels out any noise on my skin (light hyper-pigmentation, broken capillaries, redness) but won't completely conceal a dark spot. Basically, it's a light to medium coverage foundation that can be layered but won't add more coverage. My skin has returned to its blemish-free bliss zone after battling with cystic spots for over a month, so this foundation is perfect for every day. I use one drop on either side of my face and one on the forehead. 

Color: I was really wary of shade match because the NC range leans very peach on my skin. NC30 looks fine with my NC35-40 chest, but it's not the closest match to my obviously olive/cool yellow neck. I don't care to blend down because the coverage is sheer enough to get away with this mis-match. I noticed that it oxidizes a half-shade darker than the color in the bottle. I will probably get another bottle in NC20 and mix it with a darker shade if needed once the winter comes. 

I also hear that the new Smashbox BB water is an exact dupe of this formula for a higher price (wut.) I remember that their Light is an olive/cool yellow NC20-25 or so, so you should give that one a try if you find this line too warm for your liking. 

See how the skin on my neck and face is not quite the same color? Macro shots are never flattering, but you can see how it has thinly cast a veil of magic over my broken capillaries. 

My chest and body is definitely very tanned. In the picture below I had just gotten a rash from eating lobster (oh, my poor tortured soul) from the last night and this foundation just GLIDES over textural problems. My skin FELT like I had a beard, but it looked presentable with this foundation.

Here's a shot in front of natural sunlight. Again, it's not dark enough to match my body but it matches my face and I wanted a lighter shade for fall. 

Finish: Make no mistake, it's a dewy finish foundation that should be set down with a powder or setting spray after application. It doesn't stay tacky or sticky to the touch, and it will last all day on my skin without setting, but it's a good extra step to take away shine from unwanted areas like the sides of the nose and between the eyes. It looks like healthy skin that's plump and youthful, rather than you dousing yourself in sparkle and highlighter. I choose to skip highlighter when I wear this foundation. 

Here is is freshly applied and this picture was taken in indoor lighting. I'm positively shiny. 

And here it is after I had finished the rest of my makeup and let it settle down on the skin. 

Lasting Power: Whether I set it or not, this foundation lasts all day on my skin and looks good, not just presentable, after 9 hours of wear. It seems to look better as the day goes on! It doesn't break up on my chin, or pool in pores by my nose, or fade away from my cheeks. This is the best part of this foundation as many light coverage/dewy foundations will break apart on my skin after 3-4 hours of wear no matter how diligently I set it. 

This is the foundation with a generous helping of Fix+ on top. Even with the extra moisture this foundation just won't break apart. 

Thoughts? ERMEGERRRGDDDDD RUN OUT AND GET IT NAOOOOOO. 

xo Be

Review| Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation

I'm so obsessed with base products that I can literally get anxious about matching my foundation when the weather starts to change. Why? 

Cold and dry air + Lack of sun = Very miserable Be with lots of dry patches, flakes, bumpy skin, and terribly chapped lips. Not to mention I become deathly pale (ok like NC20 but still) and my olive undertones  make me look like Lord Voldemort.

Humidity in the air + Lots of sun = I'm sweating buckets in an air conditioned room, my foundation looks like it's melting, I'm tanner than leather and I have to blot every three seconds. My skin rarely burns but instead tans like crazy. I can go from NC30 to NC40 in a single day trip to the park.

But y'know what, Benefit's Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation ($34) has been a good friend through sun and rain. 

I actually picked this up because I knew that when I moved back to San Jose I would be maintaining my skin tone or even get lighter. My skin gets drier, so I wanted a dewy finish foundation that would help me maintain a glow. My mom uses this on a daily basis since it has SPF 25 but she has oily skin, so I was curious to know if it could survive the seasons. 

Out of the measly 8 colors on display, I swatched Petal and Champagne. The latter seemed to be a smidge more orange but also paler. I guestimated Petal to be around NC25 since it is the second lightest color they had.

Strangely when I went home to swatch it on my face, it was so incredibly yellow that it seemed to mask my super pale face and match more to my neck. It didn't look incredibly off with my chest area either! WTH WITCHCRAFT. 

This foundation has risen to the place of my "daily" foundation, replacing my Smashbox CC cream. Everything about it is "just good, not great", but somehow I'm compelled to reach for it every morning.

I think that its strong yellow tones can stretch it from NC25 to NC35 easily. Even if I get a little sun or hide in my troll cave, it still works. I don't know how and I don't know why but me likey...

It has SPF25 which is a good bonus to my moisturizer with SPF30 and I think it's lightweight on the skin for light to medium (buildable) coverage. You can still see some of my darkest broken caps, but any redness or uneven skin tone is covered. It's good for when you want to look polished but not made up. 

Right now I like its ultra-dewy finish, so I leave it alone and only powder my T-zone. It looks super healthy and glowy so no need for highlighter afterwards. There is still a dimension to my face with this foundation. If I don't wanna do the dew I simply set with a mattifying powder which also prolongs the wear time.

It's a little on the runny side and I don't like how it gets the white pump dirty so quickly, but I find application with a buffing brush to be the best idea. It lasts for a decent 6 hours and doesn't look like I've dipped my face in bacon grease at the end of the day. It simply fades away slowly and evenly around the face. There isn't any caking around the nose or settling into my lines either. In fact, it hides my laugh line!

This is one coat of the foundation over Smashbox Hydrating Primer and set with Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Diffused.

I know, it sounds like I'm selling it for more than it is. The biggest weakness of Hello Flawless is that it's not flawless, not by a long shot. I still need additional concealer and wish the lasting power was longer. Not to mention, I feel like the drugstore dupe (Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation) is just as good for half the price, with better coverage!

 I think that once the dead of winter draws nigh, I'll be clutching onto this foundation for dear life. For now, the extra powdering and concealing will have to do. 

xo Be