First Look| Giorgio Armani Maestro Glow Foundation

I was fortunate (unfortunate?) enough to find tester of the Giorgio Armani Maestro Glow Foundation ($64) and brought home Shade 4. The sales assistant's skin looked absolutely flawless and radiantly dewy, but I couldn't tell that he was wearing base product until unscrupulous inspection. I've heard of their original Maestro foundation being a flawless demi-matte finish but didn't want to bother with working it around flakes and dry spots.

There are nine total shades with a 0 mixer that's white and can be used as a primer/mixer. 4 is a cool yellow NC20-25, which is surprising since 4 in their Luminous Silk Foundation is NC20. Keep in mind that the color in the bottle is misleading (too dark and warm) in comparison to how the product looks when blended out. 

Here is the product and shade description, courtesy of Nordstrom.com: 

Maestro Glow is the first bi-phase foundation elixir that gives you the richest glow in the thinnest texture. The light, silky formula gives you an instant and lasting glow thanks to true skincare oils infused with pure pigments. These oils make the texture comfortable, easy to apply and nourishing for women with drier skin. Each drop perfects the complexion.

- Shade 0: pure white for brightening and highlighting.

- Shade 2: fair skin with warm undertones.

- Shade 4: light skin with neutral undertones.

- Shade 5: light skin with rosy undertones.

- Shade 5.5: medium skin with neutral undertones.

- Shade 6.25: medium skin with warm undertones.

- Shade 7: tan skin with neutral undertones.

- Shade 8: tan skin with warm undertones.

- Shade 11.75: deep skin with red undertones.

How to use: Shake the bottle before using to blend the oils and pigments. Mix it on the back of your hand to prepare for application. Apply with your fingertips over the face, from the center outward.

To be completely honest, I was not enamored with this foundation upon first use. Its sheer to light coverage and extreme luminosity (no glitter, mind you, just WOW DEWY) cannot take an entire day's wear without fading and sheering out completely on the skin. 

The delicate glass bottle and rubber nipple pipette (hehe) makes it a strange experience to use this foundation but I found no trouble with dispensing product. Also worthy of note: use less than you think and blend the product in with a flat brush for more coverage. 

Observe below, where I had been wearing the Maestro Glow for 3-4 hours without a primer or setting powder on top. I look like I blotted my nose with a pizza. However, the overall effect on the drier parts of my skin is softly radiant. Not bad. 

When you set it down with a powder you lose a lot of the luminosity but in turn get a satin to matte finish that doesn't look flat on the skin. Therefore, I think those with combination skin (like me!) can make this foundation work. 

If you REALLY want to make this budge proof, you can use a setting powder with even more oil control such as the Urban Decay Loose Powder (I use Medium Light) to set the entire face. The foundation eventually breaks through the oil after 6 hours of wear for me and I get a very natural skin finish with this method without looking insanely greasy or dry as a bone. 

It's incredibly lightweight and doesn't sink into lines, pores, textural issues, anything! In fact, my skin looks plump as a pork bun. 

I think that my IT Cosmetics OMG Foundation brush applies this perfectly. It's flat with some surface area to blend around the nose and prevents streaks as well. I find that this foundation performs best on freshly moisturized skin WITHOUT skin primer and you should use less than you think. It will cover redness but not dark spots. 

There's SPF 30 inside the foundation! Not that it hurts or helps, but you may want to consider flash back issues for photography. This works better as an "every day" foundation, although $64 is STEEP AF and you can dilute it for further use with YOUR TEARS. 

In the end, I started to realize the Maestro's flexibility of finish. It takes a little bit of experimentation to coax out its true potential, but this is a great foundation for those with dry to combination skin wanting a dewy finish with an air light (not greasy, not thick, not "moisturizing" feel.) 

There are similar base products on the market this spring: Laura Mercier Candleglow Foundation is very similar but with less lasting power and Becca Aqua Luminous Perfecting, which has more coverage but less glow (more shimmer). 

With that being said, I will not be picking up a darker shade for summer. However, I'm curious to see what toxic nuclear waste meltdown and/or miracle happens on my face if I wear this mixed in with their Luminous Silk. 

xo Be

Review| ByTerry Cover Expert Foundation in 7 Vanilla Beige

They should really rename the ByTerry Cover Expert Foundation ($66) to "Most Natural Looking Full Coverage Foundation You'll Ever Wear." 

I was a little hesitant to pull the trigger due to the price tag, but you do get 1.7 fl oz of this magical elixir. I still have twenty odd bottles in the fridge, waiting to be consumed, but they are never quite right. Some are too dewy, some are way too matte, some don't match me well, some are too obvious looking, some too sheer, etc. You get the point.

The most "Holy Grail" foundations for me are the Benefit Hello Flawless, the Tarte 12 Hour Full Coverage, Bourjois Healthy Mix, and MUFE Face and Body. I've used over half of every bottle which is a feat in itself for me. 

Cover Expert has perfected a balance of coverage and finish in a long wearing formula. Even though it's advertised as a matte, it's actually very natural looking and skin-like. I picked it up on Beautylish.com

Shade Match: Vanilla Beige 7 is a very yellow leaning NC25, a trait not often found in high end foundations. I am learning to let go of foundations that aren't quite yellow or olive enough. A demarcation between a peach face and green neck? Ew. 

Formulation: Cover Expert, for how thick it sounds, is actually on the runny side of things and can leak out of the squeeze tube if you store it standing on its cap. I would advise laying it flat in storage. The foundation itself spreads easily with your fingers and I find this to give the most flawless and even coverage. A brush or sponge soaks up the liquid much too easily. I use a pea sized amount for the entire face!

Packaging and Scent: The squeeze tube I just mentioned? Good enough for me. No, it's not a frosted glass bottle with a gold encrusted cap, but it's easy to travel with and easy to store. As for the scent, this is the real hit or miss: it smells like roses. 

No, real roses. I'm not talking about Dior's sometimes overwhelming foundation scents. ByTerry's scent profile is much more classic and subdued. I fall in love every time I put on the foundation in the morning and the scent lingers on my face for about an hour or so. If you're allergic or sensitive, you might want to find a counter first before committing. 

From left to right: Wet N Wild Coverall Cream in Fair/Light, Medium/Tan, ByTerry Cover Expert in 7, Liole Triple the Solution, Liole Beyond the Solution.

One little dollop! 

Coverage: Medium, buildable to full. You could sheer it out, but there's another ByTerry product called Sheer Expert for that purpose (I'm blindly guessing here...) The thing that amazes me is how pigmented this product is without feeling hefty on the skin. Yep, hefty. I just put an extra dollop on  my hyper-pigmentation and pat the remaining under my eyes if I need extra coverage.

Finish: A true skin-like finish. It's matte enough to look put together but not dewy to the point where your makeup is sliding around or worse, looking like you have ran an entire marathon by the end of the work day. I have never seen a foundation last through air conditioning this well. Of course, powdering is allowed since Cover Expert is so lightweight.

It's not nice at all to flakes or dry spots or very oily skin. Those near the middle of the spectrum will really enjoy this foundation. I would advise a thick and creamy moisturizer underneath for this foundation to really glide on well. My skin looks very brightened and luminous rather than dewy or shiny when wearing Cover Expert. 

Here is one thin coat of the foundation and no other concealer except under the eyes (I used Maybelline Age Rewind.) Lips is MAC Lady Danger over NYX Lip liner in Deep Red.

As you can see, it does an excellent job of blurring imperfections except for the cluster of bug bites on my cheeks. Those will take some serious weekly sessions of therapy to get over, but I'll live.

I've also set the foundation with a light layer of Benefit Hello Flawless powder in Petal and misted a LUSH toner (Breathe of Fresh Air) all over. This adds an extra bit of coverage. 

Wear: It lasts through an entire work day and that's good enough for me. I never see anything caking around my nose, or sliding into my laugh lines, or dancing a jig on my cheeks. Really, it stays put! 

I've been reaching for this foundation non-stop since the day I bought it which is ultimately dangerous considering the pricetag! It's an addiction! I've never seen a foundation that looks like bare skin while providing higher coverage and lasting through an entire day. If you break it down, it's doesn't cost much more than any other mid range foundations.

xo Be

Review| Dior Diorskin Nude Foundation in 31 Sand

Dior Diorskin Nude Foundation ($49) is a product that performs so well, I wish it didn't. I see this one to be one I will repurchase once I use it down to the last drop. 

I'm the type of person who never stops looking for great foundations, and this one instantly landed itself into my top five holy grail list after a week (hell, even a day!) but I waited to use it regularly over a longer period of time to give the most thorough review. 

As always, here are the ingredients and drug facts on the packaging for your enjoyment. 

The foundation comes in a glass bottle with an extravagant silver bottle top that is not only over the top, but fragile! Underneath the cap is a pump. 

Within the range, numbers ending in #1 means that the foundation has a yellow/olive undertone, #0 is neutral, #2 is pink toned, and #3 is peach toned. Numbers start at #10 and end at #70, so there's a good range of colors that accommodate to your skin tone.

I picked up shades 31 Sand for summer and 21 Linen for winter. These two encompass the shade range I stay in between all seasons (NC20 to NC35) and I can always mix to find an exact match. For now, #31 is perfect for NC30-NC35. I found little to no oxidation with this product, unlike Dior Forever foundation which oxidizes a half shade to whole shade darker. 

Texture and Finish: This foundation is rather liquid-y and dries down to a satin/natural finish, mimicking how real skin "glows" without dripping in dew and sans minor flaws. I was really surprised at how nicely it played with my dry patches and flakes for how good the coverage is on the skin. I love this foundation because of how smooth it makes my skin look. 

However, keep in mind that it does look like "makeup" on the skin. It's not as if it just sits on top of your skin, but it's not anywhere sheer enough to look natural in my opinion. 

I would suggest this for dry to combo skinned people with no extreme dryness or oiliness to address. 

Here it is swatched next to similar foundations in my stash, both indoor and outdoor lighting. 

Coverage: "Diorskin Nude" may make you think that this foundation provides sheer to light coverage, but it's actually light to medium, buildable to full. On me, I would say that it's a solid medium. I don't need to reach for a concealer with this foundation unless I have a huge zit to hide. It glides over my hyper-pigmentation and dark spots and completely gets rid of red areas. 

Lasting Power: Similar to the Forever foundation, this one wears like steel. I wore this on days bordering on 95 degrees outside and it still looked flawless when I went to take it off at night. Realistically it does start to fade slightly around 7 hours for me, but who's complaining? The amazing thing is that it does not cake around my nose even after all that time. 

Application: Dior suggests that you use a flat paddle foundation brush or your fingers to blend the foundation into the skin. I find that a buffing brush, BeautyBlender, or even fingers work well with Diorskin Nude. It's really easy to use and not fussy at all. You can build up layers where you need more coverage, as I often do for my left cheek rife with broken capillaries.

 

You can see the foundation (one coat) on the left side and no foundation on the right. It evens out my complexion without looking cakey or fake, see? 

 

In this closeup, you can see how the foundation covers my broken capillaries only slightly but gives me a polished appearance.

 

Here is a finished look with the foundation, not set with any powder. It isn't a dewy finish at all. In fact, it's very "my skin but better." Lines are softened and spots are lightened in a way that makes my skin almost glow from within, nyurk nyurk. 

Overall, I don't think this foundation is overpriced especially when compared to other high end (or even mid-range) base products. It performs well, lasts forever, and looks amazing on the skin. Not to mention, you're paying the extra money for such classy packaging. This is one I wouldn't mind repurchasing and keeping in my stash at all times!

xo Be

Review| Dior Forever Flawless Foundation Perfection Wear Makeup in 031 Sand

As often as the world rages on with their love for high end foundation, I think they can be offensive nonetheless. High end brands tend to overload on fragrances, alcohol, and have terrible shade selections. At the same time, I believe in splurging on a foundation if it is perfect for you. Besides, my motto is complexion first, the rest will follow.

The weather here is rather hot in the day and balmy at night, so my poor skin is always confused as to whether it should tan and overproduce oil or stay dry and withered. Sigh. Right now I'm juggling several different finishes and shades of base products just because I tan too easily and mass produce oil every time the sun is around.

Dior Forever Flawless (for short) retails for 49 dollars. I bought mine off Sephora with a 10% discount since I had been eyeing it for a while but didn't have the nerve to spend so much.

Would I say it's worth $49 retail? Yes and no. Reasons?

1. There are many other mid-range foundations that already close in on 40 dollars yet will never deliver as this product does. To me, the closest equivalent would be MAC Studio Fix (but satin finish), NARS Sheer Glow (but more natural looking), and Covergirl 3-in-1 Outlast (but much lighter on the skin). If any of those work for you, you probably don't need this.

2. The packaging and experience is TDF. Shit is always more serious in frosted glass.

3. It really does make you look flawless for a very long time. I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing this every day (it's not obvious on the skin, just obviously too beautiful for human eyes) so it works as an investment for a "going out" base where you know lots of pictures will be taken.

Claims:  Dior claims that with its fancy technology the foundation can adapt to dry or oily skin, but I've heard repeatedly that this performs well for combo to slightly oily skin types who like medium to full coverage. This is a breath of fresh air from other high end brands who makes it a goal to produce very light coverage and dewy foundations that never last in the summer heat.

Color Range: There are twelve shades in the line which has a decent range, even if only two are truly olive/yellow. The rest take neutral, peach, yellow, and pink undertones into consideration. I picked up Sand 31 because I knew I would be tanner in the summer. I think Linen 21 would have been too light for my current shade hovering around NC30 to NC35 (depends on if I match my face or my chest.)

Keep in mind that for me, Sand went on around NC30 but oxidized to around NC35. This isn't a dealbreaker since it doesn't lean orange, but it does get darker than the packaging suggests.

Packaging: The frosted glass bottle contains a standard 1 fl oz of product. I like that there's a cap on top of a pump just in case, but it isn't the most travel-friendly container. That's ok, because it looks super fancy on my vanity. It's really in these details that drives up the pricing for luxury products.

Scent: You guessed it, this one has a very strong floral-alcohol scent that can be a little coying. It does fade after a minute, but those with sensitivity should avoid. I would say that it's even stronger than YSL Touche Éclat foundation.

Consistency: It is very "watery" and lightweight for a medium to full coverage foundation, meaning you can't feel it as much on the face as other full coverage products that are liquid. This is its strongest selling point in my opinion. I found that using my RT EFB yielded the best results, but the BB can also be used to sheer it down for daily wear.

Below are swatches of the foundation next to colors within its range. My inner arm in at about NC25. You'll see the other two foundations in the swatch pictures in a future review soon.

Overall, this foundation looks amazing and wears like steel. To me, the finish is satin or natural, not leaning too dewy or matte. I got around 8 hours of solid wear before noticing a little build-up around my nose (happens with every foundation for me) and some slight fading on the T-zone area. I am able to layer a finishing powder or mattifying powder with no worries of caking.

I can wear this foundation sans concealer, so it is a medium to full coverage for me. Those looking to cover hyperpigmentation will definitely need a separate concealer, while those who like a sheer finish may not find Dior Forever very natural on the skin. It's very flawless like the name suggests.  The best part is that I did not see any emphasis on pores or laugh lines, which often happens on me when I wear a fuller coverage foundation.

Do you think that a price point correlates directly to the effectiveness of a product, especially when it comes to base products? Or do you have great luck with drugstore foundations just the same?

xo Be