First Look| BareMinerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream

When the BareMinerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream ($29) was first released, I poopoo'ed at the thought of it. What's another tinted moisturizer gonna do for me? I didn't see too many first impressions of the products, but I heard that it pilled and balled up on the face. Yuck...

Not to mention the marketing scheme was absolutely ridiculous. "It's a BB, CC, TM, magic elixir, apothecary brew, healing chakra crystal...all in one!!!" Erm, I'll pass.

But after trying it out for just a few days, I can already tell that I'll be making a dent in this 1.18 oz bottle. For some reason, I was imagining the packaging to be much bigger since it's shaped like a tube of body lotion, lulz.

Look at this deceptive ass packaging. 

Here are the claims. 

And ingredients....

I use Buttercream 03. It seems to match NC20-25. Ginger is my next step up at NC25-30 and I may purchase it for the summer since I've already fallen in love with the formula! The color match isn't "sheer", so you'll want to pick something with the correct undertone and close to your depth. 

Here's a shot in direct sunlight for comparison. It's very similar in tone and depth to the other foundations in my rotation at the moment. From left to right: MAC F&B in C2, Buxom Show Some Skin Foundation in Dim the Light, Smashbox CC Cream in Light, BM Gel Cream in Buttercream, ByTerry Cover Expert in 7, Bourjois HM Serum in 53.

The coverage is sheer to light. It does a great job of covering up my minor redness and faint broken capillaries, but dark red and angry zits need concealer. It also kindly covers some of the darkness underneath my eyes. I've never needed more than one pea sized glop for the entire face...half of a pinky nail is actually more than enough. I don't like layering it (there's foundation for coverage!) but it doesn't ball up.

It's *very* moisturizing. I don't have to use a moisturizer underneath, but I like using it on top of my Biore sunscreen for added sun protection. I think if I tried to layer this over a thick cream it would have the tendency to slip and break up on my face. However, used on its own or over a light moisturizer it holds on very well and lasts through an entire work day, with minimal fading by 6 hours and mostly gone by 10. It doesn't accentuate dry spots or flakes too badly, and it seems to glide over my laugh lines and fine lines. However, I don't see it hiding my pores (they're not accentuated, just still slightly obvious.)

Here is the exact same face in two slightly different lighting conditions: warm indoor lighting and indirect sunlight. 

Blurred pores and no visible redness, nice. 

In the direct sunlight shot, you can see that my skin  has a great luminescence that can't be recreated with powder products, no matter how hard I try. It helps that I've set this down with MAC MSFN in Light and used Maybelline Master Concealer in Light right under the eyes and on top of my bug bite. 

Overall, what makes me prize it above other base products is how kind it is to very dry skin. It's obviously not made for combo to oily skin, but normal skinned gals can set it with a powder and expect good wear time out of it. It's also very natural looking and hard to detect as makeup on the skin. It's a one step wonder (as advertised, waddayaknow) that evens out minor redness and slight spottiness: perfect for the beach, saving time in the morning, and very good skin days.

If you have doubts about the product's "worth" compared to its price, I think you should really question your existence as a dry skinned person, ask yourself if you need coverage, and then shell out the moolah! (P.S., $29 per 1.18 fl oz works out to be $24.60 per standard 1 fl oz.)

xo Be

Review| Marc Jacobs Genius Gel Super-Charged Foundation

With most foundation for me, the only flaw is usually color match. My skin is decent enough that most foundations blend in well, stay on for long, and usually makes my skin look better, if not just "made up." With so many new foundations coming out in the market constantly promising flawless skin, it's easy to get caught up.

My review today is for the Marc Jacobs foundation (1 fl. oz. of product) which retails for $48 in Sephora. At first, the foundation didn't catch my eye...until I saw that they had Golden Light as an option. And damn, it is yellow! Perfect. Most foundations only lean yellow but never go all the way to jaundice level. The foundation apparently contains coconut water and a bevy of magic juice along with SPF 15. I hear that it photographs very well.  The packaging is very cute and sturdy, being a lacquered black plastic top with a glass bottle body.

I watched a few reviews and saw that it was a mixed bag. Some people said it was amazing and beautiful, and some said that it was flaky,patchy, and cakey. Since my skin is normal and clear, I decided that its natural/buildable coverage was worth testing out.

I have to say after only 5 hours of wear that I will be returning this, STAT! Boo for Marc Jacobs, his other products are quite lovely.

The first impression is that it's very jelly without being thick or heavy. A lot of people commented on a heavy chemical/floral fragrance, but it just smells very faintly like 4 day old Valentine Day's bouquets. I used two full pumps for my entire face and neck area, but it was a little too much. I did not try to build since I have no breakouts at the moment.

First of all, I applied with my usual skincare routine sans primer. (Since I usually am too lazy to prime.) This meant Aveeno Moisturizer with SPF 30 before and Rimmel Stay Matte powder after to set. The color went on very light for my NC30 at the moment. Okay, all well and good. I gave it some time to set. The color match seemed perfect. However, the first bad omen came when my Tarte blush applied very streakily... Thirty minutes later in the car, my face oxidized 3 shades darker! This never happens to any foundation of mine since my skin is not oily or acidic. I don't mind that it matched my shoulders, but it wasn't the color I needed for the upcoming winter. At this point, the foundation had set and the finish seemed natural and my skin was very pretty despite the oxidation.

Three hours later, the area around my nose was a hot mess! My nose area is my trouble area, so anything that looks bad on it is a dealbreaker even if my cheeks are absolutely Cherubian otherwise. The foundation caked around the bottom of my nose. It slid around on the sides of my nose even though I had set with powder. Every flake or dry spot was accentuated. And yet, it still looked oily!  On the rest of my face, the foundation was starting to slide and fade in patches. My face looked like Crisco on a Sunday dinner hamhock. Even though I have small pores on the sides of my nose under my eyes, this foundation put all of them front and center stage. I usually admire a satin finish, sometimes dewy, but this was just over the top.  You can look at these pictures for reference. Don't throw up.

*Excuse my nasty lips, I was trying out Shiseido Bordeaux and it was a little too dark for daytime wear, so I scrubbed it off*

One look at my nose and you should already think to pass on this one. I don't think this would work on anyone with even a hint of pores, lines, or godforbid nose flakes. Also notice how my face/neck is about 100 tanning bed measurements from my chest and decolletage.  It actually doesn't look half bad if you consider my face a Monet (from afar it's alright but up close it's a mess!) It definitely photographs much better than it looks in real life, but who buys foundation just to camwhore? (Oh wait, my mom....)

EDIT: I tried this alone by itself (no moisturizer/sunscreen, primer, or powder.) The results were much better (no oxidation, no patchiness, no caking) but still not impressive for the price point. It performed similar to my MAC and MUFE Face and Body but with even less coverage. I'd rather use my NARS tinted moisturizer if slight evening out was my goal since it also includes SPF 30.)

EDIT: I tried this again for a second time and the day after, I have 3 huge cystic zits! Oh my gosh! 

I guess the only pros I could list are:

• It may work better for oily skin types. Judy on YT as well as several oily skinned friends liked/loved it.


• It's very light feeling on the face despite being advertised as a "gel" foundation.


• The packaging and brand name is reason enough for some people to purchase.


• It photographs well. HD video captures it beautifully (check out Saaammage's recent YT videos to see it in action.)

Moral of the story, foundations can make your skin look even worse than it really is. *SHUDDER* I'm taking this back to Sephora immediately and stocking up on my trusty MUFE HD or NARS Sheer Glow in a winter shade instead.

Be