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

Review| NARS Radiant Creamy Compact Foundation in Stromboli

My lemming has been fed, nothing to see here people. Just another wonderful product that deserves all of the surrounding hype: the NARS Radiant Creamy Compact Foundation ($38 retail for the powder and puff, $10 for the compact itself).

Francois you so fancy but can't afford to give us the compact for free? The baby cream foundation case snaps its tiny little body into a momma case which includes a big mirror and perforated (aerated?) side for the puff to breathe. The outer shell is made of the same rubberized material as all other NARS compacts. Because cream foundations are more sensitive to air, the cream pan has a lid within itself. Pan-ception.

The little amount of product for the price is sort of a boon, but if you are like me and never go through foundations quick enough, you may find that it's the perfect size for a month or two's worth of use. By that time you will have gone up a shade lighter and ready to repurchase a baby pan.

The foundation claims to be very lightweight on the skin but provide excellent (read: medium to full coverage) depending on method of application. The sponge gives very thick coverage, but an application with fingers is the best way to apply this cream. Not very sanitary, but it does help melt the cream into your skin better than any synthetic brush. I found the coverage to be true to its claims all the while feeling as light as a powder foundation. Amazing! No cake batter to lick from the spoon here.

You don't get very much product in the pan, but there is a huge selection of colors (22!) to choose from that is very similar to the coloring system of their Sheer Glow line. I am also a perfect match in Stromboli for this foundation. It is the most olive toned medium shade out of Punjab, Santa Fe, and other medium tones that have too much orange or neutral undertone. I also picked up Ceylan (around a MAC NC25 equivalent) for the upcoming fall and winter season. I think that even very light or very dark skinned girls will have no problem finding a close or exact match. The cream formulation gives my skin a satin finish with subtle luminosity. In fact, it looks very healthy and skin-like. I set with a powder on my T-zone and it lasts throughout the day.

I would have to say that its portability, ultra lightweight texture, performance par liquid foundation, and easy pairing with moisturizer or sunscreen makes this a new found favorite of mine. I love how I can easily touch up through out the day on trouble spots if needed.  It is easy to pick a level of coverage with this product, and I think dry to normal skinned gals will greatly appreciate this foundation.

Below are some photos and a swatch of my shade Stromboli (Medium 3):

The shades all look very deceptively dark in the pan but translate to much lighter once on the finger, so make sure you take your time to look at swatches online or in stores. Also, see how disgusting the sponge quickly gets if you use it? I would opt for your own BeautyBlender or tossing the sponge completely before you grow the next batch of biochemical weaponry.

Anyway, I hope you will give this expensive little sucker a try, it really is a game changer for foundation.

Be

Review: Revlon Colorstay

Is the Revlon Colorstay foundation a hidden holy grail, lying underneath piles of rubble?

If you know anyone in the beauty blogging world, either on blogs or Youtube, you have probably heard of the drugstore Magna Carta known as Revlon Colorstay. When I first tried it out, I was NOT impressed. Why? It's thick. The color match was horrendous. Every shade suited for NC25 was too pink toned or seemed ashy on my skin, making it look like a horrible and flat mask. 

I picked up the shade Golden Beige in an earlier haul as a last attempt of saving humanity's faith in drugstore foundation, and it seemed to fail me yet again. I had thought this shade would be a great match for my summer tan (around an NC35 to NC40). Wrong!It was much too light. This is when I should've realized that it would be a perfect match to NC30. I didn't. Instead, I shoved it into my "excommunicated and ugly foundation pile", never to be seen again.

Now in the summer heat, my skin is a definite poster child of combination oily. My T-zone, and especially my nose, isn't responding well to liquid foundations that have a satin or dewy finish. Two hours after makeup application, I look like I've been snorkeling in a sea of grease. Gross. Meanwhile, my matte finish powders are too dark. Therein I thought to myself, I should invest in Makeup Forever's Mat Velvet and solve this awful problem!

Then my wallet cried, and I said, "Let me look instead to my pile of cast-off foundations to find something that controls oil."

Oh yeah, I have Revlon Colorstay. Isn't it touted as the HG affordable solution for oily skinned girls?

I gave it a try again, and it matches PERFECTLY with my NC30 skin. As the name suggests, its yellow tone matches to my face and neck with no issues.

Yes, it's thick. I use a very watery Beauty Blender and a very sparing amount of product, taking care not to spill the entire bottle out with each application. The finish in the first hour is definitely flat and doesn't pass for natural at all. By the second hour, however, my natural oil has seeped through enough to make it a beautiful natural finish with zero shine or slick. Wow! I'm guessing this is the goal of any other oil controlling foundation that is on the higher end, but since I am on a budget, this foundation is turning out to be a surprising (or not surprising) favorite of mine at the moment. I'm sure that when my tan comes through again, however, I will have to buy the next color up and risk hating this foundation again.

Verdict?

Pros:
- Oil control is magical. Blows my Studio Fix Fluid AND Powder out of the water. The only place that "glows" on my face right now is where I place my highlighter, not on my forehead or the creases of my nose.
- Cheap. And for the price, I think it probably does the same job as a higher-end product like MUFE Mat Velvet or NARS Sheer Matte.
- Needs very little product for full coverage. Goodbye, obvious zits and concealer!
- Water resistant, may I say waterproof. This baby doesn't budge with sweat and only comes off with some elbow grease and some oil based makeup remover.
- Natural finish with some aid from skin highlighters and natural oil.

Cons:
- Thick. I think it is very easy to go overboard and risk cardboard skin.
- Good God, why can't you include a simple pump? I feel like it's a life or death situation every time I pour some product on the back of my hand.
- Horrible, horrible, horrible color match for light-medium skintones with yellow undertones. I'm talkin' NC23-NC27. I've tried Sand Beige based on online recs and the color was still way too pink and ashy. As for NC30, Golden Beige is deceptively dark in the bottle, and you can't try it on in stores before purchasing. I'm not even sure what the color match for NC35 is, or if it even exists.
- Will this clog my pores? My skin is very resistant to allergic reactions from products, but I can't see this as healthy for every day use. It takes a lot of work to remove this foundation, and I wouldn't recommend to people who even occasionally sleep in makeup after a long night out.

Overall, I'm glad I saved 40 bucks from not buying a new foundation that controls oil. I wouldn't say that this foundation is amazing, but it is very excellent for the price point. My skin wouldn't like it in the winter, but for the humid summers, it stays on very well. This is a good option for those who are active, live in hot climates, and need full coverage (or are just plain lazy like me and hate multiple steps when applying skin correcting goop).

What's your take on drugstore foundation? Do you have a DS foundation that can beat out a high end one? Let me know!