Showing posts with label black. Show all posts
Showing posts with label black. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

BECCA Ultimate Coverage Complexion Crème Porcelain


Last night I Google searched to see if anyone had swatched or worn the new BECCA Ultimate Coverage foundation, specifically in Porcelain, of course.  I found nothing.  So I thought I would do my good deed of adding a little review on it.


Let me first apologize for less than awesome pictures taken in haste as I was rushing out the door. Secondly, I have to apologize for my messy hurrs and my forehead rash.  Umm.  Okay, that's enough apologizing for now!!


You can see that the foundation does have pretty good coverage.  Not enough to fully hide my rash or cover every single freckle or blemish.  But still, pretty darn good.  I was in such a hurry by the time I put my foundation on that I didn't even bother to spot conceal, save for a bit of Clinique Airbrush under the eyes.

I applied the foundation using my Make Up For Ever 108 brush.  I immediately noticed that it has a rather thick, almost sticky texture.  It really did not glide on easily.  My cheeks looked kind of awful after the brush application (every pore looking much worse than normal) so I took my finger tips and quickly patted and tapped over those areas, which thankfully seemed to help quite a lot.  I'm speculating that had I used my Beauty Blender, I would not have run into that problem.  Also, it's worth noting that I did not build up the coverage much at all.  I just put down as even of a base layer as I could.  I do not enjoy super full coverage, so I didn't even think about trying for it.

I set it with Nars Light Reflecting Loose.  The finish on its own is pretty matte, at least on me.  It did not feel heavy or noticeable at all on my skin, which is always awesome with fuller coverage formulas.

Color-wise, this Porcelain by BECCA is by far the best match for me of the BECCA Porcelains that I have tried (Radiant and Mineral but not Matte).  I dare say it matches my skin tone about perfectly.  It did not oxide on me.  I find the color to be relatively neutral and even a little peachy, to my eye.

And now for the part that is really the most important of all to me.  The wear.  I got complimented by a client who asked me what foundation I was wearing, so that's a good start!  But that was pretty early on in my day.  By the time I took my break, I noticed, much to my dismay, some signs of crap wear just around my nose.  It had been on for five hours.  I was able to blot my nose and gently apply some LM Smooth powder foundation to the areas that looked worn, which helped very much.  When I checked again at nine hours in, it looked a little broken down around my nose, yet again, only about half as bad as the first time.  It was an odd breakdown for me because it looked dry and a little shiny all at the same time.  Curses on my nose.

What else?  It did not feel moisturizing or drying in any way.  When I removed my makeup at the 12 hour mark, it was looking a bit dry and just slightly patchy on several areas of my face (cheeks and jawline for sure).  Overall, nothing too scary, though.

I think it's safe to say that this is probably not going to be a new favorite for me.  I'm too easily annoyed by my nose doing naughty things to foundations.  I would like to play around with it a bit more, though, to see if I can get a better result with different skincare products underneath, different primer, and/or different application methods.  I am for sure pleasantly surprised by the awesomely near perfect color and the really ample coverage.  I really didn't enjoy the application today, though.  I sort of felt like I was trying to apply glue.  I would say that the wear was average to slightly above average for me, overall.

Would you like this foundation?  Maybe!  It's worth a try.  If you have texture issues or don't do well with finicky application, then you can probably skip this.  Also, if you have dry or very dry skin, I can't imagine it being a good pairing.  If you do try it, let me know what you think.

If you are wondering about anything else on my face, I'll give you a quick and dirty breakdown!  Cheeks -  Illamasqua Naked Rose and Laura Mercier Baked Highlight 01; Lips - Urban Decay Naked Ultra Nourishing Lipgloss in Walk of Shame; Eyes - black kohl pencil, Fyrinnae Purgatory, RBR Sweet Dust Seriema, and MUG Shimma Shimma.

The Naked lipgloss basically tastes and smells like nothing, but not exactly nothing.  It reminds me of plastic and chemicals or something, if you can imagine.  It doesn't linger, though, thankfully.  It's a very smooth formula, not drying, but not terribly long lasting (needs to be reapplied about every two hours).

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Corrupt







Face:
Algenist primer
UD Naked Skin 0.5
Illamasqua concealer 115
BareMinerals Stroke of Light Luminous 1
Nars Light Reflecting Loose Setting Powder

Cheeks:
Illamasqua Lover
Tokidoki Luminosa

Eyes:
Nars eye primer
UD Perversion e/l pencil
Makeup Geek Corrupt e/s
Makeup Geek Shimmermint e/s (inner crease)
Makeup Geek Moondust e/s (crease and above)
Makeup Geek Shimma Shimma e/s (inner corner)
Lorac Chic e/s (brow bone)
Shiseido Nourishing Mascara Base
Guerlain Maxi Lash
CoverGirl Clump Crusher water resistant (lowers)

Lips:
Malin & Goetz Mojito Lip Balm


I regret that my skin looks so matte here!  I honestly feel it looks much more glowy and natural in person.  Also, my lips look terribly blotchy and sad.  If only I'd put on just a pinch of color or something to even them out a little more.  On a positive note, I enjoy how the black eyeshadow and liner makes my eyes look really blue.  :)  The Makeup Geek eyeshadows are really top notch and a pleasure to work with.  I only wish I'd taken my time a little bit more to blend out the black from my lid into my crease.

The more I look at these pictures, the more things I find that I am unhappy with.  That must mean it's time to get to bed (and get some much needed "beauty" rest!).  I hope you are all doing well and thanks so much for stopping by.

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Gray Day



The lighting is not quite right in these pictures.  I look greenish!  Maybe the pool is reflecting onto my face somehow.  In any case, I did enhance the color on the photo below, which seems closer now to how the colors looked in real life.  None of the other photos have been enhanced.




I did a really quick eye with Armani Eyes to Kill Intense #21 Obsidian Grey and purple liners (Stila Purple Tang on the lowers and a purple Cargo Swimmable on the uppers).  I also used my beloved Stila Stay All Day black liner pen for extra intensity.  Obsidian Grey is a really pretty grayish, blueish, silverish color.  I believe I used RBR Alabaster Starling e/s for the inner corner highlight.

On my face, I'm sporting Korres new and not yet released Quercetin & Oak foundation in 00.  I was lucky enough to score a sample this week and am really excited about trying it!  It matches closely and wore well through the day.  It also makes the skin look extremely smooth and soft.  On my cheeks, I'm wearing Illamasqua Unrequited and Nars New Order.  My lipstick is Tarte's Luster in Adored (my go-to shimmery baby pink color).




Below are flash pictures of my eyes from Friday morning (early in the morning).  This is one of my favorite eye looks and I don't often repeat any eye look but have done variations on this several times.  It started with Chanel Illusion d'Ombre Mirifique as my base, then Too Faced Midnight Mist on the lid and into the crease, followed by Too Faced Poison Orchid on the lowers.  I used some Stila black pen liner, as well.  Also, I wore Hourglass' new brow pencil in Soft Brunette!  It's darker than I'm used to, but I think I really like it.  It's more neutral/cool than the Tarte pencil I normally use.




I've not liked these Too Faced single shadows on their own, but holy crap do they shine when layered over a darker base!  Amazing.  I just remembered that I used Too Faced Violet Femme to blend out the crease and just above.  You can hardly tell (if at all), though, and it's not a very pigmented color.  It's quite powdery also.




Thanks for stopping by!  Ask about anything, if you have questions.

Monday, December 31, 2012

Sparkle City!








Face:
Kat Von D Rehab Priming Elixir
Koh Gen Do Aqua PK-0
Illamasqua Concealer 115 (spots)
BareMinerals Stroke of Light Luminous 1 (under eye)
Korres Wild Rose Mineral Setting Powder <3

Cheeks:
Guerlain Terracotta Light Blondes 01
Illamasqua Naked Rose <3
Nars New Order

Eyes:
Nars eye primer
Lancome really old LE black kohl pencil (as liner and to map out crease)
Too Faced Smoky palette (Smokin Hot everywhere you see black, Firefly to blend out top edge of crease black, and In a Flash on the inner corner)
Lorac Baked Matte Satin e/s Chic (brow bone)
Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy (lid)
Sinful Colors Sparkle City loose glitter (lid)
Stila Stay All Day black liner pen
GA ETK black waterproof liner pencil (waterline)
Tarte Taupe brow pencil
Fiberwig D.J.V. Beautenizer Volume Lash
Givenchy Phenomeneyes waterproof mascara (lowers)

Lips:
Lipstick Queen Saint Pink

Happy New Year!

Friday, November 30, 2012

Red for Days!



If you'll forgive my hair, I think this look turned out really awesome!  I wanted to do dark eyes and dark lips.  It was the perfect opportunity to break out my newly beloved MUFE 48 lipstick.  48 is possibly my favorite vamp ever!




Sadly, it was very overcast outside, so all the sparklies on my eyes refused to shine.  Mirifique has soft rainbowy multi-colored sparkles and Berber has beautiful gold sparkles.  Oh!  And MUFE 307 e/s has tiny rainbow glitters, too!




Next up are some bloopers.  That's right, folks.  You heard me right.  I make silly faces.  Mostly on accident while trying to make really cool faces (or while attempting to smile in a natural looking manner).




This is maniac smiley face.




This is "oh no you di'in't" or alternately, the face of indigestion.




This is smoochy eyes to the sky face.




And lastly we have squinty-eyed smoochy pirate.

Face:
Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer
YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat BR20 <3
Illamasqua concealer 115 (spots)
BareMinerals Stroke of Light Luminous 1 (under eye)
Korres Wild Rose Mineral Setting Powder <3

Cheeks:
Guerlain Terracotta Light Blondes 01
Tarte AC Stellar
Nars Hungry Heart

Eyes:
Nars eye primer
Chanel Illusion d'Ombre Mirifique (base/lowers)
Illamasqua Pigment Berber pigment (everywhere you see red)
Make Up For Ever Diamond e/s 307 (outer corner and smudged into lash lines)
Face Atelier White Gold pigment (inner corner)
Lorac Baked Matte Satin e/s Posh (brow bone)
Stila Stay All Day black liner pen (tight line)
YSL black cream liner (waterline)
Sephora + Pantone e/l pencil Meteorite (upper lash line under 307 e/s)
Sephora Outrageous Volume mascara
Tarte Lights Camera Lashes mascara
Givenchy Phenomeneyes waterproof (lowers)
Tarte taupe brow pencil

Lips:
Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Intense 48

I'm still loving the Touche Eclat foundation.  Also, the formula on the lipstick is pretty great, too!  I definitely think I want to do more red eyes with red lips in the future.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you enjoyed the silliness.  :)

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Darkness in My Eyes



Here's a relatively quick yet dramarama look I did the other day using the new Shu Uemura Karl for Shu Smoky Velvet palette.  I got Smoky Velvet, Prestigious Bordeaux, and Chocolate & Pistachio during the crazy good sale last week.  I couldn't resist!  They all seem super nice.




I started with Stila's Smudge Crayon in black as a base on my lids and lower lash lines.  I smudged them best I could using my finger - that sucker does not want to move!  I looked quite hilarious until I put the powder shadow on top.  That's the beauty of a smoky eye, though - it never has to be perfect.  Admittedly, I do try and perfect it toward the end of the process.




The shimmery green you see above the crease is the deep khaki in the palette.  I do believe it's a cream!  They call it and the glitter black "silky smooth" eyeshadow.  If they are not creams, they are hybrids like many of the colors in the Dior 5-Colour Designer palettes.  The elegant light silver I used in the inner corner is sparkletastic rainbowy heaven.  It's even more reflective and amazing in person!




Face:
Miracle Skin Transformer Light
Korres Wild Rose Mineral Foundation Porcelain
Illamasqua Concealer 115
BareMinerals Stroke of Light Luminous 1
Korres Wild Rose Mineral Setting Powder

Cheeks:
Guerlain Terracotta Light Blondes 01
Becca Gypsy blush

Eyes:
Nars eye primer
Stila Smudge Crayon Black (base)
Shu Uemura Smoky Velvet palette (charcoal, white, and shimmery green)
Stila Stay All Day black liner pen (tight line)
Tarte Skinny SmolderEYES wp liner Emerald (waterline)
Lorac Baked Matte Satin e/s Chic (brow bone)
Tarte Lights Camera Lashes mascara
Givenchy Phenomeneyes wp mascara (lowers)
Anastasia Go Brow pencil

Lips:
Lorac Couture Shine Trendsetter


This is a really heavy eye look for me and I still feel a tiny bit self-conscious when wearing ones like this.  I'm gaining confidence, though.  Several people complimented me on it, which was really sweet.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Let me know your thoughts or if you have any questions.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Black Tango



Welcome!  This is my little makeup blog.  I'll be mainly posting "face of the day" makeup here, but I expect there may be some swatching and other fun things taking place from time to time.  :)  I hope you enjoy it!  This is a Make Up For Ever Black Tango inspired look I wore yesterday.




The original look featured mauve cheeks and burgundy lips, but I modified that part for mine.




This eye needed to be blended more above the crease, which I promptly did after I got to work!




I'm not used to having my brows this long and large.  That was fun and weird!




This eye turned out pretty good.  If I had it to do over again, I would layer Arabian Ruby over a more opaque base or maybe even try it wet.




I slept with my hair just washed and damp the previous night, hence the super wavy lovely look!




Here is what I wore.


Face:
Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer
Smashbox under eye primer
MUFE Lift 11
MUFE Lift concealer 1
Illamasqua concealer 115
Korres Wild Rose Mineral Setting Powder
MUFE Super Matte Loose 12

Cheeks:
Guerlain Terracotta Light Blondes 01
Tarte AC Dazzled (not mauve enough, but closest in my stash to a dusty mauve, I think)
Tarte AC Shimmering Powder Champagne

Eyes:
Lorac primer
Chanel Mirifique (base)
Addiction Arabian Ruby
GA ETKI Lust Red (used wet as liner - nearly pointless as you can't really see it except maybe a bit on the lowers)
Face Atelier White Gold pigment
YSL Faux Cils black cream liner (tightline and waterline)
YSL Shocking mascara
Givenchy Phenomeneyes WP
Clinique Bottom Lash
Tarte taupe brow pencil

Lips:
Buxom Clair

I'm not too talented taking self-portraits with my little camera, so I apologize if the pictures, lighting, and angles are less than grand.  I do the best I can!

Hopefully this will be fun for you and fun for me.  :)  Let me know if you have any questions about the look or techniques used.  Thanks for stopping by!