RSSProduct Review : Merle Norman Luxiva Timeless Age-Defying Makeup
December 21, 2009
My search for good quality AND colour in cosmetics, laid out intelligently so women could understand how to use them, led me to MN. I don’t use the skin products because they’re not at Beautypedia, but I relax that rule for makeup. It’s hard enough to get colour right. Timeless foundation has been a happy find.
Read moreMakeup Model : Clear Spring
June 28, 2009
This is the yellow undertone of Spring moving closer to the neutral line till it flips to its sister season of Clear Winter. Sometimes, the hair is so dark with very brown eyes that the person is mistakenly classifyied with the high contrast of Winters. Clear Spring is the only season outside of Winter that can pull off black clothing.
Read moreProduct Review : Clinique Repairwear SPF 15 Foundation
June 12, 2009
I wasn’t planning on buying foundation but I got overheated with the excitement of finding this color and formulation. And I’m still on a Winter Self-Discovery kick. And I had an afternoon alone. So what, you might say. Or, you might say, “3 hours?! In a row??” . I myself fit into the latter category.
I went to Sears to buy another tube of Estee Lauder Zero-Smudge mascara because my daughter appropriated mine. And I had a gift card, you see. So I wandered over to Clinique because they make some good, and more affordable, stuff and they had a GWP.
Their gifts are pretty good and free has a certain appeal that I’m certain you can understand, especially if you have teenagers. I wish they’d put some new lip products in those gifts. The ol’ Different Grape (this is a widely wearable color?), Apple Cider ( less wearable than A Different Grape), and Raspberry Glace (kind of boring), they’ve seen their day. I guess that among Clinique lipsticks, I really like the Butter Shine best, but I can see how not everyone would because it’s so creamy. I do like the choice of gifts, the various glosses, and how they’ve done a warm and cool option.
Clinique has a PWP offer right now of Summer Pinks or Summer Bronzes.
I’m always drawn to foundation. It fascinates me for some reason. There’s a sticky spot in my head for all those nuances of beige. My own skin issues are,
-lines under eyes,
- a lot of pigment discolorations on sides of face,
-large pores on nose,
but the skin is pretty smooth in the sense of not-bumpy.
Foundation these days is astounding in the number of finishes available and even the more complete coverage products look and feel pretty good. So I started looking for a foundation with heavier coverage that might still look believable with a face full, and would allow for less coverage in some places and much more in others. Although we all need a darker skin-tone concealer (for imperfections on the skin) along with the lighter one (for shadows), I feel unlikely to begin mixing 2 concealers to arrive at my perfect shades. Even if I did, I don’t have time to dot concealer on a hundred little spots. What if foundation alone could cover well enough to hide those pigment spots?
Decades ago, foundation used to be too pink. Eventually, I think makeup artists convinced cosmetic companies that skin is actually more yellow than it is pink. Now, I wonder if a lot of products are too yellow. The salespeople tell you that they make it that way to diminish redness. Well, ok, but you’re not supposed to see the yellow tones. Your skin becomes a different color than your ears. I see skin as kind of grayish, but maybe that’s because mine is. I freely admit that I have no experience matching foundation to anybody but myself. Does anyone remember Club Monaco makeup? Monica Lewinsky wore it, just to date it for you. Those were neutral foundation colors.
I found Repairwear in Fair Neutral 03 and Neutral 05. Micaela, the very nice Clinique saleswoman who has worked at our counter for years and knows me to be weird, contesting, and hard-to-please but does a great job of pretending I’m a normal client, gave me a sample. I’m thrilled to see they’re taking a page from the MAC book and doing this now; must have all been at the same staff meeting. You should get a sample too. It’s very hard to get a sense of this foundation, or any foundation, at the store. Like mascara, it can only be tested in your own bathroom.
What happened was this. I tried it on, just the smallest bit, as Micaela advised. She said clients who buy it love it and don’t buy another bottle for ages. Your initial impression is “No way, this is too masky”. But once it’s all spread out, after about 10 seconds, dayam, it looks good. It feels a little bit heavy if you get too much on, but your skin seems rather perfect. Maybe a little too perfect, but I can get with the drama easily. This is not the formulation to begin with if you’re leery of the artificiality of foundation.
Pick a Saturday when you have a lot of time. Apply it as you usually do your foundation. Realize immediately the coverage is more dense than you expected and the only way to make it look real is by wiping it off which will make your skin red and uneven. Rinse it all off instead. Wait 10 minutes.
Begin again. Use ¼ your usual amount of foundation. 1 pump of the bottle is about right for your face. Apply it on the side of your hand and from there, put little dots all over your face and start blending them together. You have lots of time to work it around. The sunscreen in it doesn’t sting so it can go on eyelids and at the inside corners of eyes.
Take a little more off your hand and dab it, or stipple with your foundation brush, over pigment irregularities. It covers very well without looking cakey. If you have larger pores, drive the foundation brush into them end-on, with a little more foundation, and they’ll go away. Only the thinnest coverage goes under the eyes, as with any foundation, mostly just to blend away the concealer lines.
It is supposed to dry matte, and it does an ok job of it. You will need powder. I don’t need more touchups during the day than I normally would. I think the product looks a little “tired” at the end of the day, after a couple of powder re-applications. If I were going out at night, I’d wash it off and reapply. Luckily, I have no night life besides chauffering to soccer games so … if it ain’t my problem, … it ain’t a problem!
I start with Clinique’s All About Eyes concealer in Light Neutral, fabulous in its own right, and paint it in the usual places, the darker shadows. I don’t even blend it in, just paint it on with a lipstick brush. Wait 2 minutes and it will dry looking like Indian paint. The foundation brush will blend it for you but don’t smear. Keep your foundation brush strokes feathery, light, and quick. You want the concealer to stay where you put it.
Don’t buy makeup without visiting Paula Begoun’s group at Beautypedia. You’ll get another opinion and a better sense of what’s in this product than I can give you. You’ll learn whether it deserves Clinique’s “anti-aging”, or even better “de-aging”, label.
Unbelievable someone could have so much to say about foundation.
-->Your initial impression is “No way, this is too masky”. But once it’s all spread out, after about 10 seconds, dayam, it looks good. It feels a little bit heavy if you get too much on, but your skin seems rather perfect. Maybe a little too perfect, but I can get with the drama easily. This is not the formulation to begin with if you’re leery of the artificiality of foundation.
Read moreProduct Review : MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation
April 3, 2009
…officially takes over the No. 1 spot as Favorite Foundation.
… is a gel, not a cream, so it is easy to disperse a minute amount over a whole face.
… can easily build to more-than-medium coverage. Adding another layer or two over sun spots and veins can cover them nicely without needing to hunt down a suitable concealer in a different shade than you’d wear under your eyes or around your nose.
… lasts. And lasts. And lasts. It doesn’t look tired after 8 hours the way a lot of makeup can.
… makes skin look very smooth ( not even-colored, but even-surfaced with no bumps or craters). My kids noticed which is saying a lot because they’ve seen much makeup over the years.
… comes in MAC’s usual very good colors, but never settle for less than a perfect match. I wear NW 20. The colors seem a little deeper than usual if you’re used to MAC’s skin color schemes.
… is a great choice if you notice and object to the “weight” of foundation. Studio Sculpt really has none. Don’t buy Studio Fix by accident or you’ll think I’ve lost my mind.
… is a great choice if you’re thinking about trying foundation but don’t want a masky look and if concealer just seems too fussy. Use this as a fusion, only where you have shadows or discolorations. It gives you good time to blend and is light enough to get the job done with fingers.
… greatly reduces the tendency of foundation to be too heavy and so accentuate the age of the skin around the eyes. Who needs that? This is the strongest positive point for me. So many foundations look horrible on the skin under the eye, and worse if you use a concealer as well, that you can hardly put any product here. I’d almost buy it for this alone.
… dries fairly matte but not completely. Still need a little powder but fewer powder touchups.
… comes in a soft plastic gravity-fed tube which I so prefer over bottles. I wish they’d made the plastic opaque. I’d have a better feeling about the color staying true.
… really can disappear into skin if the color is right. I keep reading reviews where the woman is showing pictures of it on her hand, which is funny-peculiar till you’ve tried it yourself. What fascinates everyone is that you really can’t see where the makeup begins and ends. It absolutely looks more like skin than any foundation I’ve seen.
This foundation is good at its job, which is to even skin tone and color. If you’re not used to the effect, you’ll think all your features just disappeared. That’s because they used to stand out to you by the contrast of the shadows around them.
If you’re hoping to wear anything more than the sheerest tinted moisturizer and wear no other makeup, it’s not going to work. Your face will be too uni-color without a little lip gloss, an eyeliner, and a bit of blush or bronzer. Not complicated. Not especially time-consuming. Big looks payoff. Just need to go into it with realistic expectations. If you don’t want to wear any other makeup, just something to smooth your skin, this is not it. The coverage is too good.
Of all the good and great things that foundation does, I had yet to meet the one that I could say made skin look younger. This is the closest so far.
-->The closest that foundation has come to making skin look younger.
Read more4 Ways To Lighten Your Makeup As You Get Older 3
January 23, 2009
The third of 3 parts on applying makeup that’s beautiful on an older face.
1. A little bit of bronzer every day. Just go around the outsides of your face, under your jaw, under your cheekbone, at your temples. I have a wide nose so I put it down the sides of my nose.
The bronzer and the contour are the same product. Choose the lightest color you could wear, more gold than peach or bronze, with no shimmer at all. Don’t spend a lot of time looking for this item. It’s near impossible to find in a shade that’s believable in winter, especially if your complexion is light.
Instead, make your life easier by choosing a pressed powder in a color 2 shades darker than your own color. There’s so much to choose from in this arena and it works really well.
I use AboutFace powder in Tawny that you read about 2 Beautiful Bronzers For Early Summer.
If I were shopping, I’d look at Estee Lauder’s AeroMatte because it’s:
- pressed ; loose powder will not be controlled enough
- sheer, which is more believable in winter and means a lighter color deposit
- matte, because sparkly bronzer or contour just looks idiotic, especially in winter or at the office
Follow with blush in a rosy or peachy color. Choose something light and fresh in your color family. Dark blush makes skin look dull and lifeless. Nobody has brown cheeks. For some women of intense coloring, a deeper rosy-plum is fresh and believable. For others, spicy peaches and terracottas are very real colors. Stick with your color family and don’t go too dark. Bought your Color Swatches yet? Choosing makeup colors is a snap, a done deal, a cakewalk once you have your swatches.
Put the blush high on the cheek, under the outside of the iris, right above the contour, a little higher than the nostril. Think of putting it on the highest part of the round part when you smile.
Blend your blush better than you ever have. Two spots of bright or dark blush are too stereotypically old-lady. Use products that blend with absolutely no hard edges.
2. Avoid foundation with heavy coverage. Look for sheerer products. Try a foundation that is more transparent or if you love the one you wear, mix it with a little or your day cream ( the one with SPF, you know?) . It looks so much more like real skin. It is fast to apply, gives you some sun protection, is easy to blend into the neck, and can do wonders for how smooth your skin looks. Some powder on the shiny areas, the sides of the nose and center of the face, and that might be all you need to make a huge difference.
Some choose to go heavier with pigments and coverage as they age, but the skin is less forgiving and can’t carry this off attractively. In Christopher Hopkins’ great book, Staging Your Comeback, A Complete Beauty Revival For Women Over 45, he explains his preference for more opaque coverage in foundation in a matte finish. He feels it hides uneven coloration better, which he believes that people notice more than wrinkles. I don’t know about that – it may be true from a distance, maybe even a social distance of 2ft. or so. I think people do notice wrinkles.
(The BUY link only works on Christopher’s site but the book picture is linked to it.)
Here are some of the After photos for you to make up your own mind. He has incredible vision and beautiful, classy taste but I’d feel too made-up, and I already wear the stuff every day. Could be I’m not putting it on right.
Sheer coverage can do a shocking amount to even skin tone, even if a few discolorations come through. With Christopher’s suggestions of an opaque foundation and the powder under the eyes (which can be brushed away later), your face would have very little pliability, the coverage would look like a shield, and the wrinkles would almost blink.
I will concede that once we’re over 40, we have to be careful with dewy and glowy, just as he says. Unless you have 30 yr old skin, and perfect at that, take care with shine. You can always add it back in in a controlled way with a shimmer cream (see 6 Makeup Shimmer Do’s). Do we know this instinctively? The older we get, the less shine will work. That’s good. It keeps us in the realm of that watercolor diffusion which is the best makeup anyhow.
You’re brilliant, Christopher. I’d even let you at my hair. I don’t doubt I’d look much better than I do but I’m not with you on the foundation for an everyday look busy women can fit into their lives. You said “I know you can see [foundation] but others can’t.” I think they can. More about Christopher’s book in another post.
3. Eyeshadow that lifts. Women don’t require or desire a 4-eyeshadow blueprint. You put your light concealer under the eyebrow and that’s that done. You put a light neutral color on your eyelid. Where you put it on your eyes is what a makeup artist will tell you, but usually you’d go from the lash line to halfway between crease and eyebrow.
Our foreheads/eyebrows/eyelids are falling down with gravity and time. Instead of putting the darker neutral eyeshadow in the crease, apply it above the crease on the skin that falls down over the crease. If you raise your eyebrows, you won’t see where that is so relax your face and see what part of the lid is lying on top of the crease. See how the push pins are pointing to a fold of skin that falls down over the crease in the eyelid? Make it recede with darker shadow. Thanks to Jenepher Reynolds for this eye-opener.
4. Eyeliner. There is no way around it. You will look asleep without it. Our eyes, like our lips, lose definition with time. Our coloring softens and makes everything blend together more. Draw a line around something and it’s more noticeable. Our eyes are the part of our face that should be most noticed because they’re our expression and our vitality.
The color depends on your coloring, remembering that neutral makeup will always look more real. It will be some shade of gray, brown, or black. These colors are not hard to find. They range from soft grey to charcoal. You’ll find soft brown, milk chocolate, black coffee, grey-browns, lots of choice. Clinique’s Quickliner is but one of many good choices for application, staying ability, and color selection.
Buy from a company where you can test the colors. The sealed ones vary too much from the color on the packaging.
-->Today’s 4 suggestions for improved makeup on mature faces consider bronzer, foundation, eyeshadow, and eyeliner.
Read moreInterview With A Makeup Artist 1
January 3, 2009
If ever you find yourself in or near Prince Edward Island, Canada, make sure your eyebrows have grown out and you bring your whole makeup bag with you.
Position of PEI in Canada (dark dot in the East) linked to Wikipedia page.
You can pay a visit to makeup artist extraordinaire, Jenepher Reynolds. She’ll give you the most perfect eyebrow shape and color for your face, talk to you about your hair color, suggest what makeup to keep and what to turf, and create any look you request on your face (everyday, monochromatic, makeup for photos, evening, whatever you can dream up).
Search her name on this site and you’ll see several articles where her products or advice are mentioned. She brings experience from retail, the modeling world, and the field of makeup for cosmetic surgery. A 42 year old woman herself, she understands how the face and skin change over the years. She gets that you’re busy, don’t have an unlimited budget, and want to look polished, not painted.
Jenepher Reynolds
Her approach is definitely understated and highly customized to the woman she is working with. We all have our insecurities, our preferences, and our openness to change. Though she works with her own line of makeup, there is no upsell here. In fact, she’s used products she knows I own over and over in different ways. A matte brown powder can be an eyeshadow, a liner, a contour, a bronzer, or used to tone down a too-vibrant blush.
It was my privilege entirely that Jenepher found some time to speak with me in July of last summer.
1. You’ve worked at the Elizabeth Arden, Versace, Guerlain counters in various cities. Why did you leave a retail environment?
JR: For various reasons. The single biggest reason was that women doubted your advice because they thought you were always trying to make a sale. No matter your level of skill or sincerity, it was hard to break through that wall of suspicion that you were just in it for the commission. The truth of the matter is that most department store makeup artists, or salespeople, take pride in giving correct advice.
Second, I left department stores because I wanted to work in freelance makeup doing commercials, print ads, etc.
Third, there was an intimidating atmosphere, an aura of inapproachability and status with the prestige of some of those labels. This wasn’t in keeping with my personal feeling that makeup doesn’t place some people above others. Expensive makeup isn’t necessarily better. Makeup is about helping you feel good no matter who you are or how much money you have or pretend to have. I wasn’t comfortable with a sales technique of intimidating people into purchasing product.
2. What are the biggest obstacles encountered by women over 40 being who would like to be comfortable with makeup?
JR: There are two.
The last time many women enjoyed makeup, had time to play and experiment, and learned what suited them was in high school. As time passed, they got busy and continued using the same products and techniques because they worked back then. But colors have evolved. Application techniques have progressed. And a woman’s face at 40 is different than at 20 – not better, not worse, just different. Those colors and applications that worked 20 years ago are not flattering any more, or at least not as becoming as other options might be.
3. And the second reason?
JR: Plain old fear. Women don’t want to look silly so staying with the familiar is at least safe. They’re not sure how to find the colors that suit them best now, given changes with hair color and style and skin color and texture.
What you need is someone who will see you objectively, see you as you look today. How you used to look isn’t relevant. Even women who have adapted their makeup to their changing face can have difficulty letting go of a rut they got comfortable with.
The solution for both situations is solved by seeing a makeup artist. For many women, accepting the suggestions of an artist, a stranger who is seeing them for the first time, is very difficult. They really have strong convictions that they need that dark lipliner or dusty rose blush. It’s the job of the makeup artist to evaluate the woman’s degree of comfort with change and with her appearance.
Get recommendations for makeup artists from women you trust, just as you do for hair stylists, and then let them do their work. You don’t fix your own toilet, and you don’t stand there questioning the repairman’s every move while he’s doing it. You’re paying professionals to take their advice, not your advice, right? Go with an open mind. Don’t wash off the makeup till a friend has seen it, a friend that you trust for ruthless, honest feedback.
4. What are the biggest makeup mistakes you see?
JR: Rings around the eyes [heavy eyeliner]. Rings around the mouth [heavy lipliner]. Shimmer on skin that can’t take it. Foundation colors chosen by holding the bottle against your face at the drugstore. “Dusty rose” blush on every face. Beyond those, it varies by individual.
5. What are the most important changes you suggest for mature faces?
JR: There are two guidelines to keep in mind because they apply to almost every woman over 40 years old. The first key to attractive makeup is keeping the color deposit light. Literally using a light touch will result in softer color deposition. Avoiding products that are not too heavily pigmented and colors that are not dark or matte for that skin tone are important too. A heavy-handed application will show in the final result.
The second principle is using smudged definition of features. Distinct, obvious lines look harsh. Given that the soft appearance of youth is lost with age, hard lines are too noticeable and can be aging. Softened lines are youthful and forgiving of changes in skin texture.
You may have found some things you recognize in yourself already. You’ll find more in the second half.
Since you’re in PEI having a gorgeous makeup application, be sure to visit the amazing beaches! Miles of white and red sand, warmer water than anywhere North of Virginia, and sunsets you’ll never forget … the gentle natural beauty of this spectacular place is completely accessible to anyone.
Jenepher can be contacted privately at on the AboutFace site. If you have questions or personal beauty challenges that we can all learn from, please post them in the comments so Jenepher can address them there.
-->If ever you find yourself in or near Prince Edward Island, Canada, make sure your eyebrows have grown out and you bring your whole makeup bag with you. You can pay a visit to makeup artist extraordinaire, Jenepher Reynolds.
She will create any makeup look you can think of, design perfectly shaped and colored brows, and explain how to choose your best makeup colors. You will look polished, not painted.
Gift Ideas For The Real World 5
December 10, 2008
How do I love shopping? I cannot count the ways.
1. A Flip MinoHD. A sleek pocket-size camcorder that creates high quality movies that can be downloaded into a computer. For quality, ease of use, and size of movies, these are hard to beat. Pricier than most of my gift suggestions, but you wouldn’t regret this. The High Def (HD) version costs more but is probably worth it. At The Flip Store, called MinoHD Camcorder.
You simply must go to this page to experience the design and pattern generators. Ships for free, in the US at least, for now at least.
2. Crème de Cassis. This is a blackcurrant liqueur. Drop a splash in the bottom of a glass of champagne, or wonderful sparkling white wine like Henkell Troken. Extreme elegance.
3. Laura Mercier Tinted Illuminating Moisturizer SPF 20
Feel like your skin looks flat by mid-winter? A little bronzer helps, but not enough. This product gives a real-looking glow but not a speck of glisten. You know the sheen on the dull side of foil ? It’s more like that. There’s no sparkle. Too much could certainly make you look like an ornament, but a light touch just looks polished, like the skin’s been buffed. A perfect amount of light reflection occurs and define the angles of the face.
I bought Natural Radiance (for light to medium skin tones, a medium beige).
There’s Bare Radiance (light beige, for fair to light)
and Warm Radiance (medium peach beige for medium skin with pink tones- that’s from Sephora, I’m not sure just what color it describes).
Is it just me or is the lighting in all Sephora stores very misleading? I tried Bare which looked chalky. I bought Natural which looked just right in the store but is quite a deep beige at home in daylight. Given the cost, this might not be one to buy without testing.
I used it on its own. Very sheer but there was no twinkling skin. It wasn’t even unbelievably ridiculously shiny, just very sheer. With a little concealer, it was great for a weekend. For work, mixed with my usual foundation at 50:50, it only warms and deepens it a bit because it blends out very sheer, and it looks AWESOME (if I say so myself).
This is a beeeyootiful tinted moisturizer. Your skin will look better, I promise. I am so impressed that I’m going to buy the Bare Radiance so I can create the perfect shade. I really love it.
4. Joy Tea by Tazo Tea at Starbucks. Their seasonal offering and it is lovely. There are no weird holiday flavor shots, no Jack-in-the-box that nobody likes. It’s just an unusual but nice mix of black teas. From the Starbucks site : “Tazo Joy is a delicate yet full cup, created with some of the finest varietal teas available. Rare Darjeelings and Formosa Oolongs are paired with light-bodied, fragrant Nuwara Eliya teas from Ceylon. Yunnan teas from the high plateaus of Southern China and Southern India Nilgiris add texture and complexity.”
5. L’Occitane en Provence Cherry Blossom Eau de Toilette. This is a gorgeous scent. You’ll recognize cherry but it’s not Lip Smackers. A light floral, yes, but miles from anything fussy and complicated. This scent is fresh and different. It is sweetish but galaxies away from the cloyingly horrid lily-of-the-valley. If I were buying a scent for someone whose taste I didn’t know, this would be it.
From Sephora, about L’Occitane Cherry Blossom:
?Cherry Blossom ?This feminine, floral fragrance pleasantly perfumes the skin with the fresh, soft fragrance of cherry blossom with cherry extract from the Luberon in Provence.
Notes:?Cherry, Freesia, Black Currant, Cherry Blossom, Lily of the Valley, Rosewood, Amber, Musk.?Style:?Fresh. Feminine. Unique.
L’Occitane is one of Leaping Bunny’s truly cruelty-free companies and they make nice stuff. I gladly support these companies.
6. L’Occitane Hand Indulgences : an ultimate hostess gift.
7. Tarte Purse your Lips Lip Gloss Clutch. Normally $106, on for $39, and the clutch is cute. If I don’t get this, I’m buying it for myself. Look at these colors! Be aware that the tubes are smaller than the full-size gloss. Too bad. Knowing the mark-up on cosmetics as we all do, what would it have cost them to be remarkable and make them full size? Hardly anything.
8. Ten Thousand Villages. Fair trade. In support of women becoming stronger. So many gorgeous items, so inexpensive.
The SO-cutest garland.
Lovely wall hangings. this is an embroidered Tree Of Life.
You could buy a whole pile of the stuffed trees and stars for last minute gifts. And this sweetest nativity ornament,
9. Bold Bean Coffees. Thanks to Kathryn for sending this great site. Artful blends, single origin, and organic choices. Fair trade and Rainforetst alliances (see the Tri-Pak page), and supporting some fine organizations and causes.
Are you Mellow Morning Half-Caf or Manic Morning Espresso for the upcoming day at the mall?
10. Planet Chocolate. The best shopping bag. Fill it with the best stuff. From Eve Chocolatier – where great chocolate (and fantastic spiced cocoa) can be found.
-->
The list of gift suggestions that real-life women can afford to give (and many that we’d like to receive) continues.
Read more3 Great Makeup Brushes From Lise Watier
November 23, 2008
L to R, Angular Blush Brush, Definition Brush, and Teint Precision Makeup Brush. All Lise Watier.
Back in Why You Need A Foundation Brush, there were 10 reasons why this is a very valuable tool that will make a difference, even if you own a crappy one. I searched for a long time to find one I liked.
What I noticed first about this brush is that it doesn’t have the traditional paddle shape. It is more conical. This is called the Teint Precision Makeup Brush, different from their traditional foundation brush.
Teint Precision Makeup Brush by Lise Watier
The second impressive fact was the price. I bought it for CDN$25 at Shoppers. I’ve washed it twice and used it daily for a month and it’s still in great shape.
A foundation brush applies foundation cleaner, faster, lighter, and better than any other method. A few more tips, though this is ridiculously easy to learn to use,
- Apply the thinnest layer over lined areas. The whole beauty of this tool is how little foundation you need. The less product over wrinkles, the less visible they are. To minimize the lines around the eyes or the rest of the face, the thinnest possible application is key.
- If you see streaks, you may be using too much. It takes awhile to get used to how little is needed to get the effect.
- Brush the final strokes downward to get the hairs to lie flat and avoid the peach fuzz effect.
I’m not a fan of enormous brushes because of the lack of control. A huge brush, especially if the bristles are too floppy, deposits color too near the eyes, too low on the cheek, and too near the nose.
That’s as true for powder as for blush. To preserve the look of moist skin, powder is best kept to the sides of the nose, mid forehead, and mid chin.
I bought this one for 2 reasons. First, the angled shape. It reminded me of the brushes used in watercolor painting. The angle is terrific for defining contours and angles while the point can still be used for precise work. When I use it for blush, I hold it with the longer bristles downward so they move around the cheekbone. Then, I put a lighter, brighter, and/or shinier color right on the top of the cheek.
I figured it would be great on a face, to sculpt edges. Using just the tip allows you to apply product to smaller areas like along the sides of the nose. Having product on the long bristles, but none on the short bristles, allows you to blur the color edge with the empty bristles.
Second, the small size. You have perfect control of where the color goes (and where it doesn’t go). This is a great brush for blush, but also for bronzer and contour powder.
The Definition Brush (a.k.a. The CleanUp Brush)
Do you often have a sprinkle of eyeshadow powder under your eye when your makeup is done? This is the perfect tool to fluff it away without disturbing the rest of your makeup one iota.
Soft and floppy bristles are just what you need. Just brush it under the eye and flecks of powder or shadow brush away easily.
From top, Angular Blush Brush, Definition Brush, Teint Precision Makeup Brush. All Lise Watier.
Lise Watier products are available at Shoppers Drug Mart in Canada. If you buy more than one, remember to watch the flyers for 20x the points, or good coupons, if you spend over a certain amount. You could get big money back.
The Toothbrush Cup
Why do I feel I need to share this with you? You will have your own good filing system. It might fall in the category of Too Much Information. It’s just so attractive and shiny!
Brushes kept in a folded fabric pouch seems messy to me. Unless I’m travelling somewhere, I like them where I can grab them without fuss and they can air dry after washing. I keep them in these nice steel cups. Works well.
The big cup with the very fat holes is hard to find. It’s at WalMart for $11. It must be for the fat toothbrush handles.
Here are three wonderful makeup brushes. The foundation brush is not the traditional paddle shape. The bristles deposit and distribute color excellently.
The blush brush is small with angled bristles, like the brushes used in watercolor painting. You have better control of where color goes (and doesn’t go) and can contour and define angles, making this a great bronzer brush too.
The CleanUp brush is perfect to softly fluff away bits of makeup that have fallen under the eye, or on top of the cheekbone, without disturbing the rest of the makeup.
Why You Need A Foundation Brush
November 8, 2008
The foundation brush I have is by Estee Lauder and I don’t like it. The bristles clump together in a waxy blob instead of fanning out a little to move around the contours of the face. The brush doesn’t hold the product and distribute it evenly. It just sits on the end of the bristles and gets moved around on the skin. No amount of cleaning returns it to its original texture.
I do know this : foundation still looks ten times better when applied with this brush than any other way. No comparison. This is how you get foundation to diffuse over the skin. Any foundation, any texture works better. On aging skin where anything opaque and cakey looks terrible, a great foundation brush is essential.
Why?
1. You’ll use a quarter as much foundation. It’s just amazing how little product is really needed to blur away imperfections. The less product, the better the skin looks.
2. You can aim it where you want it very precisely. Larger pores on the nose? Push the bristles into the pores to smudge them away.
3. You have precise control over how much foundation is placed in any given spot. Have some lines at the corner of the eyes? Who doesn’t? Any product here highlights these lines but with the brush, it’s easy to get a very light layer around the corners of the eye and on the more lined skin of the eyelid.
4. You can blend foundation colors together better.
5. It’s more artistic. A lighter touch is just instinctive. You learn to look at your face as a canvas of parts and place the product only where skin color or texture is uneven.
6. It is never cakey in spots so you have to rub it to thin it out. You have complete control over how much goes on and it’s easy to build more where you need it.
7. Makeup lasts much better at the end of the day; 8 hrs later, makeup still doesn’t look tired
8. You can achieve a feathery touch over concealer so it doesn’t move around if you like applying it first. Remember the piece on BB Corrector (Why Does This Concealer Work So Well? )? I apply the Corrector first, with a lipstick brush actually, in a thin layer. I don’t even blend it. By the time I’ve applied foundation over it with the I-don’t-like-it-but-I’m-coping EL foundation brush, the Corrector underneath is buffed out but still in place.
9. It’s very easy to apply darker and lighter shades of foundation right on specific areas of the face and keep the color where you want it
10. The lightest dusting of powder is plenty. A face dried with powder is part of the Old Lady Face recipe. Powder is a very useful thing but Less Is So More. With a foundation that dries to a mat finish, you might only use powder along the sides of the nose, chin, and center of the forehead. Leave as much natural glowing skin coming through as possible.
You can buy real cheap brushes from Avon, mid-range ones from Clinique, big dollar brushes from Bobbi Brown, and many in between. Some are thin in cross-section, some are small, some fat and fluffy. Search Foundation Brushes at MUA. Since you won’t be buying one of these often, spending a little more is justifiable.
The best reviews come from women who have never used this item before. Everyone is surprised by what a difference any of these brushes make, regardless of the details of each brush. Even the bad ones do a better job than fingers or sponges.
I’d look at Bobbi Brown, Smashbox, Chanel, and Clinique. None uses animals in the testing of the final product. The one I ended up buying isn’t in this group. I’m still testing it but I’m thinking it will be a good one.
Not everyone needs foundation but many avoid it because of the idea that it looks like makeup. Well, it does look like makeup but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Foundation today can deliver perfectly gentle smoothing of uneven skin tone, like a photograph taken through a thin veil. A sheer foundation, a good brush, and a light touch can deposit a mist that looks like your skin but better.
-->The foundation brush I have is by Estee Lauder and I don’t like it. The bristles clump together in a waxy blob instead of fanning out a little to move around the contours of the face.
I do know this : foundation still looks ten times better when applied with this brush than any other way. No comparison. This is how you get foundation to diffuse over the skin. Any foundation, any texture works better.
Why Does This Concealer Work So Well?
October 8, 2008
When I look in the mirror, I see deep (and deepening) shadows on each side of my nose. We all have one single feature we focus on and that’s mine. Well, no, actually, I have several things I spotlight, but this is the one we’re on today.
Regular concealer works ok, but what works better is to precede the concealer with Bobbi Brown Corrector. This will brighten an area better than concealer alone. I’ll tell you straight off that I don’t get why it works, just that it does.
Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light Bisque
Corrector is intended to be used under your usual concealer, to provide extra coverage for dark shadows. The Bisque series cancels pink-blue (the most common color of shadows under the eye). The Peach Correctors neutralize “purple-brown undereye darkness” common in olive, golden and tan skin tones. I’m guessing purple-brown is the shading on those women who look like they’re wearing light brown eyeshadow all the time, all round the eye, upper lid as well.
This is an odd product. It reminds me a little of Kevyn Aucoin’s Sensual Skin Enhancers, also weird products. They both put me in mind of glistening putty in the container though neither is shimmery once on. Both are heavy in weight with only a tiny amount needed, and both have a grayish cast (at least, the Bisque Correctors do; Peach not so much).
With reliable guidance in finding the right color for you, these are both powerful skin enhancers. The folks at BB counters are very good at recommending a shade (I bought mine at Holt Renfrew in Toronto. I wear Light Bisque.)
It is kind of greasy but it blends well and has good coverage. I will use it as a VERY thin layer under my eye (side of nose, inner corner, just below the lash line, outer corner) as well as in the crease beside my nose, so the color matches.
I generally put on foundation, then concealer. For this sequence, I begin with the corrector, then foundation. My usual concealer comes last because I find I use much less once the Corrector is in place. Some women use it without traditional concealer over it – which I don’t fully understand because the corrector is gray/pink. It has a brightening effect but it’s not the color of skin on its own.
If you belong to Makeup Alley, and I strongly recommend you do, you’ll find 17 ! pages of reviews, almost all raves, and some great application tips. If not, you’ll find a good review at epinions.com. Averagejane loves it as well.
-->Regular concealer works ok, but what works better is to precede the concealer with Corrector. It brightens an area better than concealer alone. I’ll tell you straight off that I don’t get why it works, just that it does.
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