Wednesday, February 25, 2015

My foundation shades


So I thought of making a post with the foundations that I've used so far so that I can have them concentrated in one place as a reference when I review a foundation and maybe help someone that has the same foundation shade with me to know aroung which other foundations (shade-wise) would suit their skin tone. Now this doesn't mean that if 2 people wear the same shade of a specific foundation they wear the same shades for EVERY foundation but it might be helpful for foundations that come in very little shades and have a difference from a shade to the other.

The truth is I haven't tried a whole lot of foundations in my 28 years since I didn't battle with a lot of visible problems so I didn't have the need to try a lot. But I will be trying more foundations and probably make updates of this post once in a while. I will mention any foundations, bb creams or powders that suit my skin and the season that they match my skin.

BB Creams:
Garnier Skin Naturals, Miracle Skin Perfector in Light/Medium (in the summer)

Foundations:
Avon Calming Effects - Ivory (winter)
Catrice BB allround foundation - 002 Rosy Beige (winter)
Catrice BB allround foundation - 003 Nude Beige (summer)
Rimmel Match Perfection - 100 Ivory (winter)
MAC Face and Body Foundation - N2
p2 Illuminating Touch Makeup - 25 Touch of Nude
p2 Feel Natural (01 in winter, 02 when slightly tanned or mix of 01-02, mix of 02+03 summer)
Seventeen (Greek Company) Time Plus - 02

Powders/ Powder Foundations:
Avon Color Trend Powder - Translucent
MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation - NC25 (all seasons)
Seventeen Natural Silky Compact Powder - 08 Beige (summer) 

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Rimmel London - Match Perfection Foundation - First Impression

Hello good people! How are you? I apologize for the lack of my posts but I had a long and very stressful exam session that affected my health so I wasn't feeling like writing even though I had a lot of topics on mind but here I am with a first impression on Rimmel's foundation "Match Perfection - Light Reflecting Radiance Foundation".

I am on the hunt for a new foundation since my beloved p2 Illuminating Touch Makeup and my Catrice BB allround foundations seem to started going "odd" (noticed a smell) I thought better off getting something else. Hunting for a foundation for a sensitive, dry, dehydrated, flaky with redness skin can be safely characterized as a pain in the butt. But I happened to read and see a lot of good reviews about Rimmel London's "Match Perfection" foundation and since it was pretty cheap I thought "let's be spontaneous and try it" (I normally research for like 2 months before I decide to buy a product).

Please keep in mind that this is NOT a complete review and only a "First Impressions" post so these are my thoughts on the foundation from trying it only a handful of times.


Comes in a glass bottle with a blue plastic cap and one positive thing I have to mention right away is that it has a pump! Its normal price in Romania from the store that I got it from is around 8.6 euros but I got it at the price of 6.4. The quantity is the standard 30ml for foundations and it has an spf of 18. Its texture is very liquidy and runny which is ok since you can be reckless on the application without resulting to a cakey face.

What it claims:
Traceless coverage foundation with Advanced Smart-Tone (that is ironic, you'll see why) tehnology for perfectly flawless skin under any light. Enhanced with Sapphire Radiance for an illuminating glow. Lasts all day.

The shade I got was "100 Ivory" and when I applied it to my face it was matching me perfectly until 10 minutes later that it went ORANGE! I first thought that I might have smeared blush or something all over my face so I decided to apply also to my neck (that at the beginning it wasn't necessary since as I said the shade was matching me pretty well). Needless to say after a few minutes the area of my neck covered with the foundation had also taken the orange teint as my face. I cannot believe it oxidized SO BADLY but maybe sometimes you just get what you pay for (I was hesitating on splurging on the Estee Lauder Double Wear but I think I HAVE to invest in a good foundation, my face deserves it, since I am getting closer to 30 I have to be more gentle to my skin).

Aside from the oxidizing part, it really does give a very nice coverage, as I said you don't look cakey whatsoever, it didn't cling on my dry patches like a lot of foundations do (like the Rimmel Wake me up for example) you could still see some of my red spots but they were very well covered and almost not visible. It gives indeed a lovely radiance, gives to the skin a flawless appearance and it doesn't feel dry. So it has a lot of advantages BUT oxidizing is a pretty big disadvantage that you can't really work with (I already picked the lightest shade that is available in this country and ordering from another country the even lighter one just with the hope that after oxidizing it would match it it's not really worth it to me).

Here are some pics from it:
I've pointed out (not professionally at all, lol) the areas on my neck free of foundation, in the pictures it doesn't look like that much of a difference but in reality the difference is quite noticeable (meaning that I would definitelty have to cover my neck too if I don't wanna look like a wear a mask if I continue using this).

My verdict:
This foundation does give a lovely coverage and it seems like is ok for dry skins but that "Smart-Tone" tehnology isn't so smart after all. I will try to work with it so maybe in the future I will write a complete review on it but only probably in the summer that I will be a bit pinker/more red from the sun myself otherwise this might end up to a friend that matches the oxidized shade of it. Too bad Rimmel!




Sunday, January 18, 2015

Balea Shaving Gel "Summertime" (Mango Smell) Review.

Hello! Happy new year! I hope you are doing great! Today I'm going to talk to you about a Shaving Gel from Balea company (company that is sold in DM stores).

Now I usually use my boyfriend's shaving gel because... well it works well, it doesn't irritate and it's always in hand in the house but I was passing by a DM store like 2 weeks ago and I am always tempted to enter them so I did.
They had some shaving gels on sale and I wanted to be all fancy like and have my own "girly" shaving gel so I picked up the Mango smelling one.

Comes in a classic shaving gel's tube of 150ml and the gel itself is blue turning into a white foam when you apply it on the skin, ordinary stuff.

What the product promises:
"The soothing feeling smoother and softer skin, rounded by the fresh and fruity mango scent that delights the senses. The rich moisturizer moisturizing formula pampers the skin during shaving."

What I think:
The positive thing I've to say about this gel is that....it smells nice. Unfortunately that is the ONLY positive thing about it. 
It doesn't make the skin at all smoother, it doesn't feel moisturizing and it doesn't pamper you during shaving. On the contrary, the skin feels quite aweful and dry while shaving, it doesn't "prepare" the skin or the hairs for shaving like other gels do and the shaving becomes hard like you shave your legs dry basically. It actually makes the skin so dry and rough that I even managed to cut myself in a lot of spots with a protective razor (mach 3) and I have NEVER managed to cut myself with this razor before. After the shave obviously, the skin feels super irritated, red, itchy and painful. I even tried applying a ridiculously big amount of it with the hope that it will be better but it made no difference whatsoever.
Basically I don't even think I will finish up this product since it was so terrible for me, I might give it to someone but I'm sceptical I wouldn't want anyone to end up with irritated and cut skin, Bad job Balea.

This is probably one of the worst products I've tried in a long time, that will teach me to stick to my boyfriends trusted shaving gel! Cheers :)

My grade for it: