Monday 17 June 2013

Playing Chemist: Mixing Bases

As a bit of a foundation lover, I've managed to rack up a few in my stash with some nods and some no-nos. After many trials and errors I've realised that having an odd assortment can mean tailoring your base to your needs that day, with the added bonus of getting more mileage out of something that is tempting to toss. Step in the current four I'm rotating and here is the mood board of base blends I'm loving..


The Real Sheer Glow
Nars Sheer Glow gets the most mixed reviews from what I've read. Is it actually sheer? Does it actually glow? The jury is out on this one but its mingling with Stila BB Cream definitely helps create a proper light (sheerer) finish + glow. It's currently winter in Oz right now, so the tinted moisturiser-esque coverage of the bb cream isn't quite cutting it at the moment but it only has a 12 month lifespan, so this blend is helping it get closer to the empties line (am trying to be good with liquid foundation expiry dates!).  Sometimes the Sheer Glow does feel like too much coverage so I'm really happy with this hybrid and tend towards it for easy, all day outs.

Colour Correcting
I'm not 100% happy with the shades I have in Nars Sheer Glow and Rimmel Wake Me Up. Deauville seems a bit too light and True Ivory just seems a bit too dark. At first I was really disappointed with the Wake Me Up as this is the 2nd shade and the 1st shade is way too pale and too pink for my skin and I'm not pale at all (I'm practically dead-on MAC nc25) and was very close to tossing it or giving it away. Enter Nars SG in Deauville which I can never decide on whether it looks right or not. With this combo I feel far more confident in my colour choice and the resulting texture is dewy but not oily - definitely a fancier version of the first duo.

The Easy, Light Glowy Base
This is probably my favourite finish of the bunch, these two textures just compliment each other giving a gorgeous natural, lit-from-within glow, sigh. I'm on the last legs of the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum and I'm very sad to see it go. This is one of my best colour matches for my skin but the ingredient Aluminum starch octenylsuccinate does make me quiver a bit so I probably won't repurchase. The Stila BB Cream is helping me draw it's life out a bit more which is handy as it needs to get close to the finish line itself!  The combo still provides quite a good light coverage whilst maintaining the colour and the radiant finish is just perfect.  This simple combo is loved for half days out when I still want good skin but am doing nuffin' fancy.

So here was a bit of makeup chemistry (the best kind, I say!) helping me get the most out of all my foundations, making it fun enough to stop me from lemming after another base (I'll just keep them on the wishlist, I swear).  How do you fair with your foundation stash? :)

x, mai-anne

1 comment:

  1. I have the Maybelline fit me and its in invert the lightest you could get but it still isn't right for me! Might need to look into BB creams! Great read!
    Suz
    Bloosieslife.blogspot.co.uk

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