Review- L'Oreal True Match Super Blendable Foundation

After taking a break from blogging for a few months, I finally decided to jump back in the business. For this post, I've picked L'oreal's much loved True match foundation. Read on for a full review.

L'oreal true match foundation in W2

My Experience:

L'Oreal's true match foundation is unknown to none. It's probably the most famous foundation L'oreal has ever introduced. The one I have here is the U.S version which comes in a small glass bottle without a pump(boo). The U.K version (also available in Pakistan) comes in a comparatively big bottle and has a pump attached. Having tried both the versions, I felt that the two have slight differences in texture and consistency. 

Starting off with the shade, I got myself the shade W2 thinking that it would suit my NC20 skin-tone since it was placed under the warm undertone category. However it turned out really light. It's a completely pale shade with no hints of yellow. Not a match for my skin but when I blend it out with fingers, it tends to adapt to my skin a little but this, in no way, is the answer to the mismatch. I'm probably gonna get myself W4 in near future in a hope to find a match for my skin by mixing the two shades. 

As I said, the U.S version (mentioned above) of this foundation is different from the U.K version. This one is slightly more runny in consistency and feels a lot lighter on skin. Other than that, it also has a very smooth texture specially when you blend it in with your fingers. I've noticed that when applied lightly, it pretty much imitates the skin. That's particularly what I love about this foundation. My face doesn't look cakey even if I wear it in layers and my skin can actually breath. This feature was absent in the U.K version of this foundation. 

The coverage it delivers is light to medium depending on the method of application. For daily use, I prefer applying it with my fingers as I get a natural finish this way. When I want to go a little heavy on the coverage, I like to use a blending brush, real techniques' expert face brush particularly. 

I'd say you get a satin finish with this foundation. It's not completely matte but not dewy either. Girls with oily skin like me will definitely need to set it with powder. The staying power is also pretty impressive. On average, It stays on my face for around 7-8 hours. However this time period is expected to shorten during summer when my skin gets super oily.  

Overall I love this foundation. It successfully made it to my best foundations list because of the reasons mentioned above. Until I find a better foundation for daily use, I'm going to keep repurchasing it.The best part is that you have 33 shades to choose from so they're serious when they say "true match" here.  

Have you guys tried this foundation? What do you think about it?

Do let me know

xx

Price: $9.99. It cost me 2200pkr including national and international shipping.
Where to buy: Your Local Drug-stores. If you're in Pakistan you can order it from a variety of facebook pages like Wishlist, Beauty Hub, Beauty Broadway, Beauty in Budget4U, Rouge and the list goes on.

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Review+Swatches- Essie Nail Polish

One of the biggest highlights of 2013, for me, was the launch of Essie polishes in Pakistan. I finally got to try 2 shades from the brand. Read on for swatches and review.

Left: Steel-ing The Scene

Right: Swept Off My Feet

Steel-ing The Scene

 Swept Off My Feet

Steel-ing The Scene

 Swept Off My Feet

My Experience:

Steel-ing the scene is pure metallic silver with minute shimmer which is unnoticeable when viewed from a distance. I see it as more of a nail art color since I'm obsessed with silver lines and polka dots but it looks stunning on it's own too. Swept Off my Feet is a rose-berry color and looks absolutely gorgeous on Asian skin-tones. Both the colors are sheer and need two coats in order to achieve full opacity. The applicator of these polishes is a little narrow for my liking though. It doesn't cover up my whole nail in one swipe so I have to make sure the color reaches both sides of my nails.
Overall I really like these polishes. I love how Essie offers an enormous range of colors and each one of them has a unique name. Those who are obsessed with painting nails will love the whole range.

Where To Buy: Right now Essie is a salon only product in Pakistan. You'll have to go to your nearest salon to get an essie manicure. Click Here to find out the salons in your city that carry the brand. I do wish they bring it out in stores soon.
For more updates about Essie Pakistan, visit their Facebook page

Have you guys tried Essie? Which shade is your favorite?
Do let me know
xx


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Summer Favourites 2013

So we're halfway through summer and I can't believe how quickly time passed. I mean I just feel like it was a week back when I was excited about summer holidays coming up and now they're almost gone! So depressing. Anyway I'm sharing first "favorites" post with you guys today and these are my Summer favorites to be exact. It includes all the products I've been using this summer which made it to my "like list".

Liole Triple the solution BB Cream: I wore this BB cream for all my trips to the shopping mall during Ramadan. It's light weight, gives a decent amount of coverage, has an SPF and stays on my face for a good period of time. 

L'Oreal Magic Perfecting Base: I reviewed this primer in the post just before this one. I love it. Makes my skin nice,smooth and blurs out pores. 

Color Studio Invincible Powder Compact: I've almost hit pan on this powder. It keeps my face shine free along with providing a teeny weeny amount of coverage.

NYX Above and Beyond Full Coverage Concealer in Yellow: I wish this had more yellow tint but nonetheless works great for my under eye circles.

SixPlus Buffing Brush: It's small, dense and blends in foundation/powder well

SixPlus Precision Buffing Brush: I love it for blending concealer under my eyes.

Makeup Blending Sponge: For a natural and even coverage, this is by far my favorite tool.

Urban Decay Single Eyeshadow In Half Baked: This is my first UD eyehsadow and I've officially fallen in love with it. It has a soft and buttery texture along with amazing pigmentation. Not to mention the color is gorgeous. I'll be buying more shades in future.

Maybelline Color Whisper in Rose Of Attraction: The one product I'll keep on repurchasing until I find something better. The shade is a perfect pink for my skin tone.

ColorStudio Pure Matte Lipstick in Missionary: I'm a sucker for peaches and this one's my favorite. It's matte and stays on for a long time.

e.l.f Makeup Mist and set: This one actually turned out better then what I had in mind. Locks in makeup for a decent amount of time.

Rimmel Lash Accelerator endless Mascara: I've reviewed this one too. Gives very natural looking lengthy lashes. 

Colorstudio Neon Devil: My favourite pink nail polish this summer. Matches most of my outfits.

So that's it for my summer favorites. What products do you love during summer ?

Do let me know

xx

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Review- L'Oreal Magic Perfecting Base

It's been almost 2 years since my skin underwent some transformations which majorly included my pores getting huge and even more oily. L'oreal magic perfecting base came with the claim of minimizing pores and smoothing the skin so I went ahead and bought it. Keep reading to find out my thoughts about this product.

My Experience:
I'd literally go ahead and try out every product that claims to minimize pores or smooth skin but unfortunately I couldn't find any primer within my budget that focused on blurring pores or evening out the skin texture. I was particularly looking for silicone based primer so I searched and read some reviews after which I decided to give this one a try.

The L'oreal magic perfecting base comes in a small 15ml glass jar, definitely a lot smaller than what I had in my mind. It has a very smooth thick matte texture and feels velvety once blended into the skin.
The packaging suggest using the product in circular motions all over you face. However I have a slightly different approach. I take a very small amount and apply it on my cheeks and t-zone except the open pores on my cheeks. Then I take a little more and dab on my pores. This time I do not rub it in. I just dab until it sinks into my skin. I leave for about 30 seconds and start my foundation application.
I have to say this primer really impressed me. It does exactly what it says, makes my skin smooth but above all, blurs my pores. The minimizing/smoothing effect comes from silica which is one of it's ingredients. The rest of my face feels smooth too so it provides a nice texture for me to apply my regular foundation.
However for days when I'm using foundations with slightly dewy/natural finish, I have to dab the primer again at the end on my pores to make them blurry/matte. The blurred out effect is not very long lasting though. Unless I've sealed it up under powder and setting spray, it vanishes after a few hours.
One thing I want to make clear here is that this is not your basic primer with properties to make your foundation last long. In fact it will absolutely do nothing for elongating the life of makeup on your face. Just because it's not meant to do so. I'm happy that L'oreal didn't make any false claims here. It's supposed to make your skin smooth and blurred, it does that pretty well. It's as simple as that.

Overall I really like this primer. It does what it claims. Makes my skin really smooth and blurs out my pores and fine lines. However it will not help your foundation last long so you might wanna pair it up with a primer that make your makeup stay. Secondly I think it's a little overpriced for the amount you get.
A day back I went makeup shopping and I tried the bourjois skin smoothing primer at the counter. I realized that it gave almost the same result as this one. So when I'm out of this jar, I'll definitely give that one try.

Where To Buy: I had mine ordered from target but Pakistani girls can order it from Wishlist or Beauty in Budget4u.
Price: $12.99

Have you guys tried this? Which primer is your favorite?
Do let me know
xx

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Review+Swatches- Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers

It's not a lipstick, it's not a lipgloss. It's something you'd call "In between". Rimmel Apocalips have gained a lot of attention ever since they were released. Read on to find out what I think about them.

Rimmel Apocalips in Nova (Top)

and Luna (Bottom)

Rimmel Apocalips In Nova

Rimmel Apocalips in Luna

Left: Luna

Right: Nova

My Experience:

The moment I saw the label "lip lacquers", I knew they were something to look out for. Rimmel Apocalips come in 8 different shades and I feel that the collection leans more towards pinks. I've got Luna and Nova.

Luna is a beautiful peachy nude shade and as much as I loved it at first sight (I'm a sucker for peaches/nudes), it was not the right kind of nude peach for my skintone (for the record, I'm NC25). It will, however, look gorgeous on lighter skins. I usually wear it over a darker lipstick just so that it tones down a little and I don't look too washed out. Nova is a bright pink that looks kind of fuchsia on my lips.This will suit most of the skin tones.

The texture of these lip lacquers is very creamy and glides on smoothly across my lips. It also keeps lips moisturized as long as it stays on. Now I see why it's being loved by so many girls out there, the pigmentation is amazing. It's really rich and opaque and you get a good amount of color just by a single stroke of the brush. 

Since the product is a hybrid between lipstick and lipgloss, the staying power is somewhat in between too. It's much better then lipgloss, but not like a lipstick. But for a liquidy lip product, it lingers on well. I have a really bad lip biting/eating habit so I've to be extra careful with these on. Out of both, Nova (being a darker color) holds on better on my lips and leaves a tint behind as well.

The applicator comes with a small "dent", so when you take it out of the tube, it has enough amount of product accumulated in there to cover your lips so you don't have to dip the applicator back and forth.

Like most of Rimmel's lip products, these come with a scent too. To me, they smell exactly like their Color show off and kate moss matte lipsticks. It's a citrusy cherry kind of scent and I personally really like it.

I think these lip lacquers are definitely worth a try because of the texture and pigmentation. The color payoff is amazing and it's perfect for both day and night depending on the color you choose.

Where To Buy: BeautyArena, Just4girls.pk or Your Local Super/Drug Stores

Price: 975Pkr

Have you guys tried these? What do you think about them?

Do let me know

xx

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Collective Summer Haul 2013

I've been buying makeup products every now and then this whole summer, today I just thought of sharing those and also give you guys an idea about some future reviews.  So here's my collective haul for summer 2013. Price Of each product is mentioned in the caption of their respective pictures. Enjoy!

Urban Decay Dangerous Palette- Pkr 5290

Urban Decay Glide On Cheek Tint in Bang- Pkr 3650

Urban Decay Single Eyeshadow in Baked- Pkr 2850

L'oreal Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base $12

L'oreal Magic Lumi Foundation $12

L'oreal High Intensity Pigments Foundation $8

Elf Makeup Mist and Set- Pkr 550

Elf HD Blush in SuperStar- Pkr 550

Elf Jumbo Lip gloss sticks in "Pink Umberellas" and "In the Nude"- Pkr 350 each

Maybelline ColorWhispers in Rose of Attraction and Coral Ambition- $5.94 each

Avon Color Trend Oil Control Pressed Powder- Pkr 350

Avon Color Trend Eye Love Chopstick Eye Liner in Cat Eyes- Pkr 420

Avon Daily Hair Refresher- Pkr 390

And finally I got this Garnier BB cream for my mom. I believe it was around 500 Pkr

So most of the stuff mentioned above, I ordered from target through my lovely cousin. And the rest are either local buys or from facebook pages (Dhanak and Us Cosmetics and Jewelry).

I bought these products after a lot research and reading a hell lot of reviews on internet. Oh, how hectic it is to find right swatches specially of lipsticks and foundations. The foundations are not my shade though, even though they looked like my skintone, one of them was lighter and one was darker. But I like them both.
So what you guys think? If you want certain product to be reviewed, do mention it in the comments section. I'm planning on starting off with L'oreal first.

What have you bought this summer?
Do let me know
xx

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Review+Swatches- Color Studio Professional Pure Matt Lipsticks

This summer Colorstudio came out with another product, the totally new Pure matte lipsticks. I got the shades Missionary and Coco Rouge. Keep on reading for swatches and review.

Color Studio Professional Pure Matt Lipsticks- Coco Rouge and Missionary

Color Studio Professional Pure Matt Lipsticks- Coco Rouge and Missionary

 Missionary

Coco Rouge

Left-Missionary

Right-Coco rouge

My Experience:

Matte lipsticks are hands down my favorite formulation whether its summer or winters. But with a matte lipstick, there comes a lot of other concerns too. The major being drying out of lips. We shall talk about this later lets first jump on to the shades and texture of these two lipsticks.
Okay so one thing I love about this collection is the number of shades it offers. They have 28 shades altogether ranging from deep reds to light peaches. I have two deviations here, Missionary and Coco rouge.
Missionary is a light neutral toned peach color. It doesn't lean towards pink or red, it's just your very basic peach. Coco rouge appears dark plum/berry shade of red. It's cool toned and upon heavy application turns into a dark vampy red. Additionally, coco rouge being cool toned will also make your teeth appear whiter.

Coverage wise, both shades are pigmented enough to deliver the color with 1-2 swipes. However, instead of directly applying the lipstick from bullet, I prefer using a lipbrush as it makes it easier to apply color on the inner corner of my lips. It can be time consuming but provides a very nice and even application of the lipstick. Also, the usual "rubbing" or "pressing" of lips together to even out the color won't really help here.You need to give an even dose of color to both the lips otherwise you might end up with small, uncolored patches specially near the ends of your lips.
Okay so matte obviously means the texture of the lipsticks is dry. You need to moisturize your lips before hand. Those with dry or chapped lips will find the lipstick hard to work with if the lips aren't moisturized before hand.
The staying power of the lipsticks is great but different for each shade. First I put missionary at around 5 pm, checked it right before iftaar (which is about 7:26 in my area) and it was still there. After all the eating and drinking it faded a little but didn't vanish. It was not until around 9 pm that it completely went off.
As for coco rouge, it just stayed there until I removed it myself. Since it's a darker color it left a tint behind even after it was gone.

Overall these lipsticks are a must have for anyone that loves matte formulation. They have a really good staying power and come in a variety of shades. I'm planning on getting myself more colors from this range and the ones I have on my list are Allure, Lust, Gossip and Striptease.

Where to Buy: BeautyArena or your local superstores.
Price: 750Pkr

Anyone else tried them? Which lipstick is your favorite these days?
Do let me know
xx




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Review- Rimmel Lash Accelerator Endless Mascara

 Rimmel recently introduced a newer version of their Lash accelerator mascara, the Lash Accelerator "Endless" mascara. This one comes with Grow lash complex and fibres to help achieve maximum length. Read on for my experience with this mascara 

Before

After 1 Coat

After 2 Coats

My Experience:
Starting off, I love the flashy neon lime green tube of the mascara, It's sleek and looks pretty in my mascara stash. The packaging gets a thumbs up from me.
I usually skip mascaras with small bristled brushes but I guess I've not been judging mascaras well. This one actually works great. The brush applies mascara evenly to my lashes and since it's not big or bushy, I'm not stuck with getting excess mascara off my wand before application. It just provides the right amount of product to cover up one eye.
The formula is just right too, neither too thick, nor too runny. It's the usual consistency most of the rimmel mascaras have, but along with that, it's not water proof either. I do prefer waterproof mascaras but not at the cost of bad result. Since I love the effect I get with this one, I can easily let go of that condition.
I love the length my lashes receive after the first application, not only that, it holds the curls too. Doesn't clump, doesn't look spidery. It just gives a very neat lengthened effect that you can easily wear off during the day.
Even-though the second coat gives a little bit of volume to my lashes, I like to work with one coat only just because that's exactly how I want my lashes to look. I've been reaching for it a lot lately.
Overall I actually really like this one by Rimmel and it might be one of my favorite mascaras from the brand to date.

Where To Buy: Your local super store
Price: £7.99 

Have you guys tried it? Which mascara are you loving these days?
Do let me know
xx



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