My New HG Liquid Foundation - ATTENTION, PALE GIRLS!

I have hardly waivered from Avon's liquid foundation formula. It has changed names over the years, as I started out with their Smooth Minerals line and then moved on to Ideal Flawless and then Extra Lasting. The formula and shades have all stayed relatively the same and I never had a problem, so I never tried anything else.

Then one day I found myself away from home for an extended period of time without having  packed my foundation. I found myself in a drugstore without a clue. I stood around awkwardly pumping what little testers they had available onto my hand, with a curious beauty department cashier asking me constantly if I needed help. She watched me like a hawk, and  I finally just grabbed what looked good enough and hoped for the best.

I am a frequent commenter over at reddit's MakeupAddiction and one thing you will always see MUA's discussing is the quest to find the perfect foundation. You'll read stuff about undertones and oxidization and finish and coverage, and it's a never-ending struggle for a lot of people. Foundation performance can also depend a lot on skincare routine, products it is paired with (setting powders and primers, for example), and method of application. Foundation can be scary and a downright chore to purchase and apply. And they can get really expensive, ranging from $30-70 CAD for mid-to-high end at a shop like Sephora.

The  good thing is that you can often try samples, get a Pantone colour IQ done at Sephora  (where they use technology and a huge database to match  you to product shades) , and do some research of your own on colour theory and undertones. It doesn't always make the journey to find a good product for you completely smooth, but it can certainly help iron out some of the kinks.

I  decided the other day I wanted to be a big girl and try to find a mid-range brand of foundation that I like - I have a gift card for Sephora, and the sale is coming up next week as well.  Hopefully this helps some other pale girls to find a new brand, drugstore or mid-range, to try out.

Here is a comparison of some stuff I have been using.

MUFE Ultra HD Y215 - not pictured, I am using a sample currently
Avon Ideal Flawless SPF 15 Light Ivory
Hard Candy Glamoflauge Ivory
L'oreal Infallible  18HR Classic Ivory
Rimmel Stay Matte Light Porcelain

Left to right: Rimmel Stay Matte, L'oreal Infallible, Hard Candy Glamoflauge, Avon Ideal Flawless, MUFE Ultra HD

same order as above - in direct sunlight

wearing MUFE Ultra HD in shade Y215 / additional face proucts include
Hard Candy primer and Physicians Formula CC powder, 

I like the Makeup Forever Ultra HD foundation because it is marketed at medium-full coverage, but can definitely be sheered out. Even built up for more coverage, it's not cakey or unnatural looking. Paired with my powder, it doesn't cake up, either. The Sephora cast member who helped me out said it's very popular for people who are photographed or on television/film, it really does make you look quite flawless and smooth. The colour  range is amazing, I'm used to drugstore options where you have "sort of pale but really I'm much whiter than this" and then "orange or yellow" and then "OK, too dark." I'm not 100% sure how the naming works, but MUFE seems to have a similar system to MAC where it's based on undertones. Their lightest shade is almost straight up white, so if you're much lighter than me, there is a pale girl shade for you guaranteed!

My other favourite foundation that I've been using is the L'oreal Infallible. I don't use it in the winter because if my skin does get dry from the wind/lack of humidity and blowing my nose on tissues.. it does accentuate some flaking. That's my only complaint, the colour is  a good match - even though my shade for MUFE looks a bit more yellow and this one is a bit more pink.

The Hard Candy Glamoflauge is a bit too light, so I try to pair it with  a good bronzer or something to balance it out. I didn't have a tester or anything, so that was simply a "hope for the best" drugstore purchase. The Rimmel Stay Matte is a bit too light and pink as well, but it works  for the winter months as I'm not really outside and stay quite pale. Strangely enough, even though it is a matte formula, it doesn't make my skin look dry like I might expect it to.

I still want to give Tarte's Rainforest of the Sea  and Too Faced's Born This Way a try before I make the big purchase. Have you tried any of these 3 ranges from Sephora?

October Favourites +

Wow. The last time I did a favourites was a year ago - last October! It is not that difficult of a thing to do, so I'm disappointed that I don't do it more often. I am so sorry (for anyone who reads and for myself) that I don't update very often. I am juggling my degree/going to classes, working 25 hours every weekend, and working credit hours through the week. It's tough to get to do everything I want to do! I've definitely bought and tried new things in the last little while and planned on posting, but it's all lost on me now. I am going to force myself to post once per week at the very least now! :')

1 ♥ Revlon Just Bitten Balm Stain, Lovesick

Perfect. I thought it would be too bright, too fuchsia, but it's a nice cool pink. Very pigmented/ true stain, lasts absolutely hours on me.

2 ♥ Revlon Just Bitten Balm Stain, Charm

These swatches had me convinced I needed this colour. I always have trouble finding nudes that work for me. I have a little trouble with application; it isn't as smooth as Lovesick. I like it a lot, anyways! 

3 ♥ St. Ives Hand Cream

A drugstore in my city was closing and they had everything 70% off. This was practically free, and I just grabbed it because my latest Nivea hand cream was just about empty. It's my new favourite. It smells amazing, I can't even describe it - fresh? It isn't greasy, and my hands feel soft. 

4 ♥ Essie Grow Faster

As I've mentioned since the dawn of time, I have a hard time keeping my fingers looking pretty. I am over the nail biting, though the picking and biting my skin is different story. I use this as a clear polish for work and I would say the claim to make nails grow faster is true. I wouldn't really care if it did or didn't, it's still a good clear/base/strengthening polish. 

5 ♥ Avon Skin So Soft Body Lotion w/ Argan 

I like Avon lotions. SSSs are always great. They have a few different ones these days, so I decided to try one. I've used it every day since I got it and no complaints! 

6 ♥ NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream, Amsterdam 

I bought this in January and didn't really wear it after I first got it. I'm a bit shy about lipstick (especially reds and brighter colours) since I'm just in class and at work most of the time and sometimes I notice people will comment and say something stupid like, "why are you wearing makeup?" if I wear lipstick. I decided that I do not care what people think anymore and I will wear my red and bright pink lipsticks proudly. This one lasts a long time, just starts to look flaky and separated once it starts wearing off. 

7 ♥ Hand Candy Primer, Perfecting

My Mark primer ran out and I didn't know what to try next, so I grabbed this one from the drugstore. It's pretty. Totally different consistency than Mark's, but it does make my face quite smooth. I am definitely looking to try something else next time. 

Well, this has been a 3 am post! I am exhausted and barely slept this past week, but I am always wanting to do things I enjoy really late at night... 

xx

I'm Thinking Blue & Walk The Line

I went out to Walmart yesterday with my roommate, Amanda. She was looking for a "white eyeshadow" and she isn't a huge makeup lover, so she wanted my help. She was essentially looking for something super versatile with some shimmer, for highlighting and whatever else she wanted. Pretty simple, huh? I pointed out a million things she'd love (price is an issue, so I showed her the Wet N' Wild palettes since she's saving for her wedding right now) and she wanted to buy a lot of stuff but settled on the Hard Candy "Mini Must Haves" kit in Bad Girl Next Door. It had her covered for the white, frosty shadow and I pointed out for she'd have a lot more products to try for a tiny cost. Better value, though maybe not quality. She was happy with it, though!

I didn't have anything in mind I wanted when I walked in, but of course couldn't leave empty handed! There are so many more Hard Candy products that I want to try! I have loved 99% of what I've bought, and the one product I didn't like, I think was my colour choice and not the product itself. Anyways, I ended  up grabbing Walk the Line liquid eyeliner in Licorice. It looks like black eyeliner with silver and rainbow glitter throughout, but once swatched, you can see it's more fo a grey wash than solid black. I wore it yesterday and ended up putting three layers of it on to get it opaque, but I figured out since that I can put a plain black or dark brown liner on and then layer Licorice on top for just the glitter. It dries pretty slowly, too.. that's my only complaint. I am usually a pro at applying liquid eyeliner and I ended up with eyeliner lines under my eyebrow because this was pretty wet for a long time. If you're going to layer it like I did and not bother putting something dark underneath first, you should wait for it to dry completely in between.

Top - one swipe of Licorice
Bottom - one swipe of Licorice over one swipe of Wet N Wild Mega Liner


Overall, I like it. It's different than plain black or brown. The brush is good, the packaging is cute, whatever.

The other thing I bought was totally by chance with no thought put into whatsoever, and I couldn't be happier! I mentioned casually to Amanda that I wanted a dark/navy blue with NO glitter or shimmer, and she just walked right over and said, "like this?" I didn't even think about it, I just bought it. I love it so much! It's the closest I've ever seen to TARDIS blue, and it's a good formula. I really like these Sally Hansen Salon Manicure polishes. This is "I'm Thinking Blue" and I did two coats.

I'm also getting way better at not picking and biting my fingers. Woot, woot!