My love/hate relationship with liquid foundation

Liquid foundation has always proven to be treacherous territory for me. The difficulty with pinpointing the perfect formula and colour can be downright intimidating. Then there's the recipe: primer versus no primer, concealing, highlighting, to bronze or not to bronze, contouring and blush all while avoiding the dreaded mask line. 

Give me a second, I need to catch my breath.

For years now powder has been my friend, because in all honesty liquid foundation scares the crap out of me. When it comes to powder foundation the guesswork is minimal and it's wicked easy to apply. The thing is when your skin is combination to dry, both pressed and loose powder magnifies flaky bits and well, that isn't cute on anyone. 

So I did my homework, watched loads of videos and picked two liquid foundations I thought could work for me.

Taking the good with the bad, let's start with the dud first.

Laura Mercier's Foundation Primer (left) and Silk Creme Foundation (right)

Swatch of Laura Mercier's Silk Creme Foundation in Creamy Ivory

On workday mornings I really don't like to muck about with my makeup, I'm more of a swipe on and go kind of gal and I can't afford any surprises. When Laura Mercier's Silk Creme Foundation proved difficult in the application department I had no qualms sticking it in the 'to bin' pile. Then I thought about the expense and took a different approach, so I binned the sponge instead and grabbed my favourite foundation brush to do the dirty work.

Wearing Laura Mercier's Silk Creme Foundation in Creamy Ivory

The immediate result was just what I was after, read: smooth and natural. As the day wore on, however, my skin appeared mottled and slightly tortured.

Envision a safe haven for a million miniature, milk filled saucers. The primer and the foundation both failed to keep my skin covered and opted to pool within each individual pore. Yikes!

Can I bin it now?

Because I always take the less is more approach with makeup, I looked to other like-minded bloggers and virtually shopped their stash and walked away with a goodie. Say hello to Make Up For Ever's HD Foundation. 

Make Up For Ever's HD Foundation in shade 118

Swatches of Make Up For Ever's HD Foundation in shade 118 - blended (left) and unblended (right)

In terms of consistency Make Up Forever's HD Foundation resembles Chanel's Perfection Lumiere Velvet Smooth-Effect, it sheers out just as well as Laura Mercier's Silk Creme Foundation, yet manages to stay put all damn day.

Wearing Make Up Forever's HD Foundation in shade 118

Make Up Forever's HD Foundation for me is the gateway to clearer looking skin without masking the stray freckle, I really don't mind them. Classified as medium to full coverage, HD Foundation tidies things up quite nicely with minimal effort and I can do it all with a single pump of product. To finish things off, I set my makeup with Chanel's Vitalumiere Loose Powder Foundation.

Semi-related side note: Sephora + Pantone's magical Color IQ gizmo really works. The sales associate captured images of my skin in three different places (forehead, cheekbone and jawline), applied a bit of math by averaging the swatches and spat out 2Y06. If you're unable to get matched in store, but have a bottle at home in a shade you really love you can also find your match online -- just make sure Sephora stocks the brand in question. Go on, give it a whirl.

Gift Giving: MAC's Keepsake Red Lip Bag

MAC's Keepsake Red Lip Bag

I'm a fan of giving gifts no matter what time of year it is, because the idea of shopping during the holidays stresses the crap out of me. After working over a decade in the retail industry I can assure you that the month of November and or December doesn't bring out the best in some of us. Stores don't make it any better either with their rock bottom pricing on [insert that special item you thought Jane or Matt needed, but didn't even know they really wanted].

Cheap televisions, stinky cologne and riot-inducing toys aside, the cosmetics industry certainly brings their own je ne se quoi -- gift packs with single use samples which can be a b*tch to open and well, after squeezing half the product onto the floor your gift recipient is left thinking, "why bother?" This said kit is then tossed into a drawer, left for dead until Spring 2016 and promptly chucked in the bin with the rest of their dusty castoffs.

My advice to you when shopping for your significant other, loved ones and or friends is to put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself, "would I want this for myself?" Now, I realise this takes a modicum of effort, but isn't this time of year really about the thought that counts rather than obligatory timing?

What I have here today is something for the makeup lover(s) in your life, MAC's Red Keepsake Red Lip Bag; this set also comes in nude and coral if you're uncertain about their level of makeup brazenness. Why does this particular thing make for a great gift? Well, let me breakdown the art of gift giving for both the giver and receiver.

• It comes in a box = easy to wrap/unwrap
• The price point for this gift pack is a few dollars cheaper than purchasing each item individually. Don't forget about that sparkle-laden makeup bag, MAC practically throws it in for free!
• Full-size items on the cheaper
• Options abound for the wearer 

Finally, if you feel like spending a few more dollars on Jane, may I suggest throwing in a pencil sharpener, pencils don't sharpen themselves and a tube of MAC's Prep + Prime Lip, chapped lips and matte lippie isn't a good look for anyone, got it? 

Ruby Woo swatches from left to right: lip pencil, gloss and lipstick

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for MAC's Keepsake Red Lip Bag:

• $89.00 AUS ($12.00 savings) / $39.50 USD ($7.50 savings)

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

• 10 out of 10 bags — a biased selection on my part because I love me some Ruby Woo.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

• MAC's matte lip edit is drool inducing.

Eyes to mesmerize: Chanel's Inimitable Waterproof Mascara in Noir

Chanel's Inimitable Waterproof Mascara in Noir

You can have friends and they might even come and go. Then there's your best friend, the guy or girl in your life you will forever carry in your pocket. Years might even separate the last time you've seen each other, but you always pick back up like it was yesterday.

So, what does this have to do with mascara? Well, choosing a mascara or two is similar to making friends - complex personalities, differing backgrounds and timing. What brought you together will either make or break that long-lasting foundation or bond.

This bond, I'm sad to say, with Chanel's Inimitable Waterproof Mascara in Noir was never meant to be.

Inimitable Waterproof Mascara is flashy with her wet formula, yet the heaviness of her pull forces the lashes to stick together as opposed to lifting and separating. The qualities I cherished in the non-waterproof version - feather light, flirty lashes complete with a matte finish were nowhere to be found.

Wearing Chanel's Inimitable Waterproof Mascara in Noir

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Chanel's Inimitable Waterproof Mascara in Noir:

• $72.00 AUS / $30.00 USD

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

• 3 out of 10 bags — Don't let a waterproof formula be the only factor in your decision making process.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

• The elusive Sweet Star will forever be that unicorn in the sky.

And we're off on another adventure..

You get the gist 

As of today I am on a week's holiday to see my parents back in the US. I'll be sticking to the west coast for this super quick trip - we'll be checking out San Francisco, followed by Las Vegas, where my parents now live.

Now things will be mighty quiet around these parts, but I can assure you that I will be up to my antics over on Instagram. You can follow me over here.

The list of things to check out is immense, so if you have a hankering for something super special you'd like to have a closer look at then let me know!

Until next time!

Oh and there are still a few hours left to enter Bagful of Notion's Third Birthday Giveaway! What are you waiting for?

//Image Source