Base Compare

Well, first things first. I have too many makeup bases. I didn't used to, in fact i'm not quite sure what happened.. I used to use one up then go buy another but now I hear something or see something talking about a shiny new foundation or a cult fav and somehow here it is... Well in  attempt to stop this I thought I would take the time to compare some of these for you and also try to control my own base-addiction so I won't be buying anymore until I finish at least 6 of these. I'll note how much has already been used in the post below too.

Foundations

So my collection of Foundations includes; Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum (bought start of this year), Bourjois Flower Perfection Foundation, Illamasqua Skin Base, L'Oreal Eau De Teint, NYX Matte but not Flat Foundation, Korres Vitamin Foundation, and Rimmel Stay Mate Foundation.

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum - This have been my everyday foundation since the start of the year when I found it on special, it's a great match for me once it's buffed out even though on the swatch below it looks quite dark. I would repurchase this but probably wait till there was a sale again as it was good but not the amazing foundation that people had raved about.

Texture: Liquid 

Finish : Dewy

Opacity: Sheer, buildable

Wear: 6- 8 Hrs

Rebuy: Only on sale

Why I haven't finished it:  It's nearing on empty, maybe a month use left

Bourjois Flower Perfection Foundation - I got a sample of this once and it was so god damn amazing I went and bought the full product full price and then tried it at home and was...deeply disappointed, it was not the smooth flawless coverage from the sample. it was thick, heavy and cake-y and I hated it but never threw it away because I still hoped one day I would find that one thing that could make it work. I would take it out every few months and try again and no luck, until last week! I finally found the one way this can be applied and look amazing - a damp beauty blender! With it you can get a very covered look but it won't feel heavy or look like you have a face full of foundation on. Success!

Texture: Liquid 

Finish: Matte

Opacity: Very Heavy

Wear: 8- 12 Hrs

Rebuy: No, too difficult to work with

Why I haven't finished it: Stopped using it due to difficulty of use.

Illamasqua Skin Base - shade SB02 - I love this foundation, it's amazingly pigmented for very little product. It's very pale and a little hard to use  if i get a but of sunlight but that's not usually a concern. But the biggest problem is the packaging which is so hard that it's very difficult to actually get any product out as it's more cream then liquid. 

Texture: Cream 

Finish: Satin

Opacity: Medium

Wear: 5- 8 Hrs 

Rebuy: Yes, if the packaging was changed

Why I haven't finished it: I save it for special occasions and the packaging is hard to use on a daily basis

L'Oreal Eau De Teint - shade 120 Pure Ivory - I've been keeping an eye on the advertised space in Priceline for weeks and lucky me it showed up just the Priceline 40% off sale came around so I snatched it up. Been using it everyday since then and I'm very much in love, it's so light and feels like there is nothing on my face. It's so effortlessly easy to blend and feels lovley, soft , and smooth to the touch.

Texture: Super Liquid

Finish: Satin

Opacity: Sheer, buildable

Wear: 6-8 Hrs , wears away well

Rebuy: yes

Why I haven't finished it: I just bought it

NYX Matte but not Flat Foundation - 04 Creamy Neutral , I picked this up last November when NYX first arrived at my local Target. I wanted to like this as the color match for me was quite spectacular however it did something no other foundation or bb or cc or any other kind of base ever has - it found dry patches on my normal/oily skin. Madness!

Texture: Cream/Mousse

Finish: Matte

Opacity: Medium

Wear: 4- 6 Hrs 

Rebuy: No

Why I haven't finished it: It's the first and onyl foundation to ever cling to supposed dry bits on my screen so it doesn't look good. Might try the beauty blender on this.

Korres Vitamin Foundation - I got this is a special package along with a few Korres lip balms which are also awesome and for most of last year this was my go-to-foundation and was the one I picked to take with me to Melbourne. It's very good and long lasting foundation that is great at controlling shine and it's too bad that it's been discontinued as I do feel that it made my skin look better.

Texture: Cream 

Finish: Dewy

Opacity: Medium

Wear: 6- 8 Hrs 

Rebuy: Yes, but discontinued

Why I haven't finished it: I got new foundation (Illamasqua) that I was eager to try and this fell to the back of the drawer.

Rimmel Stay Mate Foundation - I picked this one up at the Priceline 40% off last November and it was probably a mistake since it's quite similar to the NYX Stay matte but not flat, it feels heavy and although the coverage is great I don't really feel comfortable in it. This one however does not stick to apparent dry patches like the NYX.

Texture: Mousse

Finish: Matte

Opacity: Medium/Heavy

Wear: 4 - 8 Hrs 

Rebuy: No

Why I haven't finished it: It turned out to be si thick and heavy it didn't feel comfortable on the skin, another one for the beauty blender.

BB & CC Creams 

This collection of Foundations includes; Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream, Ponds Flawless Whitening BB Cream, Nivea BB Cream, Garnier Oil Free BB Cream, Revlon Photoready BB Cream and the Watsons Collagen BB Cream.

Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream - I saw on this some blogs and various youtube channels and it seemed to get a lot of love, I got shade 33 which is a smidgen too dark and I have worn this twice since purchase because I fell in love with the L'Oreal Eau De Taint.

Texture: Liquid

Finish: Dewy

Opacity: Medium

Wear:  4-6 Hrs

Rebuy: probably not, it's nice but I still like my Ponds BB cream better.

Why I haven't finished it: Just bought it

Ponds Flawless Whitening BB Cream- This is my favorite bb cream as it's a great match, it's a little thicker and ashy like an asian bb cream but is so much more easily available. I've gone through 2 of these and will almost certainly repurchase it again and again.

Texture: Liquid/Cream 

Finish: Satin

Opacity: Medium, buildable

Wear: 8- 12 Hrs 

Rebuy: Yes, have before

Why I haven't finished it: This one has been in rotation between the Bourjois health mix and is almost finished, maybe a week or two left.

Nivea BB Cream - A gift from mum when she went to Poland hence the crazy unreadable text, and i love the smell of it as it has that comforting Nivea smell but oh gosh the color is so wrong, it might as well be bright orange!  I tried it on a stay at home day to see how it lasted and it did okay, the texture reminds me of the Dove tinted moisturizer I used to use as a teenager.

Texture: Cream 

Finish: Matte

Opacity: Medium

Wear: 4-6 Hrs

Rebuy: No

Why I haven't finished it: It's the wrong color, probably going to give this away.

Garnier Oil Free BB Cream - This was my first ever brand of bb creams, I used the regular before the oil control version came out and then switched over, it's cheap and works quite well. There is really nothing wrong with this bb cream but for my skin the Ponds bb cream is much better for basically the same price.

Texture: Liquid 

Finish: Dewy

Opacity: Sheer, buildable

Wear: 6- 8 Hrs 

Rebuy: No, have found better matches since but I have re bought it in the past and gone through at least 3.

Why I haven't finished it: Found better color matches and better lasting products.

Revlon Photoready BB Cream - This was largely a purchase made at the spur of the moment due to excitement at seeing a new BB cream (when i bought this there was maybe 3-4 or the maker, not like 30 that there are now) and I probably didn't need it but id recently finished another bb cream and obviously felt that there a gap of some sort. It's not horrible but it;s very sheer and doesn't control oil at all, so this would be amazing on someone with dry or normal skin and a good complexion. While my complexion is much improved since I was a teen my forehead can get a bit oily especially on hot summer days.

Texture: Cream 

Finish: Dewy

Opacity: Sheer

Wear: 4- 6 Hrs 

Rebuy: No

Why I haven't finished it: It's so sheer and hardly build-able and terrible at oil control so it fell to the back of the drawer.

Watsons Collagen BB Cream - Another present from mum, this one from Singapore and it;s amazing. Probably better then my Ponds bb cream but it is almost impossible for me to get, it's a better texture and coverage but does harden a little in cold weather and needs some heating in your hands but is perfect in summer. If it was easily available I would get this BB cream and no others.

Texture: Cream 

Finish: Satin

Opacity: Medium

Wear: 8- 12 Hrs 

Rebuy: Yes

Why I haven't finished it: I'm so close to finishing it, if i do it will be gone and I will never find it again. That makes me sad. Has maybe a month or so left in it.

Empties: November 2013

End of November, almost Christmas time :) Even better yesterday was the PS4 Australian release so that's going on. Let's jump into it then shall we?

Maybelline Dream Pure BB for Oily Skin
reviewed here
+++ repurchase: no
One of the better BB cream's I have tried, if not for the fact that it didn't turn my skin super oily after a few hours it would be a winner. I might try the regular version and see if that has a similar effect on me.

Ponds Flawless White BB+
reviewed here
+++++ repurchase: yes
My favorite and most easily available bb cream, has the slightly ashy coloration of the original bb creams, lasts ages and fades naturally. A favorite

Burjois Flower Perfection Primer
+++ repurchase: no
This was my first ever primer, and the product that really introduced me to the concept. It's small size is actually why it took me so long to finish, i didn't want to go buy another one for the price so I really made it last. Over the past few months I finally used this up which did not take long as other primers have made their way into my life and I'm okay letting this go.  Heavy flower scent, thick texture, probably better for more mature skin.

Essence Marble Mania Mascara
++ repurchase: no
This was from the Marble Mania trend edition about a year back (yeah yeah 3 months mascara blah blah) and i picked it up to check out how the marbled effect would work, it's supposed to be a black mascara with silver shimmer. I saw no silver shimmer, it's dried up and gross now so bin it goes.

Maybelline Illegal Length Fiber Extensions Mascara
++ repurchase: no
I picked this up when it was first introduced as i was intrigued by the concept but it didn't really do it for me, the brush i really don't like as it's impossible to get lower lashes. It smudged when first applied and then i had a terrible time getting it off in the evening. No thanks.

Softlips spf 20 Raspberry Lip Balm
++++ repurchase: maybe
Got this one during a stress day at school last year and used it a lot when i was out and about, it smelled like raspberry and had a pleasant cooling sensation. This always felt like a bit of a treat to use. If i see it again i will pick it up but I also have a lot of lip balms so I'm in no rush.

Nice'n ease Color Condition Gloss
++++ repurchase: yes
I wish they would sell these separates and not just as part of the coloring kit, this was a really nice conditioner and I usually hate the included ones as they feel quite cheap. The Nice'n Easy coloring kits are by far my favorite too, the best part is that after the first shower the color doesn't leak all over your shower.


Swisspers Cotton Wipes
+++++ repurchase: yes
A staple. No more need be said.

Rexona Delicious Long Lasting Protection Deodorant
+++ repurchase : no
It's an alright deodorant that smells nice, but it seems to run out quite fast.

BB Cream Comparison

Today we are comparing 4 BB creams, 3 o which are available in Australia plus an Asian style BB cream, the contenders are:

Revlon Photoready BB Cream $24.99

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector with oil control $13.99

Watsons Collagen BB Cream $18.99

Pond's Flawless white BB+ $13.99

Each of the four have fairly similar "spouts" for getting the product out, with the Ponds and Garnier having a more elongated tube which in terms of the Ponds makes it easy to control product but it little more then a drip top in term of the Garnier as it's consistency is far more liquid. The Watsons is thick and creamy simmiliar to the Ponds where as the Revlon lies somewhere in between. All have squeezable cases so you should be able to get the last of the product out.

In the above photo you can quite easily see the diffrence between the texture and color of each, with the Garnier being the thinnest and the most yellow toned, followed by the Revlon, Ponds and finally the Watsons which simmiliar to other Asian bb's has a ashy cast to it which does not show up on the face.

The Watson is the thickest and takes a little muscle to blend where s the others all blend very easily though the ponds needs a bit of extra product.

For me the Ponds is the closest match in terms of color as it has pink cool undertones, as does the Watsons while both the other two have yellow undertones. The more liquid creams blend easier with the Watsons being the most difficult, although the Garnier can be a bit hard to control how much product you get from the case.

You can see the Ponds and Watsons basically appearer and blend perfectly into my skin while the other two leave a yellow toned cast which can be covered with powder or some more blending.

(see black paper test at labmuffin's blog)

Putting some of the bb on black card shows you a good gage on how pigmented each of the  bb creams in, it's a little surprising as i was sure the Revlon would be the thinest of all but it seems that the Garnier is the sheerest of them all. The Ponds and Watsons are quite similar although the Ponds is a tad more pigmented.The Garnier gets almost entirely absorbed.

Overall i think the  Ponds is the winner, in terms of other benefits however the Revlon probably wins due to it's SPF 30, while Ponds only has 15, it does however also have a slight brightening effect. The Garnier wins are controlling oil while the Watsons seems to have no such benefits, although it's called Collagen BB I'm not sure exactly what it's supposed to do about the collagen? 

When it comes to packaging i like the consistency thicker and for it to not spill out. When it came to scent i did not fund any to particularly strong, the Watsons smelled vaguely creamy and the Ponds a little sweet but it wouldn't effect my decision to buy. 

What is your go to BB?

August 2013 Most Reached For

I don't always do these posts because month to month i usually reach for the same stuff, but every now and again new stuff comes in that seems to take over my world. The last two months have very much cause this to happen, everything here except the brow brush is either from Melbourne or from Birthday presents.

Victoria's Secret Pure Seduction perfume (and matching shower gel) is probably my most loved perfumed since i got my very first Angel perfume, it's the most gorgeous scent combining red plum and freesia, with what i suspect is vanilla and rose thrown in too. It's sweet, it's fruity, but it's not a kiddy scent, it is as the name says very seductive. I bought this at the domestic airport in Perth, where if you didn't know there is a Victoria's Secret store. However you have to go up into the Qantas boarding lounge to get to it (ie. you have to go through security check). But boy i think this will be worth going back for. Plus the bottle is gorgeous.

Models Prefer Retractable Brow Brush in medium is at the end of it's rope and i will be repurchasing soon as it's just so very easy and fast to fix up your brows. It has a spiral brush on the other end which blends out any harshness you might add in your haste. The easiest way that i have found to do my brows. My mum loves it too, she's gone through 4 of them.

Illamasqua's Hydra Veil has been the go to morning primer and moisturizer because there is no reason to use anything else. It's very hydrating, and as a primer works very well too. It leaves your face slightly tacky making foundation/bb cream application a breeze. Plus you only need th tiniest bit so it will last a very long time.

MAC Rubenesque has been my eyeshadow primer of choice basically everyday that i got and it's a gorgeous color. Full review coming soon. I love the Maybelline Eye Tattoos and they are totally worth the money, and if they had released a color anywhere close this golden peach shade i wouldn't have bothered with the MAC paint pot. But wow, it's just too pretty to pass up.

L'Oreal Color Infaillibles have made me pretty crazy this month, i love the almost insane levels of pigmentation and the absolute smoothness that they apply with, i wish i had discovered these earlier. I would honestly say that the quality is as good as anything in my Naked Palette.

Pond's Flawless White BB+ in light is a great purchase, i saw the stand appear in Perth before i left for Melbourne but both this BB cream and the Mature Age BB cream were out of stock with a shrug indicating when it might be in. I did however manage to find it in Melbourne and it's just great. It reminds me of the Watsons BB Collagen Cream which mum brought back from Hong Kong due to it's thicker consitency. It also has SPF 15 which is nice. This might be my new go to BB cream.

Last but not least, Illamasqua's Powder Blush in Katie, I have worn this blush basically everyday since i got it. It got great pigment, smells like vanilla and is the most gorgeous baby/pastel pink which works so well with a pale complexion. The only time i haven't worn this, i wore Illamasqua's rude instead.

Review: Pond's Flawless White BB+

Now you may know that I'm a fan of bb creams, and i was a fan tinted moisturizers before BB creams were a thing. So unlike some people it doesn't bother me when a new BB cream comes out and it is little more then tinted moisturizer, that's cool with me, so long as it does what i need it to do: even out my complexion, match my skin tone, not look like cake, not sink into pores, and not make me break. For the most part this isn't too difficult, for about a year my go to product was the Garnier BB oil free miracle skin perfecter, and it worked pretty damn well. It was however quite thin and the new packaging meant a lot of product flowed out of the tube and made things quite messy. Over time it also seemed to take a bit of an orange tint, not sure if the formula changed or i just got paler but there came a time when i really wasn't as impressed with it as in the past.

BB creams being a weakness for me i became very excited when i saw the shiny and pink new Pond's stand go up at my local Priceline, and then my excitement immediately plummeted again when i saw the one product my eyes had locked onto, the bb cream was not available and according to the shop assistant would be available when it was available. Not helpful. So i checked back every few days and no luck, so i went to Melbourne for my trip and there it was. Yay!

The product is great, even though i got the Illamasqua skin base at around the same time i have used this much more because i really don't like using full coverage everyday. I had terrible acne as a teen and used to cover it up, now i can't stand having heavy foundation on and fear the cake look of my high school days. This doesn't do that. It is very similar to the Watsons BB Collagen Cream ,even which i reviewed a while ago. It has the same thickness and the same creamy consistency and even similar packaging. I really liked Watsons and I really like this one too.

The opening is  a narrow tube, similar to the Garnier BB but the product isn't as liquid so it doesn't leak out, and is quite easy to control how much of the product you want to squeeze out, the case is quite soft so that isn't a problem either. There is no strong scent, if i stick my nose up to the only way i could describe the smell is "clean" but i can't really smell it on me so there is no irritation. It comes in two shades and there is also a Mature Age version which i got for mum and it seems pretty similar. 

The version we have here is Australia is SPF 15, but i know for a fact the US had a SPF 30 version, so that makes total sense that the place known for it's massive sunlight and rising rate of skin cancer gets the lesser SPF version. Mind boggling.

The craziness aside it's a around medium coverage in terms of BB creams, but probably sheer verging on medium when compared to full on foundation. For me it lasts 8 hours when set with a powder and then i usually wash it off but it seems to hold on pretty well as i don't really notice much wear. It's quite easy to blend and i would recommend using fingers or a wide haired stippling brush, I always apply this with my Real Techniques one because i don't like getting my fingers dirty but finger application works great too.

Oh it also claims to whiten skin, but meh, i have not seen evidence of that, wasn't expecting it to, and that's not why i got it. So if your looking to whiten skin i don't think it's good for that. Although i will say it does have a somewhat bright-ning effect. As for oil control it's good for up to 5 hours after that you might start getting some oil coming through but it's not really marketed as such either. I will repurchase this once I'm done with this.

Wearing Ponds Flawless White BB+

WIN: Nice consistency, good delivery system, cute package, not too expensive, brightens complexion

LOOSE: Seems light as if there isn't much product, doesn't whiten.

REPURCHASE: Yes

AVAILABILITY: Priceline $13.99