The Base Everyone Talks About

The Makeup Forever HD Foundation has got non stop rave reviews in the beauty community. It has also been featured on most 'Holy Grail' product lists that I've seen. Naturally, I've been curious.
While I was here, since it was only available in Mumbai and Delhi and it costs INR 3600, I kept my distance. But then, I decided to add it to my kit.
I have it in three shades, and 153 is the perfect match for me - its so wonderfully yellow (dare I say, almost as perfect as my Armani LSF) and I have used it on every kind of skin you can think of. I've found it sits best on oily/combination skin, but on my mildly dehydrated and acne prone skin, it sinks in and gives me a very natural looking finish.
The coverage of this thing is phenomenal. The picture above is me wearing only the foundation wearing no concealer whatsoever. So you can see how well it covers all my scarring.
In terms of longevity, it wears so well, I find that it looks even better after a few hours - which I didn't think was possible.


Overall, I love it. I love it so so so much that I didn't think it was possible. Infact, this may be rivaling my favorite Armani LSF.

Have you tried this? What are your thoughts?

P.S. This will be a part of a series I've been creating on my blog called 'The Foundation Files'. Anything base related will be found here = )

Kim K Inspired Makeup

I can't believe I actually did this. And let me secretly admit, I do love a good old Kim K makeup stalk. Yes, I think its too much makeup, but those smokey eyes are always on point. And when I saw this - largely wearable, I decided I needed to recreate it. After going back and forth about publishing this post for the last few days, I finally decided to just do it.
What i really love about it is the bronzey eyes with that silvery highlight in the inner corners. Now, I by no means claim I look anything like her, heck, my face is about twice as wide as hers, but its pretty makeup, why not try it out?

I started out with a light layer of the L'oreal True Match in W7 around the perimeter of my face, since its darker, it helps add a bit of dimension. After concealing my under eyes with the MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NW 35, I went over the 'highlight' areas with my MAC ProLongwear Concealer in NC42. So, this is the classic Kim K areas - triangle under the eyes, bridge of the nose, centre of the forehead, chin and below the cheekbone. Once I blended it out and set it with my Ben Nye Banana Powder, I contoured using the Inglot 357 Matte Shadow and the NARS Casino Bronzer over the areas I'd used the true match.
For the eyes, I used the Max Factor Excess Shimmer Pot in Bronze.. what I loved about this eye is that its a single colour that seems to go pretty high up - almost till the eyebrow on the inner side of the eye. I find that this shape suits my eye a fair bit, so I was pretty happy with it. I ran a bit of the Shimmer Pot under my eye also. To really make the eyes pop, I used a Brown Kohl liner by Lakme, because I prefer using brown with my skintone, but I'm pretty certain she has black.
After tons and tons of mascara because I wasn't feeling the lashes - L'oreal Miss Manga Mascara, and some lipbalm, I called it a day.

What do you guys think?

A Cheaper Alternative.

Luxury products are expensive... d'oh, it comes with the name. Just like Fashion and the Trickle Down Theory where the trend or product slowly makes its way down from High end to more affordable with a few modifications or just out and out dupes, the same thing seems to happen with Makeup. Now, I can't take credit for either one of these discoveries, but I can say that I have put them to the test. So here it is.

Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation and L'oreal True Match
Now, we all now how much I love my Armani LSF, its foundation gold in my opinion! So, when I heard Amelia Liana mention in one of her videos that these two were similar, I was waiting to get my hands on it.
In terms of texture and coverage, these two are pretty similar.. actually, I'd venture that they are almost the same. Small difference being the True Match has a SPF of 17 which doesn't make it photograph as well as the Luminous Silk.
However, my big bugbear with True Match is the fact that no, it does not actually match me. W5 is a bit too light and pink on my skin, there is no W6, and W7 (the one I have) is a bit too dark, and a fair bit pinkish also. As a result I have to mix it in with one of my lighter foundations so it matches me.
The Armani LSF as I've mentioned several times before is the perfect match for me. And so wonderfully yellow.
The Armani still wins in my opinion, but the True Match is a pretty decent alternative, provided you actually do find your 'True Match'.
The Armani LSF costs INR 3600, while the L'oreal True Match costs INR 990, I believe?

Estee Lauder Stay on Shadow Paint in Chained and Max Factor Excess Shimmer Pot in Bronze
Once again, I love my EL Chained, so much I've sung its praises in many a post. Repeatedly. Over and over.. you get the picture. When I first heard via Lily Pebbles blog that these Max Factor Excess Shimmer Pots were a dupe for it, it went onto my wishlist almost immediately. After a few months of 'umming' and 'aahing' and wondering if I really needed another cream eyeshadow - another bronze I bit the bullet and bought it.
In terms of colour, Bronze is a lot darker and more shimmery than Chained. While Chained can be a 'my lids but better' kind of shade, Bronze can really make my eyes pop. They both have their uses, but I'm leaning towards Bronze in terms of colour, because its just that little bit more dramatic.
Texture wise, they're both pretty similar. I'd like to say that Bronze is more creamy, but thats probably because my Chained is more than a year old and a bit dry at the moment.
Longevity wise, I'd say they're around the same, Chained beating it marginally because of its lack of visible shimmer, it looks a little less of a mess after about 8 hours.
If I really had to choose between them, I'd choose Bronze, but I'm glad I have both.
Chained costs INR 1800, while Bronze costs INR 800 (GBP 7.99) (I don't think the Max Factor Excess Shimmer Pots have been released in India yet, have they? If they have, I maybe buying a few more, if they haven't... keep an eye out!)

Over and out.