My Foundation Collection - Review

Recently I have discovered a foundation which makes my skin look flawless and the shade is perfect for my skin tone. Foundation is probably the hardest piece of make-up to find that fits well with your skin type and skin tone.

Left to right: Bare Minerals Mineral Foundation (golden medium), Estee Lauder Double Wear (shell beige), Estee Lauder  Vita Mineral Foundation,  L'oreal Code Lumiere BB Cream (medium), Clinique Superbalanced Foundation (sand), Clinique Superbalanced Foundation (wheat), Ex1 Invisiwear Liquid Foundation (F300) and Ex1 Invisiwear Liquid Foundation (F400)

Bare Minerals Foundation Available here

This foundation retails for £25. I bought this foundation as I wanted a very light coverage foundation and I have never tried a mineral based foundation before. The shade golden medium is slightly too light for my skin. It seems to me that whenever I get help choosing a shade by someone who works on the make-up counter that they have no idea how to choose shades for people. The lady I spoke to recommended I get medium beige which contains pink tones in it but I ended up not going with her decision. I decided to get golden medium in the end as that has yellow tones instead of pink tones.

Anyway, the foundation itself is good, but I am actually not a fan of the mineral based foundation, especially as it is essentially powder. It takes forever to blend into my skin and is actually pretty hard to blend and I did not realise how long it would take me to apply the foundation prior to buying this product. I thought it would take me 5 minutes so would be perfect to use this for work but because it takes me so long, I barely use this anymore.

I would not recommend this foundation if you do not want to spend 10 minutes applying your foundation. On the other hand, I would recommend this foundation if you like light coverage foundations and mineral make-up. I would rate this foundation 6/10. I do really want to try the BareSkin foundation as I have heard great things about it.

Estee Lauder Double Wear Available here

This foundation retails for £29.50. I do not like this foundation because when I apply this foundation, it feels like I am wearing a mask. The thicker the foundation, the more it cracks on my smile lines. Luckily, I do not suffer from any break outs or redness so I personally feel I do not need to have a full coverage foundation.

I would recommend this foundation if you suffer from any redness, extreme acne or if you like wearing thick coverage foundations. For me, this foundation does not work. I would rate this foundation 10/10 for coverage but an overall of 5/10 because it is too thick for my liking. Also, the shade shell beige is too grey for my skin tone so I may be biased due to the shade not being right for me.

Estee Lauder  Vita Mineral Foundation (Discontinued)
L'oreal Code Lumiere BB Cream Available here

I think this foundation is discontinued as I cannot find it anywhere. Anyway, this foundation is a little too dewy for my liking. I only use this foundation when I am using my L'oreal Code Lumiere BB cream. I mix these two together and it gives me the perfect shade for a light coverage foundation. I only use a drop of the Estee Lauder for the colour as the L'oreal Code Lumiere BB cream is slightly too light and pink toned for my liking. However, these two mixed together works wonders for me.

Clinique Superbalanced Foundation Available here

This foundation retails for £22.50 and is one of my favourite foundations. It gives me good coverage and contains no SPF meaning I do not need to worry about flashbacks which is great. I have two shades, sand and wheat. I use sand when I am not tanned and wheat when I am tanned. If I am in between, I mix the two shades. This gives me a really flawless finish and is works really well with my skin type.

I would recommend this foundation if you are looking for a really good foundation that contains no SPF. It also has medium to full coverage so it will cover redness and acne. Having said that, it is noticeably lighter coverage than the Estee Lauder Double Wear as it does not feel like I am wearing a mask which is definitely a good thing!

I would rate this foundation 9/10.

Ex1 Invisiwear Liquid Foundation Available here

This foundation retails for £10.50 and is easily my favourite foundation! It is a light to medium coverage and contains no SPF. It is also perfect for my skin tone and skin type as this foundation is perfect for those who have Asian, Middle/Far-Eastern or Mediterranean complexions. This foundation gives me the most flawless foundation and the shades are perfect for my skin tone! What more can you want from a foundation? It is easily buildable so if you want a full coverage, you can achieve that by layering the foundation. It also helps that this foundation has a pump and none of my other foundation have pumps so it is even more impressive!

I would recommend this foundation for those who have Asian, Middle/Far-Eastern or Mediterranean complexions. It is the perfect foundation for me. I would rate this foundation 10/10. I do not think I will find a foundation better than this and I have tried so many foundations and so happy that I have finally found a foundation that works so well with my skin.

The photo shows my least favourite foundation to my favourite foundation (left is the least favourite and right is my favourite foundation).

My favourite foundations :)

My Advice

Before you commit to buying a product, always test it out. When buying foundation, it is extremely difficult to know if it is the correct product for you. Not only do you have to find the correct shade, you need to see if it will break you out or just not sit well on your skin. Lots of brands do not necessarily have a wide range of shades for you to choose from, for example Chanel so make sure it is 100% the right shade for you as I have made so many mistakes when it comes to the correct shade. Sometimes if you like a foundation and cannot find a shade that matches you, it may mean you have to buy two foundations and mix the colours to get the right shade!

Also, DO NOT always trust the person behind the beauty counter. I find that they never seem to get the shade right for me when they test a foundation on my face. They seem to always pick out a pink tone shade instead of a yellow tone which is what I am being Asian and all... You need to make sure that you look in that mirror and check the shade of your jaw line matches your neck.

Also, when I try a high end foundation, I always get someone to take off my make-up and apply it on my face and then get them to basically do the rest of my face like bronzer, blusher, highlight. Then I will test the product for the rest of the day and see how well it lasts on my face and if it is right for me. I would suggest you do not purchase a foundation instantly without at least testing it for the day. 

Most if not all high end brands allow you to take away the foundation in a little tester pot if you don't want to try it on the day. The amount they give you depends on the person but most of the time, they give you enough to last 2-3 days but it also depends on how thick you apply your foundation.

Huge Make-up Haul + Swatches

Recently, I have bought so much make-up, especially during the Black Friday sales! Some of these products I did not buy namely the Arbonne lipsticks. I bought these pieces of make-up from a variety of places: Feel Unique, Look Fantastic, Kiko Cosmetics, Clinique, Boots and Amazon. 

Too Faced Chocolate Bar Eyeshadow Palette Available here

Top row - gilded ganache, white chocolate, milk chocolate, black forest truffle, triple fudge

Middle row - salted caramel, marzipan, semi-sweet, strawberry bon bon, candied violet, amaretto

Bottom row - hazelnut, creme brulee, haute chocolate, cherry cordial, champagne truffle

This product retails for £45 but I managed to pick it up for £33.75 as Look Fantastic had 25% off during Black Friday. This palette has a variety of matte and shimmer shades. I have been reading and seeing this palette absolutely everywhere and I just knew I had to get it seeing as everyone said it smells like chocolate which it does as the eye shadows are formulated with pure, antioxidant-rich cocoa powder, so each time you open the palette you'll be greeted with the irresistible scent of chocolate and I love chocolate so I just had to get it.

I apologise that the swatches are not that clear and therefore do not justify how good the shades are in this palette. They are actually really pigmented, especially the shimmer shades. 

My favourite shades are creme  brulee, champagne truffle and marzipan.

I would rate this product 9/10 so far. I love how it smells of chocolate and the quality is very good. Not sure if I would have paid the full price nevertheless as it is very pricey but for the price I paid, I am satisfied with this product. 

Ex1 Foundation & L'oreal Nude Magique 

EX1 Invisiwear Liquid Foundation Available here

The Ex1 invisiwear liquid foundation retails for £10.50 but I picked this one up for just £7.87 due to getting 25% off on the Look Fantastic website. This is a repurchase and I am stocking up on this foundation because I love it and I got a good price so why not! This foundation gives me a flawless finish and is one of those foundations that is light to medium coverage but you can build up the colour to give you full coverage.  

The Ex1 foundation is my favourite foundation and I have tried so many different foundations before and could never find a shade to match my skin due to having yellow undertones. I use F300 when I do not use fake tan as this is my natural shade. If I have a tan, I use F400 and when the tan is slightly fading, I mix the two. This foundation is formulated for Asian, Middle/Far-Eastern or Mediterranean complexions so if you fit any of these complexions, you need to try this foundation!

I am planning on posting a blog about my foundation collection and what my favourite foundations are. You will see that I have tried high end foundations and high street foundations and yet I pick a foundation which is just a fraction of the price I paid for the high end foundations like Estee Lauder. 

I would rate this foundation 10/10. I have been using this foundation for quite a few months now and would highly recommend this. I also want to point out that this foundation is perfect for photography so you do not need to worry about looking washed out in photos!

L'oreal Nude Magique Foundation Available here

The L'oreal Nude Magique foundation is a repurchase. This foundation retails for £9.99. I use the shade golden sand. I like this foundation because it is really light. Again, you can build up the coverage of this foundation to give you more coverage. 

I would rate this foundation 7/10.

The Balm Bahama Mama and Hot Mama and Too Faced Shadow Insurance 

The Balm Bahama Mama Available here

This bronzer retails for £13.50 and I paid £11.48 for this due to receiving 15% off. I think the reason why the swatch for Bahama Mama looks like that is due to my finger having a bit of water on it and so there are darker bits! This bronzer is such a nice brown. It is not orange like how some bronzers can be and this bronzer is also not too dark meaning it is easy to build it up to your desired shade and will not give you a muddy look. This bronzer is also matte which is perfect for contouring.

I would rate this product 9/10. I definitely recommend this product for anyone who loves matte bronzers. It is very difficult to find a good matte bronzer due to the shades being slightly orange so I am very happy I bought this product.

The Balm Hot Mama Available here

I cannot wait to try this product properly. This retails for £13.50 and again I paid £11.48 due to the 15% off I got when ordering with Feel Unique. This is the perfect blush, It is really subtle so gives you a nice flush of colour and a subtle highlight too. It is perfect for every skin tone and this is definitely a blusher that every girl should have in their make-up collection. You could even use this blush as an eyeshadow!

I would give this product 10/10 because the shade is simply perfect!

Too Faced Shadow Insurance Available here

This product retails for £17 which I think is very pricey for a primer. I got this for £12.75 so I guess that is a little bit more acceptable. I bought this product as I really like wearing glitter on my eyes and I have not found a product that will keep the glitter in place without falling all over my face. I hope this product does the job of keeping the glitter in place and preventing loads of fall out. 

Arbonne, Kiko and Maybelline Lipsticks

Left to right: Arbonne - Runway Rouge, Arbonne - Rose Petal, Kiko - 914, Maybelline - Kiss Pearl 832

Arbonne Runway Rouge Available here

Arbonne Rose Petal Available here

I received this product for free but personally I would not pay £18 for this product. The packaging is very tacky so is not worth the money and you can see that the lipsticks looks like it will snap off. If I was to drop the lipsticks, I think it would break. The shades are actually pretty nice but I am not a fan of the glitter in the Runway Rouge lipstick. However, the glitter does not really show up too much so I guess it is okay. I personally do not think that the lipsticks are worth £18 due to the cheap packaging. 

Kiko 914 Available here

I actually cannot remember how much I paid for this product as I got it in the sale but the product retails for £3.90. To me, I think that is such a good price and the quality is very good for such a low price. I think the Kiko lipsticks are very similar to NYX and I really like NYX lipsticks. This lipstick is not drying and the shade is quite different to what I would usually go for. This is the perfect shade for Winter. 

If you have not tried Kiko cosmetics before, you should! It is very affordable and they always have a sale in the store in London. I would rate this 9/10.

Kiko Lip Liners

Preceision Lip Liners Available here

Cannot seem to find the orange lip liner..

Left to right: 605, 310, 309, 308

Again, these Kiko lip liners are very similar to NYX lip liners and I really like them. I would recommend these for anyone who really like NYX lip liners.

2X Sigma Spa Brush Cleaning Glove Available here

I actually bought this from amazon for £34.95 from a seller called Beauty B. I would NOT recommend this seller as they ended up sending the wrong product.

However, this product is meant to be amazing from the reviews I have seen and from the youtube videos I have watched from people using this. This will make me clean my make-up brushes really often because it will reduce the time you spend cleaning your make-up brushes dramatically. I use quite a lot of different make-up brushes and it takes me on average about 35 minutes to clean my brushes but I reckon with this glove, it will take me around 5-10 minutes and I will not end up with really dry hands! Also, due to the different textures on this glove, you will end up with really clean make-up brushes! 

I think the price I paid is absolutely extortionate compared to how much it costs in the US ($39 = £25). I was only willing to pay this price as I got so fed up with washing my brushes and it taking such a long time and drying out my hands so much.

I highly recommend this product if you use a lot of different make-up brushes and it will also make you clean your brushes more often! If you don't bacteria will build up and you will end up with bad skin.

 EOS Lip Balms Available here

These lip balms are very moisturing and smell amazing! I love them and would recommend them if you have dry lips. I have not found any lip balms that are this good yet so please let me know if you know of any lip balms better than this!

Rimmel Apocalips (Stellar) Available here

This is extremely pigmented and creamy and I really like the brush applicator. I'm sure I will buy more of these in the future. The colour I got is stellar which I think is perfect for Summer. It is extremely bright though so beware if you do not like bright colours! 

L'oreal Super Liner Available here

I have been searching for a really pigmented black liquid eyeliner for ages that is easy to apply. This eyeliner is really good for someone like me as I have small eyes and small eyelids so I find it really difficult to apply eyeliner. Gel eyeliner has not worked for me so I tend to gravitate towards felt tip eyeliners. I have already purchased another of these as I really like it and it works well with me because it is so slim.

Clinique Long Last Glosswear and Airbrush Concealer

Long Last Glosswear in Air Kiss Available here

I love this lip gloss and again, I have already bought another one... It does not leave me with white marks when I talk which I find is great as I find a lot of lip glosses leave people with white marks on their lips when they talk a lot. I really like the packaging of this lip gloss too as it does not look cheap like how some brands look. I have found this lip gloss to last a lot longer than others such as Victoria Secret (only wear this alone with no lipstick as it moves the lipstick) and Lancome, 

Airbrush Concealer Available here

This is a repurchase. This concealer retails for £19 which I think is a little pricey but worth it. The concealer is quite light so allows your skin to still breathe unlike heavy concealers and it is really easy to apply. This concealer has yet to crease on me and I find this very rare. It is the perfect consistency, not runny and not too thick that it feels uncomfortable. 

I recommend this to people who like a light to medium coverage concealer. 

Huge Make-up Haul, Make-up Collection, Restaurant Reviews + Update

I have been neglecting my blog recently which is not good! I have been really busy therefore I have not had the chance to write any blog posts. However, I just purchased a new camera which I am so excited to use. It is the Sony RX 100 iii which is an amazing camera and very expensive (to me it is expensive haha)!

I am going on holiday from 19 December 2014 until 4 January 2014 and I have decided to vlog the WHOLE trip!! I will be doing daily vlogs which I will upload when I return to England and hopefully they will all be edited and uploaded in January. This is really exciting as I have never vlogged before and I am so excited to share my holiday with you guys. I am going on a two week cruise around Asia so I start in Hong Kong and stop off in Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore. I am really looking forward to this trip as I have never been to Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore and I cannot wait for Hong Kong as the shopping there is amazing! If you guys have never been on a cruise ship, you may be interested in seeing some or all of my vlogs so you can get a feel as to what it is like! Honestly, I love cruises and they are my favourite type of holiday as it is so relaxing and fun.

Anyway, before I go away on holiday, I hope to upload a few blog posts seeing as I haven't uploaded any for ages. The first one I will upload is a huge make-up haul which will be uploaded tonight. The others will be on my face make-up collection so my foundations, blushers, bronzers and highlighters and I will be showing you my favourite products out of those. I will also be uploading a review on a restaurant I went to to celebrate my birthday with my family and cousins.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and enjoy my blog posts.