The Hunt: Clinique Anti-Blemish Solution

Formulation: liquid
Shade: 04 Fresh Vanilla
Coverage: light to medium
Special features: contains Salicylic acid for treatment of blemishes

Initial impressions: It does the job without breaking me out more, has a demi-matte texture and looks fairly natural. I was, however, disappointed by the lack of lighter warm toned shades. Shade 04 is the darkest shade I could go with but leaves me looking somewhat ashey.

Wear: Overall the wear is average but oils may soak through after a few hours, so you'll want to have something around to blot with.

Other products used: Soap & Glory One Heck of a Blot, Collection Pressed Powder, Seventeen Miracle Matte Concealer Crayon, Collection Illuminating Touch, MUA Correct & Prime, Clinique Redness Solutions Daily Protective Base

Favourite method of application: I prefer a stippling or duo-fibre brush. Applying it too heavily can lead to cakiness and finger or sponge application can be hard to blend evenly. Sponges (because you always dampen your sponge, right?) also have the tendency to dilute it quite seriously.

Final opinion: This foundation accentuates dryness, so I think it's formulated with oily skin in mind. It doesn't build very well; if you have a lot of redness, you'll want to use additional products to achieve a more even skin tone. It also tends to make powders look cakey, especially when you first apply it in the morning. Avoid heavy-handedness, and don't apply your makeup just before you walk out the door.

Length of use: 5 months


Who should use this: Definitely oily girls with spot/acne problems. Us combination and dry skin girls should probably avoid.

<3

The Hunt: L'Oréal Magique CC cream

Sticky-Tac rules.

Formulation: Liquid with smart pigment capsules
Shade: Anti-redness
Coverage: Medium

Special Features: Anti-redness & smart pigment capsules


Initial impressions: This was one of the first bases I purchased at the beginning of the summer. It was cheap, easy, and had anti-redness coverage. It didn't set me off right away as looking unnatural, although the colour seemed slightly off. It has a dewy reflection on my dry-combo skin.

Wear: Below average: doesn't stick to oily spots and runs at the merest hint of moisture.

Other products used: Soap & Glory One Heck of a Blot

Favourite method of application: Fingers, definitely. You can buff it in at the end, but the formula is so liquid-y that it applies with fingers about as well as it could. Just watch out for some streakiness.

Final opinion: After the initial phase of necessity, I began using it for the gym and when I needed a quick trip to the shops. It's alright for that, but to be honest, there are better and equally cheap BB creams for this. I don't think it covers redness any better than a base with basic medium-full coverage, either. It also accentuates roughness in the skin and has an orangey hue. If you have very normal skin, maintain a relatively dark fake tan year round and don't plan on wearing it for more than a few hours, you might find this useful. But honestly, I don't think I would recommend this to anyone over other BB creams. Sad face.

Length of use: 5 months

The Hunt for Holy Grail Foundation

Note to self: Don't do this with round bottles, they will fall off and break, and then you'll have to publish one of your crappy shots, like this one.

When I moved to the UK, I came with a bottle of L'oreal True Match for wearing with tanned skin (that's Chicago summer tanned skin) and Physician's Formula mineral powder for every-day wear.  I try to avoid wearing makeup every day, so in the last three years I may have worn these a handful of times.

Last April, when performing for my university's Centre for Performing Arts, I think I realised what had happened to my skin over that time . Three years in sunny Bristol had left me significantly paler than someone of my Italian-Cuban heritage ought to be, and three years in university (at the ripe age of thirty-*cough*) left me with a face full of nasty, inflamed spots.

I wore the L'oreal as the perfect extra dark colour to prevent looking washed out under the stage lights.

source: Wikimedia Commons

After the debacle that was uni finished, I promised myself I would clear up my skin. Otherwise, I would not leave the house without wearing some sort of makeup. And so began my foray into the wonderful world of beauty and skincare.

Eyes, lips and cheeks are fun and easy, but foundation? Oh boy. I'm sure most of us have our stories about how we were forced to wander out of doors with cakey, oxidised, melting and off-toned foundation while searching for our Holy Grail. But, since I'm now a beauty blogger, it's becomes my resonsibility to come to the rescue, boldly publicising my skin shame so that some little someone out there might have one less day of abject embarrasment! Also, who doesn't love a little self-deprecation?

No matter how good at this you are, publishing a photo of it on the internet eventually becomes a form of self-deprecation. And this chick is talented.                              Source: Wikimedia Commons

So to start off, you should know about my skin, so you can put my advice in it's rightful place, be that the bin or top of your list. I would describe my skin as combination. Both sides of my nose can be so oily they'll melt foundation off within an hour or two, and the outer bits can be so dry I get rough, ashey patches. Awesome, right? At the moment I write this, I'm actually considering doubling up on skin care: one set for oily skin and another for dry. It's that difficult. And I'm still a little spotty. And by 'a little' I mean half a dozen active spots on a constant basis and dozens of acne scars that wont go away. And I have visible capilliaries.

Ugh, I want to go sit down with a pint of ice cream after writing that. Deep breaths, Jess. It'll be okay.

Right. So the point of this is the inception of my series of foundation reviews called 'The Hunt for Holy Grail Foundation'. In this series I'll review foundations as I try them, sharing the details of not just a day of wear, but what they're like over approximately a week. I hope you'll find it helpful and fun!

                              Interior design lust.                                 Source: Wikimedia Commons

I'd love to hear some of your foundation anecdotes or questions about foundation (I love researching!).

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