31 posts tagged “foundation”

I'm almost at the end of my sample of Lumiere's Light Medium Golden in Luminesse formula. This shade is definitely a very good match for me which isn't too surprising since the Luminesse formula is supposed to be darker than the same shade in Flawless or Veena. For the most part, Luminesse doesn't make me itch or break out but I don't think it can withstand our humid Malaysian weather. If I'm in an air-conditioned environment the whole day, like the office then it feels quite comfortable. But over the weekend I wore it from morning till evening, and spent the late afternoon browsing an open-air Indian bazaar. By sundown I just wanted to go home and wash my face because it was starting to have that sticky/heavy feeling! I also found that by the end of the day, Lt Med Golden darkens slightly. It's still a good match but it just gets a bit darker and closely resembles Med Golden in Veena Velvet.

It's too bad I don't live in a cooler climate or I would be tempted to order a fullsize of this. But for now I think I'll give it a miss and just continue to use up the sample I have.

UPDATED: Nov 11
I used up the last of this foundation sample today. I wore it to church in the morning and then to the mall to pick up some groceries. While idling in one of the drugstores I couldn't resist checking out the foundation match in one of their makeup counter mirrors. I was amazed to see the face-to-neck match was perfect! And it wasn't just that mirror/lighting, I multi-checked in the washroom and in various other shops with wall mirrors. Of course I had to pretend that I was trying on sunglasses and stuff instead of appearing to be a total narcissist *ahem*

Light Medium Golden Luminesse seems to be one of the best matches I've ever had and it does look good on me - not much oily appearance, doesn't overemphasize my pores etc. I do still think it feels a little heavy but am I willing to put up with that in favour of having such a good match? It's just as well I don't have any spare cash on me and probably won't have much for the next couple months, so I don't have to agonize over whether I should get a fullsize of this. 

Finally after a long, long while I'm actually able to write something mmu-related. I'm really amazed that people still add me to their neighbourhood although my Vox blog has been stagnant for so long. I do look forward to getting to know each one of you :)

And now to the updates...

Way back in August I was an extra in a commercial that involved a whole day outdoors in the blazing sun, doing take after take. Thanks to that experience I ended up with a fever that lasted several days (maybe heatstroke?) but worse - my face and neck ended up being a shade or more darker! What saved me was the LaurEss Original Creamy Yellow foundation I bought from Lili which just about matched me. I wore that exclusively for weeks. I still lamented the loss of my original skintone. I mean, I was never fair to begin with but I didn't want to be any more tan than I already am. That's just me.

If that didn't make things worse, I had ordered a whole bunch of mmu samples from various websites and when I received them I found that most of them were too pale for me - in particular all five samples I got from LureBeauty! Ugh! :( Disappointment!

But then... our dear Lisa came to the rescue! After a bazillion emails back and forth on glycolic acid, she sent me a small sample of DermaDoctor 20% Glycolic Cleanser. After using it for a week, this stuff had the effect of subtly lightening/brightening my skin! The difference was so subtle I didn't even notice it until one day I discovered that the foundation samples that were too pale on me now started to look like a match! Oh it was a happy, happy day! Just yesterday I dug out my stack of Lure samples and Y9 which previously was still too light, is now quite a perfect match. I'm thrilled because I really like the smooth and light texture of Lure foundations. I tried Y8 somewhat hopefully, but that shade is still a bit too light for me. I found I can also wear Meow Frisky-Manx in the Pampered and Purrfect formula! My only problem is now I don't know what to do with my slightly darker foundations that used to be a match. I think I will just hang on to them for those times when I get too much sun again.

Anyway, due to financial constraints I'm trying not to sample anymore at least until 2008 rolls around. I also counted all my samples and found I have maybe 20-30 of them that are still full but which didn't match me. I wonder if anyone here would be interested in buying them?

What to say about MMBB Peachy Beige? It works, it doesn't, it works, it doesn't. LOL. I washed my face as usual today, used tea tree oil followed by GoW Cucumber HA Serum. The serum has a very delicate cucumber scent, very refreshing, non-sticky and makes a good base for MMU because it's slightly mattifying. It's clear with a thick consistency but it absorbs right away. I then used Meow Undereye Concealor in Naughty-Angora on my blemishes and it did a great job of concealing with the yellow toning down the redness but not being totally obvious that I had something on. Very nice and a good shade match. I followed it with Peachy Beige, a tester sample I got from Lisa. My first impression was that this is a wearable colour for me but it did look a little peachy compared to my more yellow-toned neck. The depth however, seemed just about right. After an hour I could still see a slight difference between face and neck. But after wearing it for most of the afternoon, it seems to match me a whole lot better. Only thing is it did darken like maybe half a shade which although is still fine, isn't really the look I'm going for. It does make me look very healthy and bronzed (in a good way), like I just got back from a beach holiday. And although I'm sure the formula is the same as the other MMBB foundations I've tried, this one felt good on my face today. And maybe it's a combination of the HA Serum, concealor and foundation but under certain types of lighting my face actually looks rather flawless.

I finally broke away from using MMBB True and tried Ruby Sparkle instead on cheeks and lips. Ruby Sparkle is a very pretty shade all around. On cheeks it gives a very subtle whisper of sparkle which is only really noticable when you get up close. Otherwise it makes a nice blush-red and has good staying power. On lips it goes a medium-reddish pink, giving a bit of colour without being too in-your-face.

Tan, Yellow Beige and Peachy Beige seem like great summer foundation shades for Asian women or women with yellow-undertones. It's funny but after testing all these MMBB foundation shades I keep thinking "I think Lili would like this."  

Due to lack of internet access and all, it's been awhile since I've really had time to update so this entry will be quite a long one!

Veena Velvet: I've been wearing Lumiere VV foundation for over a week and I don't think it is making my skin worse. I am getting a bit of acne right now but I don't think it's due to the VV. Also after wearing it for long periods of time (think half the day) I didn't experience any tiny pustules popping out which is usually a sign that the makeup is irritating my skin. Anyway, this is great because I do like the texture of VV very much!

MMBB: Lisa from MMBB was sweet enough to send me test samples of two new foundations she hopes to carry in future: Yellow Beige and Peachy Beige. Thank you, Lisa! Side-by-side in the baggies they both look very similar and are close or identical in depth to MMBB Tan foundation. Peachy Beige does look slightly more peachy compared to Yellow Beige. So far I've only worn YB and I found it to be a great match for me! Upon application the shade really looks perfect. However I think it does darken a smidgen after I've worn it a few hours so I'm curious to see if Lisa may eventually make a slightly lighter version. Otherwise, I may try to lighten it with a bit of Bright Eyed. I honestly don't think the darkening is obvious to anyone but myself, knowing how I scrutinize my foundation. I probably look like I got a little bit of sun but in no way does it look unnatural. YB will probably be the answer to Asian girls with medium to tan skin and yellow undertones looking to find a match with MMBB :) Formula/Texture-wise the jury is still out for me... MMBB doesn't make me itch, breakout or make my face feel tight but I'm not sure if it sits well with my rather oily skin despite the presence of kaolin in the formula. Sometimes I think it's just the weather though. Heat and humidity just tends to make me feel uncomfy no matter what. I will probably save this as a night time foundation or if I know I'm going to be in an air-conditioned environment for most of the day.

Meow: My Meow order finally arrived! I ordered samples of Manx in Frisky and Naughty and a sample of Abyssinian in Frisky as well as a couple feliners and their Intense Medium bronzer. Frisky-Abyssinian totally shocked me when I first saw it. It looks positively white with an uber-pale yellow tinge! I have no idea how I'm going to wear it and I haven't tried it yet. Really if their Frisky-Ab looks this pale I can't imagine what their Sleek and Inquisitive shades must look like. Frisky-Manx in Purrfect and Pampered looked pale too but not as white as Abys. Today curiosity got the better of me and I pulled out both Frisky-Manx samples, picked the one that seemed slightly darker (Pampered) and applied it over my freshly cleansed face. In the baggie, the foundation looked much paler than the other brands I normally wear but surprisingly it didn't look at all pale on my face. It might have been a tad light when I put it on but after wearing it awhile I checked my face and it had settled down into quite a good match! I only wore it for an hour so I can't really judge the feel of it, but the one gripe I've always had about the Pampered formula is that it doesn't really cover any of my imperfections or even blur the edges. I actually find that Purrfect is slightly better in this respect. Anyway, I haven't really tested Manx properly so maybe it's too early to tell. I sure do agree with everyone that Manx is yellow! I find it so strange that Frisky-Manx looks much paler than Naughty-Angora yet when I wear it, Manx matches and looks yellow-toned while Angora tends to be a bit pale and not quite yellow enough. Oh well, I have always found it hard to understand how Meow works!

Garden of Wisdom: My GoW order arrived at my friend in CA a few days after Markey sent it out. He flew to Malaysia on Saturday and I met him on Sunday for tea and to collect the goodies. After he left for his next appointment, I sat in my car and eagerly ripped into the box! I'm a very patient person in real life (honest!) but not when it comes to opening online purchases! And what a beautiful sight were the contents of the box! Adorable bottles and jars in various sizes, all very good quality materials, perfectly packaged and neatly labeled. Yes, it was instant love! My favourites are the Mandelic Acid 10% (5ml) which came in the cutest pump vial and the HA Serum which although is quite viscous, just sinks in instantly the moment I smooth it over my skin! I've never tried anything that absorbs as fast as this so I'm absolutely thrilled. I love how the serum seems to be mattifying, perfect for wearing under MMU. The famous Lemongrass Cleanser is also quite delightful. I'm not sure if its exfoliating properties are a little too much for me and I don't think I can use this everyday. But after emulsifying it with a little water, cleansing my face with it and rinsing, my skin did feel incredibly soft and smooth. Plus the lemongrass scent is so refreshing! The only blot on this otherwise perfect order was that a bottle of camelia oil was accidentally left out! However, Markey being the angel that she is, responded to my email right away and sent a replacement out the very next day. Gotta love customer service like that. I'm already dreaming up a second GoW order. So many other products I just want to try! I've only just started using my products so it's hard to say if any effect is taking place yet. My Mom was also very curious about all the bottles and spray mists and I think I may just convert her to natural products sometime in the future ;)

Lumiere: And finally, what bonafide MMU-addict can resist a good sale? I totally caved the moment I heard about Lumiere's 33% off birthday sale and ordered a whole bunch of things including a travel size VV Med Warm, more samples and a 9-pc brush set. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I hear my bank account screaming now.

Been back in my parent's house the past few days and unable to get online. There was a power failure and then our phone line went down so I can't use the dialup internet. Anyway, I'm still wearing Lumiere VV everytime I need some makeup on which is about once a day. I try to wear the same foundation for long periods too, up till night time. I figured out the right ratio of Med Beige to Med Golden is a 60/40 ratio of Beige/Golden. This matches me to a tee and is really excellent. I haven't worn Med Warm yet because I'm sort of rationing it! If I don't use primer or finishing powder my face does get a little oily after a few hours, but if I use at least a primer or an f/p (currently MMBB Photogenic Veil) then my face barely gets oily at all. I also don't seem to be breaking out from VV which I'm really happy about. I just hope it's not a delayed effect and my skin goes haywire a week from now! Otherwise I just love the texture of this foundation. I also haven't really tested any of my other MMBB blush samples yet simply because I'm still enamoured with MMBB True! I love it as a lippy. It gives me that whole my-lips-but-better effect. Anyway, I think this is all the updates I have and I'll continue with the Veena Velvet experiment. I'm sort of curious to try Med Neutral now after seeing it on geminisc but then again I got such a good match with Med Warm that I wonder if trying Neutral is even necessary.

It's pouring with rain here right now and I don't think I can get to my car without getting soaked, so while waiting for it to let up I figured I'd compose my entry for the day. Today I primed with MMBB Photogenic Veil, used Bright Eyed on undereye and mixed a little with Bisque Concealor to cover blemishes. Then I used a 50/50 mix of Lumiere Medium Beige and Medium Golden in VV but I'm not sure if this ratio is right because the colour still looks a bit off. Or maybe I just haven't given it enough time to warm up yet.

On cheeks I used MMBB True blush which looks like a light-medium toned dusky pink with a slight sheen. It gave my cheeks a very natural glow with a bit of understated yet noticable colour. Very similar to Lumiere Wild Rose except I used less product with MMBB to achieve the same result. I was wondering what to use on my lips and then I decided to see if True would work on lips as well if I used it with lip balm. The effect when mixed with my soft lip balm was incredible because True just transforms to this medium-toned pink shade that is so gorgeous! I am absolutely in love with this cheek and lip combo now! Paired together, True is like the little sister of Fyrinnae Kabuki. While Kabuki is more gothic-lolita sexy, True gives off a very romantic vibe while still managing to look fresh and girlish. I absolutely love True and I think I must have more of this! I can't rave about this colour enough. I didn't use much on my cheeks but I think if I layered a bit more, it would give a more dramatic look that would be ideal for nighttime.

Oh well, I'm starving now and it's still raining. I guess I'll just brave the rain in an effort to find something to eat!

[Updated]: I've been wearing the same makeup for the past 11 hours and I have to say that it held up extremely well. I only had to blot once today but otherwise no major oilies. I guess this could be due to a) the Photogenic Veil, b) the oat extract in the foundation, c) the fact that I didn't do anything streneous today, I think I barely broke a sweat, d) the fact that it rained all day so the weather was much cooler than usual or e) all or a combination of the above. I only added a dusting of face powder in the evening to touch up before I went out again. Also I'm delighted to report that I experienced no new zits today and a zit that was emerging a couple days ago even subsided without coming to a head. So far VV looks quite promising although I wonder if using Photogenic Veil to prime acted like a buffer between my skin and the foundation. Shade-wise the foundation is still a bit off though so I guess I'll have to tweak the ratios a bit more. 

In an effort to determine whether Lumiere Veena Velvet foundation is likely to give me zits, I've decided to wear my VV foundation samples everyday until they run out. I figure right now is a pretty good time because most of the zits I have are healing and should be gone in a couple days. So if I get a crop of new ones I'll know to suspect something.

This evening I wore VV Medium Beige with Lumiere Wild Rose blush on cheeks and Lumiere Burnt Sienna blush on lips with lip balm. Medium Beige definitely looks off when I first apply it. My face looked rather pale and a bit ashy but it did start to resemble my skintone more after I'd worn it awhile. Still, it's not a good enough match for me to consider purchasing a fullsize. Wild Rose is an ok blush for me. I think I'd like it more if it were slightly more pigmented. I shook out 2-3 times what I normally use for strongly pigmented blushes but I still got only the faintest hint of colour on my cheeks. It was ok though, because the zits on my cheek are still healing and I don't really want to draw too much attention to them. Wild Rose would probably look awesome on fair to light skinned girls but on medium skin like mine I definitely need blush with a little more oomph. I finished off the look with a light dusting of Revlon Skinlights Natural Light which looks super shimmer-sparkly in the jar but went on surprisingly sheer, enough to give a hint of glow. I swept it over cheekbones first with my EDM baby buki and then lightly ran the brush over my forehead, bridge of nose and chin.

So I guess we'll see if my skin likes VV or hates it. I'm really hoping it's the former. Also in other news, Fyrinnae will be having another sale soon on their liquid eyeliners and silken eyeshadow base just in case anyone is interested :)

My breakout seems to be quickly subsiding - finally! I think it was mostly hormonal PMS zits and now that 'that time of the month' has arrived, they are all healing and going away. I used mostly all MMBB makeup today except for foundation. I used my sample of Mineral Essence L3 that I have had for awhile and am trying to finish because some of the ingredients are botanical and thus I don't think its shelf-life is as long as purely mineral cosmetics. I really do like Mineral Essence foundation but I doubt I will ever purchase from them because their prices are a bit steep. I sandwiched the foundation between layers of MMBB Photogenic Veil and this time I must have done something right because I didn't notice as much oilies as before even after a few hours of wear. I also used Bisque Concealor on my spots and Bright Eyed on my undereye area. I think previously I was using too much Bright Eyed. Today I tried using less and lightly patting it on with my brush and it looked much better, didn't cake up and didn't look too pale but still did a good job of covering my dark shadows. I really like this stuff! I did go over it with a light dusting of foundation just to blend the edges and even out the colour a bit more.

Since my breakouts didn't look too bad after foundation and concealor, I thought I'd ease back into cheek colour with something more nude and less rosy. I picked out Sunglow which I think is supposed to be a bronzer (is that right, Lisa?). At least it looks like a bronzer to me, but I think it could maybe double as a medium-dark tan shade of foundation. I cautiously applied it lightly on the apples of my cheeks and contoured up to my temples. The colour payoff wasn't very apparent so I added a bit more and it gave me a healthy glow, very subtle but still pretty. I still wonder if I goofed and this is supposed to be foundation..lol. I also decided to use eyeliner today so I chose Frappucino which looked a darkish brown in the baggie. However when I foiled it, it turned a very appealing shade of medium brown with a copper sheen. A bit reminiscent of Fyrinnae Sake & Sashimi, but with a lighter tone and more copper highlight. Frappucino complements dark brown eyes beautifully and I think if used as a lid colour it would totally make my eyes pop. I haven't tried applying it dry but if it goes on darker when dry then I bet it would make a good accent colour to give eyes some smokey depth.

I really do wish I had a camera so I could actually show you all what I can only describe in words. The good news is that I'll have more access to a camera by the end of the month (a DSLR no less!). The bad news is that I don't know how much internet/computer access I'll have by then. Oh the irony.

Awhile back Sue very kindly sent me some samples of her Lumiere Medium Beige and Medium Warm in the Veena Velvet formula after I lamented that the Goldens were not working for me. I only got around to trying them yesterday and today but I realised that both Beige and Warm are much better shades for me than Golden! In fact I think I may have found my match in Lumiere :) I wore VV Med Beige yesterday morning and was surprised at how peachy it looked in real life. In fact, side by side, Med Beige looks like it has peachy undertones while Med Warm seems to have more yellow undertones. When I first wore Med Beige, it didn't seem to match very well. At first glance it looked ok, but on closer scrutiny I could see some obvious differences between face and neck. There was a very slight peachy-pink cast on my face compared to my more olive-yellow neck. I decided to wear it for a few hours anyway, and lo and behold when I checked back after an hour or so, the colour had warmed to my skin and looked much more natural. A very close match indeed and much better than Med Golden which made me look a bit jaundiced. So I was pretty satisfied with Beige!

This morning I tried on VV Medium Warm and when I looked in the mirror immediately after application, this was definitely the best of the lot! I could hardly tell the difference between face and neck and Med Warm just seemed to look like my own skin! I continued to wear this for the next few hours and expected the colour to deepen (making it potentially unwearable) but I was pleasantly surprised when it didn't seem to change at all. My face still matched beautifully after 3-4 hours and I didn't look off-colour or anything. Yup, I was very excited!! :D I like Lumiere's foundation formula and how velvety it seems to be so I'm really pleased to have found a match with them at last.

I still noticed some oilies after a few hours so I'm beginning to accept the fact that tissue and blotting paper has to be part of my lifestyle. I don't think even primer and finishing powder can control the oil factor. I am a bit concerned about the Veena formula because alot of people claim that it makes them break out :( So far I haven't broken out from Lumiere but then again I've only worn VV for a couple days and for probably less than 6 hours each time. I like the formula for sure but I don't want to invest money in a fullsize only to have it give me pimples after a week! Also, am I crazy for still wanting to sample the other Beige and Warm shades in Medium and Light-Medium in the Flawless and Luminesse formulas? I think I've found a very good match in VV Med Warm but the curious part of my mind wonders if I could find another match in one of the other shades or formulas! I don't know if I can be satisfied until I know for sure :P 

I haven't been wearing blush for the past couple days since I have quite a bad breakout on my left cheek and am waiting for the red spots to heal before I go dusting more red pigment on them. Foundation lessens their appearance but doesn't disguise them completely. I also pulled out my old sample of Jenulence Yellow Beige F/P tonight and wore it. Yep, it's still a match :) I'm just waiting for a good sale from Jenulence before I get fullsizes of this and Butternut. Last night I wore the LaurEss Original Creamy Yellow that I bought fullsize from Lili. I think this is only my second time wearing it. The first time if I can recall, I wore it during the day and it was wearable but not really perfect. When I wore it last night however, it did look pretty good. There is something about the yellow in Creamy Yellow that looks different from the other yellow-based foundations I've tried. I think Lili (or was it her bf?) described it as a 'mustard yellow' and I do see a tinge of that when I wear it. Like it has less peach tones. Anyway, I do like it and think it was a good purchase. So thank you Lili and thank you Sue! A mineral makeup addict like me is blessed to have friends like you :)

Today I tried the last of the MMBB foundations I have: Medium/Dark Beige. I primed with Lumiere Sand Silk and used it as finishing powder too. I think my oilies were not so bad today but nose and cheeks still got kinda shiny without any blotting. Med/Dk Beige is not too bad a match, better than Med/Dk Olive Beige but not as good as Tan. When I first put it on it didn't seem to match at all. I couldn't quite put my finger on what was lacking. Some yellow perhaps. But after several hours the colour seemed to change and it looked better. I could probably get away with this if I wanted to but I'm always on the elusive quest for the perfect shade. I also think it's a little bit too dark but it just makes me look like I've been getting some sun, nothing unnatural.

I also took Lisa's advice and used Bright Eyed as an undereye concealor. I don't have eyebags but I do have some dark shadows just below the inner corner of my eyes. I think Bright Eyed did a very good job concealing them. The only problem I had is that it is a bit too light for my skintone so I had to go over it with a layer of foundation to make it blend in. I have to work on my application technique a bit more because closeup I could see the powders go a bit cakey. But from a slight distance my eye area really did look more refreshed! I practically never use undereye concealors so maybe this is something I should experiment with in future. Or maybe I should just try sleeping earlier...

I also used Blushing Mauve on both cheeks and lips. Like most of the other blushes so far, this is a really pretty colour and I think is more suited for a casual look. It doesn't seem as highly pigmented as the other blushes, good for those au naturel days. It somewhat reminds me of Lumiere Wild Rose blush. The only reason why I wouldn't reorder this is because I have blushes that are similar to it but otherwise it's a great light-medium pink shade that definitely flatters Asian tones :)

I also mixed up some Meow Spring Mix today and will give it a try tomorrow. My Meow order still seems to be nowhere in sight and I'm kind of despairing that it will ever get here by July 4th =/ I honestly hope that it hasn't been lost! The first order I placed with them arrived within 10 days so I expected my second order to be here by now.