Monthly Archives: July 2011
Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation #05, #06 and #07 (swatches & review)
Having had a love-hate relationship with foundation for many years now, it was with a touch of skepticism that I began my reviewing/testing process of these three Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation samples. When I originally wrote about this innovative product (review can be found here), it was described as “skin realism” and I can honestly say after seeing the results for myself, that I am not only duly impressed, but a true believer! Al swatches were applied over bare unprimed skin.
From left to right are 05 – pink undertone, 06 – neutral, and 07 – pink undertone. Normally, I would avoid any foundation or powder with pink undertones like the plague, but for the sake of an honest review, I gave this a fair shot. I have slight yellowish leanings in my skintone, and usually anything pink tinged near my face makes me look chalky. Read on to see how these stood up! The following swatches for all photos, are left to right: 05, 06 and 07.
This view of the three samples taken in full sunlight, best shows their true colour and my first impression was that surprisingly, 07 seemed not only a lot less pink than I thought it would be, but the closest match to my natural skin tone.
This first shaded light view truly brings out the pink undertones of 05 and 07, and clearly sets 06 apart. Interestingly enough, 07 still appears to be my best match.
Upon viewing the three under different lighting with even more shade, they all seem to now take on a slightly yellowish cast and yet 07 still looks like my best bet.
Once I began spreading them out, all of a sudden everything changed; 07 now stood out the most against my skin, and 06 started to look much closer, with 05 appearing to not be a contender anymore, especially when seen in full sun as in this photo above.
Shaded light only confirmed what I saw just before, yet even though 07 looks darker against my skin than originally believed, I find that it still compliments my tone and even its pink base does not detract from that.
Once I blended the three out thoroughly, the magic began! Seen in full and unforgivingly bright sunlight, note how they all seem to just melt onto my skin and while any one of these wouldn’t be a bad match, clearly 05 is a tad too bright and 07 a touch too dark, but 06…..now THAT was just right, as Goldilocks would say!
You might wonder why I included this photo taken in shaded light, but in my opinion, if you can’t tell where a foundation begins and ends against your natural skin tone, then you know you have a winner and have met your match! In the photo above, I can just see a slight discernible difference of 05 and 07 against my skin, but 06 is near invisible now.
Final thoughts: The formula on these was truly amazing; inspired by the cult Asian brand Beauty Balm, ‘Skin Base Foundation’, once you’ve found your true match – and that won’t be hard to do considering the fact that there are 18 shades available, from white all the way to deep, dark neutral – will not disappoint. I noticed that you need to work quickly as once the foundation begins to dry, it starts setting and you can’t blend it out as easily, but doing one area at a time certainly solves that issue. I applied these ‘Skin Base Foundation’ samples using a foundation brush (Sephora Collection I.T. Natural Foundation Brush) and found the results even better than using my fingers, which I normally prefer to do, and was so thrilled with how “my-skin-but-better” my face actually appeared! The staying power was phenomenal (easily 8-10 hours) without any fading, flaking or creasing, nor did my skin turn into an oily hot mess. If one tone still doesn’t fully match your skin, then you can combine the shades for a more personalized colour. In case you’re still not sure of your shade, Illamasqua has a fabulously convenient comparison chart on their site, which should be a great help. Retailing at £25/CAD $38.50/US $40.00 for 30 ml/1 oz, ‘Skin Base Foundation’ can be purchased through the Illamasqua website.
*Disclaimer: Product samples were provided by the company/PR for my unbiased consideration
Misa ‘Paradise Shore Collection’ – Endless Keys (swatches & review)
Misa is a brand that is new to me in the sense that while I had heard about it, I never actually came across the line…until now. When I saw a display for the ‘Paradise Shore Collection’, my eye was instantly drawn to ‘Endless Keys’ for two specific reasons – 1) I found this colour so original and Summer appropriate and 2) the Florida Keys hold a very special place in my heart, so it was a foregone conclusion that this lacquer would come home with me. All swatches are with two coats of lacquer as well as a-england’s ‘The Knight’ and ‘The Shield’ base and top coats respectively (reviewed here).
The first thing that comes to my mind looking at this polish, is: citrus. ‘Endless Keys’ is a semi-sheer bright tangerine hue, with a formula that borders on a jelly-like finish, and bears tons of golden-yellow small flakes that seem to be suspended just below the surface. Had I applied a third coat, I’m certain it would have been much more opaque, but I find that a shade like this shouldn’t be too dense looking.
At this angle and with the sunlight reflecting off my nails, the shade takes on a lusciously juicy orange tone and the flakes seem to merge into a golden gleam.
In this first view taken in shaded light, ‘Endless Keys’ seems to be at its “Sunkist” best, looking bright orange, but never neon. I LOVE that “lit-from-within” effect!
Still in shaded light but turned slightly in another direction, the colour not only becomes deeper, but this view seems to bring out the inner flakes in stark relief. I urge you to enlarge this photo to really appreciate the effect.
Final thoughts: I can’t speak for the rest of this brand or even this collection, as this is my first foray with Misa nail lacquers, but I was left feeling very happy with my choice in ‘Endless Keys’. The formula was easy to work with bearing a good consistency, the brush fanned out well on the nail and I had no application issues, there was zero streaking, and the final finish was smooth and glossy, even before a top coat was added. Since I do not have any other colour like this in my collection, I love the uniqueness of this shade and I just can’t wait to wear it as my summer pedi. Know what else it reminded me of? Tart & tangy candied orange peel……see what I mean below!
*Orange peel photo courtesy of Baking History
Illamasqua ‘Pastel Nails’ – Blow, Caress, Wink and Nudge (swatches & review)
Known for their edgy and trendsetting hues, I was intrigued that Illamasqua would introduce something as delicate looking as these four pastel varnishes: Blow – a sorbet lemon yellow, Caress – a cornflower blue, Wink – a soft lilac, and Nudge – a mint ice cream shade. Originally released in the Spring of 2010, these are shades that are still relevant today and simply perfect for those hot Summer days….guaranteed to put a smile on your face! All swatches are with a-england ‘The Knight’ and ‘The Shield’ base and top coats (reviewed here) and two coats of lacquer.
As yellow shades have been all the rage this season, ‘Blow’ fits right in. This is a creamy, lemon-curd shade of yellow and while pastels can be notoriously streaky to apply, it came as a pleasant surprise that I had absolutely zero issues with this shade. Two coats gave superb opacity and I loved the high gloss finish.
Looking almost egg-yolk yellow in full sun, I love the somewhat pillowy look of this shade, looking all plump and fluffy…almost whipped!
Shaded light definitely tones down this hue, lending it an almost urban – yet still fun – appeal.
We’ve seen other baby blue shades, but ‘Caress’ differs from them with its slightly dusty appeal. Although its formula was a touch on the thicker side, it was still easy to apply and self-levelled to a beautifully smooth finish.
When seen in full sun, ‘Caress’ seems to take on a whiter glow and appears much brighter than it really is, but still maintains its baby blue appeal.
Shaded light transforms this hue into something cooler toned as well as highlighting its sky blue leanings.
A beautiful and almost demure shade, ‘Wink’ is a stunning pale lavender, with an exceptional formula, especially for a pastel. It practically applied itself – it was that easy – and a hue I feel will compliment every skin tone across the spectrum.
Viewed in full sun, this shade seems to lean towards a more pink based lilac, but with an almost greyish undertone.
Interestingly enough, shaded light draws out the inner purple/blue of this polish, giving it a more muted and softer appeal.
Think of a washed out “Tiffany Blue”, and you get ‘Nudge’, a stunning pale aqua. Like ‘Wink’, this was wonderfully easy to apply and seemed to almost slide onto my nails, leaving that gorgeous glossy shine at the finish.
Slightly more blue leaning than green, this has such a tranquil aquatic appearance to it, and looks absolutely stunning when paired against lightly tanned skin.
When seen in shaded light, it seems to take on a more “Robin’s Egg Blue” look to it, although its inner green tint seems to be more noticeable, and I love the almost silvery aura about it.
Final thoughts: Illamasqua varnishes can be summed up in one word: superb. The brush is long, tapered and fans out easily on the nail, causing absolutely zero drag, the formula is highly pigmented and with the exception of ‘Blow’ and ‘Caress’ which were slightly thicker, quite painless to apply, and for these four shades, the glossy finish was almost mirror-like, even before the addition of a top coat. The entire line of nail varnishes, including these four reviewed here, can all be viewed and purchased on Illamasqua’s website.
When I initially viewed these four lacquers, the first image that came to mind were the Sweet Tart candies of my youth…..can you see the resemblance?!
*Disclaimer: product samples provided by the company/PR for my unbiased consideration
Dior ‘Rock Your Nails Collection’ (swatches & review)
Going directionally away from Summer and more in line with the cooler months to come, I bring you Dior’s ‘Rock Your Nails Collection’ which debuted this past Spring (that’s quite a few seasons mentioned in one sentence!). What makes this collection unique, is Dior’s innovative ‘Rock Coat’, designed to give your nails a smoked out yet glossy look. Every single one of these shades stands out on its own as well – Dior’s fabulous formula and super-glossy finish, notwithstanding. An interesting feature of these shades is that while they appear rather opaque, they all bear a very fine inner shimmer. All swatches below are with Sèche Natural base coat, and two coats of lacquer.
‘Purple Mix’ is a muted, almost dirty looking prune shade, but with a touch of vampiness to it.
Sunlight seems to bring out its more reddish base and definitely lightens the overall tone.
I love how shaded light gives this polish a sultry, brooding look, but it never comes off as looking too dark.
Purple Mix & Rock Coat
Looking like a dark filter was draped over ‘Purple Mix’, by adding one layer of ‘Rock Coat’, the shade is instantly transformed. Even without enlarging the above photo, the myriad shimmer of ‘Rock Coat’ is in clear evidence.
Seen in shaded light, there’s not much colour variance than ‘Purple Mix’ alone, although the shimmer of ‘Rock Coat’ adds a nice touch and more depth to the overall look.
‘Nirvana’ is utterly gorgeous – a deep blue/green aqua with the most subtle shimmer hidden deep within.
This shade comes alive when seen in full sun, yet still manages to maintain a slightly muted look.
Shaded light gives ‘Nirvana’ a deeper and cooler tone, lending it a teal-like vibe.
Nirvana & Rock Coat
Just like that, a layer of ‘Rock Coat’ brings ‘Nirvana’ from sophisticated chic to downtown edginess! Once more, the added shimmer seems to give this shade such an interesting depth of hue.
Looking close to a blackened teal, shaded light only adds more mystery to the overall look.
‘Underground’ is rich looking coffee bean brown, with a deep earthy appeal.
Interestingly enough, full sun seems to deepen this shade into luscious melted chocolate.
Shaded light lends a slivery aura over this lacquer, while paradoxically giving it a more faded appearance.
Underground & Rock Coat
Since this is a deeper shade to begin with, by adding one layer of ‘Rock Coat’, the newly created shade doesn’t stand out as much and is obviously darker, but it’s the shimmer that becomes the focus now.
Once more, shaded light mysteriously seems to almost lighten this look, but the shimmer is still quite visible.
‘Blue Label’ is such a regal navy blue shade, but with an elegant urban appeal.
When viewed in full sun, you can definitely see how midnight blue this shade truly is.
Shaded light brings this shade into the black range, although subtle hints of deep blue linger around the edges.
Blue Label & Rock Coat
With such a dark shade to begin with, I didn’t expect ‘Rock Coat’ to make a difference, and while the overall look may be a degree darker, it’s only the added shimmer that stands out now.
Even shaded light doesn’t add anything new to this combination, although it does seem to take on the look of a darkly starry night.
‘Perfecto’ is a deep, dark grey shade, almost bordering on charcoal.
Looking like wet concrete when viewed in full sun, it also has the most glossiest natural finish of them all.
I found that shaded light seems to add a slight greenish tinge to this shade, but it’s still dark grey perfection!
Perfecto & Rock Coat
Adding one layer of ‘Rock Coat’ to an already blackish shade might seem redundant, but I still wanted to see this combo in action. The new shade appears obviously a hair darker, but once more, it’s ‘Rock Coat’s shimmer that makes the difference here.
The only swatch where shaded light didn’t make that much of a difference, there are nonetheless subtle shimmery hints still visible, but only just so.
To offer a better idea of the effect that ‘Rock Coat’ gives, the above swatch is one layer over bare nails, both in full sun (top) and shaded light (bottom).
Two layers of ‘Rock Coat’ is noticeably darker, but might seem excessive over a base shade.
Final thoughts: Having never come across a top coat that was meant to “darken” nail lacquer, I eagerly anticipated the launch of ‘Rock Coat’. Of course, it didn’t hurt that the lacquers of this collection were all so visually stunning, which made it difficult to resist bringing them all home (!), but I have also been a long time fan of Dior’s formula – easy to apply, richly pigmented, smooth finish and amazing mirror-like shine. I’m still not completely sold on the overall effect of ‘Rock Coat’, but I cannot deny how unique it is, nor the sophisticated appeal of its shimmer. As to the rest of the shades…..sublime!
MAC Mischievous Mint and Little Girl Type – ‘Quite Cute Collection’ (swatches, review & comparison)
When MAC launched their ‘Quite Cute Collection’ this past Spring 2011, of the three nail lacquers included, I gravitated towards these two: ‘Mischievous Mint’ – a pale minty green, and ‘Little Girl Type’ – a milky light lavender. Something about these hues fully puts me in a regenerative Spring-like kind of mood….a nice change after a long and bleak Winter, and just perfect as we enter full Summer mode. All swatches are with Sèche Natural base coat, two coats of lacquer and Sèche Vite top coat.
‘Mischievous Mint’ is a rather nostalgic-looking hue, reminiscent of the light green shade of 50’s era appliances. This is a highly pigmented polish, a touch on the thick side but quite easy to apply just the same and bearing a good self-levelling formula. I’m not usually a fan of MAC nail polish brushes as I find their quality to be inconsistent, but I had no problems here. A nice bonus was how quick drying and glossy the final finish looked.
I absolutely love this shade when seen in full sun, looking all cloudy, squishy and deliciously milky (I rhymed!), and I know it will be a wonderful counterpoint against lightly tanned skin.
While shaded light brings out its cooler side, it then seems to take on a more sophisticated look, but still maintains its somewhat “vintage” appeal.
‘Little Girl Type’, another milky pastel, is an interesting cross between ultra light lavender and the palest of pink hues. Once more, the formula applied well, with zero brush strokes, smoothing out easily and finishing off with a high gloss shine, although dry time was slightly longer than I prefer.
When seen in full sun, ‘Little Girl Type’ looks more like a white with lilac tints in it, but there’s no mistaking that this is indeed a lovely and almost feminine pale lavender shade, which I find will be highly complimentary against many skin tones.
I love how shaded light deepens the tone and gives off a slight greyish tinge to the overall look, taking it from cute to chic…just like that!
The closest match I found to ‘Mischievous Mint’ was Essie’s ‘Mint Candy Apple’ which has a similar green hue. The formula on the Essie was approximately the same as the MAC, although I much prefer its brush – hands down over MAC brushes – and both lacquers dried to a similar wonderful shine. Swatches below are index and ring fingers – ‘Mischievous Mint’, middle and pinkie fingers – ‘Mint Candy Apply’.
Seen in full sun, you can immediately see that ‘Mischievous Mint’ definitely leans more blue compared to ‘Mint Candy Apple’s’ slightly greener cast, although both bear that same creamy tone.
Even shaded light does not detract from the light variances in hue, although they do appear slightly more toned down.
I was fairly convinced that ‘Little Girl Type’ had a duplicate in Essie’s ‘Nice is Nice’ from the Spring 2011 collection (reviewed here), and it turns out I was right. They both have that cool toned but creamy lavender/pink hue and even the formula was basically similar, although once more the Essie brush made it that much easier to apply evenly versus the MAC brush. All swatches below are with index and ring fingers – ‘Little Girl Type’, middle and pinkie fingers – ‘Nice is Nice’.
When seen in full sun, it’s almost impossible to tell them apart; you need to look very close to see the one tonal degree difference and even then, you may mistake it for a trick of the light.
Even when viewed in shaded light, they still appear to be identical, although I seem to feel that ‘Little Girl Type’ has a touch more purple/grey in its base, giving it a slightly cooler and more subdued look.
Final thoughts: While these shades are not unique, I was pleasantly surprised by how well they applied (especially for MAC) and how pretty they looked on. I also noted that the bottles need to be rolled between your palms well before applying, as there may be a tendency for the colour to separate. Obviously these shades have been done before (as noted here), although ‘Mischievous Mint’ is slightly different enough to be unique, as far as pale mint hues go. I must admit, that they are…quite cute!
*Disclaimer: some products sent by the company/PR for my unbiased consideration
