Category Archives: Best Of

How to Cover Acne Video Plus Best Full Coverage Foundations

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My friend Cassel sent me this video last week (below) about a girl with severe acne who bravely takes all of her makeup off (for almost 3 million people and counting) and starts from scratch showing every step she takes to make sure her red welts are well hidden. Though my skin is temperamental at times, I don’t apply nearly as much makeup as she does (I think she has 7-ish steps!), because one good full coverage foundation should do the trick in most cases. Here are a few of my favorite full coverage foundations for when your skin just isn’t cooperating.

I never really fell in love with Armani’s Luminous Silk, their signature foundation that was all the rage a while back – I found it to be too light in weight to do any serious covering. Their new Designer Lift Foundation however, is like a delightfully thin coat of paint (I mean this in a good way) that covers the worst of it while maintaining a natural finish. The bases for most foundations are white or even black, then pigment is added in to create a skin color – but this one begins with blue pearl giving it a beautiful base to create luminosity and cancel out dullness. It’s one of the best foundations I’ve tried in a long while – worth the $65 especially when you’re serious about coverage.

Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Cover $40 is what she uses in the video to get her liquid coverage, it’s a great foundation that I’ve used it in the past for a before and after post. Its medium to full coverage and luminous finish is best followed up by their HD powder so you can enjoy the glowy look it gives the skin. Blending is your friend, use tiny dots at a time and work it in as you go around each section of the face to build up the coverage you’d like until all of your redness is gone.

Cover FX gained fame when it was rumored to be the foundation used to cover Angelina Jolie’s tattoos on a movie set years ago. Good enough for me. Their Natural FX Water Based Foundation SPF 15 $37 is the one I carry in my kit for when I need to bust out some super serious coverage on the most challenging skin. It’s oil, fragrance, and paraben free and will outlast your desire to wear makeup for the day. I’d say it gives the most coverage of the bunch and it’s especially formulated to cover acne, eczema, rosacea without adding additional irritation or causing breakouts.

Check out the video below, click HERE to see the video if you’ve received this post in an email.

 

Liz Earle Sheer Skin Tint SPF 15

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I’m thrilled that Liz Earle has dipped her toes into the world of color with the launch of her new Sheer Skin Tint, a foundation that fills in the gap for women who like complete coverage and natural formulations at the same time since there isn’t much there in terms of good quality stuff. It’s a foundation that makes your skin look as healthy and radiant as good skin care does. Ah, I love Liz Earle. Let’s check it out..


This 1.3oz tube packs a big punch, it’s so concentrated that it should last a long time.


Just a tiny dab will do.


Does anyone know where I can find like a veiny, somewhat hairy hand? Ugh. I wanted to show its consistency and coverage. It’s really rich and blendable with a believable coverage and a beautiful finish – if I had to compare it to something, it would be Laura Mercier’s Silk Creme but with a more natural ingredient lineup. Score!

I think last time I talked about Liz Earle I called it a near perfect line and I’m sticking to it. I really do love this foundation, I’m so excited to see what they come up with next!

Bite Beauty

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Using food grade colorants and the super antioxidant resveratrol, Bite Beauty has stormed onto the beauty scene with a very modern approach to natural lip color. I’ve been looking for something exactly like this for years for both myself and my kit – a professional grade lip collection that offers high pigment but without the use of harsh chemicals. Mineral lipsticks are fine, as are the ones from organic lines, but nobody gets it as perfectly right as Bite does. More of my take on the line after a look at the goods.

 


The kit I received; Define & Refine Lip Set


Even the packaging is cool


Lip Shine in Prosecco


Luminous Crème Lipstick in Rosè


High Pigment Pencil in Pomegranate


Swatches of all 3 to see the difference in finish and intensity; Prosecco, Rosé, and Pomegranate. Don’t be overly jealous of my veiny hands, they’re very Angelina Jolie..

I’m not a lipstick wearer, not a lip color wearer actually but this line has me totally inspired because of how beautiful their colors look on the lips. Their Lip Shine is my favorite gloss I’ve used to date. Really! There’s something captivating about how it coats the lips filling in any dry areas with a beautiful sheen. I put it on and literally stared at my mouth from different angles marveling at how great it looked. Bright colors appear more sophisticated when they’re matte which is why High Pigment Matte Pencils are stunning in the long-wearing bold shades they offer. Luminous Crème Lipstick is everything a lipstick should be; moisturizing, creamy, and fun to wear. All formulas are without yucky stuff you’d rather not lick off, which is typically where your lip color goes when it wears away.

My favorite kind of companies are those that do one thing really well (although Bobbi Brown started off with only 10 lipsticks so you never know..) Check out Bite Beauty online or the next time you’re in Sephora. I can guarantee that Bite will have you excited about lip color.

The Best Mineral Foundation for Dry Skin

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Women with dry skin want the benefits a mineral foundation but adding a powder to already parched skin doesn’t give the hydration or nourishment the way this combo will. I paired h.wood.beauty’s popular Mineral Powder Foundation with One Love Organics Skin Savior Waterless Multi Balm made with cold pressed oils of coconut, soy, mango, and a few other plant based good-for-your-skin essentials to create a custom mineral foundation balm perfect for dry skin. Check out my step by step guide on creating a soothing mineral foundation to treat and perfect your dry skin.

Pictured: One Love Organics Skin Savior and h.wood.beauty Mineral Powder Foundation. I chose h.wood’s powder because it carries a lot of pigment and its formula is non-drying, a natural fit for a dry skin treatment.

This balm is incredible for everything. Cleansing, makeup removal, moisturizing, and of course, making a custom mineral foundation balm.

Sprinkle out a pile of the mineral foundation on one side of the lid and add a dab of the Skin Savior to the other with a concealer brush and mix them together.

You’ve just created your very own custom blended mineral foundation in seconds.

Now, I tried mixing the foundation with a face cream which worked but not as well because the cream didn’t capture the pigment as densely so the coverage was very sheer and blended into the skin quickly leaving only a small amount of coverage behind. It’s the balm’s unique properties that really make this combo really work. I’m so in love with this custom creation that I’ve been pre-mixing a lid of it (like shown above) when I work with clients so I can have it ready if I want to use it to highlight the cheekbones, as an eye concealer, or to finish dry skin without using powder by pressing a bit over their foundation. I can pretty much drum up a reason to use it on everyone, no matter what their skin type might be.

I Love My Beauty Blender

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Words can’t express how much I love my Beauty Blender. I bought one at Makeup Mania last year and soon returned to buy another, it’s one of a few select products that are fantastic enough end up in my professional kit as well as my personal one. I’ve come to believe it’s 80% of a foundation application. Honestly. I can take a mediocre foundation and make it look flawless using the Beauty Blender.

You first dampen this latex-free egg shaped sponge with water before using it to press in liquid foundation all over the face (use the tip in hard to reach areas like around the nose and mouth.) It magically presses the foundation perfectly into the skin without wiping it away giving you complete coverage and a professional looking application. I should start selling them because every client I use it on is sold and wants to buy it on the spot.

If you’re wearing foundation every day (or even most days), it’s worth it to pick one up. Wash it often and it will last many years – the one in my kit is used and washed a ton and still looks brand new.

Own Sun Care

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Our usual stop for vitamins in Pharmaca over the weekend in Boulder, CO yielded a purchase that I’m now officially obsessed with. We were looking for a new sunscreen for Mike which is always a task because he wants something light to wear daily (easy enough), but it also has to hold up and not drip into his eyes when he’s running (the challenging part.) We’ve been through plenty of options and were on a good winning streak with Supergoop for a few years but it was time for a change. I knew a little about Own; mostly how their founder and CEO was also the founding CEO at Method (the natural cleaning products) and had now engineered a fantastic natural skincare line that’s getting some great reviews. Now saying that Own’s Invisible Face and Body Block SPF 30 is unlike any sunscreen you’ve ever tried isn’t an overstatement. Its smooth, whipped texture reminds me of cake batter and its ability to disappear right into the skin leaving only the slightest amount of moisture behind is remarkable for a sunscreen or any type of skin moisturizer. It’s a safe formulation of 20% zinc that’s invisible on the skin with antioxidants like raspberry, cranberry, and carrot seed oils. It feels, blends, and smells like a body moisturizer you’d be happy to wear every day. It’s seriously revolutionary.

Our After Sun Repair ($12) and Invisible Face and Body Block SPF 30 ($17)

A look at the sunscreen’s texture. Dreamy whipped magic.

Of course the After Sun Repair lotion is amazing too. It smells so fresh and clean and can be used to soothe the face or body after sun exposure, or just for an everyday treatment.

They’re mostly sold online (I can’t find a listing of retailers on their site) and are apparently becoming quickly known for their better-than-Proactiv acne line and powerfully effective anti-aging offerings. They’re also U.S.A made and sourced keeping a close eye on their partner’s sustainability practices. What’s not to love?

Check out Own right HERE