First Impression Review: Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation

         Let me just say, I did not think I would end up liking this foundation as much as I do. Whenever I look for a foundation lately, I always look for a brightening effect or a glow. So when I saw that Rimmel had come out with the Wake Me Up Foundation, I decided to try it. The reason why I did not have high hopes for this product is that firstly, I did not think Rimmel was known for having great foundations. And secondly, I've come to think that a foundation that only costs $7.99 can't be that great. Even my L'Oreal True Match Lumi Foundation, which costs $17.99 wasn't comparable to my Bourjois Healthy Mix Gel Serum Foundation ($27.99). The Wake Me Up Foundation is meant to be light, moisturizing, contains vitamins and has an anti-fatigue effect.

When you first pump out this foundation, it's relatively thick and not runny at all. The colour looked a little too dark on my hand, but thankfully it lightened up to my perfect shade when applied to my face with my fingertips. I'm not someone who will take the time to blend my foundation extremely well, so I like there to be an exact match right from the get go. I purchased the shade 100 Ivory, which is the lightest they have. There are only about 6 shades available, so not the greatest colour selection so far. This foundation contains 1 fl oz, which is the average for any foundation. The container is extremely breakable (as I learned by smashing a bottle open at the drug store by accident). 

Natural Lighting

As it turned out, this foundation is pretty much perfect for the winter months! There really isn't anything bad I can say about it. It's quite moisturizing, which is something that the L'Oreal True Match Lumi doesn't have. It's about medium to high coverage, making your skin look flawless. It's light enough so that you can't even feel it, and looks relatively natural. This is definitely a great foundation to take photos in. 

With Flash

The only slight criticism I have about the actual foundation, is that you have to blend extremely well underneath your eyes so it doesn't crease, as you can see above. I would recommend this foundation to anyone with normal to dry skin, of any age. This will most likely be my go to foundation for the rest of the winter! I love it!

Hope you had a great weekend! xx

Review: L'Oreal True Match Lumi Foundation

         I initially bought this foundation because I knew my beloved Bourjois Healthy Mix Gel Serum Foundation was going to run out soon, and I am still looking for a more affordable alternative that I love just as much. So when I saw the L'Oreal True Match Lumi Foundation for $16.99, I thought it seemed quite similar and I decided to give it a go. Like the Healthy Mix Gel Serum Foundation, it creates healthier looking skin the more you use it. On the L'Oreal Paris website, they state that it contains 40% water, so it's very light weight and hydrating. It also contains antioxidants and vitamins C and E, which are both extremely beneficial for your skin. It contains Anderson Fluid as well (which I've never heard of) for the instant luminous, glowing effect. I actually cannot find what Anderson Fluid is anywhere online, so if anyone knows, please let me know! It also contains SPF 20 and lasts for 8 hours!

Left: Bourjois Healthy Mix Gel Serum Foundation in 51 Vanille Clair, Right: L'Oreal True Match Lumi Foundation in Porcelain/Light Ivory

I picked this foundation up in the shade porcelain/light ivory, which is the lightest shade they make. It comes in 14 shades, so you get to choose from a decent colour selection. It contains the 30 ml or 1 fl oz which is typically of most foundations. As you can see from the picture above, when compared to the Bourjois Healthy Mix Gel Serum Foundation in 51 Vanille Clair it is a little bit thicker and is a slightly different colour. This particular shade (Porcelain/Light Ivory) does have a warm undertone and the Healthy Mix Foundation has a fairly neutral undertone, so it is likely that the same shade would still work for you. despite your undertone.

I was somewhat surprised to find that I really do like this foundation! It does give an instant luminous effect, which I wasn't really expecting despite what's on the bottle. It's about medium coverage with one layer (which I just applied with my fingers, as usual) and really makes your skin look flawless. The colour was also a perfect match for me, which is always nice to find when you don't test out the foundation at the store! The only complaint that I have about this foundation, is that even though it claims that it is quite moisturizing, it accentuated any dry spots that I did have on my face. So I would recommend making sure your face is well moisturized and exfoliated before applying this foundation. I suppose it's because I'm now used to a gel foundation, which glides over any dry areas and does not accentuate them by any means. Overall, I was really impressed with this foundation, and give it a 4.5/5 for price, the skin care benefits, the light weight effect and the perfect colour match!

HOPE YOU'RE HAVING A GREAT DAY! xx

First Impression Review: Covergirl Clean Whipped Creme Foundation

         It was hard for me to accept that I may actually have to switch up my foundation routine for the winter, as I'm obsessed with my Bourjois Healthy Mix Gel Serum Foundation. However, unless I use a super heavy face cream underneath, I'm starting to get dry patches around my cheeks and nose. So instead of spending another $30 on a foundation that I'm not sure I would like, I went to the drugstore and looked for something more affordable that was meant to be moisturizing.

I found a few possible contenders, but decided on Covergirl's Clean Whipped Creme Foundation. I could tell just by looking at it that it was a good colour match for me. This is the lightest shade, in 305 Ivory. It's usually safe to go for the lightest colour for my skin, although there have been a few exceptions to that. I am 3 shades down in Revlon's Nearly Naked Foundation, which is fantastic, especially for the price. And then at times the lightest shade looks way too orange on me.

This foundation is super thick in consistency, therefore it's easy to achieve high coverage. It's meant to be perfect for winter, as it gives your skin a boost of moisture without a shiny, greasy finish. According to covergirl.com, it will make your skin look smooth, natural and matte. It comes in 10 shades, which is a decent selection, but only contains 0.6 fl oz as opposed to the usual 1 fl oz that's fairly standard in foundations.

Bed Head!

While applying this foundation, I noticed right away that it was incredibly smooth, light and matched my skin tone flawlessly. I started in the areas where my pores tend to appear the largest.

The only breakouts I really have right now are around my chin, so I made sure to apply generously around this area. To see if the coverage was buildable, I applied two coats on my entire face with my fingertips, which is how I apply all my foundations.

This is the finished product! As you can tell, I had already applied the rest of my usual makeup. And what do I think of the result? .........Sigh. Here's the problem. Although I definitely found it to be hydrating, that was one of the only things I liked about it. Although I blended and blended with my fingertips, I found that it was hard to get it to sink into my skin. Also, it really washed my face out. I don't feel like using a slightly darker colour would have corrected this, because this shade is 100% my colour, any other colour would have looked unnatural on me. I also did not find that this photographed well on me. I didn't include a picture with just the foundation on on purpose, because I looked SO washed out. It does give a flawless finish, but the two coats I applied definitely did not let my natural skin tone shine through.

Overall, if I had only applied one coat I may have liked it better, but I think this would be a great foundation for anyone with a darker skin tone than me. I purchased this on sale for $5.99, so it's definitely a great price for what you get. So unfortunately, unless my skin is having an exceptionally dry day, I am going to go back to my Bourjois for now!

I give this foundation a 3/5 for the exact colour match, the very reasonable price, the superb hydration and the smooth texture!

THANKS FOR READING! xx

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation Review/Before and After!

I absolutely love this foundation! I would have to say that this is my all time favourite. The Healthy Mix Serum Foundation by Bourjois is actually a radiance boosting gel foundation that is meant to last for 16 hours. It is a semi-matte, buildable light to medium coverage foundation, that includes the "fruit therapy" of lychee, goji berries and pomegranate. The shade that I have is 51 light vanilla, which is the lightest shade they make. This foundation contains one fl oz, which is average for any foundation. I purchased this for $27.99 from Shoppers Drug Mart.

For the sake of the "before shot" for this post, I am going to do something I've never done before...post pictures of myself completely without makeup! My skin is actually quite bad right now compared to how it normally is, but that's okay!

BEFORE

So here is my skin without a drop of makeup and some light moisturizer!

As you can see here, at the moment I have texture in my skin, some discolouration and some full on zits. Not the best time for me skin wise! 

AFTER:

Although not perfect, my skin is more even, I look awake and alert and the colour blends perfectly into my skin. This is without any concealer, or any setting powder over top. I applied one layer over my entire face with my fingertips, and one more layer over my problem areas (cheeks, chin, forehead). This foundation is perfect for under your eyes to take care of any light discolouration without the need for concealer at all. I would not recommend this foundation to anyone that's looking for full coverage, but for skin like mine it could not be more perfect. Gel foundations do tend to be slightly more moisturizing, which is great for combination skin in the wintertime. Overall, fantastic product and will definitely be repurchasing!

Hope you're all having an amazing weekend!