Its now late Spring and I wanted to make an updated post to mention the latest and greatest from the world of cosmetics. It has been a great year for cosmetics and I will start with the basics:
Foundation
I have tried many foundations over time, at times approaching it almost as a job. I have had makeovers, talked with beauty artists, and tried many different samples in pursuit of the best foundations. Within the past year there has been released a new foundation which, in my opinion, is the greatest foundation ever created by human beings: Diorskin Star.
There are several things that make Diorskin Star great: First, there is the texture of it. In this age of new slick-style foundations which are increasing in popularity, and the more old-school creamier ones, Diorskin star is in the light side but not as fluidy and slippery as the slick-style ones. But what is really amazing about Diorskin Star is that, even when only a little bit is applied (I usually only need to use just one pump which is about the size of a small marble), the coverage is excellent. And the application is excellent, meaning that once it is on the fingers that little marble-sized amount spreads quite easily and evenly over the entire face. In fact, I prefer to use my fingers to apply Diorskin Star, as opposed to many other foundations where I feel a brush is really needed to get the even dispersal over the skin and adequate coverage.
Second (or is this third or fourth?) is the way Diorskin Star lasts. As far as any cosmetic product goes, Diorskin Star’s lasting ability is excellent. After wearing it over 10 hours during a day which often may include some periods of high-cardio activity, it still looks flawless on the skin. It does not break down, as is the case with quite a lot of foundations, with sweat or salt from the skin.
One thing I will say: When it is first applied, especially if you are more used to matte-finish foundations or low-luminosity ones, is that the luminosity of Diorskin Star may seem a bit too intense. But wait a few minutes. After it is applied it sort of sets over a few minutes.
If you want to go for all-out lasting ability I recommend spraying a fine misting of Makeup For Ever’s Mist & Fix on your face when you are done applying makeup. I have used Mist & Fix during some of the most intense events – such as outdoor dance events when it was hot and very sweaty – and can only say that Mist & Fix, combined with high-grade professional cosmetic products, is astounding in its ability to retain a fresh, just-applied makeup look. Be advised that Mist & Fix will up the luminosity of your makeup a little bit but mostly this is a positive thing.
Moving on, I would like to mention now another really excellent product I’ve been using and loving lately: Chanel’s CC Cream. Again, over time I have tried many BB creams, tinted moisturizers, and the like but I feel that Chanel’s CC Cream is a step above all the rest. The coverage is excellent and just as with Diorskin Star its lasting ability is excellent with no breakdown from high cardio/sweat/salt/etc. I am now at a point where I use Diorskin Star most days but alternate a lot with Chanel’s CC Cream as my two main foundational products.
Concealer
There has for me been a clear-cut leader in concealers for a while now, with no real change. It is Chanel’s Correcteur Perfection, in particular shade 31 beige rose which, for my almost exactly beige/medium skin (shade 21 with Dior and 30 for Chanel) might not seem the right shade but – actually it is exactly the right shade for correcting the dark areas around the lower inner-corners of my eyes. Correcteur Perfection is the exactly right consistency between being creamy and fluidy and being pasty. I dab some on the below the lower, inner corners of my eyes and use my fingers to make one sweep across and under the eyes and it covers almost perfectly.
For added or alternate coverage I use Bobbi Brown’s Corrector in light peach shade and their Creamy Concealer Kit duo in beige/pale yellow. This latter product is also the perfect one for any general corrections to my skin and sometimes the coverage effect on blemishes amazes me. I know you are supposed to follow up the application of the cream concealer with the powder every time but honestly I skip the powder often, particularly under my eyes where in all likelihood I am going to be applying some kind of highlighter later at least partially over where the concealer is.
Highlighter
Which brings me to another product that is amazing and falls somewhere between a type of concealer and a highlighter. This is Dior’s Skinflash Radiance Booster Pen (in shade 002 for my skin). After foundation and concealer, and usually also after contouring (although I will be covering contouring later), I apply a 3 cm dab of Skinflash horizontally about 3-4 cm beneath each eye, then use a liquid foundation brush to disperse it in a band from below the lash line down about an inch and across to or past the outer corners of the eyes. I may also apply a little bit to other areas that are classically highlighted such as the bridge of the nose and above the eyebrows. It has an intense, lightening effect which can really make one look youthful and fresh.
And the final highlighting product I will mention – again this would be a final product that goes on last after foundation, concealing, and contouring – is a product I really love: Dior’s Glow Maximizer. I had to dig around for the link on Dior’s site because they list it under primers and it can be used like a primer, underneath a foundation, to give it more luminosity. But my favorite use of Glow Maximizer by far is as a highlighter. I have one special small powder brush that is just the right texture to apply dabs of Glow Maximizer as a highlighter in the usual area for highlighting: the upper cheekbone area, and also sometimes a dab on the cherries of the cheeks for an extra-fresh effect.
I will wrap this post up here. Next time I will cover some of the amazing, excellent products for contouring, and then there will be the vast topic of eyes and also lips to cover.
Ciao for now!
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