Trying Aprilskin Perfect Magic Cover Dual Cushion - first impression and wear test

Hey gorgeous, welcome back to my blog

In today's post, I'll be trying out the AprilSkin Perfect Magic Cover Dual Cushion foundation and this is the first time I'm using an AprilSkin product (yes, I just came out from a mountain cave) so I'm really excited. Not gonna lie, I'm not a big fan of cushion foundations because they are usually a tad too dewy for my oily skin so as much as I'm excited about trying something new, I'm equally worried that my face will be too oily after awhile. So without further ado, let's get started!

Firstly let's talk about the packaging. I kinda like the colour combination of black and red as it looks really classy and expensive. However it is a little bulky in my opinion since it is a 2 in 1 product hence making it a tad troublesome to bring around.

I got mine in the shade no.21 and it's a perfect match for my skin tone.

Here's me after applying a thin layer on the right side of the face. I would say the coverage is pretty good and it feels really lightweight on the skin. It is also not tacky to the touch.

And after going for another layer, my dark circle is pretty much concealed so are the pores and acne scars.

Since I'm gonna do a review on the foundation as well as the matte powder, I thought I should try the foundation first, without the matte powder and see how the foundation fares on my oily skin.
After a good ten hours, my face became a hot mess, especially at the area around my nose. Foundation was very chalky and face was super greasy which meant the foundation failed the wear test, without the matte powder.

The very next day, I went for the same foundation but this time with the matte powder to see if my makeup will look better towards the end of the day. I focused the matte powder only on the area where my face is the oiliest, i.e. the nose area as well as the forehead.
After a good twelve hours of wearing the foundation with the matte powder, my makeup pretty much stayed the same as when I first put it on.

So in conclusion, the AprilSkin Perfect Magic Cover Dual Cushion only works for oily skin if we use it as a whole. For dry skin, i think this foundation still works for you because it is not drying or too mattifying even with the matte powder. The finish is more of a natural skin like finishing with good oil control power. Overall I think this is a pretty good foundation and setting powder set but definitely not my favourite one and honestly I don't foresee myself reaching out for it anytime soon. And in fact, right after I tried and tested this foundation, I immediately saw two small pimples on my face so I'm guessing this foundation broke me out. Not the worst that I've tried, but definitely not the best as well.

And that's all I have for this post, I hope you've enjoyed reading it. Please follow if you haven't already and I'll see you in my next post, xoxo.

Trying Sephora Collection Matte Perfection Stick Foundation & Concealer - First Impression + Wear Test

Hey gorgeous, welcome back to my blog!

So in today's post, I'll be trying out the Sephora Collection Matte Perfection Stick Foundation & Concealer, giving you my first impression of it as well as my review after the wear test. If you are keen to find out more, keep on reading!

The Sephora Collection Matte Perfection Stick Foundation & Concealer claims to be a true 2-in-1 must have tool for a flawless complexion under any circumstances. It can be used as a foundation to even out the complexion or as a concealer to cover undereye circles and other imperfections. I was really intrigued by the claims because it did sound like a very handy and convenient foundation to me. Moreover it also claims to give a semi matte finish which is what a combination oily skin type person like me is looking for.

I chose shade 20 cream (the third lightest shade in the range) which has a warm under tone and it matches my skin tone perfectly. It has a creamy texture and it glides smoothly on the skin making it easy to blend and apply.

Bare face look

Right side done with one layer of the foundation 

A little goes a very long way for this stick foundation. The coverage of this foundation is really good as it was able to conceal the acne I had on the right side of my face as well as my dark circle with just one thin layer of the product. It did however feel a little heavy on the skin but with that high amount of coverage, I was able to look past that. It also did not feel tacky at all and that meant I didn't have to set my face with any setting powder. I feel that this can be a good foundation if you have very oily skin because it is a little drying in my opinion and I noticed that the foundation did not sit well on the area around my lips which happens to be the dryest part of my face. In fact, the skin around the lips started peeling off few minutes after I applied the foundation. So if you have very dry skin, I would suggest to avoid this foundation at all cost.

Since the foundation claims to act as a concealer as well, I went ahead to put on a second layer, targeting only on the areas that I wanted to conceal, i.e. my dark circle and acne. The foundation is very buildable as I was able to blend out the second layer easily and the coverage improved a little more. However I noticed that the product set into my undereye fine lines as I was trying to blend it out and the second layer looked a little more drying than the first. Overall, it did give a matte finish and my face felt really smooth so I really kinda like it.

As for the wear test result, after a good ten hours of wearing the Sephora Collection Matte Perfection Stick Foundation & Concealer, my face looked exactly like when I first put on makeup ten hours ago. No shine on my face, except a little bit on the nose but otherwise it is very good at controlling oil. There was no cakeyness on the face at all too and the coverage was still as high. Got to say I am really impressed with this stick foundation as it turns out to be a very long lasting one. This stick foundation is retailing at $26 which I think is pretty affordable considering that other foundations retailing at Sephora are way more expensive and guess what, black Friday sale is just around the corner so hurry up and take this opportunity to try new foundation! If you have oily skin, then do consider getting this Sephora Collection stick foundation for that flawless, matte look.

And that's all I have for this post. I hope you've enjoyed reading it. Please follow me if you haven't already and I'll see you in my next post, xoxo.

NEW Urban Decay Stay Naked Weightless Liquid Foundation First Impression + Wear Test

Hey gorgeous, welcome back to my blog!

In today's post, I'll be doing another foundation first impression as well as wear test and the foundation I'll be reviewing is the new Urban Decay Stay Naked Weightless Liquid Foundation. I've read many negative reviews on this foundation online so I got really curious and I really wanna find out if it's really that bad. If you are curious like me, keep on reading!

First and foremost, let's find out what this Urban Decay foundation claims to be. On the Sephora website, this Stay Naked Weightless Liquid Foundation claims to be a 24hr long wear liquid foundation that gives not only a real-skin matte finish, but it even looks better with its stay-true colour, which minimises the appearance of pores and does not transfer. It also claims to feel like second skin, all thanks to its breathable and flexible formula that moves with you. Well it sounds pretty good to me and since it gives a matte finish, I think it is perhaps a good foundation for oily skin.

So let's take a look at the packaging first. I must say, I kinda like the sleek bottle packaging that this foundation comes in. It also comes with a pump and a rose gold cap which gives it a classy look. The only thing is, fingerprints get stained on the cap very easily thus you've got to wipe it after every use.

As for the shade, Sephora has a guide to the shade selection on its website as per the photo below.

From Sephora website

I got mine in the shade 20CP, 20 being the lightest shade, in cool pink tone. Like I mentioned in my precious foundation review posts, I prefer foundation with cool pink undertone because as an Asian, I already have yellowish skin tone so I prefer pink undertone foundation to brighten my skin tone instead. 

The shade is slightly lighter than my original skin colour but with oxidation and bronzer, this will work. The foundation has a very watery consistency which is what attributes to its weightlessness I guess. But to my surprise, even though it is very watery, it also dries up really quickly. For this foundation, you really got to work it slowly, a little amount at a time to prevent it from drying.

As for the coverage, I think it does have a pretty good coverage. With just a small pump, I was able to cover 70% of my dark circles as well as my acne scars.

The coverage is very buildable as well so after putting on another layer of the foundation, my dark circles are almost 100% covered. It does have a skin like finish and I would say it is slightly tacky so this is definitely a foundation that requires to set.

Photo taken in natural lighting

After 12 hours:

The longevity of the foundation is pretty impressive. Most of my foundation stayed intact after 12 hours of wearing it and I didn't notice any shine or oiliness on my face except for the nose which was a little shinier on the tip and it did seem like such of the foundation was gone already. But the rest of the face still looked as good so I am pretty impressed with this foundation.

All in all, I think this new Urban Decay Stay Naked Weightless Liquid Foundation is a good foundation if you have oily skin because it is honestly quite drying and it does have a pretty matte, skin like finish. The coverage is in my opinion, medium to high and the longevity of the foundation is good, if you have oily skin. But if you have dry skin and would still like to give this foundation a try, I would suggest that you use a very foot moisturising primer before going into this foundation. And do remember to work it slowly on your face because it really dries up quickly.

And that's all I have for this first impression of the new Urban Decay Stay Naked Weightless Liquid Foundation. I hope you have a good time reading it. Please follow me if you haven't already and I'll see you in my next post, xoxo.

Flormar Perfect Coverage Foundation First Impression + Wear Test

Hey gorgeous, welcome back to my blog!

So in today's post, I'll be doing another foundation first impression as well as wear test and the product that I'm testing out today is none other than the Flormar Perfect Coverage Foundation! As previously mentioned, our very local drugstore Guardian had recently brought in this Italian drugstore makeup brand and I was very intrigued by its friendly price tag and so I decided to try out their liquid foundation.

As you know, I love a foundation with good coverage and so when I saw this Perfect Coverage Foundation, I knew I had to get it. It claims to provide a fresh looking makeup to up to 12 hours, helping the skin looks smooth and protect the skin from harmful UV rays with SPF 15 in its formula. Aside from the SPF, it also has almond oil and olive oil extracts in its formula, giving us a healthy looking skin. Sounds amazing!

The packing of this foundation is pretty simple, with an acrylic bottle and a pump. It feels really solid but slightly heavy to bring around. I think i got it from Guardian at $18.90 but I cannot really remember the exact amount and it's also not available on their website. You can only get this brand in the physical Guardian stores and so far I know PS and Funan IT Mall outlets have it.

I got mine in the shade Classic Ivory and I found that it has a really pinkish undertone which I don't mind because it helps brighten up my skin.

The foundation has a really creamy texture and it does seem a little hard to blend, in my opinion. And it has a really strong powdery smell to it and I hate it. I actually teared a lot while applying this foundation and I was quite sure it's because of the smell. If you are unable to handle strong fragrance, then this is one foundation you should avoid at all cost.

So like my other foundation first impression and wear test, I'll be doing my right face first with a brush to compare the before and after effect.

In the picture above, my right face was visibly brighter and less dull as compared to the left face. And my dark circles were more or less covered so I would definitely agree that this foundation has got a good coverage. But it definitely felt a little heavy on the skin and it was also very tacky to the touch. It is also slightly dry in my opinion and I did notice that the area around my mouth got a little cakey.

And as for the left side of the face, I applied the foundation with a beauty blender. I must say, I prefer the beauty blender application to the foundation brush one. In terms of coverage I think they are both equally good but in terms of the finishing, the side with the beauty blender application felt more lightweight and less tacky as compared to the right side with the brush application. So for this foundation, I recommend going with a makeup sponge or beauty blender for a satin finish. And because this foundation is so tacky, I had to set it with a powder and the powder that I used was the IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Pores pressed powder as I didn't want to go with anything that's mattifying or anything that will affect the foundation's longeivity.

So with that, full face makeup was completed and I was ready to go out to run some errands in the warm weather as usual.

Okay gorgeous, the above photos were taken after a good long 12 hours of wearing the Flormar Perfect Coverage Foundation. The coverage was more or less still there but I did notice that my nose was exceptionally shiny. The foundation around my nose and mouth area was mostly gone but I believe it was because I had 2 full meals in the day and I probably wiped them off unknowingly. I think the foundation did a pretty decent job in my opinion and it did manage to last 12 hours, as per its claim. I do feel that this is one foundation that is suitable for normal skin because like I mentioned earlier, it definitely felt a little dry when I was applying it but then throughout the day, my T Zone got a little shinnier so I really don't know what's in the formula. If you have dry skin, definitely go with a moisturising primer before using this and if you have oily skin like me, make sure you set it down properly and if possible, go with a mattifying primer.

So all in all, I would say this Flormar Perfect Coverage Foundation is pretty average, and it is probably not a foundation that I would reach for in my collection. I really couldn't quite take the smell and I think there are much better drugstore foundations out there with the same effects. So this is a meh for me.

Alright, that's all I have for this post. I hope you have enjoyed reading it. Please follow me if you haven't already and I'll see you in my next post, xoxo.

Revlon Photoready Candid Foundation + Concealer + Loose Powder First Impression & Wear Test

Hey gorgeous, welcome back to my blog!

So in today's post, I'll be trying the Revlon Photoready Candid collection, mainly the foundation, concealer and the loose powder. And as usual, I'll give my first impression as well as wear test review for this Revlon Photoready Candid collection. If you are curious to find out more, keep on reading!

Let's start off with the Revlon Photoready Candid Natural Finish Anti-Pollution Foundation. This foundation claims to be skin enhancing, natural looking and it is able to deliver a flawless finish all day long while hydrating. It also consists of anti pollution, anti oxidant and anti blue light ingredients to protect your skin while making you feel better without oils, parabens, phthalates, synthetic dyes and harsh fragrances. There are a total of 31 shades and I believe our local drugstore Guardian and Watsons are carrying 6 shades at the moment. It is retailing at $27.90 for 22ml of product which I think is quite reasonable for a foundation.

For the packaging, I really like it is in a plastic tube, which is so light and easy to bring around. And it also happens to come with a pump, which is awesome.

I got mine in shade 110 which I'm not gonna lie, it's a tad too light for me but for foundation, I usually like to go a little lighter just in case it oxidises and I usually will put on more bronzer to bronze up my face if the foundation happens to be too light, so no big deal.
I also noticed that the foundation has a little scent to it, but the scent is very bearable and it doesn't last throughout the day. For this wear test, I did something different from my previous wear test. I was using a foundation brush to apply on the right side of my face and a normal makeup sponge to apply on the left side of my face so I can review which is a better application in my opinion.

I was done with the right side application with a brush in the photo above and I think the foundation definitely has got low to medium coverage. Most of my flaws were still quite visible and I would say that my dark circles were only 50% covered. Not as good as I thought for its coverage but it does have a natural, satin finish that is not matte nor dewy and I kinda like this finish. It is also not tacky in my opinion which is good because you don't have to set it if you're feeling lazy.

And for the left side of my face, I used a makeup sponge to apply. Not sure if you can tell from the photo above but I think the coverage was worse than using the brush. My dark circle was much more prominent on the left where I used a sponge whereas it is more concealed on the right where I used a brush. So for higher coverage, I would suggest to apply with brush instead for this foundation.

All in all, I think the foundation is not too bad, the coverage is definitely buildable in my opinion and it is suitable for days when you just want a "my skin but better, no makeup makeup look". And I actually think that this foundation will suit all skin types. It is not drying or matte and it is also not greasy or shiny on the face so I think it will work well with dry to oily skin.

Next up we have the Photoready Candid Antioxidant Concealer and it comes in the exact packaging as the foundation with an unique applicator that's almost flat instead of a pump. It is retailing at $20.90 in Guardian and there's a total of 3 shades for you to choose from. I got mine in shade 005 Fair and I think it matches my skin colour well.

The concealer is very creamy, almost a little tacky when you first applied it but it blended so well that it almost looked like my skin but better. I wouldn't say it's very high coverage but definitely enough to cover up the flaws. It also didn't crease under the eye or set into my fine lines. I think i actually really quite like this concealer.

Lastly, we have got the Photoready Candid Anti Pollution Setting Powder which is retailing at $25.90 for a 15g product in all Guardian and Watsons outlets.

Again really love the packaging and it also comes with a plastic stopper to reduce wastage and messiness. I got mine in shade 001 which is also the lightest out of the 3 shades available in Guardian. I like that the powder really sets down my makeup, making my face so smooth and flawless, without looking dry. It is really lightweight and not cakey at all. I really do like this as well! Let's see how well this base makeup will fare after long hours of wearing!

And that's how my face looked like after 13 hours of wearing the makeup! No cakeyness, no grease or shine, no dry patch and my makeup pretty much stayed intact and looked exactly as when I first applied. I am really impressed with this Revlon Photoready Candid collection and I highly recommend everyone to try them out!

And that's all I have for this post. I hope you've enjoyed reading it. Please follow me if you haven't already and I'll see you in my next post, xoxo.