Make Up For Ever | Page 2 of 13

MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Pressed Powder

April 15, 2014 6 Comments

I have never been a fan of setting powders, especially ones that were white. For instance, I always steered clear of the MAKE UP FOR EVER microfinish powder because I just found it a little messy since it was loose. I’m clumsy. I foresaw myself dropping it on the floor in the mornings, even if there was little holes jabbed into the top to prevent that from happening. That, and I felt that it always gave me a bit of a chalky finish under certain lighting. Jeeze, this doesn’t sound like a very good way to start a review, does it?

Always being honest. You guys know how much I like to be transparent and blunt with you. If I ever used a setting powder, it was Laura Mercier’s mineral pressed powder in a nice yellow tone.

When I had my consult at the MAKE UP FOR EVER Boutique in Valley Fair Mall, I mentioned my concerns to Tobey the make up artist. Low and behold I have been using the product incorrectly the entire time. Gah!

MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Pressed Powder

Either way, I’m sticking to my guns. I’m not going to purchase a loose powdered product, I prefer the solid products in a compact pan. MAKE UP FOR EVER has reinvented their finishing translucent powder and came out with the HD pressed powder. A nice little additive to the new product is that it contains hyaluronic acid. It’s a skin care ingredient that keeps your face hydrated and of course keeps your face from looking dry or patchy.

How to use MAKE UP FOR EVER HD pressed powder

When Tobey used the high definition pressed powder on my face to finish my make up look, I felt like my skin was flawless. I thought it was because she’s the make up artist and could make anyone look good. But I tried it at home, and I can make myself look pretty darn fancy too, if I took the time to apply it correctly. You can’t just swirl the brush around in the product and apply directly to the face. Swirl the brush into the product lightly, then smoosh the bristles either into the back of your hand or the mirror in the compact. Once you see barely any powder residue on the brush, then apply to your face ever so lightly. You don’t need much. I use this little kabuki brush shown above.

Why you should use a setting powder

Using a product like the MAKE UP FOR EVER high definition pressed powder sets your foundation and prevents it from wearing and sliding off your face in an hour or two. The powder gives you a flawless finish. Tobey applied the product on one side of my face and not the other so I could truly see a difference. I’m not easily wow’ed by a product, but this combined with their Face and Body foundation definitely took me back. I’m sold. She also applied it to my under eye concealer, and I’m not normally a fan of this since powders like to creep into the fine lines, but it didn’tÂ â€” in fact on the side that didn’t have it was sliding off.

How it looks on camera

Here I am, taking a selfie with and without the flash to prove that you this powder doesn’t produce a white cast to your skin on camera.

Then an extreme close up of my face. On the (your) left I applied the HD pressed powder. On the right, bare bones. You can see that the HD powder does look a little more flawless on the skin, right?

While I probably won’t wear this every day since it’s an added step into my already very simple beauty routine, I’ll be wearing it if I know I want my make up to last longer than a few hours.

Find MAKE UP FOR EVER HD pressed powder for $26 USD / $41 CDN at Sephora or MAKE UP FOR EVER boutiques.

Disclaimer, I received the HD pressed powder from MAKE UP FOR EVER. Opinions are my own.

Beauty, Photos, Reviews

MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Blush

April 7, 2014 No Comments

MAKE UP FOR EVER has a new line of blushes out, and if you haven’t already heardÂ â€” they’re pretty wonderful. The HD blush is a great little product that just blends so seamlessly onto your cheeks. It gives a natural finish to your make up and comes in 16 colourful and natural shades.

How to apply cream blush

I apply cream blush with my ring fingers, and then finish off the whole look by blending the edges of the blush in with my 158 brush. Note that I only use liquid foundation. However due to the new formulation of the HD Blush by MAKE UP FOR EVER, it works equally as well over powder foundation without lifting the foundation off your face. I have no idea how. To keep the blush from fading, it’s always nice to apply a very light layer of setting powder over the areas you’re concerned about.

Why I use cream blush

First of all, I find cream blush much easier to work with, and it adds moisture to my face. I have dry skin, so I prefer a more luminous dewy type of look to the make-up when I tend to wear it. It works well for me, and doesn’t accentuate any dryness I may have on my face.

During and after using MAKE UP FOR EVER HD blush

Here I am applying the universal shade (seriously, apparently it works on any skin tone) in 410 Coral.Above, I’m blending out the edges with the 158 double ended sculpting brush.

There are tons of different ways to wear blush. Here are some suggestions from MAKE UP FOR EVER. I go for the classic look. (Click to enlarge image)

Find MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Blush for $36 USD / $31 CDN at Sephora or MAKE UP FOR EVER boutiques.

Disclaimer, I received the HD blush from MAKE UP FOR EVER. Opinions are my own.

Beauty, Daily, Hair, Photos

Makin’ friends at MAKE UP FOR EVER

March 28, 2014 4 Comments

Tuesday morning I made my way over to Valley Fair Mall in Santa Clara. After being there a handful of times since moving to NorCal, I knew this would be the mall I’d probably frequent more often than the others around my area. This mall reminds me of something you’d see in Toronto’s Yorkville area. It was up scale on one end of the mall, and the other end had regular mall stores like J.Crew, Sephora, Nordstrom, and an amazing free standing MAKE UP FOR EVER store.

Since I’ve been working with the Canadian team the past few years, I was e-introduced from my Canadian contacts to the American side of things. A consultation was made for me and I headed into the store to talk a bit more, and meet my new buddies, face-to-face.

So that’s what I did! Talk about a sweat-fest. I get intimidated easily, and then resort to being introverted and shy. I was a little nervous going in, but I did it and it wasn’t awkward, or frightening in the least. I had so much fun.

I plunked my toosh down into one of these chairs and little did I realize, we had such a blast playing with make-up and learning a few new beauty tips, I was there for over two hours! I guess that’s what happens when you put a few gals interested in make up together in a room.

Just because I work with certain brands, doesn’t mean that I love everything they have to offer. I like to be transparent and tell you (or anyone for that matter) what I think. When I went for my consultation with Tobey, we talked about doing a complete makeup look. I notified her that I wasn’t a fan of the Mat Velvet+, or the HD foundation that everyone seems to use and love. Both are too matte looking on my already dry face, and offer full coverage which I don’t need, nor strive for. I knew the consistency of MAKE UP FOR EVER’s face and body was very water based, and had a medium coverage.Â Troy Jensen, told me to try that when he came to Sephora at the Toronto Eaton Centre last fall. My local Sephora in Kitchener-Waterloo didn’t carry it, so I never really got the chance to try it out.

Tobey used it on my face and I loved it immediately. You know how some foundations you really need blush, or bronzer to give your skin some depth, otherwise you’d look all flat? This foundation didn’t. Needless to say, we didn’t stop there.

Next up was the new HD blush. I picked out this colour because I knew already I had the universal colour in shade 410 Coral to play with when I got home. I don’t remember the name of this shade, but I can find out if anyone is interested!

The final look (left) was definitely a lot more make up than I was used to wearing, especially with lip liner. I’m not entirely sure I’d wear a liner because quite honestly it just takes up too much time and you need to be precise. I didn’t love the look of the liner but it was sure fun to play with the make up for a while! On the right, I’m still wearing everything but the lip products. Tobey also filled in my eyebrows which I LOVED. Emphasis needed. They looked fuller, and very natural. Can you even tell they’re done? I can’t.Â The Guy couldn’t either. He did make one comment though which confused me. “I don’t like those hooks”. Uh. What? I had no idea what he was talking aboutÂ â€” at first I thought he meant my eyebrows, but he was talking about the winged eyeliner. Ha ha!

Face:
HD Primer, MAKE UP FOR EVER
Face and Body Foundation, MAKE UP FOR EVER
(for under eye) HD Concealer, MAKE UP FOR EVER
(for face) Full Cover Concealer, MAKE UP FOR EVER
Mat Bronze, MAKE UP FOR EVER
Pro finish , MAKE UP FOR EVER
HD Blush, MAKE UP FOR EVER
Luminizer, MAKE UP FOR EVER
HD pressed powder, MAKE UP FOR EVER

Â Eyes:
Mascara, Buxom
Aqua Creamliner, MAKE UP FOR EVER
Aqua Brow, MAKE UP FOR EVER

Lips:
Lipstick, MAKE UP FOR EVER
Aqua Lip Liner, MAKE UP FOR EVER

At the moment I’m rotating and sometimes using three foundations in the run of a day: EstÃ©e Lauder Double Wear, Dior Hydra Life BB cream and DiorSkin Nude BB Cream. I’ll be adding this as my fourth in rotation (or mixing in with them all) in my make up routine.

I headed home with this amazing generous goody bag that the NYC head office sent down to me. Whoa! I’ve been playing with it all the last couple of days.

I can’t wait to head back there in April. They’re launching an eyebrow bar inside the MAKE UP FOR EVER store. While I do have nicely shaped brows, they could definitely use a little help to thicken them up and open my eyes a bit.

I don’t recall if this is the only lash bar in the USA at a MAKE UP FOR EVER boutique, or if there’s just a handful. Either way, I’m stoked that it’s at a location not terribly far from where I am. I haven’t tried my take at applying false eyelashes before. I’m a little intimidated by them because I know I’ll put them on sideways. But I did have fun playing with the wands, and seeing what ones looked fun, or just easy-to-wear natural.