Top Wintery Foundations | Makeup-Pixi3 Guest Post

Hello everyone!  Meg has very kindly let me take over her cute little corner of the web for today and do a little guest post for you :)  Just a little bit about me, my name is Georgina, I've been blogging for about a year now over at Makeup-Pixi3 and I've been doing YouTube video's for just over a year (you can find links to those at the bottom of this post).  I've always been beauty focused but I like throwing in the odd lifestyle post in the mix too :)  I love cats, polka dots and coffee, I dislike spiders, rude people and the rain.  Well, that's enough about me, lets get on with the show!

L-R YSL Touche Eclat Teint (shade BR30), Revlon Colourstay (shade 110 Ivory) and Dr Jart+ Regenerating BB Cream.

YSL Touche Eclat Teint Foundation

This is probably my favourite foundation right now, I've been using it for about... 3 months and it's my go-to foundation, I pretty much use it every day.  The reason why I feel this one is perfect for the wintery season, is because it feels quite hydrating on the skin, not drying at all (unlike my experience of Double Wear!).  It lasts really well, especially if you use a setting powder over the top of it and keeps your skin looking radiant even during these months where skin tends to look tired and a bit battered by the wind.

Essentials: Light coverage, £27 a bottle, only need 1 pump to do your makeup.  *****

Revlon Colourstay Foundation

I haven't had this one that long, perhaps... a month at most.  But, I've really grown to like it.  It'll give you medium coverage, which is buildable to heavy if you so wish.  It will hide a multitude of sins that lurk too and comes in at less than half the price of the YSL foundation.  It'll last you well throughout the day and shouldn't need any touching up.  I'd held back from buying this as I think it's quite expensive for a high street/drugstore foundation, it's around £12, but I got it on a 3 for 2 offer so it really wasn't that bad, and I'm really glad I did purchase it.  It's a great product and perfect for the winter, especially for every day wear.

Essentials: Medium (buildable to heavy) coverage, £12, no pump action ****

Dr Jart+ Regenerating BB Cream

If you read my blog at all, you'll have probably seen me rave about this quite a bit, and it appear in some favourites videos.  Lots of people tend to favour BB creams for summer months due to their SPF addition, but you can get as much harm from the sun in the winter, even though you won't necessary get a tan etc, the harmful rays are still there, so it's still important to protect your skin.  For me, this is also great for the winter as it's super hydrating, offers really good coverage, I'd go so far as to say, medium coverage.

Essentials: Medium coverage, £21, great SPF coverage ****

Well they're my picks, I hope you enjoyed my little post :)  If you'd like to check out my blog and YouTube etc, you can find me here:

Blog: Makeup-Pixi3

YouTube: Makeup-Pixi3

Twitter: @twinklinpixi3

Thanks again to Meg for having me over too :)

Georgina / Pixi3

While Megs is away | The Perfect Base Guest Post | Lil Miss Chickas

Next up on the 'Guest Blogging' list is the scrummy Charlotte of Lil Miss Chickas. I'm in love with her blog, and if you're one that's obsessed with beauty, then this is the blog for you! Plus, she's such a lovely lady too. Her post is all about finding the perfect foundation, definitely something I'm interested in.....

If there is one beauty related wish that every blogger would wish for it would be to find that foundation that would give you the perfect base.  Foundation is like the white undercoat you put on when painting your wall.  Once you have the pefect base coat you can then go on and do all the pretty detailing.  Of course that is where the comparison between paint and make up should stop and those that apply foundation like it were paint should really consider why they do that.  Of course in a perfect world we would all have flawless skin; no spots or dry patches and we wouldn't need foundation.  Sadly for many of us this isn't the case and we rely on our foundation to mask our imperfection and highlight our best feautures.
 
My quest for the perfect base started when I was 16, I made the step from drug store to make up counter and started to take more of an interest in what I was putting on my face.  Below charts the story of my 'Quest for the Perfect Foundation' and the three foundations that I now reach towards.
 

Mac Studio Fix Fluid
 
Funnily enough Mac Studio Fix starts and ends this story.  This was the first foundation that I ever bought at a make up counter and I have unintentionally come back to it every time.  I've tried to sway from it, I really have, but I just keep finding myself restocking when I pass a Mac counter.  This gives medium to full coverage but never leaves you with that caked-on look.  I use this as my winter foundation when I need a touch more coverage.  I do however find this foundation a little drying so I always make sure my skin is full of moisture.  If it feels too dry I will shy away from my trusted Mac favourite.
  
Laura Mercier Tinited Moisturiser 
 
It took me a while to buy into the whole tinited moisturier game.  My mother has sworn by it for years and refuses to use anything else.  I was a little skeptical at first but since discovering the Laura Merier one am a total convert!  There are so many benefits in using a tinted moistuser.  Number One, it moisturises the skin whilst providing coverage.  Number two; Its much lighter than foundation for when you only want minimal coverage (like in the summer months) and Number three, if you can't access your moisturiser for an reason, don't sweat it, you can just use this.  The Laura Mercier Tinited Moisturiser is a dream to use for all the above and I have just found it lasts better that oother TM's
 
YSL Touche Eclat 
 
This is a new find of mine and I am in love!!  This is quite possibley my favourite foundation of all time.  I glides on to the skin with ease, buffs in quickly and iluminates my whole face.  I go from having tired looking to radient skin in a matter of minutes.  It lasts for ages and doesn't turn orange as the day goes on.  I really could gush about this all day.  HOWEVER it does have one negitive factor.  No SPF! Not good if you want to wear in the day (even on cloudy days whe should be using SPF).  I don't understand why YSL failed to put this in!  I do have to slip on a primer if I wear this in the day to counter the lack of SPF but to spin this into a postive there is ZERO flashback when being photographed at night with it on.
 
 
So there you have it.  My quest for the perfect foundation has momentarily ceased thanks to these three little beauties.  Of course as my skin evolves I will have to pick the search back up but for now I am satisfied.  For full reviews of the three products just click on their names.  I'd love to know what others reach for for the perfect base.  Please tell!!

Clinique Anti-Blemish Solutions Makeup

I’m quite conscious that the start to my blogging life is a bit ‘clinique mad’, but hey ho, I do absolutely love it.

Being such a huge fan of their anti-blemish 3 step range, I thought; why not try the anti-blemish make-up too? I popped in to my local boots to pick up a tester of the foundation from their counter – I didn’t want to make the official purchase until I’d actually given it a good go! Actually, on that note, their tester pots are actually a really good size. I got 3 pots, in shades 1, 2 & 3 and each pot lasted me over a week. Obviously it will depend how much foundation you like to use, I’m not too heavy handed with the ole’ liquid so it lasted me well :). I ended up going for shade2 in Fresh Ivory – dry combination to oily. It’s slightly darker than my skin tone, but I always prefer to do that; I find that if I go for an exact match my face ends up looking like casper and if I go darker, I look like an orange, so I figured just slightly darker would tick all the boxes! I must say, I’m really impressed. It’s a medium coverage, that’s buildable; it’s not cakey or too light, just right in my opinion. Usually, I’m a powder girl (huge bare minerals fan), so I don’t proclaim to be at all in-the-know when it comes to liquid foundations by any means, but for me I think I’ve found ‘the one’. And with just a little drop it helps to conceal any blemishes, whilst giving a more even skin tone.

The staying power is undeniably fantastic. I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t know many foundations that when you look in the mirror at the end of a long day, look freshly applied, and this definitely does. I have had repeated compliments since this purchase of people telling me how great my skin looks etc. Which is such a confidence boost when you’ve been feeling really crappy about your skin. Excuse the gross photo, I was in a bit of a rush to go out for my brother’s 16^th birthday meal; but I wanted to show you what it looks like on without any editing etc :)

I really lack any form of self control when it comes to any sort of shopping. So obviously, I got roped in to purchasing the concealer too: shade1 clearing concealer. Now, this is definitely a thick concealer, I don’t think it would be something I would ever use under my eyes, unless I mixed it with an illuminator or something like that, well, just because I think it might be a bit cakey for my liking. And I don’t like cakey-ness of any sort on my disgustingly dark bags that seem to take up half my face (for this I am a raving fan of touché clat, but i’m rambling now, and that’s another story). However, this is very very good at covering up blemishes; the coverage is immense and definitely ‘full’. Along with the foundation, it’s staying power is spot on, excuse the pun ;). For application on both, I use the Real Techniques - Core Collection brushes - Ah-mazeeee-ing, check them out here.

clearing concealer

liquid foundation

Have any of you tried these little gems, if so, what did you think? Or do you have a foundation that you’d recommend for spot prone skin?