Beauty And The Muslimah: January 2015

Review: MAC Pro Longwear Foundation NC42

I've been collecting foundation samples recently, (so be prepared to see a few reviews come your way). One good thing about MAC stores is that they usually give you a decent sized sample to take home and try. I think foundation samples are the best way to know what's in the market and find out which brand, formula and shade works best for your skin. Especially in the UK, since we aren't allowed to return opened products and then lose out on our hard earned money, so I recommend we make use of this helpful service whenever we can. If you're interested in a certain foundation ask for a sample, not all counters provide this so do inquire first.

I watch a decent amount of YouTube videos and most of the people that I watch are of indian/asian ethnicity and also Latino ethnicity too, mainly because our skin has that yellow olive undertone which has proven to be rather difficult to cater to. One of the gurus raved about MAC's Pro Longwear Foundation in NC42 so I decided to look into it.

I got a sample of NC40 as well as NC42, after trying NC40 I found that it wasn't quite right on me and the NC42 was much more yellower than the NC40.

After a good few sessions of playing around I don't think I'm too keen on the Pro Longwear Foundation, I'm not sure whether I'm applying it wrong but I find it to be too thick and unsuitable for my dehydrated dry skin. I find it odd that even after a while it starts to look a little greasy in my T-zone. I find that the foundation makes my pores look larger than normal and also makes any uneven skin texture look even more prominent, and I really hate that. It also feels a bit tacky and powders stick to it in a weird manner. The colour is also quite a strong yellow and I look like the sun :D. It's an excellent amount of yellow, don't get me wrong and it would certainly brighten up sallow complexions but it's abit too jaundic-y for me. It looks very obvious on me and I don't like that.

I would say it's some where between a light/medium to medium coverage foundation. With one layer I still notice my scars are still visible. I have tried various techniques and tools to try and make it work but I just can't seem to get it right. From brushes to sponges to mixing it with moisturiser or oil, I'm just not falling for it. Others have raved about it but I can't seem to get along with the pro Longwear foundation. What I can say is that it is definitely long lasting, you can tell it sets quickly as you work it in so you need to apply it fast and in small sections. In my opinion I don't think sponges work well with this foundation, I think you would need a good buffing brush to work it in.

I haven't gotten along with this foundation unfortunately. If you have any suggestions or tips please do write them in the comments below. Peace!

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, by Zahra

Foundation

YSL Touche Eclat Foundation BD50 Review

Quick review for you guys. I recently picked up a rather generous sample of the infamous YSL Touche Eclat Foundation in the Shade BD50. I've heard so many great things about this foundation and this sample had so many uses that I can easily say that I have gotten to know this beauty very well and can share my honest thoughts with you.

It's a gorgeous foundation, the consistensy and finish is so so beautiful, it's fluid and runny in texture and on the skin it's very very lightweight and skin like. Though it's runny and lightweight it's a light to medium coverage and gives a luminous and dewy look to the skin. It is so skin like it's beautiful. Perfect to just slap on, blends into the skin like a dream and gives off a lit from within luminosity.

This would be best suited for those with dry skin as it's incredibly hydrating and nourishing to the skin. If you are oily or combi then I recommend powdering as this can get rather dewy and oily after a while even on my dry/combi skin. If you like the dewy look then this is definitely for you. It covers imperfections nicely and that too with just a little amount.

Since this is so hydrating and emollient I recommend powdering, or else it won't last long at all! I start to get oily in my tzone within 2 hours, it lasts around 3-4 hours on me before I start to notice some fading in some areas like my nose, I generally don't like powdering because my skin doesn't tend to like it, I feel as is it affects the tone of my foundation making it look less yellow and more grey and flat, it also just takes away the dewyness i like and gives me an overall dull dehydrated appearance. If any one has any recommendations of good powders that will enhance my yellow olive undertone and won't make me look dull then please do comment down below. Because I do want to set my foundation so that it stays in place for longer.

I use either a beauty blender or a stippling brush to apply, I feel like the beauty blender absorbs some foundation and sheers it out a little too much for my liking and then you end up using up and wasting foundation so I like to alternate between a stippling brush and the sponge.

YSL Touché Eclat Foundation BD50

Unfortunately, and this is a very sorrowful "unfortunately"- insert sad face- The shade BD50 is too light for me and after some research and review reading, I found out that people between NC35-42 will have a difficult time matching up to a shade. With the YSL Touché Eclat, there are 3 shade groups, BD, BR and B. BD shades are golden undertoned, BR shades are pink undertoned and B shades are neutral undertoned.

Blended out

The sample that I was given would be ideal for people who are NC30 ish. The next BD shade up is BD60 and I've tried that too but it's mainly suited for NC42 - NC44. Many have said that there is a massive jump between the shades BD50 and BD60, BD50 is too light for me and not strongly yellow enough and BD60 is really orange for me.

I wore the foundation once and a friend said that my skin looked much lighter than normal but it technically didn't look bad and that I didn't have that horrendous grey shadow around my mouth. She said that it actually looked nice which surprised me. In my opinion I noticed that my neck looked quite yellow in comparison to my face which looked more neutral and I didn't really like that, it makes it look like a mask. I did notice that after a while this foundation does oxidise into a more peachy/orange tone which I didn't really fancy.

I had been back to the YSL counter and inquired about the other shades and told the assistant about my shade matching problems and she also confirmed that there is indeed a big jump between BD50 and BD60. She did suggest I try the neutral shade B60 but I had a look at it and swatched it and it was too peachy for my liking. I did have the option of mixing two shades but that would mean double the cost and the shade wouldn't be as perfect for me as compared to my reliable Studio Sculpt in NC40.

Ah well, what can you do eh? Even though I don't have a shade match I still recommend this foundation. It's such a beautiful foundation and incredibly skin like. It really makes you look luminous. If you find a good shade match then you are fortunate! Hope this helps and if you have any extra info or suggestions about shades please let me know.

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, by Zahra

acne marks

My Skincare Routine December 2014 : The SUNSCREENS

Sunscreen, one of the least elaborated topics when it comes to skincare, everybody wails on and on about how important it is but no one wants to discuss it enough. Sunscreen for me personally has been difficult and I am quite fussy when it comes to sunscreen as I suppose most people are. I don't like layering products ontop of products and prefer to keep my regime simple so it has to be a moisturiser and sunscreen in one. It needs to deliver apt amount of moisture, it can't leave a greasy film on my skin and it needs to be lightweight. Also it needs to be affordable because I know I will get lots of use out of it.

I use sunscreen mainly to keep my hyperpigmentation at bay, I also have uneven skintone so for it not to get worse I need to make sure im not exposing my skin to more harmful rays, as well as general anti aging reasons, I use AHA's regularly and that makes my skin even more susceptible to pigmentation and damage.

So I'v tried a few in the market and they've all been under £15. I currently own 4 at the moment and I have different opinions about each of them.

First we have No7's Protect and Perfect Intense Facial Sun Protection in SPF 50 UVA and UVB. This is originally £16 but can be bought for less with the No7 voucher, it's quite pricey and has roughly 20-30 uses. It's a thick cream, very moisturising but quite thick and I find it doesn't glide around easily, which is a gripe for me. I use a drop of oil on my face before hand to help it move around. It can leave a greasy finish to the skin which is another gripe. But a little powder can sort that out. It's a very good sunscreen, but the texture, finish and price is a put off for me which is why I don't love it. Apart form that it's a very good quality sunscreen and you will definitely get your protection from it. Best suited for dry skins.

Next we have Simple Moisture Cream in SPF 30. This is rather affordable at £5. I was pleasantly surprised at the price and after trying it for the first time was even more surprised at how lightweight this was. It provides a decent amount of moisturisation without feeling thick and greasy, comes with a pump and let's out an adequate amount of sunscreen for the face. My only gripe with this is that it isn't moisturising enough for my dry dehydrated skin. I think this will be excellent for those with normal skin. I do like this but it just isn't nourishing enough for me. Brilliant price tag!

Next we have Superdrugs B. Confident CC Cream in SPF 45 in Medium. This was also around £5 (on offer). This was a gift from a friend and I was a little dubios whether I would like this or not because drugstore shade systems don't really work well for me. It's a peach coloured cream and the colour correction seemed to work fine on my skin because I looked more awake and radiant. I was quite impressed! It seemed to brighten up my face and make my skin look naturally radiant and even. Like I had naturally good skin.

I've noticed I can't use too much of this because it ends up looking a little fake and grey on me but I use a small pea size amount and it does the job. But that pea sized amount doesn't provide me with enough moisture so I use a tiny bit of my ordinary moisturiser under this. This leaves a dewy finish to the skin so people with dry skin will enjoy this. They have a shade Light which is suited for more MAC NC20 - NC25 and the medium would be best for NC30 - NC40. Definitely one to try out!

Lastly we have this new sunscreen that I picked up recently. And I must say this is my favourite out of all of that I have ever tried. It's The Body Shop Vitamin C Daily Moisturiser with SPF 30. This is around £13 but Body Shop do regular offers. This moisturiser is lightweight, it has a fluid texture and melts into the skin easily and provides me with just enough moisturiser so my skin doesn't feel taut or tight. It has a citrus orange smell and when I've applied it to my skin my skin feels like it's buzzing, not tingling but slightly buzzing. Im not sure what that is but I read somewhere that it's the Vitamin C. This leaves a slight dewy finish but isn't overly greasy looking. I find this sunscreen pleasant to use and will be my regular until I find a better one.

Those are all the current sunscreens I have, I hope this was helpful, I should mention that if you have tanned, olive, indian or dark skin sunscreens do tend to leave a white cast, some more than others, it's a matter of trying them out and seeing which one works best for you. I have tried a Loreal matte fluid one but it was too dry for me and got bitsy when i tried blending it in and left a white cast, I do want to try the Soap and Glory sunscreens as I've heard good things about them too. Also i never take the sunscreen near my eyes because I've noticed sunscreen makes my eyes water like crazy if it's gotten in or even if it's too close to my eyes. If you have any recommendations or suggestions please let me know. Peace xxx

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, by Zahra

Pages

Review: MAC Pro Longwear Foundation NC42

YSL Touche Eclat Foundation BD50 Review

My Skincare Routine December 2014 : The SUNSCREENS