Welcome to One Brush Beauty

OBB Where all are welcome, i write reviews, answer questions, give tips and advice on how to use the makeup that you have. OBB is really about easy yet beautiful make up, making you feel your best, and what products are out there to help you do that.

TTFN
C x

Thursday 16 June 2011

Laura Mercier Oil Free foundation review

Hi guys!
So as I have mentioned before I really do not have good skin, and so I am unable to use the cheaper brand foundations (which make me really break out). But I am also not a very loyal foundation buyer, I usually change every time as up until now there have always been issues with whatever brand I have used.

I mentioned a while ago that I had a make up haul, and the oil free foundation from Laura Mercier was one of the products that I bought. I am the shade 'Warm Ivory'.
Before this foundation I was using a Lancome Teint Idole Ultra one in their palest shade (which I have been told has been discontinued any way). The Lancome one was also an oil free foundation which my skin needs as I have combination skin. But the Lancome foundation was quite drying and its coverage (although the fullest coverage in their range, was not enough for my needs).

I had been pointed to Laura Mercier by a friend who assured me that the foundation was 'the best you will EVER use'. The colour matches my skin tone perfectly, I am very light with slight but not strong yellow undertones to my skin; usually I have to compromise on the colour and usually end up having to go a shade darker (or a shade with more yellow/ orange tones than my skin has) or in the case of the MAC foundation that I have used go a shade lighter which really made me look pale.
Even though the foundation is oil free it does not dry out, but has good staying power so that it doesnt 'slide' off my face either (another problem I had with the MAC foundation that I used).

The coverage is also brilliant, without making me look 'cakey'. Its a pump bottle and I only need one for really good every day coverage, which means that the bottle will last next to forever.

The one down side to this foundation is that it retails at £33 here in the UK, so it is by no means a cheap product. But I believe with foundations you really do get what you pay for, and I believe that 100% with this product; totally worth the splurge, especially when you consider its going to be sitting on your face all day every day.

So hope that was help full, maybe if you're thinking about changing your foundation or 'upgrading' from your drug store brand, I would definitely reccommend the Laura Mercier products. But as always, shop around and always go for the product that's right for you.

TTFN
C

Wednesday 15 June 2011

VOGUE! Beauty confidential cover lip dupe!

Hi guys!
If like me you're big into the seasons latest looks, both fashion and make-up then you probably read some kind of magazine. My big weakness is Vogue. I love it, even the adverts in it, I love picking ideas from the design houses latest campaigns and looking at the wonderful photography and marveling at the models.

As I live in England I have to buy British Vogue, and this months issue had another small magazine insert 'Vogue beauty confidential'. The cover of which features a sun-kissed Raquel Zimmermann looking fab (and rather late 70's/ early 80's chic). Immediately I fell in love with her lip look, a true red coral matte lipstick.

So I turn to the inside page to look up what lipstick it is. I find that its a matte Shisheido lipstick which would cost you £21 here in the UK, which is almost as much as the Chanel lipsticks. So I start looking for a cheaper dupe.

As any body who is even slightly in to makeup will know, Mac would be the first port of call, and indeed it was. And Bingo! I found the exact matte shade to match. Its a good £8 cheaper and even though its not drugstore cheap, I'm more willing to pay for what I know is quality.

The shade is so hot and on trend that even the Mac one has been hard to get hold of, I have finally managed to order mine today and will tweet some pictures when I get it delivered.

It really is the shade of the summer, I suggest that if you also go for this hot red coral lip, you team it with heavy brows and a nude eye...oh and plenty of bronzer to really bring out those golden coral tones!

TTFN
C

Sunday 5 June 2011

Best Powder EVER

So if you follow me on twitter you will know that I have recently splurged on some new make up products. I say splurged because I have recently come to think how much an investment my makeup is for me, I wear it everyday...all day. And for something that is in contact with my skin for that long, I need to make sure that the products I use are completely compatible with my skin, so that I'm not only looking after the way I look with my make up on, but off too. So for that reason, for products that sit on my entire face (foundation and powder) I took the decision to use higher end products (as I have done for many years). I'm not saying that this is appropriate for everyone, but if you have read my previous blogs, you will know that I have problematic skin and skin that will react badly to the cheaper foundations (as I have found out the hard way in the past). But if you have lovely skin then you can probably get away with wearing any thing, and for this I envy you.
But on to my review. With my problem skin has come an oiliness that means by the end of the day my makeup has almost worn right off, I was up until a while ago unable to use powder as it dried out my skin which just made it more oily and so had the complete opposite effect to what I was hoping to achieve.
But I recently came across a wonderful powder by Clinique that does not cause this effect. Their loose blended face powder is brilliant. I use number 3 (transparency 3) which is suitable for very fair to fair skin. It comes with its own retractable travel brush, which is really good for handbag application but a larger fluffier powder brush is better to apply (but to be fair most days I just use its brush for an application and it works just fine). The powder is fine blended and so goes on really soft. I would recommend a pressed powder for people who want to matte their face completely, but I find that this loose powder matte's any shine without leaving a 'cakey' look to my skin, it also sets my makeup making it last all day, extending the life of my makeup even further by using this and a primer. In winter a primer does this job on its own but in hot summer months I need something more.
The powder is a little on the pricey side (£20 including the brush) but you get a lot of product that uses allergy tested ingredients and Clinique do not test on animals either. 
All in all id say that its worth the investment and can take on any high street alternative.
So thats all for now, I'm going to be writing a few more reveiws soon, again about recently purchased products, and a list of 5 must tries and 5 must avoids.
TTFN
C