Review:- Daniel Sandler Perfect Canvas Foundation

I am a sucker for a good deal and when the deal includes a range of foundation, on all color spectrums for £2.50 . . . my shopping monster came out to play.

Yes, yes, yes, I know I just recently bought a Nars Sheer Glow and Maybelline Fit Me foundation but repeat after me:-

After I found out about this deal from Natalie of Discoveries of Self, and calmed down from the excited frenzy, I realised I had no clue what shades to get. Luckily for me, Daniel Sandler is an active social media user and you can always catch him on twitter (@DanielSandler) giving advice or recommendations for any beauty problems you might have. I got in contact with Daniel and after posting him a quick email with a picture of me foundation-less, he made me some colour recommendations that were spot on. I ended up buying a few more shades than I needed as deals on dark-skinned foundations don't come that often and I didn't want to procrastinate and lose out.

Daniel Sander's Perfect Canvas Foundation is a Full coverage Foundation with a SPF 15 factor. It comes in a 15ml bottle (which is super small) and has a lifespan of 6 months. The size isn't a bother for me as I've calculated that my normal foundation costs me £30.50 for 30ml, and I could buy 12 bottles of the Perfect Canvas foundations and get 183ml . . . why I need 183ml of foundation . . . I don't know but it is a very handy fact to have.

Shades 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 (on arm swatch,  definitely cover my skin shade and also my contour shade very well. Shade 16 works very well for me but I would love to see if Shade 15 has a little less red in it and more gold tones in it. I'm not sure if htis is intentional or not but the Perfect Canvas Foundation aqcts a bit like a "foundation stain" . . . I know right. This could be a pro and a con at the same time. It's useful in terms of wear-time, a lightweight stain will cover your imperfections for longer but can be a bit difficult to remove at the end of the day.

The Perfect Canvas Foundation formulation is VERY thick. I had to add some of my moisturiser to the Shade 16 foundation to make it a bit more blendable. This thickness isn't necessarily a negative. The thick formulation makes contouring a dream!!!! Shade 19 makes an excellent contouring shades as it goes exactly where you want it.

Unfortunately I don't have a "selfie" demonstrating the effectiveness of this foundation as I was in a rush this morning and decided to take my self portraits without my glasses or contacts. The results were a blurry and squinty mess, so I will redo everything later on this evening and update this post tomorrow.

The only issue I have with this foundation is with the labels on the packaging on some of the foundations were really sticky to the touch and one of the labels had already begun peeling off but with a foundations that only took £2.50, I'm not even that bothered

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Find Your Perfect Foundation Shade

Black Up Cosmetics recently sent me some samples of their Full Coverage Cream Foundation, and I wanted to sit down in front of a camera and show you how I would would go about finding my perfect foundation shade in a sea of foundation samples.

It is debatable how you find your colour shade. Some people swatch the cheek while other swatch the neck, neither way is wrong and is completely dependent on the makeup user, the only thing that matters is that your neck and face has to blend seamlessly. Personally I prefer to swatch on my cheek because that is what I am more comfortable doing (and I find the notion of swatching my neck at a makeup counter a bit odd)

Choosing 3 shades that I think have the highest possibility of matching my skintone, I try to find natural light; as dark lighting or coloured lighting might alter the true colour of the foundation, and if that involves me cracking open a window or walking out of Selfridges with a mirror in tow I WILL DO IT!!!! When I think I've found my perfect shade, I then apply it all over my neck and chest to see if it blends in seamlessly or if it looks a bit too pale or copper toned.

In this case, out of the 3 shades, Black Up's Full Coverage Foundation in No.11 (aka the middle swatch) is the best match for me and I think I'm going to go pick this up on my next stop to Oxford Circus. If you want to have a go at finding your perfect foundation shade without leaving the comfort of your chair, Black Up Cosmetics actually offer a foundation samples package which includes a sample of every foundation colour in their range. 

How do you go about find your best foundation shade? 

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Brushes For Foundation

Now these are MY favourite brushes to use to apply my foundations.  I’m not telling you to go out and buy every single one of these brushes as I doubt you will ever need them all. I’m just a hoarder and like to be prepared for anything and everything (at least that’s what I tell myself). This post is just carrying on from this week's focus on makeup products for the face and it is really just meant to act as a guideline on what certain brushes are for and the brands I buy them from.

These 6 brushes are my favourites to use on my face. I have put a bit of a variety here so we have brushes that can be used with on cream, powder and liquid foundations. Some of these brushes are multi-purpose so can be used for different types of foundations but I’ve grouped these brushes by what I use them for.

Liquid Foundation - Layering

I love Japonesque Slanted Foundation Brush which is an angled, flat brush because it minimizes my pores and skin imperfection. I normally use this brush when I am suffering for a slight skin reaction from a product I am testing (which nowadays tends to be every other week or so).or when I have chosen to conceal/correct an imperfection on my face and I want to layer on my foundation rather than buff it out. I personally believe that flat foundation brushes are the best brushes for covering the skin's imperfections and working with heavy coverage foundations.

Liquid Foundation  - Buffing

MAC Cosmetics 187 Duo-Fibre Stippling Brush is the perfect brush for a dewy finish and is probably the most used brush. I use it predominately for liquid but will use it to buff on a thin layer of powder. I actually own two of these brushes in the off chance I lose one. I do find that the MAc 187 brush is very foundation dependent. It works amazingly well with some foundations but can leave annoying streaks with another.

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush is actually my newest brush discovery and I really wonder what has taken me so long to get this. The broad head of this brush is amazing for both liquid and cream application. At only £9.99 I can't believe how amazing this brush is for it's price bracket.


Powder Foundation

I normally use powders to set my foundation and a light sweep over my foundation with Japonesque Powder Brush is often enough to keep everything from slipping during the course of the day. Japonesque but I have also used Real Techniques Buffing Brush from their Core Collection if I want more control over where I place my powder.

Cream Foundation - Layering

If you use a cream foundation, you have the option of using a flat-ended brush to blend in your foundation with but I find that these brushes can be a bit bulky and don’t quite get into corners like the sides of your nose. I use Becca Cosmetics 58 Foundation/Concealer Brush which is has a pointed tip with tapered 3-tone synthetic Taklon fibres. While it does take a bit longer to use compared to a flat-ended brush, I love the smooth, sheer application this gives me.

How I ended up using 6 brushes on my face; in rotation, I will never know but these are my favourite brushes to use and if you ever wanted to know what brushes I am using in my past or future tutorials or FOTDs then consider yourself informed.

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Luxury vs Highstreet:- War of the Dewy Foundations

With a renewed vigour for blogging, I thought I should donate a bit of blog time on the different techniques and products I use on my face (mostly for my base) and why I use them. Yes, I am trying to throw a bit of direction into my blog posts but hopefully you are able to pick something up from this.

Although I'm probably one of the worst people to come to when it comes to reviewing foundations as I don't really care about how much the foundation covers or what type of coverage it has. As long as it's a good colour match to my skin and doesn't feel like I've buffed a layer of Play-doh on my face, I'm a happy chap.

Over my little blog break, I ran out of my foundations and decided to pick up a luxury foundation and a highstreet foundation, just because I wanted to know how they compare. I haven't used highstreet foundation for almost 5 years so I was interested to know if it's improved or if I should turn my back on any kind of highstreet base and be content.

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Benares

I always forget that you can buy cosmetics from ASOS. Maybe I've been subconsciously programmed to only buy cosmetics over the counter and not online but buying cosmetics online is never a 1st option for me, it's more like the 4th option after I've visited all the counters in a 2 mile radius.

I normally get Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Trinidad but I wanted to take a bit of a gamble and see if the same foundation but in a shade up would work for me. Luckily it did because I didn't want to waste £30.50.

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation (RRP £30.50) are one of the best foundations to go after if you are looking for a low maintenance dewy finish. It's my foundation of choice as it doesn't have any spf in it so I never get that weird-ghost like finish every time a camera flash goes of and it works well with my studio lighting. The Benares Foundation has a brightening, non-comedogenic (doesn't clog pores) and hydrating formula with a light to medium coverage which can be built to minimise skin discolouration.

This foundation doesn't come with a pump but you can purchase one from your nearest NARS counter . . .if they have it in stock (which they almost never have)

Maybelline's Fit Me Foundation in 355

With a SPF factor of 18, the Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in 355 (RRP £7.99) has a light, gel-based formula that glides seamlessly over the skin, covering minor imperfections. Packaging wise, it is quite clear that this is the cheaper of the two foundation. The stickers that have been plastered on the Fit Me bottle actually cheapens the sleek, tall bottle. The fact that this comes with a steady. black pump shows that Maybelline are on the ball, and I was very pleased to see that when I popped the bottle open.

Originally I thought that this foundation was going to be too thick and orange but it seems highstreet foundations for dark skin has come a long way since the last time I decided tried them out. It matched my complexion almost perfectly.

My only criticism on the Fit Me Foundation's formula (which is not evident in this picture), is that it leans a bit too closely to shiny rather than dewy. A sweep of translucent powder would definitely sort the shine but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone with oily skin.

Overall I do prefer the NARS Sheer Glow Foundation but I can see myself using the Fit Me Foundation when my SPF moisture runs out or as a work day substitute. I do think (although I might just be reaching) that the NARS Sheer Glow has a better brightening effect than the Fit Me foundation as the skin shade on my jaw looks dark in the picture above compared with the Nars Sheer Glow picture.

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Four Foundations For a Flawless Finish

When it comes to foundations, I think its safe to say that every girl is particularly fussy about what she likes and what she doesn’t like. For some it is all about coverage, others its about the finish, for me it is all about the colour. I can tell with a quick glance in the mirror whether I am going to spend my money on a foundation but to be fair it is fairly easy. The foundation is either shade-perfect or makes me look like an un-moisturized ghost or like I’ve been playing in red paint.

As I have normal skin, I really don’t have much to cover up but for me the perfect foundation is relatively long lasting (I hate doing touch ups), matches my skin colour and most importantly it has to be fragrance free so doesn’t make my sensitive skin react . . or make me want to gag.

As I’m on a spending ban and can’t buy anything anymore (why or why did I do this to myself??) and I haven’t done an in-depth review of my foundations, I though I should do a post giving you an insight into my favourite cosmetics and the type of cosmetics choices I make, so without further ado let’s dive into the world of foundations.

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Trindad (RRP £29.50)

Though I am warm toned, my skin is super funny in the sense that I still have a lot of gold tones to work with but these tones are only evident when I’m exposed to sun. In the winter, my red skin tones are more prominent so I have to go with a foundation that matches this and Nars Sheer Glow does this perfectly.

This shade is a bit of a one trick wonder as it is a shade darker and redder than what I normal use, so I can’t really use it in any other season but it’s lightweight and blendable so I’m not complaining.

Illamasqua Skin Base in No. 16 (RRP. £27)

This my favourite foundation and the foundation I would recommend to anyone with normal skin or those just looking for a light coverage foundation with a dewy finish.

It is a bit difficult to blend sometimes. I’m not exactly sure why but I’m guessing it has something to do with its formulation but it’s nothing a few extra wrist movements won’t solve.

MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NW45 (RRP. £20.50)

This is the 3^rd foundation I ever used growing up, but the 1^st ‘luxury’ foundation I ever used my own money to buy. I  used this foundation actively throughout my time at university but I honestly don’t use this that much anymore as I find that it is too orange toned and honestly only looks good on me in the summer when my yellow tones are at its strongest,

This is the heaviest liquid foundation I own and honestly I probably wouldn’t use a foundation with a stronger coverage than this as I don’t need that level of coverage.

Becca Cosmetics Stick Foundation in Almond ( RRP £35)

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. This foundation is my skin colour in a tube. It is SO on point with my actual skin shade that when I apply it, I’m not too sure where I applied it because it’s practically invisible.

Depsite having a sheer to medium coverage, the foundation feels a bit heavy and is the only foundation that I have when I can tell I am wearing foundation but this is probably more to do with the fact that this has a cream formulation while the others have a liquid formulation

I do invest a bit in my foundations and I know these are all luxury foundations so not everyone can afford them but I find that lower-end foundations either make my skin react or just stink to high heavens and make me dizzy. I really want to try out the Armani Luminous Silk Foundation and the YSL Touche Eclat foundation but it will have to be after my spending band . . .  April the 11^th can’t come fast enough!!

Anyway what do you think of my selection? Have you got any brands to recommend to me?? Also did you notice how I managed to fit 5 f’s into my title pats self on the back*??

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BB Cream Wars: Gosh Cosmetics vs. Sleek

It seems like forever that I have waited for a bb cream to be available in the UK in a colour that I can actually wear without looking like a pasty ghost.

 Cosmetics Companies, would it kill you to release all the shades at the same time???

After waiting for what seems like forever, two BB creams are finally on the market for the darker ladies and surprisingly they are BOTH drugstore and exclusive to Superdrugs.

Up for the BB cream wars today, fighting for your love and money are the Gosh BB Creams and the Sleek Makeup BB Cream so lets dive into the arena (yes I am in a Hunger Games mode, and yes I am having fun writing the review this way)

Standing at 30ml, in a glossy, black packaging with a RRP of £9.99, we have Gosh Cosmetics’ BB cream.

Acting as a 3 in 1 solution (Foundation, Primer and Moisturiser) with an SPF 15. The Gosh BB Cream in 05 Espresso is spot on shade wise for my skin (MAC reference NW45) and with added mineral pigments to the formulation. It promises to adapt to your skin tone.

 Personally I don’t actually LOVE this BB cream, which is a real shame for me as it is the only bb cream I’ve found in my exact shade. I used this for the best part of two weeks; ditching my everyday Illamasqua Skin Base, and honestly I don’t find that this moisturized my skin at all. I feel that it dried it out and also made my pores on my face a lot more pronounce and broke me out.

Now I do believe that it adapted to my skintone, so on other girls who happen to be a similar skintone to me, this is a great choice but I am starting to think that I don’t have a positive reaction to Gosh skincare products in general, so if it wasn’t for the slight reaction I would be preaching the benefits of this product

And in this Corner, in an sleek (pun intended). black, glossy packaging, we have have Sleek’s

The Sleek Makeup Blemish Balms come in 4 shades and unfortunately for me I seem to be situated in between the medium shade and the darkest shade and while I have a peeve of mixing foundations (I mean REALLY? Who has that kind of time?), I can’t lie that I was tempted to get both, but I went for the medium instead.

The medium is a shade lighter that what I normally go for, so straight off the bat it didn’t look great on me. I looked a bit pale and chalky but I find that it blended well and had a firmer consistency than the Gosh foundation.

Infused with Vitamin C and promising to reduce skin discolouration as well as gradually repair damaged skin. I do feel that this was the most moisturizing of the two and although I didn’t dare leave my house with it on (didn’t want to scare the kiddies), I am considering getting the Dark Shade so I can mix the two foundations together so I can get my moneys worth out of it.

At  50ml, it is 20 ml more than the Gosh foundation and also a £1 cheaper but I found I probably used more of the Sleek BB Cream trying to blend it into my skin than the Gosh one.

 Anyway this is my jumble review of the Drugstore BB Creams. Since there is no real clear-cut winner for me, let’s just assume that they both managed to knock each other unconscious at the same time.

Which BB Cream works for you? Would love to know how it worked because my skin just seems to be having an off month lately

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Review:- Becca Stick Foundation in Almond

What I love most about being a beauty blogger is running across different brands and products that I would be never have heard or thought about, which are actually perfect for me and my skin. To be honest I didn't know anything about Becca Cosmetics until last yeast which is a real shame as they are an Australian Brand in the UK best known for having a shade match for virtually every skintone.

 They offer 30 shades in a variety of coverages and undertones, and stock foundations at least 4 shades darker than what I wear (FYI that is a very BIG DEAL)

I picked up Becca’s Stick Foundation in Almond and their Foundation/Concealer Brush in #58 (which works as a perfect tool for this foundation) at the Keziah Connections Event held at the Becca South Kensington Flagship Store and I’ve said this on twitter, instagram and to anyone who has asked about my makeup in the last few weeks, this foundation is literally my skin colour cloned and stuck into a foundation tube. It is just flipping spot on!!!!!

You might think that I’m hyping up yet another product and being a bit over the top but just look at the swatch I took it’s virtually undetectable!

So I decided to try and give you another view of how it looks like on my face

 The Becca Stick Foundation has a controllable sheer to medium coverage with a SPF 30 (it’s Australian Remember), has a non-powder based formulation and has the added bonus of containing anti-oxidant vitamins A,D & E.

On one hand I am surprised that there aren’t more reviews on this product online as I feel its flipping fantastic but on the other hand with a price tag of £35 it is very expensive. I got this foundation on a 20% offer on account of the event but regardless it is one of the most expensive stand alone products in my collection

But then again, is price really an issue? How much would you spend to get a foundation that was so on point with your skintone that you can’t even tell which areas of your face you’ve used it on? 

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Products I HATE:- MAC Face & body (N9)

What is up with everyone’s love for MAC Face and Body Foundation??? I absolutely HATE this product and in my opinion, it is just expensive coloured water!!!

I (regrettably) bought the Face and Body Foundation on the back of many blog and YouTube reviews that sang it’s praised and claimed it was the best foundation for a natural coverage as it’s water based so it’s light and airy . . . .Honestly I think MAC just one-upped it’s customers and sold us a foundation mixed with water (water-based foundation, my back foot).

 This baby has the superpower to transform my normal skin into a shiny and sweaty looking mess, with the added anility of leaking off my face and onto my clothes like you would not believe.

Despite the many great reviews, I honestly would NOT recommend you buy this foundation!!

1.  It’s like slapping coloured Vaseline on your face 
2. NO SPF Factor – So if you are using this in the summer . . . that’s just skin damage
3. I’ve had this foundation for 2 months and the formula has already started to separate
4. It's just a slippery mess 

I am still trying to figure out what I’m going to end up doing with this at the moment, I don’t think it’s worth even using on the rest of my body as a bit of coverage but it makes a very good paper weight.

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Benefit is set to launch dark foundation shades

Great news for all my dark skin lovelies.

Image from British Beauty Blogger

Benefit have FINALLY got their act together and will be launching a some foundation choices for us in their soon to be released Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation.

Although it is not set to be released til April *le sigh* I am personally thrilled to hear this news *It's about time!!!* If you have ever read through my rants, you would notice that alot of them centre around my frustration with finding makeup pigmented enough or foundations dark enough to be used on my skin, so Benefit this is definitely a step in the right direction, now all they have to do is release some blushes that are actually pigmented enough to be used as something more than as an expensive highlight and I might actually think about venturing near a Benefit store again. (Click here to find read about my First and Only experience with Benefit)

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Glowing with NARS Sheer Glow

So summer has finally decided to peek it cheeky little head this week so I thought I should da a review on the foundation I'm currently *kinda* using for the summer. This is not a really a brand new product straight off the beauty press. I think it was launched last year spring time sometime (not sure exactly when though)

NARS Sheer Glow foundation is a light- medium coverage foundation that is meant to brighten, clarify and hydrate your skin, as well as minimised skin discolouration. It comes in 20 different shades and should be available for purchase at your nearest NARS counter or online. 

NARS Sheer Glow in Trinidad - I'm now Trinidadian =)

My foundation colour in NARS is Trinidad (dark 3), *and fyi I'm an nw45 in MAC*, and what I was initially impressed with, is that this foundation doesn't have an weird yellow undertone that many foundations for Afro-British skin have, so it looked very natural on my face. I love, love, love the lightweight, dewy feeling of this foundation, it's exactly how a summer foundation should feel. It doesn't sit on your face like a ton of bricks and then melt off in a rain-pour the moment you step outside into the heat like a lot of foundations do. I felt it blending very nicely without too many streaks *which is a bonus* and lasted relatively the whole day.

Swatch of Foundation

Blended a little so shade is visible

All blended out

Negatives

I don't really have anything outrageously evil to say about this foundation as I did quite like it, however:-

• I think NARS should really rethink the formula for this foundation as it made my face look way too shiny and oily, (it complete changed my skin type from normal to oily*Not good!!*) and as a result I had to use a lot of more powder than I usually do to combat the sheen.
• I hate the fact that this doesn't come with a pump, as it can get a bit messy and I personally felt that I was partaking in a science experiment trying to measure out the right quantity to use

Overall Feedback (2/5)

 I really want to rate this foundation highly because on one hand it hit the targets which I was looking for in regards to a summer foundation (lightweight and a decent coverage) but on the other hand I really do not want to look more shiny that I need to be. I actually have not really used this foundation too often; one because the weather in London has been completely HORRIBLE and two because I'm currently using a MAC NW40 concealer and my concealer and this foundation doesn't match or work very well together . . . . and well it makes me look a bit patchy. But after a quick visit to the Selfridge's NARS makeup counter this weekend, I found out that they were planning to release a wide range of concealer that would/should work with their foundation shades.

I am a bit disappointed that I'm going to have to buy a new concealer in order to get my money's worth out of this foundation, because at £29.50 (RRP) this foundation is not what I call cheap and it costs more than my regular foundation.

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