IMATS 2013 Haul

On Saturday, I went to makeup heaven and spazzed out at the NARS counter - true story!!! I know I love to drone on and on about the simplest thing but let's face it this is probably the best way to summarise everything that happened to me at the IMATS 2013 in a sentence. 

This is my second time attending the IMATS (International Makeup Artist Trade Show) but the first time attending on a saturday. Last year, when I went on a Sunday almost all the good deals were gone which was a bit disappointing but this year I was prepared to fight the crowds to get what I wanted . . . and as an extra precaution, (for the safety of other of course) I made sure to go with Grace to reign me in so I didn't look like a complete nutter.

I like to think I was very good on Saturday but I know Grace and Mez would probably disagree (might have something to do with me sitting down on the floor at the NARS counter - very friendly staff btw). From NARS I bought the Laguna highlighter, Marina & Never Say Never lip pencils, Trans Siberian & Fast Ride lipsticks, J. Mendell Fall 2007 Lip palette, Surabaya Duo eyeshadow palette and Lokoum cream blush.

At the OCC Makeup stall, I finally got myself some Lip Tars!!!! These have been on my must-have list for months and the pigmentation on these babies are just out of this world. I think I got my beauty blender from the same stall or the one right next to it but in all honesty, everything is a blur right now. Finally I picked up a blush brush and contour brush from Bdellium, a Bend Nye Ebony Translucent Powder, N8 lipstick from Makeup Forever AND 6 gorgeous lashes from Eldora.

Personally I love that NARS were an exhinitor this year but I also think the selection of exhibitors this year was much smaller that last year. I mean Sleek and Illamasqua weren't even there, Can you believe that???? Despite this I can't wait for next year. I'm going to take even more money and head straight to the NARS counter. No discussion. 

I hope you loved my haul and please don't forget you can follow Epiphanniea via Bloglovin and Twitter. I'm going to switch to Wordpress soon so makeup sure you subscribe to something so you still get my blog updates!!!!

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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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Guess Whose Back aka Jetlagged Beauty Blogger aka NYC Haul

I thought a super long blog post title would be quite appropriate as I am celebrating that my flight didn’t crash (though the turbulence made it a bumpy ride at times), I didn't lose my camera; although I did come disastrously close, and the fact that I bought my little heart out.

I don’t want to bore you all naming and shaming everything I bought (because I can’t really remember the reasoning behind half of my purchases) but I will give you a sneak peek of some of the beauty products that are going to be making blog features during the next few weeks.

I will do a "lifestyle" type post over the weekend but I'm still trying to go through all my videos and images and turning them into gifs and what not.

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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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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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