Stila Perfect & Correct Foundation

Good Day Everyone,

I picked up this Stila Perfect & Correct Foundation during my recent ‘Stila splurge’ and have been trying it out for a while and I have to say I’m impressed. A year ago I hadn't even heard of Stila but I’m fast becoming a fan of their products.

Now before I get stuck in let me just say that this is not a full coverage foundation so if that’s the kind of look you go for then I’m afraid it’s not for you. I tend to prefer light to medium coverage but more importantly I like foundations that feel light weight on my skin, rather than heavy and mask like. This foundation has a mousse like consistency and feels incredibly light, so much so that I don’t actually feel like I’m wearing foundation. I find that half a pump is all I need to do my entire face (minus my forehead as I don’t need foundation there. I’m a great believer in only applying foundation where I need it rather than covering my entire face with it). 

If I’m in a rush then I tend to apply this with my fingers, but my preferred method is to stipple it onto my face and then swirl and buff it into my skin using my Real Techniques stippling brush (review) as this creates a very flawless finish. I only apply one layer of the foundation as I find that to be sufficient to even out my skin tone and to reduce the appearance of my dark circles which I then further cover up with a concealer. This foundation can be built up to medium coverage, however, I’d recommend leaving a minute or so in between each layer so that your skin and the foundation have time to adjust to each other and you can see the coverage you're getting as you apply each layer.

On me, this foundation lasts a good 6-8 hours and wears of evenly throughout the day without looking patchy or uneven. In terms of finish, this is neither a matte foundation nor does is it look particularly dewy, like my Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation. I find it leaves my skin looking very natural with a subtle glow. I don’t always tend to powder after I've used this foundation as it’s not dewy or oily looking but sometimes I do dust a little powder on and around my nose if it’s looking a bit oily. I quite like to use this foundation mixed in with my Stila One Step Illuminate (review) as I find this gives more of a ‘glowing from within’ look due to the micro shimmer in the illuminator, making my skin look more luminous and healthy.

I have normal to dry skin and I find this foundation to be very hydrating and it doesn't emphasise any dry areas. The foundation is suspended in a clear serum along with a white swirl containing the built in moisturising primer, however, I do still moisturise my skin before using this as my skin is quite dry but I don't use a separate primer. This clear serum contains Stila's youth revival bio-available mineral complex^TM and the product also contains potent antioxidants as well as skin soothing chamomile. In simple terms, this product seems to provide a lot of nourishing benefits for the skin. According to Stila all this helps to;

• Diminish the look of fine lines and wrinkles
• Minimize pores
• Hydrate and balance
• Control oil

I can't yet comment on the first point but I'd certainly agree with the bottom three points. My skin has always been very happy and appreciative whenever I apply this foundation. Even at the end of the day my skin still feels hydrated which, for a dry skin suffer like me, is great news :o)

I absolutely love the packaging. The foundation comes in a plastic bottle with a pump that's easy to keep clean and the lid comes of easily which is great for my arthritic fingers :o) I've dropped this bottle on tiled and wooden floors and it hasn't even cracked and so I tend to take this foundation with me when travelling! Love robust packaging! One of the things I love the most about the packaging is that there appears to be no product wastage as there is a platform devise (I think it’s called an airless pump but don’t quote me on that) that pushes the product up from the bottom and sides of the bottle as I use up the foundation. You can see from the pictures that I’m about half way through this bottle and there is no foundation stuck to the sides and the bottom of the bottle. Also as the bottle is clear I can see exactly how much product I have left before it runs out. One of my frustrations with some foundations (I’m looking at you my Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation) is not being able to tell how much product I have left and the pump not pumping out all of the product at the bottom of the bottle leading to product wastage and wasted pennies!

The only drawback to this product is that there are only eight shades in the range so don’t you all go expecting to find the perfect shade match! I fall in between Tone and Medium but didn't fancy buying two foundations that I would then mix to create my own custom shade and so I bought the slightly darker shade, Medium. I opted for the darker shade because the foundation can be sheered out and it does seem to colour adapt a little (I think). The end result is that I have a healthy sun kissed colour to my face. If ever I fall in between two shade colours then I will always opt for the slightly darker colour rather than lighter as I always worry that the lighter colour could make me look a bit ‘grey’ and ‘ashy’, whereas a slightly darker colour will make me look more sun-kissed and bronzed.

The foundation costs £28.50 in the UK and you get the standard 30ml (1 fl. oz).

Have you tried this foundation? What was your experience? Which is your favourite foundation?

Love Sheen xxx

My verdict: 5/5
For the UK: http://stila.co.uk/
For the US: http://www.stilacosmetics.com/
For Singapore you can find this product at Sephora

(Note: I purchased this product with my own money)

Stipple & Save

Good Day Everyone,

Now I’m the kind of girl, when given the choice, would prefer to spend money buying new makeup rather than makeup tools and brushes. My collection of brushes is quite limited, however, amongst them is a real gem, my Real Techniques stippling brush. For those of you who don’t know, Real Technqiues brushes are the brainchild of makeup artist Samantha Chapman, who is one half of the Pixiwoo sisters (beauty bloggers). 

I absolutely love love love this brush! Prior to this brush I used to apply my foundation with either my fingers or a traditional foundation brush, you know the kind that looks like a paint brush (FYI I always use liquid, cream or mousse foundations, never powder as I have normal to dry skin). Whilst both of these methods produced satisfactory results the RT stippling brush produces outstanding results! Yes that’s right outstanding, I’m talking A* kind of results. 
Now don’t get me wrong if you’re happy using your fingers or a traditional foundation brush then that’s great for you but I always found that the traditional foundation brush would often leave streaks on my face which I would then have to smooth out with my fingers. When using my fingers alone, I always felt under pressure to apply the foundation quickly so that it could all be blended before it dried which took the pleasure out of the process and left me with foundation stained fingers. 

One of the great benefits of the RT stippling brush is that I find myself using less foundation and getting a much better result. This duo fibre brush has the softest synthetic taklon bristles and is cruelty free :o) I use the brush by gently tapping it into a bit of foundation on the back of my hand. This way the longer bristles pick the foundation up but not the shorter ones yet all the bristles work together to cover my skin with a light and even layer of foundation. I use stippling motions, sometimes mixed with a bit of buffing, to apply my foundation, resulting in an incredibly flawless and even coverage that has an air brushed like finish without looking cakey.

The size of the brush (the bristle part) is smaller than many stippling brushes which some people may not like as it will take longer to apply your foundation, but I actually like this because it’s easier to work around the natural contours of the face like the nose and under the eyes. The other benefit to having a small brush is that it can be multi-purpose. I actually use my stippling brush to apply my cream blush, bronzer and even highlighter. That’s 4 uses out of just one brush – how fantastic is that?! Saving me money and time plus fewer brushes to clean and store. 

This brush applies cream blush like a dream. It creates a diffused, air brushed look where the edges of the blush just fade and blend seamlessly into my skin/foundation with no harsh edges. I love this look and can never quite manage to achieve this effect when using my fingers. This brush can also be used to apply powder products, however, I don’t like to use it in this way as I feel the ‘spikey’ effect of the bristles causes the powder to go on a bit patchy and requires me to concentrate a bit more on blending. I just get a much better effect by using a powder specific brush. I mean let’s be realistic I can’t expect this one brush to do ‘everything’ just ‘lots’ of things ;o)

The brush has a relatively thick, yet lightweight, aluminium handle which is pink with a wider black end that has a flat top. Not great if you like to store your brushes in a jar/mug but I  find this very useful as the brush can stand upright on a dresser/vanity table. The name of the brush is printed in a darker pink shade on the pink handle. I have been using my brush for several months now and I have had no shedding whatsoever. The brush is really easy to clean, dries quickly and has not lost its shape at all.

This little gem is one of my most favourite brushes. It allows me to use less product but achieve the ‘high definition, pixel perfect’ results thus making my products last longer and saving me money along the way. In fact, I was sooo impressed by this brush that a week later I went and bought a second one, just in case the first one ever got lost. Now that’s a real testament as to how great this brush really is!

Have you used this brush? What at your thoughts? Do you have a 'gem' of a makeup brush? If so, do share as to which one it is :o)

Love Sheen xxx

My verdict: 5/5 

Singapore website click here
UK website click here
US website click here
(Note: I purchased these brushes with my own money)

Making Up For Lost Makeup Time

Good Day Everyone,

In the past 6-12 months I’ve probably bought more makeup than the past 6-12 years (believe me these pictures are just the tip of the iceberg ;o). It’s not that I didn’t used to wear makeup, I just wasn’t ever that passionate about it. However, I’m sure we’re all familiar with the saying ‘you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone’? My makeup didn’t go anywhere, in case you were wondering, but what did go was my ‘mojo’ and my zest for life.

The steroid medication that I was taking to manage my arthritis made me gain so much weight that my petite frame of 4’ 11” (1.49m) was being distorted out of proportion (or so I felt!). I moved to Singapore being a size bigger than I was used to and whilst here I just continued to gain weight. I hated looking at myself in the mirror and as I got bigger and puffier I stopped bothering with makeup and taking pride in my appearance. I was incredibly down in the dumps. When I gave up work to concentrate on my health I had less of a reason to wear makeup because I was at home most of the time - nobody I knew was going to see me!

However, as I came of the steroids, lost the excess weight and started exercising to manage my arthritis I found myself again :o) I still take medication for my arthritis but this one doesn’t have weight gain as a side effect! Losing the excess weight was a huge confidence boost! I had to go out and buy a new wardrobe in my smaller size 10. Whilst I’m not the slimmest I’ve ever been, I suddenly had a huge appreciation for my slimmed down figure. I didn’t care about being a size 6-8 again like I was in my 20s, I was just overjoyed at not being a size 14 anymore and more importantly looking in proportion again. I no longer despair about having wobbly thighs or not having a flat stomach or prominent cheek bones. Instead, I now appreciate the figure that I have more than ever before because I know one day, as my arthritis progresses over time, I will have to go onto more potent medication that will most likely result in weight gain. So until then I’m going to make the most of the figure I have :o)

Over the past few months I’ve been re-discovering makeup (as you can see from the photos) and have developed a bit of a passion for it. Its sooo colourful and sparkly and pretty – I love it, plus having Sephora nearby really helps! Having more time on my hands has meant I can actually shop at a more leisurely pace which has led me to explore and seek out new products. I also had a special event recently (more on this to come) for which I decided to do my own make so naturally I needed to practice ;o)

When it comes to makeup, I believe in focussing on what I think are my best features and for me that is my skin (I’m extremely lucky to have inherited my mum’s good skin – I really can’t take much credit for it!). Quite ironic really given that I’ve been a psoriasis sufferer since I was 17 (luckily it has never spread to my face). The other feature that I tend to focus on is my eyes (well eyebrows to be precise but hey they frame my eyes). So I’m on a mission to find my ‘perfect’ mascara, eyeliner, concealer and foundation and have also invested in some eye shadow palettes.

I’ve had so much fun playing with all these new colours and textures that I think my hubby is a little concerned that it’s turning into a bit of an obsession, but I can read him like a book, and I know he’s just happy to see that I’ve found my mojo and zest for life again.

Have you found your ‘perfect’ mascara, eyeliner, concealer and foundation? Which brand was it? Which makeup brand do you think does the best mascara / eyeliner / concealer / foundation? I’d certainly welcome any recommendations :o)

Love Sheen xxx