Chanel's Blending Foundation Brush #7

Greetings Reader!

Little Background:

I've never been a big fan of foundation's brushes. All of the ones I've tried in the past (Sephora's, MACs, Clinique's, etc) didn't work. Perhaps I didn't have the right technique or I wasn't using the right foundation, but it always looked like I was wearing a mask. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't blend the foundation enough. Even when I would ask the associate at whatever store I was at to apply my foundation using one of their brushes, when they handed me the mirror I could still see the foundation on my skin. So in lieu of a brush I would use my fingers and then when I was done, I would gently buff my skin with a tissue to make sure that my foundation looked flawless. 

Chanel's Blending Foundation Brush #7:

And all of that was true until I purchased Chanel's Vitalumiere Aqua. I asked the associate to apply the foundation with one of her foundation brushes. I thought she was going to use the Chanel Foundation Brush #6 (since that was the one I had seen most on YouTube and such. But she didn't, she used Brush #7. And that was how I came to purchase my first and only foundation brush.

This brush is dense with medium stiffness and a feathery soft brush head.This can be used on foundation, blush, and bronzer flawlessly! You don't have to be a make-up artist to be able to use this brush. I'm by no means a professional at make-up application, but even I manage to make my foundation look as if it's been airbrushed when I complete blending. Fantastic!

Bottom Line:

It's $54 well spent! It even comes in the signature Chanel black velvet case which is very convenient when I have to travel with my brush. No regrets so far. And other than the price, I can't think of a con. Give it a try the next time you're in the market for a foundation brush. I promise it won't disappoint.

I hope this helps. :)

MAC's Bronzing Powder

Greeting Reader!
Little Background:
MAC's is a fantastic make-up brand for those who haven't tried them out yet. I love their products even though I don't buy them all that often. Why? Because MAC is designed as stage make-up/performer's make-up. It's meant to stand up against anything and to look just as great 8 hours on. Having said that, I find that a lot of their products are super heavy. I'm not a fan of heavy products. When my skin can't breathe, I am more likely to get break-outs. I used their foundation for a little while 5 years ago, and while my face looked fantastic when the foundation was on, as soon as I took it off my skin looked like shit. It's a shame really, but what can you do?

MAC's Bronzing Powder:
I bought this powder in Golden over 5 years ago, and it works as well today as it did when I bought it! I figured it would have oxidized by now, but it hasn't. It's still goes on smooth and is incredibly long lasting. And when I say it's long lasting, I mean at least 8 hours of beautiful color. 

Since this is a bronzer, I don't use it very much. Some times I'll use it for contouring, but other times (mainly in January and February when I'm at my palest) I use it as a blush to add a hint of color or highlight my cheek bones. As I've stated already, I'm pretty pale (not fair). I don't go to tanning salons anymore as that just damages your skin faster and worse than if you went to the beach without sunscreen, but the downside is I look extra pale come January and February.

Another great feature to this product is that it's buildable. It's not heavy like many of MACs other products, so you can take your time applying it to make sure you get the exact look you want. The color is matte which is a huge plus for me. I'm not a fan of shimmer or glitter in my general face products.

Bottom Line:
I really don't know what else to say about this. It's a fantastic product. It costs $24 for 0.35 oz which is a steal when you imagine that I am still using the first one I purchased 5 years later!

I hope this helps. :)

Boots No 7 Lip Pencil

Greetings Reader!
Little Background:
Who doesn't love a great nude lip? It's simple and classic and with a hint of pink. 20 Nude goes with everything. In my search for a beautiful nude lipstick that didn't make me look like a zombie or someone from the 1960s - I stumbled on this great find!

Boots No 7 Lip Pencil:
Thank you Lisa Eldridge! She calls this a "cheat favorite" of hers since she is one of the Boots No 7 artistic directors and helped created this lip liner to match her own lip color. But I have to say - we have similar lip colors so her "cheat favorite" is one of my favorite finds. Now, I've only used this product in 20 Nude, but what a fantastic product. I would imagine the other colors in Boots No 7 Lip Pencil line are just as fantastic as the 20 Nude one, but I can only really speak to this one.

Long lasting and natural. It's a pretty creamy formula, so I didn't notice any tugging or pulling during application. And with a little blending, the product looks like your natural lip color without too much shine and gloss (but not entirely matte either). While you can use this as a lip liner, it's also great all over. I would apply a little lip balm over top of it though to help keep your lips moisturized. I love that it's a twist-style lip liner. Not that the standard pencil isn't nice. I just hate having to sharpen them - because I always forget and then need it when I'm no where near a sharpener.

Bottom Line:
Several retailers carry this online, but you can also get it at Target (when they are not sold out). I usually go to Target once a week and it took me 7 weeks to finally find 20 Nude. But Target did have a pretty nice collection of the other lip pencils in this line. It's $6.99 for 0.009 oz and the price seems pretty consistent even with online retailers.

I hope this helps. :)

Lip Fusion Micro-Injected Collagen Lip Plump

Greetings Reader!
Little Background:
Sorry for the delay. Last week's schedule was crazy! And I really needed the weekend to relax before coming back and posting a new entry.

I have full lips. Not Angelina Jolie full lips, but normal white-girl full lips. I always wondered about these kind of products and how they worked, so here's my reaction to this product.

Lip Fusion Micro-Injected Collagen Lip Plump:
If you're looking for fake looking lips, this is not the product for you. You're probably looking for a cosmetic procedure and not a little beauty plumping aid. Having said that, this product does work at plumping your lips slightly. It's a very subtle change to your lips. I'm not even certain that other people can tell that your lip are plumper, but I could always tell when I had used the product and when I hadn't.

First off, a lot of people think that this product doesn't work because they apply it over their lip balm or lipstick. This product must be applied directly to naked lips. It's the only way I've ever seen it work. If you apply it over your lipstick or lip balm - it can't really penetrate through whatever oil or balm that you're using on your lips already.

It tingles when you first put it on your lips. The tingling sensation lasts for about 3 minutes and then the product dissipates. At this point, I kind of think you can wipe it off and reap the benefits for the next 2 hours or so, but if you'd like to leave the lip gloss on that's fine too.

I know some people really like using this for lip gloss. I can't say that I'm a fan of that. It's kind of a sticky product after 5 minutes. And if you're not vigilant it can leave a white line around the inner part of your lips like you have cotton mouth. This is easily remedied if you monitor your lips during the first 20 minutes, but personally - after my lips are plumped I just wipe the product off my lips and move on to whatever lipstick or lip gloss I actually wanted to use.

Bottom Line:
It works to slightly plump your lips. I don't know if I'll replenish it after I've used up mine (Sweet), but it's a nice product. One of the reasons I don't know if I'll replenish it is that it cost $38 for 0.29 oz. Kind of steep in my opinion for something I wipe off my lips after 10 minutes, but to each their own.

I hope this helps. :)

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation

Greetings Reader!
Little Background:
I hate foundations that make it look as if I'm wearing make-up. If I wanted to wear a mask, then I'd wear a mask. My philosophy on foundation is that it should A) even out your skin tone, and B) look like the best version of your natural skin.

Chanel's Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation:
This foundation is pure gold! My only regret with this foundation is not using it sooner. This is a sheer foundation that blends flawlessly onto your skin. You can apply this with either your fingers or a foundation brush. Since this is a liquid foundation, I prefer to use a foundation brush. I even bought Chanel's Blending Foundation Brush #7 (which I'll write a review on at a later date) to apply this product effortlessly. 

This is not a matte foundation, so if you're looking for that - this is not your foundation. It leave a dewy-type appearance to your skin. But it's not overpowering like you have extra oil on your skin. It just kind of makes your skin glow. I found this to be a very long lasting foundation. I think this works well for about 7 or 8 hours before it starts to break down a little and leaves a little shine to the skin. If you put this on in the morning before work, and were planning to go out afterwards - I would bring this with me for a little extra touch-up before heading out for evening plans. 

As great as I think this foundation is, I don't think that I would wear this during the hot summer months. I think that while it's a sheer coverage, that this product works best on skin in less humid/hot climates. So, this will really become a 3 season a year (Fall, Winter, and Spring) foundation for me. 

As for it's coverage, this works really well for my skin. It's a sheer foundation and is buildable. So, if I can't cover the little red areas around my nose (when I have red around my nose) with one pass of the foundation, I'll just add a little bit more of the product to correct it then. If you're someone that needs more coverage (hiding active acne, scars, rosacea, etc), this probably isn't your product. The Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation is a sheer coverage foundation. Usually, the negative reviews I've seen posted on this product are from people who wanted a sheer foundation for it's natural appearance, but then hated that it didn't cover moderate imperfections. You kind of have to weigh what you're looking for with most foundations. Most sheer coverage foundations do not cover moderate blemishes as well as stronger medium coverage or sheer/medium coverage foundations. So, keep that in mind when you go to the store to try this out. And you have to try this out at the store and walk away. If it's at a mall, stop by the Chanel counter first. Try on the foundation (make sure they give you a card of what they put on your face) and then walk around the mall and shop for everything else. Assess how your face feels, how the product stands up over time, what it looks like in natural light, how long the coverage lasts, and if you like it - go back and get it. If you don't, then at least you tried a product and you know it wasn't for you. Do not buy this blindly off the website because you'll get the color wrong and hate it for the wrong reason.

One down side of the product that I find a little annoying is that since it is a water-based formula (hence the "aqua" in the title) you have to shake the heck out of it! And when I say that you have to shake it, I mean that you have to vigorously shake (think about the way that the automatic paint mixers shake new paint cans at Lowes to mix paint together for the first time) the foundation for about 2 minutes or else the product will come out watery. Once it is shaken, it's a very thick cream and you only need about the size of a pea to cover your entire face. If you haven't used the product for a few days, then you'll have to go back to the vigorous 2 minute shaking. But if you used the product the day before, you can get away with shaking it for about 30 seconds.

It does have a slight fragrance to it (as do most of Chanel's products), but it's a very clean fragrance that dissipates very quickly after application. I haven't noticed any drying from the product on my skin. I know some people have reported that, but I guess since I have combination skin, the alcohol content just doesn't effect my skin's moisture.

Bottom Line:
It is expensive. It's $45 for 30 ml, but as with most of the other products I've recommended that have an expensive price tag - the quality of the product is justified in the cost. Meaning that a little goes a long way.

Note Bene:
I have a busy week coming up, and I'll be away from my computer for a few days. I'll do my best to post a new review next weekend.

I hope this helps. :)

Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle Eau De Parfum

Greetings Reader!
Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle Eau de Parfum:
There is no need for a little background for this product. This is my favorite scent! Created by Chanel in 2001, this fragrance was designed to capture a younger audience of Chanel perfume fans. I can't say that I'm a big fan of Chanel's perfumes in general (I think most of them are too strong), but this one I fell in love with immediately.

Coco Mademoiselle is not as subtle a fragrance as the Bvlgari BLV Pour Femme. I would say that it is more of a moderate coverage fragrance with slight sweet, floral, and musky notes. Specifically, it has top notes of Orange, Bergamot, and Grapefruit. Medium notes of Litchi, Rose, and Italian Jasmine, with base notes of Haitian Vetiver, Indonesian Patchouli, Bourbon Vanilla, and White Musk. I can honestly say that I've never come across anything else that smells like this perfume. It's unique and beautiful and perfect for any woman who wants to feel the same way.

When I first tried in on in the store, I felt like I was wearing an old Hollywood fragrance because of how glamorous and sexy it smells. And I always use this scent when I'm trying to make a statement. But it is not an overpowering scent. I know some people like fragrances that when you walk in the door you can smell it. And even after you've left, the scent lingers for several minutes. (Or perhaps that's just the people who use the elevators in my apartment). I'm not that kind of perfume wearer. I prefer scents that when you're giving someone a hug or are in close proximity to someone that they can smell the perfume. But when I leave or when I'm standing an average distance away from someone that they can't smell my fragrance. I know it annoys me when I'm chatting with someone 3 or 4 feet away from me and I can perfectly smell their fragrance. When you can smell it that far away from someone, then I think the fragrance is just too overpowering or you've applied too much.

Bottom line:
Coco Mademoiselle Eau de Parfum is $85 for 1.7 oz or $115 for 3.4 oz. A little goes a long way and this is also a long lasting fragrance with more than 12 hours of continuous coverage. This does come in an Eau de Toilette, but I think that the Eau de Toilette smells like poo. It is a completely different scent in the Eau de Toilette compared to the Eau de Parfum. Try both of them out the next time you're looking to sample fragrances, but don't forget that I warned you about the Eau de Toilette.

I hope this helps. :)

Bvlgari BLV Pour Femme Eau De Parfum

Greetings Reader:
Little Background:
I know I've said how much I dislike wearing beauty products with scents in them, and the reason for this is that I wear one of two perfumes on a daily basis. And I actually want to smell these perfumes on my skin rather than 20 different products with 20 different scents and then in the distance - a perfume I spent a lot of money on trying to break through the other fragrances.

Bvlgari BLV Pour Femme Eau De Parfum:
This is a light powdery fragrance. It's not very sweet or floral, but it is a very sophisticated scent. It has a slight woody musk note to it as well (which since this is the feminine version of the BLV Pour Homme, I would kind of expect that it would have a slightly masculine note to it.) 

BLV is a very clean feminine scent which although it is a very subtle fragrance, it's incredibly long lasting. I can spray this on in the morning and still smell it on my skin throughout the day until my evening shower.

It has a top note of Galanga, and subsequent notes of Iris Heart, Vodka Base, and Dark Chocolate. I don't know if this comes in a Eau de Toilette, but I've also never looked. I can't really wear Eau de Toilette fragrances because of the alcohol content. It gives me a headache.

Bottom Line:
It's $85 for 1.35 oz of the Eau de Parfum. Give this a try if you're looking for a nice soft sophisticated feminine fragrance.

I hope this helps. :)