testing L'Oréal STUDIO SECRETS Magic Perfecting Base

I was searching for some base which would fill in imperfections in my skin - enlarged pores and acne scars. I know that this might be quite challenging because my acne scars are deep under the skin surface and kind of impossible to cover them perfectly but I am not expecting any miracles. Just searching for product which will make a difference.

Then I found this L'Oréal STUDIO SECRETS Magic Perfecting Base product which promised "perfect skin texture" and it is supposed to "minimize the look of pores and fine lines". Well, let's see how well it works.

The product itself is kind of very thick paste, it blends nice but I have feeling that it doesn't quite gets into the skin that well. It just keeps sticking at the surface.
First I have applied thin layer all over the face (while I was doing make-up on someone else). It was very nice and smooth but after I have applied foundation stick on top of it, IT TOTALLY CREASED!
It formed kind of tiny chunks so I had to remove it completely. I don't know where I went wrong, I didn't use much of this primer and I have never experienced that kind of reaction with foundation I was using...

Another time I used it, I did not apply any foundation on top but only translucent powder. And result was quite nice - it did not smoothen my skin very significantly but it made bit of a difference in texture and my pores seemed to be less "deep".

In the pictures below you will see my face first without any product on and on the second photo you will see the result after dabbing this primer into skin and using Maybelline Super Stay concealer afterwards. I have chosen this concealer because it has dry formula so it is working very well with rich base.

Skin without any product

skin after using Magic Perfecting Base and concealer on top of it

CONCLUSION: Quite good but not that special. I would give it 2 out of 5 points.

Spring lilacs

 I had very tired and red eyes today as a result of staring at the computer screen most of the day. So I was deciding quite a long time what colours should I use to hide the redness. Usually my go to look would be just some simple 60's look (I'm totally  "pin-ed up" this season) using some warm browns for contouring. But with this amount of redness would warm brown only make it worse...so what is the best solution to hide red? Find something on red colour scale...and I figured already some time ago that lilac, lavender of any other shades of purple make redness disappear. Therefore I reached for my not-so-new Sleek Garden of Eden Palette. In some previous posts I have used the greens of this palette so today I have used the purples. Light shimmery lilac all over the lid, deep shimmery purple in outer lid, warm brown smudged with matt taupe in outer V. For lower lid I have first applied lilac/lavender eye pencil all over my waterline and lash line, then I applied the shimmery deep purple from Sleek palette into outer 1/3rd and shimmery lilac to the rest of the lower lid. After while the lavender pencil from waterline moved to lash area so I applied amazing new product from Catrice Made to Stay Inside Eye Highlighter pen. Works just great. It is kind of nude waterproof pencil which perfectly highlights the waterline and also doesn't move. It brightens the eyes instantly. I am using this product all the time I put on make up. Rest of the face make up is same old same old routine, brows as well. I still don't know what should I think about Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade...product itself is great, I just find it looking way too harsh - even when I use shade Chocolate (which is actually 2 shades lighter than my black hair). Maybe I will give it few more tries to figure out how to use it the most flattering way. For the lips I went also for lilacs, I am really not a fan of purple lips but I guess that's okay with this look.

Vintage (Dita von Teese inspired)

Dita von Teese

 I absolutely love this make up look. This season (spring/summer 2014) I am wearing toned down version of this make up almost all the time. I am just crazy about black eyeliner and bright red lips. With dark brows, black hair and pale skin it looks just amazing. I did not tried to re-create Dita von Teese look because I really don't care for copying celebrities but this is just something similar to her style (and what I personally think it fits me the best).

Sleek Oh So Special Palette

Fire eyes

Forest Fairy:-)

Spring 60s with pink lips

Natural/nude look for spring

Winter is over, spring is coming soon so I have decided to show more natural or (nude) look which is more "spring appropriate" I guess:-). New season is coming so I am adding more "light" and  natural make up looks to this blog because heavy smokey eye- and dark lip season is over. Finally. We all need some spring and summer time. So stay tuned for more natural, neutral and light looks.

I was testing Maybelline super stay 24h concealer (shade 2) so I have used it all over my face as a foundation. Result is pretty good I think, it is quite heavy and thick so it might be bit unnatural as a foundation but concealing power is AMAZING. I will make separate article on testing this concealer soon. 

Further nothing special, just some light nude eyeshadow to define my crease and applied to lower eyelid as well, very fine thin gel liner at lash roots and 2 coats of mascara. Some contouring done (as always), pretty rosy pink matt blush, bit of highlighting powder (from Sleek contouring palette). I did my brows too (I always do) and applied lipstick which matches the blush colour. 

24H Lipsticks - Max Factor, L'Oreal, Maybelline

I have looked in my lipsticks drawer lately and I have realised that most of lipsticks I own are 24hour stay lipsticks from several brands - Max Factor, L'Oreal and Maybelline. I decided to try them all on with same face make up and see how they really look like when I am wearing them. Also I was kind of curious whether there is any significant difference between brands. What I have find out is that there is really tiny difference between product itself (brand wise) although each brand uses different brushes (Max Factor's lipsticks have more "fluffy" brushes, L'Oreal ones have same fluffy brushes but they are also much longer than those from Max Factor and Maybelline have long brushes but not fluffy and much more pointy - personally I like the brushes from Maybelline the most). There is difference in texture between shades though - shimmery shades of lipsticks have different texture than matte ones. On the pictures below you can see the results.

Max Factor Lipfinity 140  Charming

Max Factor Lipfinity 001 Pearly Nude

Max Factor Lipfinity 056 Glazed

Max Factor Lipfinity 008 Tanned Rose

Max Factor Lipfinity 088 Jeweld

Max Factor Colour&Gloss 
560 Radiant red

Max Factor Lipfinity 113 Fiery

Max Factor Lipfinity 070 Spicy

There is my whole Max Factor lip makeup collection. I have been using these Lipfinity lipsticks since they have appeared on our marked. First time I've used them I was surprised by the texture which is very nice, coverage is decent as well, (although it depends on texture and colour) so one coat is usually enough, I like the lip balm which comes with the package in order to add shine and more comfortable texture to the lips (lipstick itself might make lips feel bit dry-out, I personally don't mind). Colour really DOES stay on lips ridiculously long although I am not very sure how long exactly because I never go to bed with make-up on but I can honestly say that it stays till you remove it with make-up remover AS LONG AS YOUR LIPS DON'T GET IN CONTACT WITH ANY FAT OR OIL. That is where all trick stops working. So if you really want this lipsticks (all of this kind, not only Max Factor brand) to stay on, you should avoid eating or drinking anything what contains fat, grease or oil (if you are on diet this might work excellent as a fat-control:-)) 

L'Oréal Infallible 110 Timeless Rose

L'Oréal Infallible 121 Flawless Fuchsia

As you can see I owe just a couple of L'Oréals lipsticks. Reason for this is that they are on our market just recently (in this version which is comparable with Max Factor's Lipfinity and Maybelline's super stay). Before were these products (Infallible lipsticks) under same name different kind of lipsticks - they were creamy "bullet" versions with duo package (together with lip balm) which looked bit like lightener with little mirror on the back. Therefore it was kind of different product for me. I am not saying if they were better before (with cream texture) or now (as a liquid stick) because it is very hard to say but I guess that precise application of cream "bullet" lipstick is much easier than of the liquid one. Well, they are not on the market anymore so all L'Oréal lipsticks I will purchase in the future will be these new liquid ones. They are not any different from above mentioned Max Factor Lipfinity's, same product, same coverage, same no fat rule, same long-lasting product so no competition here:-) Only thing which differs is the applicator tip (which I have mentioned above). It is slightly easier to work with than with these from Max Factor.

Testing Sleek I-Divine Storm eyeshadow palette (golds, browns & green)

I have purchased this palette mainly because of neutral brown shadows and very pretty shimmery pinks which I find awesome for my eye colour particularly. I needed a palette which would have everything I need for creating neutral looks. Well, I have this palette several months but I haven't created single neutral look with it so far:-). I find it amazing for all kinds of looks but recently I've been using it especially for smokey eyes (or how I call it - smokey winter eyes:-)). I'm attaching just some pics of few looks I have created with this palette. I tried not to use any other eyeshadows which was quite challenging because there is no light matte neutral colour for blending in this palette. However, all colour are amazing, I really love shimmery ones - 3 different shades of gold, beautiful browns, amazing pinky wine colour and trio of the best shimmery shades for smokey eyes - grey, forest green and navy blue...of course, there is no Sleek palette without black colour as well. As usually, all shadows are highly pigmented, with proper base they will stick on whole day and you really don't have to be worried about fall-outs that much (shimmery shades intend to be more tricky in this area, but good brushes will minimize the problem).

Winter grey smokey eyes

December is a month when I really like to wear smokey eyes. Still no snow, everything is grey and cold outside so what would be more appropriate then some nice cool-shaded  smokey eyes...Lots of women consider smokey eyes only evening or night wear appropriate. Well, smokey eyes are amazing for evening but it might be also cool for daytime - depending on many factors such as intensity of shading, or a season...I personally would not wear smokey eyes for daytime in summer or spring but I find them okey for autumn and winter (if it makes sense). Smokey eyes might have been bit extravagant in past but they get more and more popular, which is good news for women who like to go for bit more than standard light shadows-fine liner-bit of mascara-daytime look (me included). This look will just work amazing with women with light-coloured eyes such as green, blue, grey, hazel...anything which contrasts the dark shadows. You can also use shadows which will compliment your eye colour (dark grey or dark blue with blue eyes, dark green with green or grey eyes etc.) or shadows contrasting your eyecolour (brown or dark browns with blue or grey eyes, dark purple with green or hazel eyes etc.). Both effects looks beautiful. For this look I wanted to try out how will grey shadows work with my eye colour. I also didn't go too dark (shadows-wise) but I couldn't resist going crazy with black eyeliner. Little trick is to use black gel eyeliner in waterline. Common black kohl or eyepencil will never make such a strong effect. And of course - there is no smokey eye without very black, voluminous and defined lashes. To achieve this I have applied more than 3 coats of volumising mascara (list of products below).

Products used:

Eyes:

Sleek Eyeshadow Palette Storm nr. 578

Gosh Quattro eye shadow nr. 22 Driftwood

mascara: Max Factor False Lash Effect Fusion
L'Oréal Gel Intenza Eyeliner nr. 01 Pure Black


Face:
Vichy dermablend ultra-corrective foundation cream-stick shade 14 Nude and 12 Opal (as foundation)  
Vichy dermablend Setting powder
contouring: Sleek Face Form contouring and blush palette 373 light 
blush: Sleek Blush nr. 921 Suede


eyebrows:
Catrice eyebrow set (powder)
Catrice lash brow designer clear shaping gel

Lips:
Max Factor Lipfinity nr. 008

Classic mokka brown smokey eyes

I am completely in love with smoky eyes. It is an exceptional look which will never be out of style and it fits to every woman and can be adjusted to every occasion. This is my version of evening look. To make it even more outstanding (dramatic) it could be combined with bright red lipstick. I wanted main focus to be on eyes therefore I have chosen very nude lips with just a bit of neutral gloss.

Testing Sleek I-Divine Candy Collection palette (purples & pinks)

Palette without flash

Palette with flash