First Impression: Estēe Lauder Double Wear

Hello Princesses!

Today I'm going to be talking about a huge cult product - Estēe Lauders Double Wear Foundation! I was colour matched at the Auckland Smith and Caugheys counter to the colours 1N1(Ecru) and 1W1 (Bone) and I'm here to tell you about my experience with Double Wear!

What Does It Do?

"Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup SPF 10

BENEFITS

15-hour staying power, Medium, buildable

This worry-free, long-wear powder makeup stays fresh, looks natural, even through nonstop activity. Glides on silky smooth, absorbs oil." (1)

"Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, PEG/PPG-18/18 Dimethicone, Butylene Glycol, Tribehenin, Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate, Magnesium Sulfate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Methicone, Laureth-7, Xanthan Gum, Alumina, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Cellulose Gum, Propylene Carbonate, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Phenoxyethanol. May Contain: Iron Oxides, Mica, Titanium Dioxide." (2)

1N1(Ecru) on the left, and 1W1 (Bone) on the right. 1N1 (Ecru) is fairly pale, but since I'm quite yellow toned and 1N1 is neutral/pinky it doesn't quite fit right. 1W1 is a lovely warm tone, but way too dark. I didn't take photos of 1W1 because it just looked so silly!

Unfortunately I forgot to take before photos, so I found the closest match I could! These photos were taken on the same day - just one photo has lights on and one doesn't. ^.^ You can definitely see how much coverage Double Wear has, it evened out my skintone beautifully without looking cakey, and covered my scars and hyper pigmentation like a dream.

Double Wear has fantastic full coverage which I'm totally not used to! It made me feel like I was wearing a bit of a mask because it made my skin look so perfect and scarless which is crazy! I found the formula to be easy to apply as long as I worked quickly because it dried so fast. I also didn't need to use a finishing powder because it dried down to a matte touch dry finish.

Would I Purchase This Product?

Sadly, no. :C Both of the two lightest shades were too dark/pink for my skin, but I really enjoyed the formula, coverage and finish of this product! I think it would be great for performances or photographed events because of the full coverage! Estēe Lauder - please make this in the shade 0.5 or 0.0 and I will buy like, 10 of them, and I will love you forever! ^.^

Have you princesses tried the popular Double Wear?

Review: Skinfood Gold Kiwi Waterproof Sun Cream

Hello Princesses!

Today I'm going to be talking about a super important skincare item for absolutely anyone (Porcelain Princess or not!) which is Sunscreen! ^.^ 

Funnily enough, a couple of years ago I would never ever wear sunscreen unless i was going to be working outside at home, or at the beach, because sunscreen would make my face shiny, sticky and gross looking. Because of my long hair and lack of sunscreen, my shoulders and chest were protected by my hair from being tanned, while my face would get quite dark in comparison. This became a problem when searching for a fitting foundation because my face was so much darker than my neck!

I began searching for a better sunscreen, one that wouldn't make my face shine like a disco ball, or make me so sticky that my hair would stick to my face in the wind. I decided to start my search with Korean based sunscreens, and samples of Skinfood's Gold Kiwi Waterproof Sun Cream sounded like a good place to start.

 "Product description

Water proof sun care with golden kiwi extract

Clean and moisturized skin

Non-sticky fresh usage

SPF50+,PA+++

How to use

After basic care apply on face and body.

Apply 15-20 minutes before out door. Apply several times." (1)

This sunscreen actually does a really good job! It's a very thick white cream, typical of your regular sunscreen, but it absorbs really fast without leaving a sticky residue, and also feels quite moisturizing which is absolutely fantastic. It does leave a white cast which makes me look a shade paler (and a shade closer to my neck colour like you can see here!) which I also really like! ^.^

Things I Love
- Makes me a shade paler  (closer to neck colour)
- Absorbs quickly
- Not sticky or shiny
-Scented, but not too strongly


Things I Don't Love
- A lot of people won't want to look paler
- Gives the normal SPF flashback


Final Thoughts

I really like this sunscreen! It completely changed my view on sunscreen always having to be sticky, shiny, and something you should only wear when you're at the beach. I used all of the samples of this sunscreen and hopefully will be buying the full sized tube! ^.^

Have you princesses tried Korean Sunscreen? What sunscreen do you think I should try next?

Manicure Monady: Peaches and Puppy Love

Hello Princesses!

Today I have a super simple manicure using PiCture POlish's Peaches n' Cream with Kleancolor's Puppy Love for my accent nail.

I picked up Puppy Love from Lani's destash, and was pleasantly surprised with how much I actually love this polish! I'm a sucker for opaque sparkly glitters and this one is an absolutely gorgeous colour! I first tried this manicure over the summer holiday when I was only allowed to take a handful of polishes and really liked the combination of peach and blue, however the peach looks a little funny with my skintone. :C Oh well - I still love how this manicure turned out anyway!

Do you princesses have polishes that don't suit your skin tone, but you wear anyway because they're just awesome polishes? ^.^

Sunday Swatches: CC Cream Swatches

Hello Princesses!

Today I'm going to be showing you some CC Cream swatches! ^.^ I have two sets of swatches to show you today, because I recently acquired testers of two more CC Creams, but I had used up one of the other tester sets! 

Some CC Creams are designed to adjust to your skintone - so I did some swatches on my baby sisters arm since she is a lot darker than I am! Click to enlarge the photos!   

(Medium skintone)

Missha CC Cream - Beige
Missha CC Cream - White
TonyMoly Luminous Live Aura CC Cream
TonyMoly Luminous Pure Aura CC Cream
Etude House CC Cream - Silky
Etude House CC Cream - Glow 

(Extra Light Skintone)

(Oxidised in sunlight)

Even though these CC Creams look super dark and orangey, I can still make them all work for my skintone with enough effort!

(Indoor Swatches)

Etude House CC Cream - Glow 
 Etude House CC Cream - Silky
TonyMoly Luminous Pure Aura CC Cream
TonyMoly Luminous Live Aura CC Cream
Missha CC Cream - White (Miss-named on the picture!)
The Face Shop Aura CC Cream - No.02
Clinique CC Cream - Very Light 

I'm super keen to try out The Face Shop Aura CC Cream in the shade No.01, but since the shade No.02 was given to me for free I can't complain too much! ^.^ I hope this Sunday Swatches session was helpful for you princesses! ^.^ Feel free to share these swatch pictures - but please put a link to this post if you do share! xx 

First Impressions: Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base

Hello Princesses!

Today I'm going to be talking about a very interesting product - Bobbi Brown's Vitamin Enriched Face Base. I picked up a tester of this Face Base because I was having a ton of trouble getting my Bobbi Brown Long Long Wear Even Finish Compact Foundation to wear nicely on my skin. I asked the Bobbi Brown ladies if they had any ideas - and they suggested trying out this Face Base as a primer!

What Does It Do?

"A Bobbi Brown Best-Seller. Bobbi recommends this as the first step to prepare skin for the smoothest makeup application. Rich in feel, but never greasy, this advanced oil-free, face formula, with Shea Butter, instantly hydrates, softens, and cushions skin. Carrot Extract and Vitamin A Complex help minimize the look of fine lines and wrinkles. Vitamins C and E help protect against environmental damage. Grapefruit and Geranium fragrances leave a light, uplifting scent on skin. With daily use, skin looks and feels its best. Dermatologist-tested." (1) 

"Ingredients: 

Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Butylene Glycol, PPG-2 Myristyl Ether Propionate, Cetyl Alcohol, PEG-40 Stearate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Squalane, Glyceryl Stearate, Sorbitan Stearate, Epilobium Angustifolium Extract, Yeast Extract, Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Root, Retinyl Palmitate, Ascorbyl Methylsilanol Pectinate, Beta-Carotene, Sodium Hyaluronate, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit California), Tocopheryl Acetate, Methyl Glucose Sesquistearate, C12-15 Alkyl Octanoate, Pelargonium Graveolens (Geranium) Flower Oil, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Carbomer, PEG-20 Methyl Glucose Sesquistearate, Sodium Carbomer, Tetrasodium EDTA, Limonene, Citral, Citronellol, Geraniol, Linalool, Chlorphenesin, Phenoxyethanol, Propylparaben, Methylparaben" (2)

This Face Base is super thick, like a very solid cream. It has a strong lemony fresh scent which I don't mind, and a little goes a very long way. It doesn't absorb very fast and feels very thick and slightly greasy on my skin. It feels really moisturizing and it really helped my makeup apply smoothly and beautifully!

That is where the positives end for me! I do have oily skin, and I found that this Face Base made my face produce oil faster, which is obviously not good when you're already struggling to make your makeup last! I'm also allergic to something in this product (still not sure what it is!) and after 5 days of using this product my skin was looking pretty bad.

Would I Purchase This Product?

No. Even if this product didn't trigger my allergies, it's just too heavy for my oily skin! It's also very expensive at over $100NZD for 50mls of product. It also seems like a lot of people are allergic to this product, so if you're interested in trying out this product and you have sensitive skin I definitely suggest heading over to a counter and picking up a sample of this cream!