So recently I said goodbye to Nars Sheer Glow foundation, Illamasqua Masquara and the Shiseido Mascara Base and here's what products I replaced them with.
First up, lets talk foundation. I purchased the Chanel Perfection Lumière quite a while back when I was in New York. The packaging is perfect. The glass bottle has a pump built in (I wish Sheer Glow did) making dispensing the product easy peasy. The colour is a brilliant match for my skintone.
What I tend to go for in a foundation is a heavier coverage with a matte (ish) finish. The Chanel sales girl said this would be the best for me.
This foundation is very matte when you apply it-far more matte than Estee Lauder Double Wear or Nars Sheer Glow. Because of that it can look a bit flat so I have taken to mixing in 1 pump of Mac Strobe liquid before I apply it.
It definitely applies best with a brush-I used the Real Techniques Expert Face brush most of the time. I find it difficult to blend with my fingers because it dries so fast. It gives good coverage but still feels lightweight on the skin. It is long lasting but I do need to powder the foundation a couple of times a day to blot down shine, the matte effect doesn't seem to last on me. However that may be down to the primer I am using as that is a 'radiance giving' primer. It's an ok foundation but I am not loving it and this isn't my holy grail foundation.
I really really liked the Illamasqua Masquara (far more than I expected to to be honest) and had high hopes for the Guerlain Noir Couture as it's replacement.
The packaging is lovely-quite a heavy black and silver tube-very sleek looking.
The mascara has a 'three ball' brush allowing you to use the wand horizontally and vertically. To be honest I don't see any benefit from the brush shape over a normal wand.
The formula is creamy and not overly wet, but a lot of product gathers on the end 'ball' tip so you need to wipe that away. The mascara claims to offer 4 benefits-intense volume, strong curl, infinite length and complete lash care with the patented 'Lash Booster Expert Complex'. Again, I don't feel this mascara lives up to those claims. I get a little bit of length and it is very good at separation but my lashes look thin and spiky with this mascara on. I also don't get the 'intense black lashes' look that I like as it doesn't volumise very well. I'm disappointed. Whilst I haven't really experienced significant smudging or flaking with the mascara, it definitely seems to 'fade away' during the day, leaving your lashes feeling a bit naked.
I thought maybe adding a mascara primer might help so whipped out my Diorshow Maximizer.
I was unimpressed with the formula of the Shiseido version-I didn't feel it deposited much product onto the lashes or gave much extra 'oomph' to my mascara.
And straight off the bat I am going to say that I feel the same about this Dior version.
The plastic brush is quite long and is quite stiff and inflexible. Nevertheless I can definitely 'see' this primer on my lashes because it is white. But the formula is quite thin and I don't see that plumped up effect I saw when I used the Mac Prep and Prime mascara base. The Mac primer literally doubled the thickness of my lashes. The Mac Prep and Prime base was a thicker consistency though, the Dior one feels feather light on the lashes.
The reviews are so good of this primer so I am going to stick with it and maybe trying adding a bit more each time I use it. And also try it with another mascara.
Not glowing reviews of any of the products I am afraid but these are my initial impressions after using them daily for a couple of weeks now.
Have you tried any of these products? I would love to know your thoughts.
