Match Perfection Concealer

Blogger is a sick puppy these days. The doctors said it's Sinusitis - but I don't trust them... Notta bit! No, it's definitely something much much more sinister that has been unleashed upon my bein,g designed to reduce me to a congested, stuffy nosed, hacking, sneezing monster. Steam, Vicks and a box of tissues have been my companions during this hard time...

This is exactly how I felt, red nose and all!

Just call me Rudolph.

Couldn't breathe, couldn't taste, couldn't hear!

The constant use of tissues had scratched the skin around my nose and had left me with broken capillaries. But please, lets add insult to injury - mom said there's a family wedding and I have to attend. No excuses.

Crap.

When I was able to find the energy, I went and stood in front of the mirror and took a good look at myself - sallow and sicky looking skin, puffy eyes, swollen red nose and a general air of pathetic-ness... And I'm supposed to suddenly look presentable?!

Oye ve!

Okay then, if I wanna go from that up there to a relatively close version of ---> ...Well, I can dream, can't I?
So sue me, I'm ill!

Anyway, I had to do what I had to do and look presentable. And what better chance would I get to test run this guy?

Meet Match Perfection Concealer by Rimmel London








I kinda felt bad for putting this guy through its paces in such rough conditions, but hey - I had very little choice here! So I took a deep breath (that was followed by a series of coughs and sputters) and got started on my skin.


The usual moisturizer, primer and liquid foundation. And then I broke out this guy. After a little bit of coaxing, I got the product onto the brush tip and applied it around my nose, under my eyes and onto any spots I had to conceal. The formulation is thick so that worried me at first, but it blended like a dream - no caking here! Now to be honest, I'm not too crazy about the brush tip... The only purpose of it is to apply the product - I still needed to use my finger to blend it out. Another issue I had with this was that it settled into creases a little too fast for my liking... So apply setting powder asap after application. Other than that, it seemed pretty good for its initial use. The thick texture worked in my favor to cover up all the redness the illness had brought onto my face and I set it all with the Match Perfection Compact Powder and a biggest fluffy brush I owned. Then I finished the rest of my face and headed off to the wedding.

I will say this, this product didn't do as well as a highlighter for me - maybe I'll have to get one in a lighter shade but not this guy.

Also, word to the wise - avoid shiny products near the center of your face when you're ill. If your skin is anything like mine (combination) when you're sick, it gets glossy and any product with shimmer in it makes it look like an oil slick.

Back to the evening....

4.5 excruciating hours later, I came home and was dying to crash, clothes and makeup in tow, but that wasn't happening. So I glanced in the mirror and was very impressed to see that it had done its job of concealing well AND it didn't crease or cake on me! Plus, my skin didn't feel heavy or clogged (or maybe my sinuses were just doing such a phenomenal job that I just couldn't tell :p) so that was a job well done! Once I removed my makeup, I saw how crummy I looked, I instantly fell more ill and just wanted to collapse onto the floor right there and sleep - maybe there really is something behind the whole "looking good is half the battle won".

But for now, I must recover. Somehow. Someday. Someone help me!

Have you tried Match Perfection Concealer? No? You must! My shade is Natural Beige. Get yours!

This product was sent to me for review purposes. All opinions stated are purely and honestly my own.

Match Perfection

Just yesterday, I got my hand on this beauty


Rimmel London's Match Perfection Ultra Creamy Compact Powder - yes, that's a lot to say and while I'd love to label it "genius-in-a-compact-case", I'll stick to Compact Powder.

It's Sunday today and I had some errands to run so I thought to myself, well, what better time than now to punish the poor sucker and put this compact powder through the ringer. "The ringer" being a warm Karachi day spent mostly outside with the temperatures in the mid 20's - sunny and a little humid.

So I started out with a clean, moisturized face - I applied a makeup primer and used the sponge applicator provided to pack the product onto my face - my color is Soft Beige. Starting from the center of my face, I worked my way out, just pressing the product on. Once that was done, I took a kabuki brush and buffed all the product I applied into my skin - insider trick: this is the best way to achieve even coverage! I then misted a setting spray over my face and let that dry.


At this point, I took a step back and analyzed the coverage. The color seemed off at first, but the product claims to have SMART-TONE technology, so I chose to give it a chance. I puttered around for 30 minutes and then saw that the powder had indeed adjusted its self! The coverage looked natural and even and just really skin like! It didn't feel heavy or cake-y. At this point, I'm going to mention that I'm a girl who likes sheer to medium coverage. Full coverage looks unnatural to me, unless it's a for photography. So I topped it off with a blush and mascara and set off for my day.

Rimmel London says:

"Up to 14 hours of wear! Find your match with Rimmel London's Match Perfection Ultra Creamy Compact Powder. A Super-blendable and Lightweight formula with SMART-TONE TM technology that cleverly adapts to your skin's natural colour and texture, while blue-sapphire pigments enhance your natural colour and tone. Lasts as long as you do!"

Here's what I found:

My "ringer" included a 30 minute drive to the grocery story, 1 hour spent shopping, a 10 minute drive to an outdoor fruit vendor, 5-6 minutes in the midday sun getting my purchases, another 20 minute drive to a coffee shop, 1 hour spent lunching with friends, a 5 minute drive to another market and then 10 minutes later, I was home. The first thing I did after dumping my bag and keys was to run to my vanity and see my face. Now to be fair, I put the compact powder through quite the test and like any proud cosmetic, it managed to hold its own! Kudos! Of course most makeup gives up at the first sign of perspiration, but this little guy put up a good fight - it didn't dislodge itself! Then again, I didn't swipe at my face either :p

Right now, it's approaching 5pm and its beginning to show signs of weakness. My nose and forehead have developed a slight sheen, but that's also in part because I haven't done a touch up. To credit the formulation, its hit the half-way mark in very tricky weather conditions. Any cooler day and it would still be going strong - any hotter, and even a TV Stick would have called quits. So I'll touch it up and see how it holds for the rest of the day.

(Fast forward a few hours)

It's nearing the end of the day and blissfully the evening was cool. The makeup hasn't given up on me yet, but I don't think I have it in me to last that long without washing my face - also, I've been dying to scratch my nose!!!! It has done a solid 12 hours by now and I'm very happy to give this round to the makeup. I claimed that this was a genius-in-a-box and I say so because this held up, stayed put for the most part and my skin didn't feel clogged or irritated! It also matched my skin tone and made it look even and natural - and that's saying something because sunlight is very unforgiving towards foundations. How do I know it lasted and didn't budge? Well, when I took a remover soaked cotton pad, a lot of product came off my face! Trust me, I checked :p Oh, and the highest commendation I can give this little guy - my DAD didn't even NOTICE I had makeup on my face! HAH! This is from the man who thinks I'm wearing way too much makeup if I wear a red lipstick... I love you pops, but my relationship with makeup is something you will never understand.

Would I recommend this? Oh definitely! It's a must have! Apply some concealer to the trouble areas, buff this on and your skin in prepared! Bring on the war paint! (More on the subject in a future post.)

Have you tried it? Please share your thoughts about this product.

This product was sent to me for review purposes. All views and opinions stated in this article are entirely my own.

Get Cheeky!

Long gone are the days I used to drool over eye shadows. Now its these beauties that get me all eager and excited!

I'm really loving cheek products these days... Can't get enough! I've been seen walking the thin line between a pretty flush and bruised and battered. Today I decided to pull out some products that I've been loving over the winter and spring. Some are high end and some are locally available.

Lets start with the blushes:

Meet "Superduper Natural" by MAC. It's a Mineralize Skin Finish Blush that was limited edition. It's a dusty rose pink with flecks on gold. Great for a dewey finish! Use the same shade on the eye with mascara and you won't need much else.

Very similar to the MAC blush above, this is from Shoppers Drugmart in Canada by a brand called Annabelle. Its more pigmented and should be reached for with caution. That doesn't stop it from complementing a smokey eye and a neutral lip!

This here is a NYX blush in the color Peach. Now looking at this, it looks more baby pink than peach, but for those with warm/yellow undertoned skin, this shows up as a fresh peachy blush. I wore this mostly during winter as it is a matte shade, but by no means does that mean you can't wear it over the summer.. Knock yourself out!! Put together with a stained lip and some colored liner, you're good to go!

This is Coralista by Benefit. True to its name it's a corally color which smells very pretty too!! It's got some shimmer to it, which makes it sooo much fun to wear when you're feeling blah and don't want to bother with too much makeup. This plus a pink gloss and mascara, and you're set for the day!

Bring on the bronzers!

I've blogged about this puppy before. This is Maybelline Expert Wear Stay-True Bronzer in the color Forever Warm. Its a sunkissed glow with a hint of shimmer. Apply this to the back of your cheekbone and blend it with Coralista for and instant "pretty-to-go" glow!

Now this one here has recently joined the party. Enter Smashbox's Soft Lights Mini Baked Fusion. It may not be able to provide contouring worthy bronzing, but it does an amazing job setting your skin aglow! Apply to the high points on the cheek and blend it with NYX's Peach on the apple of the cheek. It's fabulous!

Meet Falcon. He is a matte bronzer which is available locally in Pakistan by Atiqa Odho Cosmetics. This is the first matte bronzer that I have truly enjoyed using. It does what you need it to do without going gray and chalky on you. Not to mention its good quality and CHEAP!!! Best worn in the hollows of the cheek with Superduper Natural just above.

Highlighters:

Two come to mind in this category.

The first in Honour by MAC. This is a super shimmery shade that must be worn with caution. A little goes a very long way.

This is Dove by Atiqa Odho and is a misunderstood jewel. It is a neutral toned blush with gold shimmer. It can be used for highlighting purposes sure, but I use it as an all over face glow! Evidently I love this product, I've already hit pan here!! With a fluffy brush, dust this all over the face, add lipgloss and go! Like Falcon, it's completely inexpensive!

Honorable mention goes to two recent acquisitions that are fabulous cheek products.

First is Stila's convertible color in Rosebud - blends like a dream and stays put!!!!!

The second is Smashbox's Artificial Light in Flash. This is an illuminizng lotion that goes onto your skin with a Mother of Pearl sheen, making you look dewey. This is what I wear when I don't want to look like I'm trying too hard with blush. I'd apply it to the highs of the cheekbone, above the eyebrow, on the bridge of the nose, the cupids bow and the chin - basically the high points of the face that catch the light..

So go on my friends, get cheeky!