Review

Luminoso

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Milani Luminoso in PanMilani Luminoso, $8

This is a legacy post that I’ve given a facelift. I still love this under $10 drugstore blush – and even though I have a fancy NARS blush and I own highlighters now, this still holds its own in my collection.

There are so many stunningly beautiful prestige and luxury blushes out there.

That said, don’t let yourself get caught up and sneer at drugstore blush because some of them are wonderful. My favorite so far, to my surprise, is a $3 e.l.f. Studio offering. Modest price, modest (but functional, sturdy, and sleek) packaging – but pretty color that is perfect for every day and/or work. But this article isn’t about that, it’s about Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso.

It’s April. My No-Buy is over. Another blush finally joined the ranks.

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I Wear Old Spice Deodorant

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Old Spice BeargloveOld Spice Bearglove, $4 at Target

Fun Fact: I’m a twenty-something woman, and I wear Old Spice deodorant. Bearglove, to be precise – and just the deodorant, not the antiperspirant. I like girly things and I have more dresses in my wardrobe than anything else.

I’m not:

  • Conducting some strange social experiment
  • Making a statement to society
  • Stealing my husband’s grooming items
    (He does wear Old Spice, but a different variety that smells way more masculine to us.)

There are plenty of reasons why many ladies like myself have ditched the feminine deodorants.

My top reasons:

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Sure Aerosol Antiperspirant Deodorant

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Sure Aerosol Antiperspirant

There aren’t many items out there under $5 that are incredible. At roughly $3 for a 6oz can, Sure Aerosol Antiperspirant Deodorant is one of them.

I typically wear deodorant free of antiperspirant.

Why?

  • I’m not terribly prone to sweating in the first place
  • Most stick antiperspirant/deodorants generally don’t play well with my body chemistry (ugh)
  • I hate marks on my clothing and
  • If can avoid using aluminum ingredients every single day, I want to

But…

Several of my work-appropriate, easy-to-care-for blouses and dresses consist of (at least in part) synthetic materials. Synthetics don’t breathe the same way cotton does (ugh). Even though I’m not terribly prone to sweating, my usual deodorant doesn’t always perform as well with those fabrics (double ugh). Add in wintertime layering or jackets with synthetic linings, and it can be worse than summer.

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Worth it? Color Switch by Vera Mona

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I picked up the Color Switch by Vera Mona during the most recent BI sale. I find myself using the same few brushes again and again, even in the same look. Wiping brushes off on a tissue doesn’t do much, and although I love Cinema Secrets, I don’t want to use it in my brushes every day I wear makeup.

Okay, but what is it?

The $18 Color Switch is a tin filled with a disc-shaped, rough mesh sponge not unlike the material used in a bun ring . As bristles are drawn across the surface, product is jostled away and falls down into the cells of the sponge.

There is a slightly smaller $14 one as well.

Does it Work?

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NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation

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This is a legacy post that I’ve given a facelift because who doesn’t want to be warned about shockingly bad foundation? Opinions are the same, but is formatted and edited for easier reading and flow.

I wore Nars Sheer Matte on my wedding day, and while it photographed beautifully, it was heavy. I felt it all evening. NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation came out earlier this year (2015) and, as it often happens, the blogger and vlogger world was abuzz. I saw a lot of positive feedback about the product (go figure).

I didn’t put any stock in it because it seems when a notable brand comes out with something new, everyone is hyped over it. Oh, and unlike its sisters Sheer Glow and Sheer Matte it has a damn pump – so that’s nice. I hadn’t seen amazing results on other people, though, so I ignored it.

NARS All Day Luminous Weightless FoundationNARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation

Skeptical Match

Fast forward to June, I had a wedding to attend to and a faux tan thanks to self-tanning…and no foundation that matched. I ventured to Sephora, did the silly ColorIQ thing and spent a lot of time with the ladies there trying to sort out my shade. I told them I prefer MUFE HD and UD, but could do NARS Sheer Matte. Instead, they matched me to NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation because I didn’t have a shade in the others. She assured me that it was fine for oily skin, can be applied with a brush or sponge without issue, photographs well, etc.

Application

I applied the product with a Sigma F80 flat-top kabuki on top of Benefit Porefessional; fairly standard procedure for special event makeup. I noticed that although it did not have the consistency of the Sheer Matte, NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation was on the heavier side. It also required significant effort to blend…and like the Sheer Matte, I had to bust out a beautyblender to help me do so. I set with translucent powder (Rimmel Stay Matte, what I always use) and Urban Decay All-Nighter – again, standard procedure for me for makeup that needs to last.

Wear

The ceremony was outdoors at 5PM (about 15 minutes after I finished painting my face), and brief; the weather was pleasant, not raining or even stiflingly humid. My husband and I headed in for the cocktail hour and he noticed that the foundation was:

  • Breaking up at my jawline
  • Beaking up between my eyes and
  • that it was making a dry patch (that I usually have NO ISSUE with) near my nose awkwardly visible.

I checked it out, and it wasn’t looking good – all the things my husband noticed were definitely the case, and more; it had settled into my smile lines and the lines on my forehead. I tried to blot it, thinking, “Maybe I’m just a bit on the oily side today,” nope – I’m wasn’t, a ton of foundation smeared and lifted when I blotted. I remained blotchy. What the hell?!

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Lorac PRO Palettes, Compared

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The Lorac PRO was my first palette. I still have it, and it is a workhorse. I loved it so much that I purchased, without question, Lorac PRO 2 and Lorac PRO 3, which later had posts.

I don’t own any of the Mega PRO palettes; I am more than a bit jaded on mega palettes and holiday palettes at this point. Now, I’ve owned all (regular) PRO palettes for a while and have had time to put them through their paces.

The Original, $44Lorac PRO Palettes, Compared

My first and for several months only palette once I got into makeup, the first Lorac PRO palette served me extraordinarily well. As a neutral, light-to-medium-at-most skintone, it had everything I needed to handle work, evening, weddings, etc. Garnet looks incredible applied with a wet brush.

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