February 2020 Empties

I can't believe that it is already March 18th! The world is a strange place right now and I am doing my best to stay indoors at home (also working from home at the moment) as I am sure many of you are. For all of you beauty lovers out there, I think it's time we all had a distraction with some empties!

Bumble and Bumble Mending Shampoo - This shampoo was ok. I don't think it did much for my hair except make it soft and it detangled alright. I was still battling frizz in a big way with this and for that reason alone, I won't repurchase.

Avalon Organics Lavender Luminosity Brilliant Balance Cleansing Gel - My mother was using this and for some reason gave it to me. I was pleasantly surprised! It smelt nice, cleaned well, removed makeup and was gentle on my skin. I don't know the cost of this but it can't be super expensive - looks like it's between $10-$15. Compared to cleansers at Sephora, this is cheap! I really liked this and I would repurchase!

Bath & Body Works Black Cherry Merlot Gentle Foaming Hand Soap - I am trying so desperately to get rid of all of my BBW liquid soaps! I checked and I think I am down to the last 7 or 8. How did this happen? How did I collect so many! I am just over them and their chemical scents. I have another full bottle of the Black Cherry Merlot in the cupboard but this scent is truly one of the better ones. Since I am washing my hands morning, noon and night with COVID-19, maybe I will get rid of a few more of these in the next month! Gah!

Aveeno Active Naturals Intense Relief Hand Cream - This is the one I keep at my desk at work. I keep forgetting to put this in my empties posts and I am nearly through another one. Glad to finally chuck this empty out. I really like this cream and I will buy it again and again.

NARS Chelsea Girls Lip Gloss - This might be my favourite lip gloss. I love layering this over whatever is on my lips. Smells nice, feels nice and the colour is a great neutral on me. This was my second one. I will definitely repurchase!

Milk Makeup Kush Mascara - I have had this mascara for a long time! It really went the distance for a travel sized tube. It was ok. It gave decent volume but not much length for my taste. For that reason I will not repurchase but if all you want is volume, give this a go! The packing is super heavy as a side note.

Makeup Geek Baby Face Eyeshadow - Proud to say I used it up. It was long wearing, smooth and opaque. I would repurchase maybe but the colour is nothing special and exists in 100 palettes I have.

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair - Another freebie bites the dust. One day I will buy a regular, full-sized bottle...once I use up all of my free samples of course! This does make a noticeable difference to your skin in the morning and I would recommend it, albeit it is pricey.

Foundation swatches and reviews coming up for Charlotte Tilbury and MUFE over the next few days!

Fenty Beauty by Rihanna Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation in 185 and 260 - Review and Swatches

Ever since Estee Lauder discontinued my beloved Double Wear Light foundation, I've been so lost. The new version that they replaced it with, the Soft Matte Hydra Makeup version, is just not good and nothing like the original version that I'd worn for a good decade. 

I found myself with no choice but to see what the makeup industry was offering in the way of foundation products since I hadn't really been looking for....well a decade! I wish I could say I was wowed and amazed with what I found but instead the last year has been a frustrating, disappointing, maddening and not to mention expensive experiment with foundation. I've bought quite a few and I have many reviews to share with you. Let's start with Fenty Beauty's Pro Filt'r Matte Longwear oundation.

I got a sample from Sephora of this foundation in 260 which is on the right in the swatch above. As you can see, it's too dark for me. I mixed it with another lighter, thinner foundation and was impressed by the great coverage it had and the soft glow it gave off on the skin. I thought this could be a foundation option for me! This was last Fall before the dry winter air emerged. I swatched a number of shades in Sephora and decided 185 was the best match for me based on arm and wrist swatches. This shade is on the left hand side in the picture above and below. 

It was obvious when I got home that 185 was too light for me. It looks white when I apply it to my face. So I started mixing it with the 260 travel tube I had. The mixture was still too dark. I waited until deep dark winter and tried 185 again. It was still too light worn on it's own but now it was a better fit. After wearing it alone for an hour or so I noticed something. It oxidized and went darker. So the colour was even better but it of course had oxidized so that was no good! To make sure I wasn't losing it, I read some reviews online and realized that this foundation is known to oxidize. Also when I wear it alone not mixed with another foundation it's not comfortable; after awhile and feels quite drying.

When you apply it, you better work fast because it dries quick and you don't want it clumping up on you. Also, in winter anyway, you don't feel like your skin is breathing and it's an uncomfortable feeling.

In the picture above, I have 185 blended out on the left and 260 blended out on the right.

I bought the Fenty concealer in the shade 230 because the product was nice and thick so I thought it would do a good job of concealing. It does a good job of concealing but the colour is still too light! Fenty Beauty has 50 shades and I can't find one that matches my skin tone. Brutal.

Let's forget about the fact that I can't find a shade in the Fenty Beauty range for the moment. The pros of the foundation is that it is very thick and offers good coverage, gives a nice glow to the skin, is in a glass bottle (yeah!) and is very long lasting.

The cons are it oxidizes, I can't find a matching shade, it feels dry on the skin and uncomfortable after a couple of hours and around my chin, at least, it can look cakey at the end of the day.  It dries super fast while you are applying it so you need to apply it fast. As a side note, I have combination skin not totally dry so this would definitely not be suitable for dry or very dry skin.

So Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Matte Longwear Foundation was a bust for me. I feel like it is a shame because this foundation could be so much better and it has the seeds for greatness with some tweaks.

Empties post next and then another foundation review.