Showing posts with label foundation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label foundation. Show all posts

December 26, 2015

PUR Cameo Contour - all five - swatches, review

Hello, Beautiful!

PUR has made an easy way to highlight and contour with their Cameo Contour sticks. This cream product duo has a lighter shade to highlight and a darker shade to contour. Can use alone as your only foundation product, or in combination with your actual foundation base.

I've been testing these out for a few weeks now, gathering my thoughts and favorite ways to use them. Read my full review below, but first check out the swatches, pics and some info along with them.

PUR Cameo Contour Info & Review
Cost: $39.50
Availability: Available on the PUR website, at Ulta, and everywhere else PUR is sold.
My Rating: 4 out of 5 Kisses

PRODUCT DETAILS & CLAIMS...

Meet the final word in flawless contouring. PUR's dual-ended contour stick adds closeup-worthy depth and dimension to your natural features with a creamy formula that sets to a picture-perfect powder finish. With use of the natural, light-reflective ingredients that resemble microspheres, this 2-in-1 complexion innovation emphasizes your face's natural highlights and shadows while simultaneously blurring the look of imperfections, such as dark spots and fine lines.

As you apply and blend one or both shades with the Contour Blending Sponge, your skin also absorbs the skin-perfecting benefits of PUR's own Ceretin Complex - a proprietary blend of hydrating ceramides and age-defying vitamin A!

Oil-free, Petrolatum-Free.

PUR Cameo Contour
Shades: Light, Medium, Tan, Dark, Deep
Continue scrolling down to see more pics of each individual shade.

Each duo stick comes boxed and includes a pink blending sponge.


The boxes are very reflective, so that's why they may be hard to read.

Shades listed at the top.


Here is a better view of the front and back of the box with minimum reflection from the lights.


As I mentioned, each stick comes with a pink blending sponge. Here are all five that I received; they're all similar in shape but vary slightly with cut.


Of course you should always use a blending sponge damp by getting it wet first.

Below shows dry vs. wet  -- and in this case, wet means damp (not dripping any water).

Also included is a little guide to help those that may not have tried contour and highlight yet. Keep in mind everyone's face shape and features are different, so while this map is a good guideline, you may find better points to place the highlight and contour shades on your own face.

Remember: highlight is what you want to bring forward and contour is what you want to push back.


For comparison of all shades next to each other, here they are:





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PUR Cameo Contour
Shades: Light
For fair skintones with creamy ivory undertones. Choose if in PUR's 4-in-1 Mineral Makeup you wear shade Porcelain or Light.
This is the lightest of the five shades. I found for myself, this one was too light but if you are fair this would be the one to choose.








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PUR Cameo Contour
Shades: Medium
For medium beige skintone with blush to golden undertones. Choose if in PUR's 4-in-1 Mineral Makeup you wear shade Blush Medium or Golden Medium.
Medium is the one I use the most. It's a good match and looks nice on my skintone.







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PUR Cameo Contour
Shades: Tan
For olive skintone with yellow, honey and caramel undertones. Choose if in PUR's 4-in-1 Mineral Makeup you wear shade Light Tan, Tan, or Medium Tan.
This is great for those with medium to olive complexions. I will use the contour end of this stick if I want a bit warmer contour.









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PUR Cameo Contour
Shades: Dark
For rich bronze skintones with golden undertones. Choose if in PUR's 4-in-1 Mineral Makeup you wear shade Medium Dark or Golden Dark.
Shades Dark and Deep are pretty similar, so if you're not sure which to choose from, you should be okay with either one. The undertones do vary slightly.








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PUR Cameo Contour
Shades: Deep
For warm skintones with golden amber undertones. Choose if in PUR's 4-in-1 Mineral Makeup you wear shade Deep or Deeper.
As I mentioned above, shades Deep and Dark are very similar. Shade Deep is just a bit more red in tone for the contour and a bit more caramel in tone for the highlight.








FINAL THOUGHTS...

I love to highlight and contour, but admittedly not a big cream product fan. I have a lot of flaws on my face to hide and the thought of adding a cream on top (which often removes the layer below, or at the very least moves it around), is just not desirable for me.

However, when my skin is in better condition, I will use cream contour and highlight products - especially if I'm going full glam with my  makeup. It's just that extra step that can take you from wow to wowza!

These creams are especially nice because they dry to a power finish, so there is no additional need to set them. Of course if you want to add additional highlight or contour on top you could go over them with a powder highlight and contour.

You can use these sticks as your only foundation too. You won't get full coverage from a single layer, but you can get light to medium coverage easily, depending on application and blending method.

The way I enjoy using these the most is not as a foundation but instead as an actual cream contour and highlight. I will apply my foundation and allow it to set before applying these on top.

The blending sponge that is included is nice quality and works well when used damp. For those that may be wondering how it compares to the brand name Beauty Blender, aside from the color, these are different in feel. This is soft, but when bouncing off the face you can feel it is a big firmer than the Beauty Blender is. It's a nice sponge, and far better than many knock-offs on the market that are very hard, even when wet. This one is comparable to the Real Techniques sponge more so.

While I do like these sticks, I find that the contour shades are a bit warm in tone. Ideally I'd like to see cooler tone contour shades, as warm tones don't work as contour on everyone. If you're looking for cool tones, these aren't a good choice for you, but if you like warmer to neutral tones then these are a good choice. The highlight shades are fantastic in tone; I especially like the Medium highlight shade.

I like that they're easy to use, blend well and easy to travel with. I took a few of these with me when I recently traveled to PA to visit my family. I used these on my niece for her 16th birthday party and she looked beautiful!

If you've been over whelmed by the palettes that include multiple shades, these duo sticks make it easy for you; just choose the highlight shade that is 1 to 2 shades lighter than your skintone and that's the stick you should get (in my opinion).

If you try these, let me know what you think!

Now let me know what you think...
What do you think of this product? Have you tried this, or would you consider adding this to your beauty wish list? Discuss in the comments below!

xoxo with love & beauty,
Crystal Valentine

Disclaimer: This is NOT a sponsored post. However, these products were sent to me for consideration. I am not being paid to make this post, nor has the company influenced me in any way. I have made this post because I wanted to, not because I had to. These are my honest opinions, thoughts and experiences.

September 23, 2015

Tom Ford Flawless Powder Foundation - shade 4.0 Fawn: before & after, swatches, complete review

Hello, Beautiful!

I don't know who I think I am lately, but I've been splurging on luxury makeup. But after my recent makeup purge -- which was my biggest purge yet (I purged over 1,200 items... over 700 went into my recent blog sale, the rest was given away) -- I decided to treat myself to some select luxury items. I have plenty of high-end makeup, but a handful of luxury makeup products in my collection.

Tom Ford definitely falls into the luxury makeup category with the average price of one item being in the $60 to $80 range; that's expensive! And that's also why up until very recently I had never purchased any of his makeup.

If there is one makeup category I am all for splurging on, it's a foundation (liquid or powder formula). So when I decided to try a Tom Ford item, I knew I wanted to try a foundation product. I'm currently still in love with my Marc Jacobs Remarcable Full Cover Foundation, so I didn't want to try another liquid foundation, but I did want to try a powder foundation. That's when I purchased the Tom Ford Flawless Powder Foundation. Did it live up to my expectations? Am I just paying for a name? Continue reading to find out all my thoughts...


Tom Ford Flawless Powder Foundation Info & Review
Cost: $80.00 (0.24 oz full size)
Availability: Available on the Tom Ford website, at Nordstrom, and everywhere else Tom Ford makeup is sold. 
My Rating: 4 out of 5 Kisses


PRODUCT DETAILS AND CLAIMS...

This versatile foundation glides onto skin with a silky, light as air formula to create a flawless and natural-looking canvas for color. Designed to be worn as a buildable foundation offering light to medium coverage or as a luxurious finishing powder, it features micro-fine, light-reflecting powders for a luminous finish. Includes a special sponge applicator to build coverage or set the look. Use flocked white side for a sheer, natural finish. Use flat-sponge beige side for a full-coverage effect.

Currently available in 8 shades.


Tom Ford Flawless Powder Foundation
Shade: 4.0 Fawn


Here is what the front and back of the box looks like. Click on them to view larger.
 


The compact comes in a little suede pouch, which is a nice touch, but I will likely never use that pouch again. I've had products come with them before, even lipsticks, and they always end up tossed in the trash. I do plan to keep it though to use it for maybe travel to if I take this palette with me it would be a nice way to help protect it, and I guess an $80 powder is worth the extra level of protection. 


The compact is your typical Tom Ford compact size and look (same size/look as his shadow quads).







It comes with a duo-sided sponge applicator....

The flocked side is for a more sheer application of powder - great for touch-ups too.


While the sponge side will give a fuller coverage....



I chose the shade 4.0 Fawn. I had a really hard time narrowing down to one shade because I know the pics online don't really add up to what it looks like in person, and I don't have a Tom Ford counter near me to go swatch these in person. After some research, I decided that the shade Fawn would work best for me. It actually is a really perfect shade match for me! For reference, in MAC I'm NC25/NC30.





Below are several Before & After pics. Click on the pic below to view them larger. 

I applied it with the sponge side to get the coverage, and it's just one layer. You could build it up. For me, I was really impressed with the coverage on its own. It certainly can give you a good medium coverage. It's not a full/complete coverage. I have read that you can wet the sponge and apply it that way to get fuller coverage, but this foundation does not list its use as wet/dry, so I certainly won't risk ruining an $80 powder when I am happy with the coverage and how I'm using it.

I actually purchased this to use as a finishing powder to give my face a flawless, airbrushed look. But I ended up also being happy wearing it on its own. If I need to just run a quick errand I don't feel like I have to do my normal foundation routine and can instead just apply this powder foundation in about 30 seconds and be out the door.

When worn on its own you won't even feel it on your skin. It's incredibly light weight, silky smooth and looks really nice. Gives your skin a healthy look; not a flat matte that a lot of powders can give you. As the day goes on it looks more and more luminous. Doesn't look heavy or cakey at all. On me, it lasts (without a primer) for about 4 hours before I notice I need to touch-up - but even at that point you don't really need to touch it up. If anything, you may want to blot and you're good for another 1 to 3 hours. But I don't find it's very long wearing (and has no claims to be). It certainly can wear a decent length of time before you need a touch-up, especially if you use a primer and a setting spray, but just on its own you shouldn't expect it to look perfect for more than 4 to 5 hours.

This powder doesn't control oil, but it also doesn't have any claims to help with oil control - so I wasn't expecting it to control oil, but I also don't have really oil skin. My skin is combo, and more dry than anything, and I still see shine as the day goes on. If you have oily skin I don't think this is the best powder for you, unless you want to top it with an additional powder (a translucent setting powder, to help control oil). This would be best for those with normal, combo or dry skin. So pretty much anyone except those with oily skin. Slightly oily skin (meaning you fall into the combo skin category) may still love this powder. 




THE FINAL VERDICT...

I think this powder formula is beautiful - both in the texture and how it looks on your skin. It can look great on its own or as a finishing powder to give your skin that final/extra layer of flawlessness. The shade selection isn't the best; only 8 shades (currently) but I was lucky enough to fall perfectly in the 4.0 Fawn shade. If you can find your shade this powder is a nice luxury.

However, for $80 I do wish it was longer lasting and did a bit more of oil control. Those are my only two cons to this powder, and it's why I only gave this a 4 out 5 Kisses rating. If it just lasted longer I would have given this a 5 out 5 Kisses easily.

This powder is one that I really have been enjoying but I'm not sure if it's one I will re-purchase just because $80 is a lot of money and I feel like I can get longer wear from cheaper powders. Still, this is one luxury powder I'm going to enjoy having in my collection and it certainly is nice enough that I don't want to return it.

Now let me know what you think...
What do you think of this powder? Have you tried this, or would you consider adding this to your beauty wish list? Discuss in the comments below!

xoxo with love & beauty,
Crystal Valentine