Marianne is out of town this week and my photographer is on vacation, so lucky you! You get to read my reviews of makeup. Whee.
I'd been a long-time fan of Laura Mercier's oil-free tinted moisturizer until last winter when my skin was all, "Bitch, I AM DRY." So yeah, maybe not so much with the oil-free anything. So I bought Bobbi Brown's Extra Tinted Moisturizing Balm and it was great for the dead of winter, but far too heavy for summer. Le sigh. So, off I went to Sephora where this adorable little goth girl made up some samples for me to try. (If you're local to RVA, go find her - she's great.) Here's what I tried:
Hourglass Illusion Tinted Moisturizer
Initially, I thought this stuff was great - went on like a dream and made me look all airbrushed and wow. Then, I caught my reflection in my car's vanity mirror on a sunny day and you guys? I was sparkly like a vampire. SPARKLE FACE GIRL. This is all fine and good for a night out but I don't want my face to be a disco ball at work and whatnot. And then, there's the price. $55 is flat out ridiculous. Also, the SPF is minimal. And! It's oil free which isn't what I wanted to begin with. Still, if it didn't cost $55 I'd probably buy it to wear for evenings out.
Tarte Smooth Operator
This came highly recommended from the baby goth girl and it's pretty nice, but I wasn't over the moon. I don't have anything awful to say about it but it didn't change my life either. It's light, decent coverage, only slightly over-priced at $36 and full of supposedly awesome ingredients. It's SPF 20 (meh) and oil-free (also meh.) If someone gave me a tube of it I'd certainly use it up, but I didn't feel compelled to purchase.
Josie Maran Tinted Moisturizer
I got a sample of this because Marianne kept raving about it. It's got argan oil
in it which my skin likes and SPF 30, which I like. It's $38 for a tube which is about as much as I want to pay for a TM (which is funny because Laura Mercier and Bobbi Brown both cost more. Chalk it up to makeup counter snow-blindness.) This stuff is really very nice. Good coverage, dewy finish, very moisturizing. The color range is really limited but luckily the second lightest works well for me. I went ahead and bought this and so far I'm really happy with it.
So, that was exciting, no? What are you putting on your face lately that you love?
Yay! I am still loving the JM stuff and I read that there will be a new or different version coming out in September?
ReplyDeleteI really like Bourjois 10 Hour Sleep Effect foundation. It has the coverage of a tinted moisturiser and is sits really well on the skin. Love it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I've been putting some rosehip oil on my face. My dry skin loves it :)
I use the Tarte stuff, too. I bought it and was halfway OK with it, but the more I try other ones, the more I keep using it and liking it more and more each day. I pair it with Soap and Glory's Clear Here oil-control stuff, and it really keeps me matte.
ReplyDeleteIn the winter I wear Lancome Teint Idole, because it is lighter and looks good on my winter skin. The Tarte stuff gets flaky on me in winter, for reasons known only to my incredibly picky skin.