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Holiday Gift Guide – December 2021

WELCOME; to my annual Coco and Chino’s Christmas Holiday Gift Guide 2021! Here I will be going through in guide-form, my top holiday gift picks for this holiday season. This years’ picks are from Too Faced, Hourglass, Cerave and Lanolips, covering a wide variety of beauty categories. To take a look at what my selections are this year, just look below..

Products, Textures & Formula’s
– Limited Edition Too Faced Christmas Coffee Eye Shadow Palette 6.7g; with eight tasty shades that is sure to warm you up on a cool night, it will get you through the winter months and you can create a multitude of looks with this bite-sized eye shadow palette. With a mixture of mattes and shimmers, it gives you the perfect balance and all shades are nicely pigmented. From top-to-bottom and left-to-right, the shade names are titled: ‘Kool Whip‘ – a light warm cream matte, ‘Warm Me Up‘ – a soft caramel-brown matte, ‘Cinnamon Chai‘ – a deep red-brown terracotta, ‘Holly Sh*t‘ – sparkling forest-green shimmer, ‘Brew-tiful Day‘ – peach-pink matte, ‘Slow Roasted‘ – rustic copper metallic, ‘Candy Cane Latte‘ – cranberry-red metallic and ‘Christmas Coffee‘ – a rich deep brown matte. This size palette is also ideal for taking on trips and touching up on a night out, etc. Take a closer look below..

– Cerave Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser 236ml; perfect for normal-to-dry skin and people with sensitive skin, this cleanser is infused with hyaluronic acid for ultimate hydration, it has an amino acid based surfactant that lathers into a gentle foam and easily removes oil, makeup, dirt and any SPF residue from the skin. It also includes ceramides to maintain the skin’s barrier, and their own patented MVE technology that continually releases moisturising ingredients overtime for 24hrs. It can also be used on hands, body as well as the face. It’s quite easy to use, just massage gentle into lukewarm wet skin before rinsing well. It is soap-free, paraben-free, non-comedogenic, fragrance-free and pH balanced. To check out some photos of the cleanser and texture of the cream, take a look below..

– Limited Edition Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Universe Face Palette 5.4g; the new annual Ambient Lighting Edit face palette for 2021 is here! Featuring four brand new shades of blush, bronzer and highlighter are limited edition and create the most flattering light source for looks and photography. The powders create such a beautiful celestial glow, they’re all hand-made in Italy and are such universal shades that they would suit most skin tones. The photoluminescent technology allows the powders to capture, diffuse and soften surrounding light to help blur imperfections and refine the skin’s appearance. The two ambient strobe lighting blush shades are: ‘Vibrant Heat‘ – a very vibrant soft mid pink and ‘Luminous Rose‘ – a softened plum. The ambient lighting bronzer shade is titled ‘Glistening Bronze Light‘ – a golden bronze. The ambient strobe lighting powder is titled ‘Supernatural Strobe Light‘ – a soft champagne. And the larger pan powder is the ‘Ambient Lighting Infinity Powder‘ which is a combination of three acclaimed shades of ambient powders: ‘Diffused Light‘, ‘Dim Light‘ and ‘Hypnotic Strobe Light‘. To get a much closer look at the fantastic face palette, check out the packaging photos below..

– Limited Edition Too Faced Cinnamon Bun Longwear Melting Matte Lipstick 7ml; a brand new holiday shade in Too Faced’s melted matte lipstick formula, ‘Cinnamon Bun‘, which is a gorgeous universal shade described as a moderately-warm toned brown matte. It is infused with vitamin E, avocado oil with hyaluronic filling spheres that smooth the lip lines upon application. It coats the lips with a true pigment of colour that lasts for hours and is quite comfortable to wear. This particular shade is limited edition and a part of Too Faced’s 2021 holiday collection. To see up-close shots and lip wear swatches, take a look below..

– Limited Edition Too Faced ‘You’re So Hot’ Hot Cocoa Bronzer & Lipgloss Set 8.5g 5.2ml; a new smooth and silky bronzer in a limited edition shade ‘Hot Cocoa‘ with the most cutest packaging we may have ever seen, the embossed design on the surface of the bronzer in pan has a smiley face resembling hot froffing coffee with whipped cream nested on top and is also scented just like the decadent treat of hot cocoa, the perfect treat on a cold winter’s day. The tone of the bronzer is definitely on the lighter side, it would be ideal for fair or light skin tones. The lipgloss is in the lip injection power plumping formula and is in shade ‘Christmas Cocoa‘. It is scented just like chocolate cake or a chocolate candy bar, it is a very pleasing brown tone which is universally flattering on most skin tones. It delivers a gorgeous high shine upon wear and is quite glossy. The make up pouch that the set comes in is a cute light pink colour with little mugs of hot froffy coffee with whipped cream on top, there is also sparkly marshmallows on the front and back in pattern form and the iconic gold love heart handle zipper is on the top edge. I think the size is around 5×7 which is wonderful as it can fit quite a bit of product inside, which would be fantastic to take on trips. On the back it says ‘Too Faced’ and on the front it has ‘You’re So Hot’ emblazoned in font. Take a quick look at the close-up details and lip wear shade swatches of both via the pictures below..

– Limited Edition Lanolips x Messina 101 Ointment Multi-Balm Salted Coconut x Mango Gelato 10g; touted as the Australian summer dreams collaboration, is the iconic 101 ointment balm from Lanolips crossed over with another iconic Aussie fave, Messina’s sorbet salted coconut gelato flavour. Using coconut oil, mango fruit extract and vitamin E to create an all-around good vibes boost of hydration for your skin. It uses pure grade Australian Lanolin, which mimics the skin’s own oils and leaves it perfectly hydrated. It is not just for your lips either, it can also be used all over the body on your skin and that is why it’s multi-purpose. It tasted and smells absolutely delicious! If you’d like to see texture shots, up-close photos of the packaging just keep scrolling below..

Worldwide Prices & Availability
– LE Too Faced Christmas Coffee Eyeshadow Palette 6.7g;
Australia: $38 AUD
Available: online and in-store at Mecca.

USA: $27 USD
Available: online and in-store at Sephora, Too Faced, Nordstrom, Kohls, Macys, HSN and Ulta.

UK: £24 GBP
Available: online and in-store at Look Fantastic, ASOS, Selfridges, Boots and John Lewis.

– Cerave Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser 236ml;
Australia: $15.99 AUD
Available: online and in-store at Chemist Warehouse.

USA: $10.80 – 14.99 USD
Available: online and in-store at Ulta and Target.

UK: £9.37 GBP
Available: online and in-store at Boots and Superdrug.

– LE Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Universe Face Palette 5.4g;
Australia: $114 AUD
Available: online and in-store at Mecca and Net-a-Porter.

USA: $80 USD
Available: online and in-store at Hourglass, Beautylish, Net-a-Porter, Sephora and Ulta.

UK: £79 GBP
Available: online and in-store at Hourglass UK, Space NK, Cult Beauty, Feel Unique, Look Fantastic and John Lewis.

– LE Too Faced Cinnamon Bun Longwear Melted Matte Lipstick 7ml;
Australia: $32.50 AUD
Available: online at Selfridges and Cult Beauty.

USA: $22 USD
Available: online and in-store at Sephora, Too Faced, Macys and Ulta.

UK: £20 GBP
Available: online and in-store at Selfridges, John Lewis, Look Fantastic, ASOS and Boots.

– LE Too Faced ‘You’re So Hot’ Hot Cocoa Bronzer & Lipgloss Set 8.5g 5.2ml;
Australia: $49.93 AUD
Available: online at Amazon.

USA: $39 USD
Available: online and in-store at Sephora, Kohls and JC Penney.

UK: £37.42 GBP
Available: online at Amazon.

– LE Lanolips x Messina Salted Coconut & Mango Gelato 10g;
Australia: $19.95 AUD
Available: online and in-store at Mecca and Lanolips Australia.

USA: $13.50 USD
Available: online at Lanolips.

UK: £8.99 GBP
Available: online at Lanolips UK.

My Thoughts & First Impressions
– Limited Edition Too Faced Christmas Coffee Eyeshadow Palette 6.7g; what drew me to this palette was the gorgeous cranberry red and the forest green shimmer shades, they’re so Christmassy and after watching Youtube reviews with swatches from it, thats when I decided I wanted to get it. I always look forward to the Too Faced christmas holiday releases and usually there is always a palette I end up loving. Sometimes in some of the Too Faced holiday eyeshadow palette releases (like the ones in sets), the shades can be a bit chalky and hard to layer, however I find with their bite-sized palettes that the pigmentation is much better quality and that is why I tend to pick up those instead. And at $38 AUD, it’s a great pick to get 8 mixed formula shades and the packaging is so nice.

– Cerave Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser 236ml; I’m always on the hunt for cleansers and skincare products that are suited to dry skin and this is where Cerave come in, they have a nice range of products suited to all skin types and their formulas are always without any nasty ingredients. I had tried their hydrating cleanser for the last two years and absolutely love it, so when the cream-to-foam release came out, I hopped on the trial train straight away. During a sale at the Chemist Warehouse I picked up my bottle and I have loved it since first try. It is decently priced and suits my skin so well.

– Limited Edition Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Universe Face Palette 5.4g; this is the big winner for me this year. Amongst all of the other palette releases from all other brands, including MAC, this Hourglass interested me the most and the packaging is just simply divine. It is so stunning! I have owned a ambient lighting edit palette beforehand and it was the white marble packaged one from 2016 or so, and when I saw this one I fell in love right away. The fact it is limited edition also helped budge me to pick it up, as they can sell out pretty fast. I love how long these palettes last and the pans are such decent sizes too.

– Limited Edition Too Faced Cinnamon Bun Longwear Melted Matte Lipstick 7ml; I was drawn to this shade right away because it is a universally flattering nude that would suit most skin tones. It is a mid-brown matte with a cool mauve undertone and it smells just like freshly-baked cinnamon rolls. I love earth toned nudes and if it’s in the brown category, I always find the cool tones suit me as unfortunately warm tones never do, they look muddy on me and wash me out. I am a fan of the Too Faced’s melted matte lipstick formula, they’re usually very comfy upon wear and they last so long too. I’m waiting to receive mine that I purchased this year so I will further update when I have it and have worn it.

– Limited Edition Too Faced You’re So Hot Hot Cocoa Bronzer & Lipgloss Set 8.5g 5.2ml; what I loved about this bronzer set is that the bronzer shade looks perfect tone for my skin, I also enjoy the cute pouch and the lip injection gloss shade is another nice earth neutral nude tone, which would compliment most skin tones as well. The gloss is very sparkly and looks like it goes on very smoothly. And not only is the packaging so cute but the products are both scented like hot cocoa.

– Limited Edition Lanolips x Messina 101 Ointment Multi-Balm Salted Coconut & Mango Gelato 10g; this smells so delicious and is your iconic 101 ointment from the fave Lanolips. Infused with Messina’s popular salted coconut sorbet, this balm makes you want to eat it! It is so nourishing and it is such a fun collaboration between two Australian faves. Released at a perfect time right before the summer season in Australia. I don’t think you can go wrong with this pick up at all.

That wraps up my holiday gift guide for 2021! I hope you have enjoyed learning more about the featured products in my guided round up for Christmas gifting and have found the perfect selection, or even as a gift for yourself. I am embarking on starting my Christmas shopping and I hope to be finished early this year. I hope you have all been safe and well throughout this year, and I hope you all have a lovely Christmas season with your families and loved ones. I’m going pretty big with decorations this year so I’ll try to include some photo’s of that in my posts.

Disclaimer; all of the above featured products have been purchased with my own money and all thoughts & opinions published here are my own.

Makeup

BYS Cosmetics: Full Coverage Complexion Range – November 2020

BYS Cosmetics: Full Coverage Complexion Range – November 2020

INTRODUCING; a brand new cruelty free and vegan Full Coverage Complexion range from one of my faves, BYS Cosmetics. This is a new line of varied products featuring a full coverage foundation, a full coverage camouflage concealer, three colour correcting camouflage concealers; a pink one for covering dark spots, a yellow one for brightening under eye area and a green for reducing redness. It also features a full coverage pressed powder with a matte base. Each product is formulated with skincare in mind, and each item contains hyaluronic acid for added hydration and nourishment. I’ve been testing them all out over the past couple of months and I want to dive right in to my thoughts and other information on the range. To start with, you can see the entire range below..


PRODUCT PACKAGING, SHADES, FORMULA’S & SIZES
– full coverage foundation 30ml in shades; ‘Ivory’, ‘Natural Beige’, ‘Medium Beige’ and ‘Sand Beige’. Housed in a clear glass slimline round 30ml tube, with a rose gold lid and pump action. Infused with vitamin E, hyaluronic acid, aloe vera and coconut water for a silky smooth, skin-perfecting matte finish with a full coverage.
– full coverage camouflage concealer 3.5ml in shades; ‘Ivory’, ‘Natural Beige’, ‘Medium Beige’, ‘Sand Beige’, ‘Pink’, ‘Yellow’ and ‘Green’. Housed in a clear glass slim tube with 3.5ml net weight of product, rose gold lid and a soft doe-foot wand applicator attached inside lid. Formula is also infused with vitamin E, hyaluronic acid, coconut water and aloe vera. Providing a silky, soft matte but dewy finish that is a flawless full coverage.
– full coverage pressed powder matte base 8g in shades; ‘Ivory’, ‘Light Beige’, ‘Medium Beige’, ‘Natural Beige’ and ‘Sand Beige’. Housed in a round rose gold plastic compact base with a clear click-in closure clip lid, holding 8 gram of pressed powder in the pan and the formula is also infused with vitamin E, hyaluronic acid, coconut water and aloe vera. With a smooth, silky, shine-free matte finish that is full coverage.


MY THOUGHTS AND REVIEW; I have been trialing this entire collection over the past few months and I have a lot of in-depth thoughts, so let’s dive in! Let’s start with the full coverage foundation; the bottle is a glass slimline round tube design with a rose gold lid with pump action dispenser. I love a pump action foundation as it makes it so easy to apply to your brush/sponge or fingers. The formula is very thin and creamy, it sits lightweight on the skin and feels like you’re not really wearing anything at all. It instantly has that flawless full coverage and feels hydrating on the skin, it has a matte but semi dewy finish. it’s so full coverage that a little bit goes a long way and if you want to set it, you can easily do that using a translucent powder. I use the shade ‘Ivory’ and it’s a perfect neutral fair tone which I’m stoked about! PRO’S: the finish is SO gorgeous, it’s flawless, literally. It is full coverage, has a beautiful silky matte dewy-ness to it that feels hydrating. It’s lightweight and feels very comfy on. Longevity; it lasts and lasts! I wear mine for up to six hours at each wear and it doesn’t need to be touched up anywhere. It sits so perfect on my skin. Think the same coverage & quality as the Anastasia Beverly Hills Flawless Foundation but without the huge price tag! This full coverage foundation from BYS Cosmetics; retails for just $11.95 AUD and has 30ml of liquid product inside. CONS: the only cons I can recognise is the fact that I have broke out with one pimple sometimes after I wear the foundation, and the other con is I think it needs a shade range expansion and become available in more darker shades to suit different skin tones. With the pimple breaking out, I can’t be sure but I will bet it may be the coconut water in the formula that may congest the pores a tad. Everything else is perfection. In fact I am SO impressed with the foundation, I am already planning to purchase another bottle. I’ll even go on to say it’s my favourite foundation to have come out that I’ve tried in the last year.

Onto the camouflage concealers; the texture of these are that they’re a creamy consistency as well, much like the foundation but a tad bit thicker. PRO’S: it goes on well using the doe-foot wand (which is ultra soft by the way) and a little bit goes a long way, I just apply small dots under my eye area and blend it out easily using my Zoeva concealer buffer brush. I have the shade ‘Ivory’ and it suits my skin tone perfectly! They’re infused with the same gorgeous ingredients of hyaluronic acid, aloe vera, coconut water and vitamin E. CONS: The shades for skin tones in these could be extended as well since they’re currently only available in the same ones as the foundation disregarding the colour correcting ones. That is the only con of the camouflage concealers.

Going onto the last but not least, full coverage matte base pressed powders; I found the coverage of this powder to be a little more medium-to-full coverage rather than instantly full coverage, but I think that’s easy to do with pressed powders. The shade I use is ‘Ivory’ and it suited my skin perfectly, so I was very happy with that. PRO’S: it can easily be built up and layered for a fuller even complexion, the powder is definitely silky soft and feels very lightweight and comfy on. My skin really liked it too, it lasts many hours, much like the liquid full coverage foundation. I really enjoy the soft finish it provides and how it looks, it’s definitely shine-free and creates a lovely smooth matte look. CONS: there isn’t really any downfall at all to this powder, the only thing is the shade range again, it could definitely be extended to further darker shades. Other than the shade range limitation, this entire collection is perfection! Well done to BYS on a lovely base range that is up there with the high end brands and great quality performers, yet even better because they’re available at affordable prices! A definite WIN. So for the ultimate question you may be wondering, would I repurchase these?; For the foundation, the main camouflage concealer in ‘Ivory’ and the pressed powder, the answer is a definite yes!


WORLDWIDE AVAILABILITY
– full coverage complexion range availability;

Australia: can be found at; bys.com.au, Discount Beauty Boutique, Cosmetic Capital, Terry White Chemmart and Kmart.
USA: can be found at; Amazon.com and iHerb.com
UK: can be found at; CosmeticsNow.com and Amazon UK.


WORLDWIDE ITEM PRICING

– full coverage foundation 30ml;
Australia: $11.95 AUD
USA: $8.70 USD
UK: £6.56 GBP

– full coverage camouflage concealers 3.5ml;
Australia: $8.95 AUD
USA: $6.52 USD
UK: £4.91 GBP

– full coverage matte base pressed powder 8g;
Australia: $8.95 AUD
USA: $6.52 USD
UK: £4.91 GBP

Thank you for reading my in depth and thorough review on this lovely hydrating complexion range from BYS Cosmetics. If you’ve tried this range yourself, I’d love to hear what you thought of it also. Comment below and I will reply.


Disclaimer; this full coverage complexion range was sent in to me for consideration with no obligation to post, it is not sponsored or paid for. All views and opinions are solely my own.

Beauty

Bobbi Brown Crushed Oil-Infused Gloss – April 2020

Bobbi Brown Crushed Oil-Infused Gloss – April 2020

Introducing the coveted new Crushed Oil-Infused Gloss high-shine colours from Bobbi Brown Australia! Now available in 12 shades, the formula is a plumping, hydrating, non-sticky gloss that ranges in tones from nudes to warm bolds. With an ingredients inclusion of avocado oil, jojoba seed oil, arabica coffee seed oil and hyaluronic acid, these are super smooth and ultra hydrating! I’ve been lucky enough to try out a range of the colours and I wanted to share my thorough review and thoughts about the new release.

Swatches & Formula
In the collection, there is a total of 12 high-shine glosses; including the limited edition shades created in collaboration with Yara Shahidi. With a super smooth formula that is hydrating, plumping & non-sticky, this range of glosses can be worn alone or over the top of a lipstick. The shades in my collection are: ‘Hot Streak’ – a bright vibrant red/pink, ‘In The Flow’ – a deep red/burgundy, ‘Slow Jam’ – a deep mauve pink, ‘Spring Bliss’ – mauve medium pink and ‘Forever Chill’ – a mid brown beige. Below, you can see the swatches from each shade in my collection…

This range of high-shine glosses can take you from nudes to bolds with a colour to suit all skin tones. The ingredients is packed with enriched hydrating oils, including jojoba seed oil, arabica coffee seed oil, avocado seed oil and sodium hyaluronate. They’re all free from parabens, sulphites, phthalates, gluten and animal derived ingredients. I love wearing them on their own and also over the top of my crushed lip colour lipsticks.

Prices & Availability
The high-shine Crushed Oil-Infused Glosses are available for $40 AUD each at the following stores & online; Bobbi Brown Australia, David Jones, Adore Beauty, Myer and Mecca Maxima.

Final Thoughts & Review
I love the hydrating, smooth formula and the long length of wear, they last quite a while upon wear. I also love that they’re non-sticky because that can be hard sometimes to find glosses that aren’t and these are definitely not sticky, such a plus! I enjoy the range of colours there is in the collection as well! Would I repurchase? Definitely! I love how the high-shine glosses can be worn both either on top of another lip colour or by themselves as an overall cover. Because they’re slightly translucent, you can build up multiple layers to get a more fuller coverage.

Disclaimer
The products above were kindly sent in to me for consideration of creating content with and writing a review. This does not alter my honest thoughts and opinions in any way.

Beauty

Bobbi Brown Limited Edition Luxe & Fortune Collection – February 2020

Bobbi Brown Limited Edition Luxe & Fortune Collection – February 2020

Introducing the brand new recently launched LE collection from Bobbi Brown Australia, the gorgeous Luxe & Fortune range! Featuring the Jeweled Rose Eye Palette with shimmer wash eyeshadow & metallic eyeshadow 1.13g each and eyeshadow in ‘Champagne Quartz’ 2.45g, the Luxe Liquid Lip Rich Metal in ‘Pink Crystal’ 6ml and the Luxe Lip Colour in ‘Rare Ruby’ 3.4g. Such a stunning trio of products! Not just the creamy pigmented formula of the luxe lip colour in Rare Ruby or the gorgeous sparkle from the liquid lip Pink Crystal, but the stunning red & gold package design & glow of the Champagne Quartz is out of this world! The whole collection really fits it’s own theme.


 

This beautiful collection was created and inspired in celebration of Lunar New Year. I think it’s such a lovely nod to it. Onto the products; I feel like the lip colour ‘Rare Ruby’ was made for me. The colour is a stunning burnt red-plum tone and is so gorgeous! I could wear it everyday, the texture is ultra creamy & smooth, the one swipe glide on type. I can’t reiterate it enough, the quality of the Bobbi Brown Australia lip products are really in a whole class of their own!

 

The luxe liquid lip in ‘Pink Crystal‘ is a mid-pink with silver shimmery flecks, it has a slightly sheer finish but can be layered up for further coverage. The texture is a buttery kind & the colour payoff really impresses! Check out the swatches of them below. With the Champagne Quartz shadow, I would describe it as a mid beige-gold and it is just stunning! 



Products & Formula
* Limited Edition Jeweled Rose Eye Palette 1.13g & ‘Champagne Quartz’ 2.45g – $70 AUD
– one swipe pigment, warm tones, easy to blend

* Limited Edition Luxe Liquid Lip Rich Metal in ‘Pink Crystal’ 6ml – $56 AUD
– gorgeous pink metallic flecks,

* Limited Edition Luxe Lip Color in ‘Rare Ruby’ 3.8g – $56 AUD
– one swipe pigment, gorgeous matte colour, mid ruby red tone

My Experience, Review & Final Thoughts
I love this entire limited edition Luxe & Fortune collection. The ‘Rare Ruby’ lip colour is the most perfect red and has a glistening satin finish, it is absolutely beautiful. The eye palette is a gorgeous colour story in way of warm tones and neutrals, the perfect shades for Autumn/Fall and could easily be used to create a smokey eye look with any of the shades. The pigment of the shadows is delightful too, the one-swipe kind and they’re lovely to blend too. I’ve found with the Luxe Liquid Lip Rich Metal in ‘Pink Crystal’, its gorgeous worn over the top of warm toned matte lip colours or even on its own as it it can be built up in cover with extra layers. It’s a beautiful bright mid tone metallic pink. I would 100% repurchase this collection.

Availability
You can find the collection available at Bobbi Brown Australia, Adore Beauty, David Jones and Myer.

Disclaimer
The products above were kindly sent in to me for consideration of creating content & a review. This does not alter my honest thoughts and opinion in any way.

Makeup

Ace The Base: October 2018 – Rimmel, Benefit and MAC Cosmetics

Ace The Base: October 2018 – Rimmel, Benefit and MAC Cosmetics

Welcome to another new series on my blog, this new project of mine is called Ace The Base, in this series I will choose and focus on four products each month from the ‘base makeup’ category; primer, foundation, concealer and setting spray/powder. This will give me an opportunity to feature and review four of the top base makeup products for each current month, during this post for the month of October 2018, I’m going to focus on the following brands: Rimmel London, Benefit Cosmetics and MAC Cosmetics!

Ace The Base: October 2018; featuring MAC Cosmetics, Benefit Cosmetics and Rimmel London.

Intro
We’re all looking for the perfect combination for our base when applying makeup, whether it be from an amazing primer applied under our foundation or a terrific setting spray that makes our makeup last all day long. We all have different skin tones, different pores, different skin conditions and some of us prefer matte over dewy, but at the end of the day our goal is the same, to have a great lasting makeup application throughout the day/night. In this post I will be shining the spotlight down on four key base products; talking about the product’s claims/inspiration behind their creation, the formulas, key points on how to use and a run down on my own experiences using them. Following after that will be a star rating on what I thought about each one, whether they lived up to the claim/hype and of course, pricing and availability info for each product in Australia, UK and the USA.

The Products & Their Formulas
Let’s start with the beginning of the makeup application process, and that is with the priming. Firstly, I cannot express enough how important skincare is… especially to exfoliate your face gently either the night before or a few hours before you are going to apply your makeup. It’s really the start to a great lasting makeup look. The smoother and moisturised the surface is, the better the application will be. I recommend following through with your daily/nightly skincare routine beforehand, it makes a world of difference.

– Benefit: The POREfessional Pearl Primer; designed to target dullness, brighten the skin, minimise pores, lock in makeup, provide a matte silky finish and a soft radiance. The packaging states its oil-free, matte, a soft pink colour in appearance and is silky. With 90% of women who tested it, saying their complexion looked bright after using it, 91% said it minimised the look of pores, and 96% said it created a soft matte radiance. The Pearl primer comes available in a full size 22.0ml 0.75 Fl Oz. and a mini size 7.5ml 0.25 Fl Oz., it is a soft light pink creamy consistency which you apply using your fingertips, spreading it out and smoothing it over your face. For extra brightness, you can create a second layer of it over your skin.

➜ My Thoughts & Ratings; I picked this up in an online order from Sephora Australia, I got the mini version as a trial tester and figured that if I liked it enough then I could purchase the full size later down the track. I love the texture of this soft primer, it is so light weighted and feels like it literally melts into my skin when I apply it. It instantly blurs my pores and does provide a radiant glow to my face. It sits pretty well under my foundation, it remains smooth and I love the way it looks and feels under my make up. I sadly can’t actually compare this one to the original Benefit POREfessional primer because I simply have not tried the original one, haha yeah I know I must be the only person in the world who hasn’t, haha. All in all, I really like this primer and I love the formula a lot, I can see myself purchasing a back up full size next time, for sure! Rating: I give the primer 4/5 ★★★★☆

– Rimmel London: Lasting Finish 25HR Breathable SPF 20 Medium Coverage Foundation in ‘Light Porcelain‘; designed to provide a medium to full coverage, be long-wearing and blendable, feel light-weighted and remain kind to the skin with it’s light serum formula and breathable skin technology. It comes with a wand doe-foot applicator that has a fluffy 3D cushion tip. It comes in a 30ml 1 Fl Oz. glass bottle with silver lid and red font blazoned across the front. It is a creamy, light consistency liquid formula that can be applied starting with dots in targeted areas with the doe-foot wand, then blended out with your preferred brush or blending sponge.

➜ My Thoughts & Rating; as soon as I opened the lid I loved the doe-foot wand applicator, it’s large, fluffy, so soft and it made plotting down my targeted dots for application a lot easier! I enjoyed the mild scent to the formula, it’s not overly powering like some foundations can be with SPF in them, this is a pleasant scent and gives me serious skincare vibes. While this foundation is a medium-to-full coverage, I found it to apply to an almost instant full coverage on my face and I was very impressed with how it sat on my skin afterwards, and how it blended out with my blending sponge. In terms of shade match; I am using ‘Light Porcelain’ and it has been a pretty perfect match for me! I usually struggle to find matching shades in drug-store foundations but with Rimmel London, I have always matched their ‘Light Porcelain’ offerings. Usually the drug-store foundations in the light shades are really often too pink, or even too orange still.. but this shade in all of Rimmel London’s foundation ranges has been a godsend for my skin! PS. thank you so much Rimmel London, you’re invited to my bbq’s anytime, because that shade in itself needs to be celebrated! Haha. Overall, I really LOVE this foundation, I actually believe it gives higher end brands a run for their money. Let me tell you why.. I slept in it. Yup. I did that. I slept in this foundation by accident, it’s a no no but I fell asleep wearing it.. it was late at night and I was exhausted so basically it didn’t come off until the morning after, but the real eye opener was.. it was still on my face as if I had only worn it for 1hr, honestly… I have never been so impressed by a drug-store foundation, ever! The 25hr claim is true. So, a big kudos to Rimmel London! This one is a HIT! Rating: I definitely give this amazing foundation a 5/5 ★★★★★

– MAC: Pro Longwear Concealer; designed to be a medium-to-full liquid concealer, lightweight, 15hr lasting that is transfer and water proof. To give a comfortable matte finish whilst leaving the skin looking flawless and smooth. Aimed at concealing dark spots, blemishes, dark under eye circles and any flaws. It is fragrance free, dermatologically tested, ophthalmologist tested, non acnegenic and for all skin types. It comes in a size of 9ml 0.30 Fl Oz., in a small glass tube with a pump action dispenser, black font on the front and a black plastic clip-on lid.

➜ My Thoughts & Rating; I am instantly impressed with the packaging.. it comes in a perfectly sized tube with a easy to use pump action dispensary, I think it’s so easy to apply to the skin using a blending sponge. The formula is a thin liquid consistency, a very pigmented matte colour and it seems to blend out quite well. It dries and sets quite at a perfect rate, enabling you to get it everywhere you need before it fully sets. I really love the coverage it provides to my skin in an instant of being on there, it really covers up my under eye area well and it has longevity. It never creases on me, it always feels moisturising on my skin and I can rely on it to work with just about any foundation that I use. I’m quite impressed by this concealer. Rating: I give it 4/5 ★★★★☆

– MAC: Prep + Prime Fix Setting Spray; designed to be sprayed on before your makeup application to prepare your skin for the makeup application, or afterwards to help set everything in place. It’s hydrating, refreshing, smells pleasant with a very slight fragrance to it (the original), it’s best used after being shaken up and then sprayed directly over the face making sure to close your eyes beforehand. It can also soothe tired skin, extend makeup length of wear, it is available in three different scents as well; rose, lavender and coconut. It comes in a tall round frosted plastic clear bottle, with a black lid with clip open/shut and pressure pad on the top of the lid to spray it out. The mist is a fine mist and is filled with minerals and vitamins. It’s enriching to skim and is able to be used without makeup at all to simply refreshen skin. Dermatologist tested. It comes available in sizes 100ml or 30ml trial/mini sizes.

➜ My Thoughts & Rating; I enjoy this spray a lot! Not only do I use it over my face before foundation application but I also use it after to help set my makeup. I love how refreshing it feels upon each use, I love how it soothes my skin and hydrates it well. I have normal to dry skin, so during Winter or Autumn when it’s cooler, it’s perfect to rehydrate the skin. I sometimes use it even when I’m not going to be wearing any makeup, just to refresh and rehydrate my skin. I love the slight fragrance it has, and I even picked up the rose version as well, I love rose! I think it’s quite affective with setting makeup and prolonging the wear of it, it seems to hold everything in place really well. Rating: I give it 5/5 ★★★★★

Ace The Base: October 2018; featuring MAC Cosmetics, Benefit Cosmetics and Rimmel London.

Where To Buy & Worldwide Pricing
Australia;
– the Benefit Cosmetics POREfessional Pearl Primer is available: 22ml for $55 AUD | 7.5ml for $23 AUD at Sephora Australia, at Myer, at Adore Beauty, at Princess Polly and at Benefit Cosmetics Australia.

– the Rimmel London Breathable 24HR Foundation is available: 30ml for $22.95 AUD at Priceline.

USA;
– the Benefit Cosmetics POREfessional Pearl Primer is available: 22ml for $32 USD | 7.5ml for $13 USD at Sephora USA, at Ulta Beauty, at Benefit Cosmetics USA, and at Macys.

UK;
– the Benefit Cosmetics POREfessional Pearl Primer

Would I Repurchase These Products?
It’s a definite YES to all of them. Here’s why: with the MAC Cosmetics Prep + Prime Fix Setting Spray; I loved how much contents you get for the price firstly, its 100ml of product that is a fine mist so it lasts a fairly long time. It’s extremely effective and does what its supposed to.

Where to next?