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.