Foundation Review

Light Coverage
BOURJOIS 10 HOUR SLEEP EFFECT
Available in 5 shades – Slight yellow tone
Beautiful Scent - Peaches
Goes on like a tinted moisturize looks sheer but secretly evens out the skin tone.
“Barely There” kind of look
Great for Normal to Dry Skin, gives a dewy sheen.
*My shade 71








Personal Recommendation – Great for the inexperienced women, one step-up from a tinted moisturizer.
Application – Works best with finger tips but also works well with stippling brushes.

Light/Medium Coverage
BOURJOIS HEALTHY MIX
Available in 5 shades – Slight yellow tone (works with most undertones, even difficult ones)
Beautiful Scent - Fruity
Very comparable to “Sleep Effect” but has a slightly higher coverage. (Buildable)
Great for normal/dry (Combination in the colder month)
Has been recommended as a wedding day foundation.
*I use this daily, Shade 51








Personal Recommendation - Anyone who is scared of trying foundation young to old this is an easy texture to work with.
Application – Any including stippling brushes, fingers tips, sponges or foundation brushes.
Also Available – Matching Concealer which is full coverage.

Medium Coverage
MAYBELLINE 24H SUPER STAY
Available in 12 shades – Mixture of tone
Fragrance-free and oil-free
Super long lasting, no transfer withstands heat, sweat and humidity.
Finish is kind of neutral so can work on the oiler skin types who hate matte finish foundation.
*I use this for a night out, In Ivory.









Personal recommendation – Can give full coverage if you need it with a fresh look even after hours of wear.
Application – Work best with sponges, fingers tips or foundation brushes.

Also Available – Matching Concealer which is full coverage and featured in my Friday Favourite.

Medium/Full Coverage
Rimmel Lasting Finish 16&25 Hour
Both Available 6 in shades
Both very long lashing and very similar!
Comparable to Maybelline 24H and Revlon Photoready foundation but cheaper.
Finish is kind of dewy/neutral, works best for dry to combo skin.
*I use it in ivory shades
*Best set with a finish spray rather then too much powder.




Personal recommendation – Great foundation for photos and videos, Wedding and proms/Debs.
Application – Work best with sponges, fingers tips or foundation brushes. Different applications give different coverage.

Update and BFTE haul with swatches

Hello lovelies, it's been a while! It's about the end of the month so I figured I should update, but I'll wait until the end for that part. ;) For now, read on for pics and swatches of (one of) my latest BFTE hauls!

This haul was technically my sister Becky's; she won a look contest for Fourth of July, and her prize was 3 full-size minerals of her choice! Being the awesome sister that she is, she let my other sister and me each pick out a color too. Aww <3

L to R: Vixen, Spice, End of Times.

Aloha and Crush.

Marina(COTW) and Baked.

After stampeding for the door when the mail came, my sisters begged to help me swatch them. xD As usual, I rubbed a tiny bit of Pond's cream onto my sister's arm and swatched everything dry with a small brush.

In direct sunlight:

Vixen, Spice, End of Times, Aloha, Crush, Marina, Baked, Zach's Friends.

Closeup!

Look at the sparkle in Zach's Friends!

In natural light:

Vixen, Spice, End of Times, Aloha, Crush, Marina, Baked, and Zach's Friends.

I wish these were sideways but I forgot to flip them before uploading. :(

Marina is much prettier than I thought it would be; pigmented and satiny, a bright green-teal! I heart it.

And finally, with flash:

Vixen, Spice, End of Times, Aloha, Crush, Marina, Baked, and Zach's Friends.

Some colors are satin, some shimmer, and some sparkle :)

My own descriptions:

-Vixen is a gorgeous deep wine burgundy color with a metallic-like shimmer. Super pretty in person!

-Spice is a rusty red-brown color, more red than brown. It has larger silvery shimmers in it, but isn't overly sparkly.

-End of Times is a satiny red-pink, almost coral, with a little shimmer. It's super smooth in texture! This is a fairly new color, I'm not sure if it's available on the site or if it was a limited thing. We didn't purchase this sample jar, it was actually thrown into the order free, so I wasn't prepared for how pretty it is in person!

-Aloha was Becky's pick for her free jar, she loves corally pink colors. Aloha is a bright warm candy pink with tons of teal glitter; I had a little trouble getting it to stick for a dry swatch, so I did a separate "wet" swatch which you can see below. ;)

-Crush was my sister Abby's pick for a free jar; it's a bright fresh orange with a satiny texture, pretty straight forward. :)

-Marina was one of my favorites of the group, such a gorgeous bright green-teal! It was brighter and more pigmented than I'd seen in other swatch pictures, and also has a lovely bit of shimmer. Beautiful!

-Baked is a nice kind of bronzy-tan, almost metallic, very smooth and pigmented and shimmery and gorgeous! I like it more than Suede, which is a lot more silvery. This would make a great shade for everyday neutral looks, or could totally be glammed up for evening with blacks, browns, golds, whatever! I also think it would look smashing with purples. <3

-Zach's Friends is a gorgeous purple with lots of silver glitter. As with Aloha, swatching was a little tricky so see below for a separate swatch. This shade is a newer shade and is only sold in full-size as part of BFTE's Beautiful Beneficence campaign.

Aloha swatched over BFTE's Liquid Luster. These pics look a little washed out because of the sunlight and the angle, but the colors are actually brighter in person.

Tons of sparkles!

Zach's Friends swatched over Liquid Luster. Foiled or over a good base, this shade is sooo pretty!

I've been wanting to get these up for a while but it's been crazy around here what with moving and everything. I'm still getting situated in the new place, and to make matters even crazier, both my laptop AND my sister's camera that I use for swatching are out of order, so I haven't been able to do any blogging for the last 2 weeks like I'd planned. :( That's why these pics are all huge and have no watermarks or anything. I just wanted to get them on here and out of the way lol. x3

I have a few other hauls and things I've been dying to post, but they'll have to wait until I can get the camera/computer situation sorted out.

So that's all for now, sorry it's not quite up to standard for me but I hope you enjoy it anyway! Hope everyone is doing well, enjoy the weekend!<3

Prime Time

Gosh Vs L’Oreal Vs Elf  

Gosh Velvet Touch Primer - €18.50 – 1.0 oz (30ml)

L'oreal Studio Secrets Smoothing Resurfacing Primer – €14.50 – 0.49 oz (15ml)

Elf Mineral Infused Face Primer - €6.80 - 0.49oz (15ml)

These Silicone based primer are all fairly similar in consistency but have a few differences so let me break it down.

Gosh Velvet Touch Primer

Gosh primer is expensive and hard to find. (A|wear in Cork City is where I usually get mine.) Its one of the first primer I’ve ever tired and I love it. It really helps the foundation to smooth on and last longer. 

Claims to “It fills in fine lines and deep pores in the skin, creating a uniform, matt and silky soft surface, enabling the easy and smooth application of foundation”

I have this in my kit and use it on most (if not every) client.

For all skin type - It is more suited to normal skin.

Also available from this line:

- Gosh Velvet Touch Foundation Primer Apricot with Matrixyl 3000 (a face firming peptitde)

- Gosh Velvet Touch Foundation Primer Cream

- Gosh Velvet Touch Foundation Lip Primer

- Gosh Velvet Touch Foundation Eye Primer

L'oreal Studio Secrets Smoothing Resurfacing Primer

L’oreal as a brand is more easily available however it is not the best price. If you compare it to the Gosh primer which has twice the amount of product is doesn’t seem that worth it. However if you are travelling any time soon, L’oreal has some great duty free products. I got two for 18euro on my flight back from Rome.

Claims – “this primer masks wrinkles and uneven textures in the skin, making the complexion feel smooth and soft, with a remarkable velvety touch”

I feel like this is a good summer primer the smallest amount (seriously less is more) on the t-zone really helps to keep oiliness and large pores at bay. I have been using this for awhile and I love it, It has a slight pink tint which brightens the skin.

It is more suited to Combination/oil skin.

Also available from this line:

Studio Secrets Professional Primer Anti-Shine

Studio Secrets Professional Primer Anti-Dullness

Studio Secrets Professional Primer Anti-Redness

Elf Mineral Infused Face Primer

Last but not least my favourite primer – Elf primer from the studio line. I talked about this so many times. It is comparable to smashbox and the above the Gosh Primer. The texture is very similar, light clear gel and I would consider it a dope for sure. 

Elf primer is available on the Elf websites though you get less then the Gosh primer in one bottle if my calculations are correct buying two Elf bottles are still cheaper then the Gosh Primer.

The only thing I do not like about the Elf primer is the packaging, the pump got clogged and I had to scrap out the product in the end but I still love it, it’s like that puppy that eats your favourite shoes but you still love her. Plus I would rather have some thing wrong with the packaging then the product because the packaging can be fix (Elf are you listening)

Overall I LOVE this one more then the others! :)

For all skin types.

Halo Twist

 Can you believe it, another HAIR tutorial?!?!? I saw this on YouTube and wanted to do it too since I can't french braid to save my life! I can twist with the best of em and I LOVE how this can dress up a casual outfit or easily dress another outfit down. Be sure to send me pictures of your halo twist and I'll feature them on the blog! Happy twisting! =)

10 Min Smokey Eye

For the most part five minute faces are fun to see what you can accomplish. I know that I love them! I thought though that realistically we may have a bit longer than that. If my husband asked me out and found a sitter for the kids I know he would at MiNiMuM give me ten minutes. So HeRe it is a 10 minute smokey eye complete with lashes. Look polishes, classy, sophisticated QUICKLY! Enjoy =).

Products Used:
Revlon Color Stay Foundation in Early Tan
MAC Studio Fix Powder in NW 25
Nicole Miller Bronzer
Coastal Scents Blush (top row first color)
UDPP
Naked Palette
- Creep
- Virgin on lid and brow
Nicole Miller bronzer just above Creep
Lash Blast Mascara
Demi Whispies lashes in black
Coastal Scents bottom corner browns for brow
Honey Love lipstick from MAC
Clear Lipglass from MAC
Blacktrack Fluidline from MAC

Waterproof Your Makeup

How is it that beach-loving celebs like Jennifer Aniston and Cameron Diaz always look picture perfect as they climb out of the pool or walk out of the ocean? Aside from having amazing bodies, many of them are probably wearing waterproof makeup. If you enjoy water sports (or tearjerker movies) and want to look your best without worrying about makeup dribbling down your face, try switching to waterproof products. Here are some of my faves this summer:
Sephora's Flashy Liner Waterproof is a soft and creamy eyeliner that glides on smoothly and then stays put. It's got a bit of sparkle to reflect light, but don't worry — it's not too glittery for daytime. I like Flashy Black and Flashy Green ($8 at sephora.com).
L'Oréal's Voluminous Waterproof Mascara (about $7 at drugstores) has been my go-to summer mascara because it builds volume that holds up under water, in extreme humidity, and through a sweaty workout. This year I'm also loving Giorgio Armani Beauty's Eyes to Kill Waterproof Mascara, which is lightweight and leaves my lashes feeling soft ($30 at barneys.com).
Make Up For Ever's Aqua Lip waterproof Lip liner pencil ($17 at sephora.com) stays put all day and comes in 18 shades (I like Nude Beige). I also like Prestige's Waterproof Lipliner (about $5 at drugstores and ulta.com), which comes in 10 colors. To avoid looking too made up, choose a shade close to your lip color and use short, feathery strokes to apply it along your natural lip line. These liners can be drying, so apply lip balm or gloss on top when you get out of the water.

Want to win a Makeup Forever Aqua Lip waterproof Lip liner pencil in Nude Beige? Tell me how you keep your makeup from melting during the summer. Send your tips to submissions@askjessicawu.com. I’ll pick 5 lucky winners and share your tips in an upcoming Shout-out!

M.I.A

We have had a lot going on with family and will be traveling to Oregon for a funeral that we were all not expecting. Just wanted to let you know that I would be taking a bit of a hiatus from the blog. I've had people ask what they can do to help during this hard time and it really would help, if you would like, to email me with your thoughts on different products or your favorites for July. Maybe send in a video tutorial or a written one that everyone could follow. I could post them instead of putting one together myself. That would be so nice and thanks to those that have been so supportive. My followers are by FAR the best ever!!!!!!!!! 

Vegan Brownies!

The best brownies I have ever had! And they are Vegan!!

Here is the original recipe. 

250 g or 2 cups  - unbleached all-purpose flour

• 400 g or 2 cups - white sugar
• 65 g or 3/4 cup - unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 Teaspoon -  baking powder
• 1 Teaspoon - salt
• 235 ml or 1 cup water
• 235 ml or 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
• 
  

• I change it slight by changing the water to half water/half soya milk and half the vegetable oil  because that is a lot of oil!! 

  Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Pour in water, vegetable oil and vanilla; mix until well blended. I use an electric mixer so they were really smooth.
  3. Spread evenly in a 9x13 inch baking pan. (I lined my tray with grease proof paper)
  4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top is no longer shiny. (Keep a check on them, Vegan brownies I better soft) 
  5. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into squares. Unless you like them falling apart and crumbling like I do!
  
  
  I am rubbish at making brownies usually but these were so easy and turned out to be the best brownies I have ever made! (Said my dad!)
  
  
  I'm sineadycady thanks for....Oh wait never mind! lol
  
  
  Sineadycady xx 

Smoother Skin

I have been using the magic peeling glove now for a few weeks. I love this way of exfoliating because you are phycailly removing the I don't have to worry about my skin reacting to the lotions/gels and beads mix that typically come along with exfoliating.

Before using the peeling glove I was using Dove Shower scrub. I like it. It has a beautiful smell and I thought it exfoliated pretty well that was until I use the magic peeling glove which is amazing!

Not only does this exfoliate the skin but it has other benefits -

-Eliminates dead skin cells with a gentle action that leaves the skin brighter.

-Liberates the skin from impurities and improves the skin ability for deep penetration of treatments - Like Anti-wrinkles, Moisturizer, Anti-cellulite and Spot removing.

-Revitalizes stretch Marks and acne scars.

-Prepares the skin for a perfect hair removing by promoting the exposure of ingrown hair.

-Promotes more effective and long lasting tanning.

-Help to prevent and clear up the small dark spots from the chest, face and hands that can be caused from the exposure to the sun.

From my experience I have found that it has brightens and smoothed my skin. Boosted circulation which has help with the improvement of the skin overall and helped revitalized stretch marks. (on going process)

Help with the removal of old fake tan and allowing new tanning application to last long and look flawless. Aided with the removal of hair, including getting a closer smoother long lasting shave and made is easier to use a epilator on underarms and bikini line due to exposure of the hair and the reduction in ingrown hair. 

All in all I LOVE this product and look forward to using it every week. 

How to use video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5B4MQABMKk

First thoughts - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNhwa2ncBQ&feature=player_embedded

Elizabeth Taylor Tribute

 Elizabeth Taylor was such an icon. In the movies she was on point and direct and with makeup (in her earlier years) I felt she was one of the greats! I felt it was time I did a tribute to the look and feel of this Hollywood starlet. Here is my take on her look in general, not from any one picture but I thought I'd put up a few that would demonstrate her rich beauty. I think it took me a while to pay homage to her because for the longest time she left a bad taste in my mouth. She was lovely but unfortunately stole a few husbands in her day. I LOVE Debbie Reynolds and Liz took her hubby = (...look at me talking about them as if I know them! =) Anyway, I loved her look, at least, and wanted to give my interpretation of all the little details that made up Elizabeth's face. I hope you like it!

 Can't you just SEE Camilla Belle playing her in a movie??? It's ridiculous how much alike they look!

Classic, stunning, gorgeous.

June Favorites

Summer Look For Blue Eyes

Mineral Make-up

Above Is The Link To My New Video On How To Apply Mineral Foundation. This Link And Others Like It Can Also Found On The Howto Page.

Products used in this video:

KmS mineral Essentials - 

100% Pure Mineral Make-up 

http://kmsmineralessentials.com/

Kms Application Brush

Mineral Mate Palette
15% off 1st order with coupon Code New11, and shipping is free worldwide.

Why is Minerals Make-up different - 

KmS minerals are long wearing, waterproof, sweat proof while protecting the skin with natural SPF. I find the foundation has a silky texture once applied to the skin.

They are paraben free, free of talc, fragrance oils, chemicals and preservatives, Irritant-free and can be used on all skin types, including those that have Acne or Rosacea

Mineral Foundation is one of the easiest foundations to work with, and I would recommend it to anyone including mature skin types.