Favorite Friday: Revlon PhotoReady Foundation

This Friday, I decided to feature one of my favorite products that you can find at the drugstore. I typically never buy drugstore foundation because I find it extremely difficult to just guess what shade I should buy, hoping it gives me the coverage I want. I love being able to test a shade on my skin before I buy it. A few months ago, I completely ran out of foundation and was unable to run to Nordstrom to get the brand I typically use. I went to the drugstore and picked up this foundation. (My Mom had told me she had used it before and it was really great, so of course I trusted her opinion!) I was reluctant to buy it because I couldn’t try it on and also because it was from the drugstore. I’m not going to lie, I have been known to be somewhat of a foundation snob. I will use mounds of anything else from the drugstore but when it comes to what I’m actually putting on my face, I’ve always been a little skeptical. I have always believed you probably need to pay a little more to get good coverage, good ingredients and something that won’t break you out. You can probably credit that to the fact that I worked around high-end cosmetics for years and this is how I was trained. Trying to get me to convert to a drugstore foundation from my Laura Mercier foundation was kind of like trying to convince a man who drives a Mercedes that he needs to go test drive a Pontiac Aztec. Ok, that was a little drastic. Here is my favorite thing this Friday:

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Revlon PhotoReady Foundation, $10 at drugstores

This foundation converted me. Ok, I’ll admit it: Good foundation really can come in small, wrapped up packages, that you can’t open until you get home. This product gives a medium coverage that is also buildable. What I like most about this foundation is that my skin still looks like skin after I apply it. I don’t look shiny, but I also don’t look matte. It blends easily, goes on smoothly and leaves my skin with an enhanced radiance. It has yet to break me out and it looks great in photos. The shade I am currently using is called Natural Beige. Revlon also just came out with a NEW PhotoReady Airbrush Mousse and I cannot wait to try it. Not only is PhotoReady a great product, it’s only $10. This is department store quality at a drugstore price. You can’t beat that!

Have you ever tried PhotoReady? What’s your favorite drugstore foundation?

Favorite Friday: NARS Roman Holiday Lipstick

Instead of using my time wisely this week, when I had a moment of free time, I made a pit stop two hour trip to Sephora. The good news is that I found my new favorite lip color. It’s my favorite thing this Friday. Here it is:

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.NARS Sheer Lipstick in Roman Holiday, $24 at narscosmetics.com

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I’m pretty finicky when it comes to lipstick. The best way to describe what I’m looking for is, “natural, light pink with blue undertones, not too pink, but kinda pink, hint of color, somewhat sheer but not too sheer, visible in photos but not overly visible, non-metallic, moisturizing, must feel good on the lips, lipstick.” What, is that too much to ask? Tell that to the cosmetic salesperson and you will forever be labeled as the “crazy lipstick lady” and everyone will run for cover when they see you coming. True story. I worked at a cosmetic counter for years, I know how it goes down.  I usually just keep my crazy demands to myself and quietly roam around the store for two hours searching, wandering aimlessly and hoping it falls into my lap. That pretty much never happens, but this time it actually did! I love this color because it meets my seemingly unattainable list & I don’t even know how that’s possible. It feels great on my lips and it’s infused with lip conditioning ingredients and antioxidants that keep my lips feeling nourished.  It gives me that little hint of color I was searching for. It also goes with everything. It looks pretty pink in the above photo but it has a buildable coverage, so you can obtain a very sheer coverage to a very pigmented baby pink lip if you keep reapplying. I usually just apply one coat for a more sheer application. Here is what my lips look like after two coats:

.I hope everyone enjoys this color as much as I did. Have a great weekend!

What are you loving this Friday?

I Wanna Look Like Emma

When I saw Emma Stone Sunday at the MTV Movie Awards, her makeup caught my eye immediately. In my eyes, the look she’s wearing is the epitome of what summer makeup should look like. Her makeup looks simple except for the pop of color on her lips. Like I have said in my past post, summer makeup should be simple with one focus point. Choose either the eyes or the lips, make them stand out, and the rest should stay simple. With only 4 easy steps, I’m going to show you the products that you can use to recreate this fun, summery look.

1. Foundation:

First off, her skin isn’t shouting ‘luminous’ to me. Her foundation looks semi-matte. A great foundation to recreate this look would be Laura Mercier Oil Free Suprême Foundation. This foundation gives medium, buildable coverage with a semi-matte finish.

$42 at Sephora.com

2.  Blush:

She is wearing a very subtle, peachy-pink blush. The perfect blush would be NARS Blush in Sex Appeal. It’s the perfect mix of a soft pink and pale peach. Since she is wearing a coral lip, you want to make sure your blush has a tint of coral or peach in it too.

$28 at Sephora

3. Eye Liner

Emma is wearing a black, sleek liner. Keep your eyeshadow very neutral, almost bare, and put the focus on the liner. A great liner to create this look is MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack. This liner is seriously awesome (I swear) and it’s perfect to recreate this look.

$15 at Nordstrom

4. Lips

And the grand finale…the lips! She is wearing a coral lip that looks like it has a tint of pink to it. The actual lip product she is wearing is Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Rendezvous. Her makeup artist, Rachel Goodwin, actually confirmed that this is the color she is wearing! When you look at the product it looks like a red-orange shade. I’m sure you can work with the color and achieve the color that best suits you depending upon how much you apply. I love to mix colors, so if this looked a little too orange-ish on myself, I will just add a dab of pink! I will definitely be picking this color up on my next drugstore visit because I’m certain it will be selling out soon.

$7.69 at Target

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Voilà! You look like a movie star!

What do you think of this look? Would you wear it?