Marc Jacobs Air Blush

Overview         

This is one of my newest blushes- and also my favorite. I realize calling a product your favorite blush is a big statement. Even though it’s technically a blush, this particular shade is skin-enhancing and the darker color in the pan gives a subtle rosiness and slight shadow to the face. On me, it contours my face without looking like I actually contoured my face. Because these blushes have two colors in the pan, brush placement will dictate the color pay off and intensity. This makes these blushes workable for a variety of skin tones; it also means your $42 is going towards a very versatile product that is actually two blush shades in one blendable formula.

Formula                        

Aside from packaging and the Marc Jacobs brand, this blush has earned the title because of the wearable color and blendability. The brand claims this product provides a 24-hour glowing radiance and custom blush to fit the occasion, based on where you place your blush in the pan, and how much you layer the product. Japanese air powder is infused in the blush for an almost undetectable finish. As described by the brand, the process of soufflage (French for "air-whipped") created the Air Blush Soft Glow Duo formula, giving us a silky-soft, creamy texture and even color application with every brushstroke.

Inspiration

The striped pattern in this blush was supposedly inspired by a Marc Jacobs dress; the light shade in the pan is designed to highlight, and the darker shade to contour. Inspiration also comes from Way Bandy, the first celebrity makeup artist, also a friend of Marc Jacobs, and the concept of naturally draping the face with color. The packaging was modeled after vintage cigarette cases.

Shade Range

The beautiful formula in the shade Flesh & Fantasy makes this a skin-like, sculpting blush. The color is ideal if you have a fair to light complexion; however, with a more dense brush, and by swirling into the deeper tone in the pan, this is workable for medium skin tones. The line offers 4 other deeper shades... Lines & Last Night-creamsicle/deep tangerine; Kink & Kisses-pale petal/peachy rose; Lush & Libido-petal pink/orchid pink; Night Fever & Hot Stuff-cherry/deep plum. Again, the two shades in the pan make these blushes customizable- based on your skin tone or color preference.

Application

Because I am fair and like my blushes very light and flesh toned, I center my brush at the far left and use a wispy brush, like this Morphe M509. A angled blush or contour brush would work beautifully, as this product is designed to highlight and contour the face. I would avoid too dense of a brush or any brush that applies product heavily. This blush is buildable, but it is fairly pigmented and builds quickly.

Purchase this if...

You are on the fence about the Air Glow blushes; if you fall in love with the formula, maybe get another shade that speaks to you- depending on if you prefer your blush to be more peach, pink, or berry. One warning though: I think these blushes are for the cheeks what Viseart palettes are for the eyes. Meaning, once you have a selection of wearable shades in a fabulous formula, your other blushes may pale in comparison. When I want a natural, skin-like contour-which is every time I put on makeup- I reach for Flesh & Fantasy. 

Laura Mercier Highlight 01

Overview

Of all my highlights, this is the most flattering and wearable. The magic of this beauty is that you can create a subtle, work appropriate glow to an intense highlight. Essentially, it's a your-skin-but-better, champagne sheen with refined shimmer. And because you get the sheen without obvious sparkle, you can apply it to all the points of the face you want to enhance, without having to worry about “over-highlighting.”  It’s perfect for those with light to medium skin. If you have a deeper complexion, it might work for you. It is a champagne shade so it might look more intense, possibly ashy, against a deep skin tone. In terms of formula, it reminds me of the Hourglass ambient lighting powders, because it's super soft and blendable and allows you to create a natural highlight, suitable for any occasion. Yet, I feel you can get much more sheen from this than Hourglass. If you compare it to the Hourglass strobe powders, Laura Mercier is still a better buy, because there are no sparkles in the powder, just a champagne sheen with fine shimmer. Nine times out of ten, this is the highlight on my face.

Formula

The formula of this product is why I love it so much. The name: “matte-radiance” powder mystifies some people. How can a product be matte and radiant at the same time? But this is. There is shimmer in the pan and in a swatch, but it melts into the skin to give a luminous sheen. It is a super-soft baked formula that is very forgiving if you have mature skin or texture on your skin. Some highlights, especially metallic ones, can really emphasize any texture and imperfections you have on your cheekbones (or other areas you highlight.) And don't worry, it's a very fine shimmer- not chunky sparkle. With this, you can highlight with confidence. Below I compare this highlighter's champagne base with refined shimmer to a highlighter that's just pure sparkle.

Above you see the difference between Laura Mercier's Highlight 01 and Nars's Reckless. sheen vs. sparkle. Highlight 01 has a champagne base with fine shimmer & Reckless has no base or sheen, just iridescent sparkle.

Shade Range

Within the “matte radiance” powder line, this is the only highlighting powder. There are 4 bronzing shades available in this formula, which could serve as a bronzer, or perhaps even a face powder, if you have a very deep complexion. But they don't offer the highlighting impact and lit-from-within glow that Highlight 01 does. The brand more recently released their "face illuminator" powder line, which have the beautifully embossing in a baked gelee formula, such as the infamous Indiscretion. The face illuminator line offers a better range of shades for all skin tones, from Devotion, a cool pink, to Seduction, a topaz or deep bronze. These highlights are lovely, but in my opinion, they can't compare to the refined, soft-to-the-touch formula of Highlight 01. Honestly, I also owned Indiscretion, but returned the product; whereas, I use Highlight 01 pretty much every time I apply makeup. 

Laura Mercier's Highlight 01 on top and Indiscretion on bottom.

Application

Because this product is pigmented, super-soft, and blendable, any highlighting brush should work. The Anastasia highlighting brush picks up the powder beautifully for a more intense highlight. Today I applied the Ulta cream highlighting stick and patted Highlight 01 on top, both with my fingers. Even that way, it blended out beautifully. That’s how good the formula is. To give you an idea of the product's versatility…for a while, I dusted this all over my face to set my makeup-using a large, fluffy powder brush and with just a light touch into the powder-to create an all over, luminous finish. 

Purchase this if…

You want a lit-from-within-glow rather than a stark highlight, have texture or mature skin, or just want a gorgeous champagne highlighting powder. If you are under-whelmed with Hourglass’s ambient and strobing powders and Becca doesn’t strike your fancy, this is the powder for you.

Kat Von D Powder Foundation

My perfect powder- both in coverage and color match. Light 45...beautiful if you have a warm/yellow undertone.

Overview

If I could only have one makeup product, this would be it. This offers coverage to the max. When I can't be bothered to take the time to put on a liquid foundation, I can cover imperfections and get a full-coverage look in about 30 seconds. Few powders can stand up to the coverage of the Lock-It powder. To get the same coverage using another powder, I would first need foundation and concealer..which are essential steps to some-but this powder can almost take you to that level of coverage, all by itself. 

Application & Formula

Because this offers intense coverage and could get cakey if you really pack it on with a dense brush, I recommend a big fluffy powder brush. I will use this as a setting powder atop foundation for flawless skin, and to me, it's still not too heavy. The key is the brush you use and not over-applying it. That's the thing: if you do invest in a full coverage powder you really love, it will last you a good while, and you can always amp up the coverage of your lighter, more natural foundations. It also gives you the option of simply wearing it on its own when you want to keep it simple. There are those days when you don't have time for a liquid foundation, or maybe you just want to give your skin a break from liquid foundations. In those instances, I use this alone and still get great coverage. 

From left to right, Light 45, Light 46 and Light 49. The fair, yellow undertone in shades Light 45 and Light 49 work best for me; Light 46 is a bit too peachy. In person, Light 49 almost looks lighter than Light 46, so it's the undertone that becomes the key factor. Swatch these in person before purchasing.

Shade Range

This powder is always in my purse, and as shown above, I have a few shades for different times of the year. The shade variations also come in handy when I want to use a lighter shade on the center of my face and a few shades darker on the outer perimeter, for natural dimension. There are 18 available shades. I'm currently using shade Light 45, the third lightest in the range. For reference, I have a yellow undertone and am about a Mac NC20. I would recommend color matching at Sephora before buying, because there is a wide range of shades with different undertones, and one shade up or down can look very different on the skin. 

For reference, from left to right, are shades Light 45 and Light 46.

Purchase This If...

You want complete coverage in a powder or need to amp up the coverage of your foundations. I have tried a handful of different powder foundations before, and after using them up, I honestly just want to repurchase this powder. It's just so good. And if you don't want it to look heavy and be too full coverage, you can apply the lightest layer and this powder will last you forever. When I do wear this on top of foundation, with just one touch-up midday, the coverage is still decent at the end of the day. If I apply my holy grail setting powder after this powder, no touch-up is needed.

Cover FX Oil Free Foundation

Overview

If you've heard about this foundation, it's probably because Jaclyn Hill sung its praises in a recent video. This has become my everyday foundation, ideal for work, when I need a low maintenance, yet decent coverage, base.  There is a natural, dewy finish to the foundation, but nothing over-the-top. This foundation makes people comment on how good your skin looks, not how good your makeup or foundation looks. 

Wearing only the Cover FX Natural Finish Foundation. You can see the healthy, dewy, skin-like finish the foundation gives.

Formula & Application

I regard it as low maintenance because the light-weight formula blends easily into the skin, allowing me to apply it with my fingers. The formula feels like putting on a light BB cream or tinted moisturizer. I have somewhat sensitive skin, but this has not made me break-out at all, which I wasn't concerned about, as this foundation claims to be "oil free." Honestly, I think fingers blend the foundation best. I also own the Cover FX drops and actually love to mix them with this foundation when I want complete coverage. This natural finish, glowy foundation paired with the crazy coverage of the Cover FX drops is stunning. When using this foundation with Cover FX drops, I put a few dabs of the Natural Finish foundation on the outer perimeter of my face and a few drops of the Cover FX drops (in a lighter shade) on my T-zone areas and use a beauty blender to blend it all together. 

G40- swatched & blended out. Note the skin-like finish achieved by simply blending it in with the fingers. You can see how dark G40 looks on my skin- great shade if you have a more tan complexion with strong yellow undertones.

Shade Range

I'm currently using the shade G40, which is my super tan summer shade, but the color actually works, thanks to the light and blendable formula. I also have the Cover FX drops in the same shade, G40, but usually grab for the natural finish foundation, because application is effortless. My Sephora doesn't carry the full line of Cover FX's Natural Finish Foundation or the Cover FX drops; however, my local Sephora Inside JcPenney did. G20 is a perfect match for me; for reference, I'm a NC20 in MAC and wear shade Vanilla in the Hourglass stick foundation. 

Purchase this if...

 you want a everyday foundation to grab for when you're getting ready in a hurry and want your skin to look flawless, without trying or having to cake product on.  It works with barely-there, minimal makeup and can also be built up for a full face look. I would suggest going with a lighter shade, one that will be more universal for you throughout the year. This foundation will be a favorite for people who want medium, buildable coverage in a glowy, natural finish and can appreciate a lightweight foundation that can be applied with the fingers.