I feel pretty--NOT! THE COSMETICS THREAD

I think I got the PERFECTION LUMIÈRE. It's just . . . idk - I think I like the Revlon one I have better. This bums me out a lot tbh.

the one roxy posted is mat lumiere

yah i exfoliate, moisturize, check my skin, yep it's smooth, put on the foundation... and there it is! fucking flaky skin! and i can never get it to not look like i have literally painted my face - it just sits there, all texture-y and fake-looking and OBVIOUS.

i think 75% of my problem is my habitual half-assedness, though.

Oh good, we're talking foundation. Remember forever ago when I bought the Urban Decay Naked foundation? I liked it a lot for awhile, and then I stopped liking it. I think it's a combination of it oxidizing because I don't use it often enough to use it up and it being a little too dark and it looks, like just1n3 said, curdled.

Anyway so I went to Ulta (because I'm closer to Ulta than I am to Sephora now) and put myself in the hands of a sales person who somehow talked me into buying stick foundation, specifically Napoleon Perdis Foundation Stick. I hated it at first, but now I've got the hang of it a little more and I think I like it a lot. It's a lot more coverage than I would have guessed I would want, but I somehow look less made up. And it definitely doesn't curdle - stays looking pretty fresh actually.

It doesn't feel heavy at all, either. Like I forget I'm wearing it, whereas IRONICALLY with UD Naked I would feel very aware of having foundation on all day.

also re: Clarisonic, I bought the Olay spin brush per ENBB's suggestion and I love that fucking thing and am waiting for the batteries to die so I can have an excuse to spring for the Clarisonic.

I definitely, definitely need to switch up my foundation game. I've never tried stick. Sounds interesting though!

Have been Clinique Superbalanced for years upon years, but now I'm just kind of over it. Was looking into Laura Mercier or Lancome or something but I haven't actually taken the leap of buying anything new.

I just need whatever I put on my face not to be THICK. And pleeeaase don't make me wear powder.

My favorite was when clinique had a matte superbalanced available as a compact, omg it was the best. but it was discontinued and the city crap they have in it's place is terrible.

YAY! I was using mine the other day and remembered you'd mentioned getting one and wondered if you ever did. Pretty psyched for the Clarisonic. I got the mini one because it's cheaper and p much the same as the regular and I had a discount code so it was 20% off. But, yes, exciting!

yeah i don't like feeling anything too heavy on my face. and i've put that clarisonic on my birthday list for this year (it would annoy me spending that much on something that feels 'boring' but i'm ok with my MIL buying it for me).

E, I think I bought that brush the day we talked about it. I am particularly interested in your opinions re: comparison of the two. I would get the mini, too, for all the same reasons.

Yeah, I mean, I don't want to be a stick foundation evangelist because it definitely isn't going to work for everybody, but it's not thick (although I imagine you could make it thick, if you want). The Ulta lady told me to always use primer with it, so I have been. I don't know how much of a difference primer v. no primer would make as far as it staying nice looking.

I also jumped on the Olay brush bandwagon that very day. I like it and had not thought about the battery issue--I figured there were just some AAs in there for me to change, but perhaps I am wrong? Carl, please get the Clarisonic and compare the two!

FF, I also do not like anything thicky-feeling on my face, which makes sunscreen, in particular, a problem. The Chanel vitaluminere aqua is a very thin fluid, not thick or pasty at all, but somehow accomplish pretty good coverage of my redness and age spots. And it does not get orangey on me as the day wears on, which is a problem I've had with some other foundations.

I bought a nonelectric face brush at Sephora and my arm powers it -- seems to work ok. It was like $5? I've been able to go without foundation more frequently without feeling gross.

I mostly go without foundation except when I'm going out. I decided I care less about how pink/flushed I look and more about not clawing off my face

I've been trying this Armani one called 'face fabric' (??? wish they'd found a better name), it's really light and matte .. more a tinted moisturizer with a powdery texture than actual foundation, which I never wear b/c it's too heavy. good stuff

haha face fabric.

that's such a weird name

so weird!

totally! it's not heavy *at all* but sounds like it would be like super hd tv makeup or something, i went to the counter to try one of their foundations but those were too much coverage really

lol face fabric

Better than BALMSTAIN, at least.

SO I used the clarisonic this morning. While using it it actually felt like it was doing less than the olay because it's vibrates rather than spins/scrubs? But my face felt AMAZING afterwards. Of course, this is just my initial impression. I will report back after maybe a week of use.

so it's like a little mini-sander for your face?

flake-prone people - do you drink a lot of water? that and taking biotin/omega complex vitamins worked for me. never another flake

My skin is craaaaaazy dry, occasionally flaky, and I drink a lot of water. For me, I think it's just a combo of being 40 and living in cold, dry Chicago.

I don't drink enough water and I don't take a vitamin unless you count red wine. Which isn't helping on either front, if I'm being honest.

Vitamin R

I am still standing behind my undying love for Estee Lauder Double Wear. I like it better than anything I've used by Chanel before, but my skin needs MEGA COVERAGE.

Reblogged on tumblr by one of our very own here (I'll let her own up to it if she wants to), but damn I want this stuff:

http://25.media.tumblr.com/9456ab28c192915683fe0b3412ef4a19/tumblr_midjotIWhT1qj5vfno1_500.jpg

The labels! The Luv Puff!

I also am enjoying Olivia Hussey's eyebrows very much.

Ha! I love Olivia Hussey and the packaging is so cute. Luv Puff!

Out of curiosity,I spent a week wearing my Clinique foundation every day. Decided I def need to switch up my game.

Went back to Bare Escentuals primer which has been the kindest to my face & doesn't aggravate the way Smashbox and Clinique cityblock do.

Read some rosacea borads and found a lot of positive talk re Revlon Colorstay foundation, of all things. Which seemed kinda "Wha?" to me. But since it's cheap & easy to find, I'm giving it a whirl.
Accidentally got a shade darker by mistake but it looks not too bad! Bit of color seems to do me good, lol.

So we shall see. It's 24hr which troubles me as far as removal goes, but may be a plus for not sliding off my face. Formula is v light & does not touch off once applied which will be a godsend since I am a terrible habitual face toucher.

Exciting!

i never stray from cheap revlon blush tbh. sometimes cheap stuff rules

Considering switching to liquid eyeliner everyday - used to do pencil as it's softer but the smudginess has started to look a bit uneven or weird, can't really put my finger on why it looks off after over a decade of using it... But enjoying Stila's liquid liner and it looks a lot fresher. Not bothering with flicks or anything as I have about 30 secs in the morning to do it and that is a recipe for disaster!

Annoyingly tho if I put it on over eyelid primer it doesn't go on very easily. Which is the opposite of pencil.

i just started using gel eyeliner which i thought i would hate and i LOVE IT

Looks tricky? I guess no more than liquid with a brush but i'm rubbish at that too (hence stila pen)

i thought it was going to be tricky too but i find it easier than liquid tbh

Gel liner is the stuff in the little pot with the brush, right?

yep. its very very thick and therefore kind of applies like a solid eyeliner, but with the smoothness of liquid

I have a gel liner in a pot but it doesn't go thickly enough onto the brush. Maybe I'm supposed to layer it on?

Posted that, then went back to reading a paper for school. Got totally got the wrong mental picture from the next line, which was 'Subsequent information is mapped onto this foundation'.

i just do the bic lighter/kohl pencil for gel eyeliner, seems to work about the same. I looooove the depth it gives, looks so theatrical and rad.

New foundation Day 2 - am v pleased with the results so far.

I decided the too-dark color I purchased was a little bit tooo dark - not orange but just a little odd looking. So I mixed it with a lighter shade and came up with a pretty good match. I love the finish, and it holds up SO well for daywear.

Interested to see how another week of wear will go -- no breakouts or horrible itching yet, so fingers crossed.

carl agatha fyi I am on the blotting papers train

Yes!

My new job has toilet seat covers so that's what I've been using to blot my face (I don't sit on them bc our bathroom is private, clean as hell, and gets thoroughly cleaned every day so I rub my allotment on my face).

that's a good idea!

Can't find the L'Or3al lineur intens3 in brown (as recommended by io upthread) other than in the felt-tip version. Ended up getting their Infallible 16-hour liner. It did pretty well yesterday I think, although I kind of forgot to check my face.

I looked for it too, after laurels rec - no dice, but it is on amazon for cheap

Huh. It's in every Duane Reade but maybe that's a chain ordering thing!

I'm the opposite wrt lineur intense - I only like the felt tip one but I'm pissed because they discontinued my favorite color. :(

I find the felt tip a lot easier to maneuver than the brush but I can use that one too in a pinch. My mom used the brush one for years.

No duane reads out here - I checked cvs etc.

I think Duane Read is NYC only. When I was in the city in Dec I popped into one because I forgot deodorant and omg it was awesome and fancy and had sushi waht?!