Review: L'Oreal Lumi Magique Light Infusing Foundation (N1 - Pure Pearl)

Hey guys!

So, I went out for dinner for my sister’s birthday, and decided to go back to my old friend, the L’Oreal Lumi Magique. I’d completely forgotten about this foundation, and I can’t believe I did. So I decided it was about time I wrote down my thoughts on it.

I really wanted to try the True Match foundation that I see everyone raving about but when I went into Priceline I couldn’t find a colour light enough to match me. So I moved onto the Lumi Magique and the match I found was pretty damn close. It’s $33.95 at Priceline, which may seem expensive to anyone not in Australia, but if you are in Australia you’ll know that that’s pretty normal (which might make you groan a little in frustration, I know I do). If you are somewhere like the U.S., I know that it goes by a slightly different name, on the Ulta website it has it listed as True Match Lumi Healthy Luminous Makeup, and the shades are different (or at least have different names), oh, and it’s only about $8.

THE POSITIVES:

This has a beautiful dewy/natural finish and the coverage is perfect for my needs. I don’t usually have a lot of blemishes, just the redness that I’ve mentioned a few times before, and this covers it all nicely without looking cakey. It’s so light and beautiful feeling on the skin. I love that most of the time I don’t even need to set it with a powder. I will only set it with a powder when I’m going for a night out and I need to 1) look a little more done up; and 2) have my makeup last for as long as possible without a touch up.

I like that the bottle has a pump, and that you really don’t need a lot to cover your face. It’s a light t medium buildable coverage. It’s so moisturising, and even in these really dry months for my skin, it doesn’t appear to cling to any dry patches at all. One of my favourite features is the fact that I can apply this many different ways and get pretty much the same finish. I’ve used my Beauty Blender, fingers, Real Techniques Expert Face brush, Models Prefer flat-top buffing brush and just recently my LimeLily Duo Fibre Stippling brush, which so far I think is my favourite with my Beauty Blender coming in a close second.

THE NEGATIVES:

In some lights the foundation can seem a little bit too dark for me, but as long as I blend it down my neck enough it doesn’t really bother me. The price tag is a little disappointing too. In Australia $34 isn’t really that much to pay for a foundation, and I have paid a lot more for less product (see my Bobbi Brown review for an example), but it’s just such a pet peeve for me that us Aussies have to pay so much more than most other countries. I mean, come on Australia! The U.S. is paying $8 for this stuff and we’re paying $34? That’s such bull. To be fair, this gripe is with pretty much all Aussie makeup prices, not just the Lumi.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

The bottom line is that I am in love with this foundation. I have loved it from my very first application. Yes, sometimes it can appear a little too dark, but I make it work because it’s just so pretty! The positives far outweigh the negatives for me, and I think it’s one of the best foundations I’ve ever used, both drugstore and high end. I wouldn’t recommend this if you like a matte finish, because, as the name suggests, it’s a very luminous foundation, but if you like a natural/dewy finish this is for you! I say definitely go ahead and give Lumi a try! 

Review: Sailor Moon Crystal Ep. 1

Hey guys!

This review is not beauty related, but I really wanted to share my thoughts, because I’ve been excited for this for over a year now :)

Okay, so when I was a little girl I LOVED ‘Sailor Moon’. I’d watch the anime every morning on Cheez TV (old Aussie kids morning show) before school. I loved it and was really sad when they took it off. So, when I got a little older I started collecting the manga and the DVDs of the anime. When I heard that they were going to be rebooting it… well… suffice to say, I pretty much lost my shit. Especially when I read that they were going to be keeping it more true to the manga, which I had come to really love, maybe even more than the first anime. The storylines in the original anime kind of steered in a different direction from the manga from which it was based, and if I’m being honest, I do prefer the way the manga storylines go.

The first episode of the new anime, ‘Sailor Moon Crystal’, streamed on the 5^th of July, which was a couple of days ago now. I’ve watched it twice. The first time was for pure entertainment purposes, but the second was because I decided to review it. I know I mainly do beauty stuff, but this is a memory from my childhood that I have always loved, so where better to share it than on a page dedicated to things I love? The first season will cover the Dark Kingdom arc, for those of you familiar with the Sailor Moon stories.  

I’ll admit now that I don’t know a whole lot about manga and anime. I mean, I used to watch ‘Pokémon’, but only because it was before ‘Sailor Moon’. And, apart from the ‘Miki Falls’ series by American manga artist Mark Crilley (which is awesome by the way), ‘Sailor Moon’ is the only manga I own.

Now I’ve given you that tiny disclaimer, let’s move on to my actual thoughts on the new show. I really liked it. Did I like it better than the original? Hmmm, I think it’s way too tell. It appears that they will be set out in acts, just as the manga are. If that’s the case, then the first episode, which was labelled as Act 1 – Usagi/Sailor Moon, was designed to match up to the act of the same name in the manga. I think it did a pretty good job too. From what I can tell, it was pretty close to being just a moving picture version of the manga. This is awesome, because it means that they really do appear to be staying more true to the manga than the original.

With regards to the actual animation etc., I did like the style of drawing that they have gone with, although for someone who isn’t super familiar with anime and manga, it was very different to the limited amount of stuff I’ve seen. I love the way the faces, especially the eyes, have been drawn. The style feels like it gives the characters extra dimension. One thing I notice that I thought was a little odd was arm and leg proportions. In the Sailor Moon transformation in particular I noticed this. Her arms and legs seemed very... I dunno, I guess Mr. Fantastic like (or Elastigirl from The Incredibles for all those Disney fans out there). It was just weird. I don’t know if this speaks to the quality of the artistry or not, but like I said, it was odd.

Overall, I’m really excited to see the rest of the season. From what I’ve read, it will be streamed every 1^st and 3^rd Saturday of the month, which is basically every fortnight or so. Season 1 will consist of 26 episodes and will have subtitles for a lot of different languages. I’ll list the sites that I know stream them below. I was also reading that they will eventually be dubbed into English, which is cool, but it won’t happen until sometime after the first season is done. If you’re a Sailor Moon fan, or think you might enjoy it, definitely give this new one a go. It’s an awesome story!

The sites you can stream the episodes are:

Crunchyroll (Australia, UK, etc.): http://www.crunchyroll.com/sailor-moon-crystal

Hulu/Neon Alley: http://www.hulu.com or http://www.viz.com/anime/streaming

NicoNico: http://www.nicovideo.jp/

Review: NARS Radiant Creamy Compact Foundation (Siberia)

I thought it was about time I reviewed my NARS Radiant Creamy Compact Foundation. I’ve mentioned it a couple of times before, in other reviews, but now it’s time to put it in the spotlight and tell you my thoughts on it.

Once I realised that my Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick wasn’t working on my dry skin anymore I set out to find something more moisturising. I was still on a cream foundation kick, which is what led me to NARS. I’d watched and read a few reviews and most of them were pretty good, and talked about how moisturising the foundation was. So I went to Mecca Maxima and got the girl to try it out on my skin. It looked really nice and I was sold.

The foundation is $56, and you have the option of spending an extra $15 to get the travel compact for it. I like this concept of buying the compact and refill separately, because it means you’re not throwing out a perfectly good compact every time you finish your foundation. It also means that the cost is a little less, and you don’t have to spend the extra money if you don’t want to. The actual refill comes in its own little case so it’s protected without needing the travel compact. The refill just doesn’t have a mirror or space for the sponge, which I’ve only used once anyway. I personally didn’t buy the compact. I didn’t feel like I’d need it because I don’t have a habit of taking my foundation in my handbag for touch-ups.

THE POSITIVES:

This is a really nice foundation. I’m in the lightest shade (typical for me), and for a change it really is a great match. I thought it was a little too yellow, but on the skin it’s not. It’s a really good match, with just enough yellow to mute out my redness. It’s super creamy, so much so that it’s almost liquid. I love that there’s 12g as opposed to the 9g I got with the Bobbi, and it’s nearly $10 cheaper!

The foundation is very smooth, and once you’ve found the right method to get the best effect (for me it seems to be a sponge, not my Beauty Blender, just a regular disposable wedge), it looks really beautiful on. It has a light coverage, but is buildable. I find it glides on much easier than the Bobbi because of its more moisturising consistency.

THE NEGATIVES:

While it is buildable, it can start to look too cakey if you use to much. You do have to be careful to not take it too far. Also, even though it glides on much easier than the Bobbi, it also moves on the skin a lot easier. I find I have to be quite careful when I apply under-eye concealer, as if I accidentally swipe rather than dab, the foundation near it will shift, or sometimes even wipe away completely. It can be a bit of a pain if you’re in a hurry or simply don’t feel like putting too much effort in. you also have to be careful when applying powder over the top, which you will need because it doesn’t set as well as other foundations. I do like how my Elizabeth Arden powder looks on the top of it, because it’s more of an illuminating setting powder, but I think if you have dry, maybe even normal skin, using a mattifying powder might end up making you look a bit cakey and dry. I have tried it with a normal translucent setting powder and I really didn’t like the finish.

The other thing I don’t like is the fact that I had to try so many different ways to find the one that gave the most natural and flawless finish. As I said before I eventually settled for a normal wedge sponge, but I tried my Beauty Blender, fingers, Real Techniques Expert Face Brush (which a densely packed rounded buffing brush), a flat top buffing brush and a flat foundation brush. All of them gave okay to good finishes, but only the regular old sponge gives a finish I’m truly happy with. I’d much prefer it if I had a couple of options for applying it to a degree I’m happy with.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

I really like this foundation. It’s not my holy grail by any stretch of the imagination. I love the colour match and the finish I can achieve. I don’t love that it took me so long to find the best application method or the fact that it so easily wipes away, or even the fact that I have to set my entire face with powder, because otherwise it won’t set. Would I repurchase this? Maybe, if I can’t find anything I like better, but there are other foundations I would like to try first. I think when it’s time to buy a new foundation I might head back in the direction of liquids, to find a really good moisturising one. I’m thinking about the Hourglass Veil one (or whatever it’s called). Has anyone tried it, or one that it really moisturising? Let me know if you have any suggestions. J