REVIEW: Rimmel BB Cream Matte

When I heard the magic word 'matte' bandied about in association with a BB cream I was definitely interested in trying that out.  You see, I'm usually a powder foundation fan because creamy, dewy formulations inevitably end up translating as oily on my t-zone - and then out comes the trusty mattifying powder - but I'm open to trying a matte BB cream formulation to see how that performs on my combination skin! 

 

 

Enter Rimmel who have launched their oil free formula BB Cream Matte 9-in-1 which is available in 3 shades in Australia (light, medium, medium dark).  I received a tube in the light shade to try so I've spent the past week testing it, wearing it to the office to see how it stands up to the rigours of my regular air-conditioned, artificially lit life...

 

Swatched heavily on the left and blended out on the right:

 

Rimmel's BB Cream Matte 9-in-1 makes the following 9 claims:

 

  1) Minimises the appearance of pores

 2) Evens skin tone

3) Mattifies

4) Controls shine all day

5) Smoothes

6) Soothes

7) Conceals dark circles

8) Helps prevent blemishes

9) Gives all-day coverage

 

This pretty neatly sets out the format for this review as I'm going to address those 9 claims one by one:

1) Minimises the appearance of pores?  Check! I do have some enlarged pores on and around the nose area and BB Cream Matte did a decent job of blurring and de-emphasising them. 

2) Evens skin tone? Absolutely. This BB cream provided good medium coverage to significantly disguise my cheek pigmentation and gave me an even canvas for cream blush.  I also found it was easy to dab and blend in a little more on those areas which really needed it for buildable extra coverage.

3) Mattifies? Erm, had to really try to make this happen for me and it still wasn't perfect by my matte-obsessed standards.  Through trial and error I found I got the best result applying with a brush over a primed face and while most of my face looked matte I still developed a shiny nose within a few hours.  I ended up reaching for the pressed powder but I must admit after that my nose was fine.  Interestingly when I was out checking prices for BB Cream Matte I saw Rimmel also sell Stay Matte Primer - maybe I should have been supplied a tube of that to review together with the BB Cream Matte, hmmm?   
 

4) Controls shine all day? Mostly but as I just mentioned this couldn't hold back the shine in my most stubbornly shiny area - my nose - although a single application of mattifying powder took care of that for the day.
 

5) Smoothes? Yes. I had no visibly dry, flaky patches anywhere (I so sometimes get flaky patches at the tops of my cheeks) so while this is a matte formula it's not at the expense of the drier areas on my skin.
 

6) Soothes? My skin's behaving at the moment so I can't properly judge although I can say BB Cream Matte wears very comfortably and weightlessly throughout the day.
 

7) Conceals dark circles? Check! I got away with skipping the under eye concealer all week when using the BB Cream Matte under my eyes. This happens to be a significant plus for me as I'm the first person to say my must-have is a good under eye concealer because I'm obsessed with brightening up under my eyes.
 

8) Helps prevent blemishes? Perhaps? One week isn't enough for me to judge and I don't get flare-ups too often.  Okay lets say that it hasn't provoked any blemish eruptions.
 

9) Gives all-day coverage? Check! This does stay put for the day as I noticed I didn't need to touch up my under eye circles and my my cream blush was still sitting freshly on top for the day.

************************************
Overall, it depends on what you're looking for but if you're anti-shine like me and after 100% matte coverage I suggest you start with a good mattifying primer underneath and keep your pressed powder handy just in case.

Price: $12.95AUD

Availability:  Priceline, Priceline Pharmacy, Big W, Woolworths, Coles, Chemist Warehouse, My Chemist, Target,  Kmart and various Independent Pharmacies


(This product was provided for my consideration.  All comments and opinions are my own.) 



A typical week's worth of makeup?

What does a typical week's worth of makeup look like for me?  How many individual makeup items do I actually use in seven days?  That's what I was wondering one day when I had a little too much time on my hands... 

Of course that makes for a good makeup blog post so I set about finding out, dutifully writing down everything I wore over a seven day period - Monday to Sunday.  I figured it was going to be a pretty small and boring post because I was in a little bit of a makeup rut but it turned out not to be so boring after all - being this time of year it's been all about office lunches, parties and special dinners - all in all it was a more colourful week than I expected!

Now, this is a bit of a makeup porn post - lots of product shots coming up - but it's not a favourites post per se.  There are lots of items I use for varying reasons, not necessarily because I love them best.  You'll see what I mean as I go through the list.

I'm going to start with eye makeup because that's what I actually apply first, rather than my base.  I managed to use 16 different eye makeup items which probably isn't a lot for some of you but it's quite a variety for me!  That 16 comprised 8 eyeshadows, 5 eyeliners and 3 mascaras:

Here's the rundown on what I wore on my eyes:

•  L'Oreal Shadow Minerals (10 Gold) - I dug this out to use as a warm lid shade to counter a cool blue accented eye I wore for an office pre-Xmas lunch.  I don't love this eyeshadow at all because of all the fallout and it literally disappears from my lids halfway through the day.  The good news is it's been discontinued.
• Revlon quad (Tickled Pink) - You can see this eyeshadow quad is on its way to finished.  I've been wearing the last remaining shade everyday as an inner highlight because I'm on a mission to try and kill it before the end of 2012!
• MAC (Phloof!) - I wore this as an inner corner highlight (instead of Tickled Pink - yikes!) for my Saturday night eye.
• MAC (Shale) - I love this neutral grey-purple shadow and wore it as a crease colour a few times during the week.
• Essence (Cappucino, Please!) - A staple browbone shade, a real workhorse neutral, and I wore it nearly every day.
• MAC (Deep Truth) - I wore this deep blue as a crease shade twice, stretching my colour boundaries for a colourful smoky eye.
• MAC (Tempting) - This golden brown shadow was a crease shade for me a few times during the working week.
• MAC (Satellite Dreams) - I wore this purple shadow all over the lids on Saturday night.
• MAC Powerpoint (Bordeauxline) - this plummy liner's a staple and a favourite of mine.  I used it a few days during the week.
• MAC Powerpoint (Handforged) - I used this gold liner one day as a lower lash liner to contrast blue liner on the upper lid.  I've had it for an absolute age, love it and ration how I use it cos it's no longer available :(
• MAC Powerpoint (Duck) - Another staple I used a few times during the week because this grey-brown is the perfect everyday liner.
• Urban Decay 24/7 Liner (Perversion) - I don't normally wear inky black liner but I wore this for a Saturday night rock chick look.
• Urban Decay 24/7 Liner (Ransom) - A lovely violet-blue liner that I wore for a pop of colour when I went out for lunch with the girls.
• Christian Dior Diorshow Mascara (Black) - One of my all time faves of the luxe mascara variety, I wore this a few times for a feathery, defined lash look.
• Maybelline Lash Stiletto Waterproof Mascara (Black) - This coated my lashes on the days I exercised after work.  I hate the prickly brush but refuse to waste it because the formula itself is a pretty dependable everyday waterproof mascara.
• Bourjois Volume Glamour Ultimate Curl Mascara (Black) - I wore this a few times too just to mix it up a bit.  I've been enjoying this creamy drugstore mascara because it thickens my lashes with no clumps and makes them reach for the sky!

Eyeshadows shown clockwise from left:

Tickled Pink, Phloof!, Shale, Cappucino, Please!,

Deep Truth, Tempting, Satellite Dreams

Eyeliner shades from left:

Bordeauxline, Handforged, Duck, Perversion, Ransom

My base routine is a little more, erm, routine I guess and I varied it very little over the week.  I generally keep it very simple during the working week and will try to get away with as little as concealer, powder and a little cream blush if I can:

• L'Oreal Bare Naturale Powdered Mineral Foundation (Light Ivory) - My mind changes about this product constantly but now I just want to finish it.  I wore it on the days I felt I needed more coverage and a bit of extra SPF.
• Nyx Mosaic Powder (Plummy) - I swirled my blush brush in this a few times during the week for a natural flush.  It has a weird chalky scent but I do love the natural shade I get on my cheeks.
• L'Oreal True Match Blush (125 Nude Pink) - This literally sits on the border of nude and pink and I wore it to work because it's so easy to wear and again looks natural on me.
• Bloom Sheer Colour Cream (Shy) - I can see I don't like wearing bright cheeks much (at least on that particular week!).  This soft pink cream came out to play on my cheeks on those days I didn't bother with any foundation.
• Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch highlighting concealer (02 Nude) - I wore this every day to cover up my under-eye circles.  I love this product and I'll tell you that again and again...
• No. 7 Vital Enlightening Highlighter Powder - I managed to wear highlighter once during the week on Saturday night.
• theBalm Sexy Mama Anti-shine Translucent Powder - I wore this colourless, one-size-fits-all powder every day to keep my skin looking cool rather than slick.

Blush shades clockwise from left:

Plummy, Shy, Nude Pink

I very nearly managed a different lip colour for every day of the week but not quite because I wore an old Revlon lipstick on a few consecutive days, trying to finish it for my November empties!

• Wet 'n' Wild Lip Liner Pencil (666 Brandy Wine) - This is my lipliner of choice so it was the only lipliner I wore during the week.
• Chanel Extrait de Gloss (51 Insouciance) - I wore this creamy nude lip gloss over Rimmel's Undressed once for a work-appropriate lip. 
• Revlon Colorburst (Raspberry) - This sheer red was another work-appropriate pick for the start of the working week.  
• Revlon (Pinkerbelle) - I wore this lipstick on three days because it was down to the stub and I just wanted to FINISH IT! I didn't quite make it for November - because I got bored and needed a change from blue-toned pink lips - but it's in the bag for the December empties!
• Rimmel (Undressed) - I wore this to work one day partnered with the Chanel gloss.  It's one of my favourite daytime lip combinations (see here).
• MAC (Gem of Roses) - I wore this subtle blush pink for a weekend daytime lip.
• Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain (Smitten) - I wore this bright raspberry pink to a pre-Xmas office lunch when I was in the mood for OTT eyes and lips.

The lipsticks from left:

Raspberry, Pinkerbelle, Undressed, Gem of Roses

(see here for a closer look at Smitten)

So, to get to the point of this long-winded exercise I used 30 different colour products over seven days.  Is that a lot?  Or simply average? I don't really know - this wasn't scientific in any way - but in any case it kept me occupied for a week!

How do you think you compare?

I'd love to know! 

Until next time

Vita :)

Topshop makeup (giveaway haul)

It was just over a month ago I was lucky enough to win a Topshop makeup giveaway from the lovely Rose of The Beauty of Red Roses.   Rose is another Australian beauty blogger who appreciates the pretty things so do check out her blog!

It's taken me a little while but I finally had the time to take some product pics and swatches...

Duo Eyeshadow - Thunder

I actually had a choice between Thunder and another 'safer' colour palette so I selected this one because it's outside my comfort zone.  The deep teal green and mauve/grey look a bit scary in the palette but they're actually quite sheer when applied dry to the skin.  I've yet to do a makeup look with this so I can't comment on the wear, creasing etc.   I've done a bit of Google hunting and this duo is a limited edition from the 2010 Heavy Duty collection.

Liners - Steely & Facet

These are the first gel eyeliners I've owned.  Steely is a very wearable matte grey/blue, while Facet is an interesting rose red.  My instinct is to use Facet as a lipliner but I'll try and dream something up that doesn't make me look like I've got an eye infection!  Again, I haven't subjected these to the wear test yet but they're supposed to be, "long-wearing, water-resistant precision..." products.  I think these are also limited edition but I can only guess from the identical packaging they're from the same Heavy Duty collection as the eyeshadow.  My initial swatching shows these liners aren't as sharply defined as I'd expect:

Dry swatched in daylight on the back of my hand.
  I didn't use primer so I could get a true indication of the pigment of these shades:

Well, hello, I then read on the back of the box the eyeshadow can also be applied wet.

Here's a quick reswatch and comparison.  Much more intense, sparkly, interesting (and

outside my comfort zone - yay!):

From my first impressions I'm a bit dubious about the gel liners but I'm excited about the eyeshadow and look forward to some experimenting.  

Topshop finally opens its first Australian store in Melbourne's Jam Factory on Thursday, 8th December (only a few days away)!

That's all for now.

Vita :)

Making up on a budget: How much is your face worth?

Hello everyone :)

In my last How much is your face worth? post I calculated that my average workday makeup was worth a total of $340AUD!  That jolted me into trying to replicate that look on a more limited budget.  After researching other beauty blogs, magazines, and trawling through discount beauty stores I've managed to bring the total down to less than $100AUD (none of these purchases were made online).

Face:

• NYX The Twin Cake Powder (CP10 Sand Beige) - $22AUD
• Revlon Spa Age Defying concealer (001) - $26.95AUD
• BYS Blusher (#4 Candyfloss) - $4AUD
• Subtotal:  $52.95AUD  (Original subtotal:  $140AUD)
• Saving:  $87.05AUD

Overall I was very satisfied with the face products.  The NYX powder was a shade darker than my usual MAC NC20 (I do switch to NC25 in summer) but it blended beautifully to give a gorgeous light coverage, was not powdery at all and my skin actually had a glow to it - love it! I'll have to go back to Groove store and pick up the lighter shade for winter.  The Revlon concealer has a slightly heavier coverage than YSL's Touche Eclat and is more obviously a concealer than a concealer/highlighter hybrid, but still a good substitute.  The BYS blusher was gorgeous and gave me a lovely soft natural colour on my cheeks.  A fantastic bargain at only $4 - love this too!

Eyes:

• Maybelline Eyestudio (Bronze Blowout) - $13.95AUD
• Face of Australia eye definer pencil (Brown) - $7.95AUD
• Rimmel Volume Flash x 10 Mascara (Black) - $15.50AUD
• Subtotal:  $37.40 (Original subtotal:  $150AUD)
• Saving: $112.60AUD

 My eye makeup lasted all day without fading, creasing or flaking.  The Maybelline eyeshadow was well pigmented but was noticeably more difficult to blend than my MAC shadows.  However the end result was quite wearable.  The FOA eyeliner was smooth in applying, blended well and did not run.  The star product for me was the Rimmel mascara.  This mascara has a velvety feel to it, didn't clump on application, thickened my lashes nicely and didn't flake or run.  I'd actually go so far as to say I personally prefer this to my Lancome mascara so I'll definitely repurchase!

 Lips:

•  BYS Longwear Lipstick (Rebellious) - $4AUD
• Essence lipliner pencil (01 Soft Rose) - $2.95AUD
• Subtotal:  $6.95AUD (Original subtotal - $40AUD)
• Saving:  $33.05AUD

I actually wanted to try out the $3 BYS lippies but the colour selection was cleared out at my local Reject Shop! Oh well, for an extra dollar I found a suitable brownish-rose shade in their Longwear line.  The colour was a great work-appropriate shade and this lipstick lived up to its name not bleeding or coming off on my coffee cup.  My one criticism of this is it felt a bit drying on my lips.  Finally the Essence lipliner was the perfect nude lip shade for outlining my lips and it glided on as smoothly as butter - another winner from Essence.


My total expenditure for this post came in at $97.30AUD which is a total saving of $242.70!  I can say I didn't make any major sacrifice in quality and I've become acquainted with some new beauty favourites.  I've also got to say this exercise was lots of fun and would recommended everyone have a go at doing this.

Until my next post.

Vita :)

Tag: How much is your face worth?

No! That's not what I'm wearing today!!! LOL

 

[Source]

There have been some interesting posts going around lately where bloggers have revealed how much their daily makeup actually costs.  It seemed like a fun idea so here's my post on the cost of my weekend daytime face:

 Today I wore the basics for a natural daytime look:

• Revlon eyeshadow quad (Tickled Pink - Limited edition) - $26AUD
• YSL Touche Eclat (2) - $55AUD
• MAC Powerpoint eye pencil (Bordeauxline) - $32AUD
• Maybelline Lash Stilletto mascara (Black) - $19.50AUD
• Bloom Lip Gloss (Sweet Pea) - $24AUD

Total cost:  $156.50!

That surprised me because somehow I was kidding myself it would be a lower figure.  I'll have to do a comparison with a weekday working look because I know that's gonna be really scary!  The real challenge now will be to come up with a budget makeup look and see how low I can go without sacrificing quality.

How much is your face worth?

Until next time.

Vita :)

REVIEW: Bloom's Beauty Bag - Part 2

Hello again :)

Here are the last two products in the Beauty Bag for review:  Sheer Colour Cream (Tint) and Lip Gloss (also in Tint)

Sheer Colour Cream (Tint)

This product is a multi-purpose make-up item that can be used on lips, cheeks and eyes.  Whilst it looks rather dark in the pan it's actually quite a sheer colour when swatched on the skin:


The first thing that struck me when I opened this was the essential oil scent which I quite like.  Looking at the packaging this product contains a number of natural oils including Jojoba seed oil, Calendula flower oil, and Evening Primrose oil.

I tried this on my lips and my cheeks and the colour is a very natural healthy flush (I didn't try it on my eyes because I didn't think red on my eyelids would be flattering with my natural colouring).  The other thing I like about this is the packaging.  I find it is easier to get the right (tiny) amount running your fingertip across this cream pan rather than potentially squeezing too much product from a tube.  I think this would be a great product to have in your collection particularly if you're travelling and don't want to weigh down the make-up bag!

Lip Gloss (Tint)

Again, this lip gloss looks deceptively dark in the tube but is actually a very sheer berry red when applied to the skin:



I'm already a fan of Tint lip gloss as I've bought this shade in the past.  I also own a few other lip gloss shades in the Bloom range.  This gloss is flavoured with mandarin and vanilla oils so it smells and tastes divinely yummy on the lips.  It has a light texture, is not tacky on the lips and it lasts reasonably well.  Tint has a particularly sheer, glassy texture and there are other creamier, more pigmented colours in the range for those who prefer a more opaque gloss.

Overall, in my opinion I don't think there is a weak link in any of the products so it seems to me Bloom have made a clever selection of product highlights in their beauty bag.  If anything lets this down, it's the make-up bag itself.  It's a sheer black mesh purse held closed by a single snap fastener.  I'd be a bit concerned about things falling out of it as it's not as secure as a zipper.  Oh well, maybe I'm just being picky.

The Bloom Beauty Bag is available as a gift with purchase to David Jones Australia customers who spend $38 on any Bloom products for a limited time only. 

Until next time.

Vita :)

REVIEW: Bloom's Beauty Bag - Part 1

Happy Saturday to you!

I've had the chance to road test three of the goodies in my Bloom gift bag so here's a rundown starting with the nail polish, lip fix and eye base:

First up, the nail polish shade, Lucille - I've found this one to be ridiculously pretty!  It's a watermelon pink base, loaded with fine silver glitter.  The application was a dream.  Whilst I applied two coats, one coat was almost sufficient to achieve full coverage.  Because of the fne glitter this does not have as rough a texture as some glitter polishes and looks quite smooth with only one layer of top coat.  Technically it may be a bit 'young' for me but I'm in love, love, love with it!!

 Lucille

Shade

Gorgeous in the sunlight!




Lip Fix

Let me start by saying that yes, I am a lipliner person.  Over the years I've converted from matching my lipliner to my lipstick shade, to now using nude lipliner to match the natural colour of my lips.  And now here I am trying invisible lipliner!  I tried this over a few days and found that it works just as well as my usual lipliner in preventing bleeding lipstick and also, being invisible it allows the lipstick's hue to stay true on my lips.  I suppose the concern would be for those used to 'colouring within the lines' as there is no visible line to colour within!  Also, it might not suit those with an uneven or not well defined natural lip line.  As for me, yes I would look at buying this product again.  I also like the twist up packaging, so there's no need for a sharpener.

Eye Fix

Confession - I've never used an eye base or primer before!  Today is the first time I've tried one so obviously I won't be able to give you a comparison with another product.  According to the packaging this product is meant to provide, "an even base to the eyelid to ensure the perfect eye shadow application and improved staying power of eye-shadow colour."

I did a quick comparison on the back of my hand first up to test the difference and as you can see there's a marked difference in the depth of eyeshadow coverage when applied over the eye base on the left swatch compared to that on the right:

I'm wearing the eye base now and after several hours there has been absolutely no creasing or fading of my eyeshadow so it seems to work, but is this the best product on the market?  I don't know.  I'll  have to continue using this and see how it stands up in warmer weather and when I exercise at the gym!  Then I'll be open to suggestions from you as to what other products like this would be worth trying.

Hope you found this review useful.

Until next time.

Vita :)

Haul post: New beauty booty!

Hi

I got some retail therapy today and I think I did very well with my combined department store and drugstore shopping expedition :)

Here's my haul in its entirety...

I got these from the David Jones department store:

 OPI Texas mini lacquers

 OPI nail envy

Bloom goodies anticlockwise from left:

   Lip tint (Tint)

 Colour card for lips (Natural Delight)

Butterfingers shea butter hand cream (250ml/8.45floz)

Bloom's beauty bag (gift with purchase!)

Here's a closer look at the gift with purchase:

Clockwise from left:

Eye base (3.5g/0.12oz)

 Lip fix invisible lip liner (.27g/.0095oz)

Lip gloss (Tint)

 Sheer colour cream multipurpose make-up (Tint)

Nail polish (Lucille)

And here's what I bought at Priceline:

 Left to Right:

Dove Visible Beauty hand cream (75ml)

Batiste Dry Shampoo (Original)

L'Oreal Extra Volume Collagene waterproof mascara (Black)

Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme (17g/.60oz)

Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer (Rhubarb)

Essence eyeshadow (Irresistable & Party All Night)

Finally, I got a freebie with this month's issue of Australian In Style magazine...

Modelco lip gloss & mascara duo

Not a bad effort for one morning's shopping!

Until next time

Vita :)