Sunday, March 6, 2011

FOTD: Thinking Guerlain Parure Extreme may be HG material.. + Updates & Upcoming Posts!

Hey Everyone! (Long post.. sorry)

I hope you are all enjoying your weekends.. I've had quite a bit of things going on in the past few days so I'm a little backed up on posts that I've wanted to do - as well as e-mail responses & formspring responses. So I truly apologize if any of you have been waiting around for responses - I'll get to them after I finish this post.

After posting my false eyelash tutorial, I was contacted by Revlon to try out some of their eyelashes and let my readers know what I think about them. I received a few different styles in the mail this afternoon - so I should be reviewing them shortly.

Also, I've been dying to try Vichy Dermablend Concealer after seeing and reading so many raves - but from what I've heard it's not available in the US? Does anyone know if the product differs from the "regular" Dermablend Concealer? I haven't had time to research it thoroughly. Anyway - I ended up going to ULTA and swatching all of the concealers and splurging on the "Quick Fix" concealer. I'm really liking it so far. I should have a review on this soon as well.

Some other upcoming posts will be:
Foxy Locks Extensions Review
ELF Natural & Dramatic Eyelashes Review
Neutrogena Healthy Skin Foundation Review (I own the lightest shade for when I have no tan - but I'd like to purchase a shade equivalent to my "usual" skintone so I can give a better review)
Dermablend Quick Fix Concealer Review
Hard Candy Sheer Envy Primer Review
Updated Skincare Routine
Updated Foundation Routine
NOTD (Not sure what color yet..)

They are in no particular order, but when I have a to-do list, I typically start with the reviews because they are a little less time consuming. 

Oh! If you follow me on Twitter, you may of seen my tweet where I mentioned I've been thinking lately about dying my hair red. I've had every shade of brown, jet black, strawberry blonde and platinum blonde - but I've never been a redhead. I may try it.. Any opinions?? I'm getting so sick of my hair right now.

Okay, I think I covered most of what I was going to mention.. So here is my face of the day.

For the past few days I have been wearing my Guerlain Parure Extreme Foundation. If you read my review for it in December (click here for reference), I purchased it in a shade that was very "off". I have it in #4 and although it's said to match NC40 - I find it to be way too dark and orange/red/pink. So, I only ended up wearing it a few times & put it away - hoping to purchase a white color corrector to lighten it. So, since I purchased Neutrogena's Healthy Skin Foundation in the lightest shade - I decided to mix the two. I took one pump of Guerlain and a little dab of Neutrogena + a little dab of Coastal Scents Yellow Color Correcter (click here for reference) and ended up with a shade that works. 

This foundation works extremely well when applied with the fingers. I apply it to my face the same way I'd apply a moisturizer and it blends seamlessly - REALLY.. I'm not trying to sound fancy. It is literally seamless. I'm not going to lie, every time I read a review for Guerlain Parure Extreme and someone called it a "full coverage" foundation, I wanted to call them crazy. I didn't understand why anyone thought it could be full coverage. I was proved wrong this morning. 

Guerlain Parure Extreme is a different kind of "full coverage" foundation. When you think of full coverage you think Dermablend, Estee Lauder Double Wear, MAC Full Coverage - You know, that really thick foundation that applied opaque. This foundation is so incredibly thin and lightweight and when it's applied with the fingers- it gives a very radiant medium coverage. Well, today when I applied it with my fingers - my foundation looked flawless BUT, it did not cover up my blemishes from my recent breakout. The red still showed through and some blemishes looked like gray spots under my foundation. But my overall skin texture & skintone looked amazing. I had a little foundation left over from what I had mixed, so I decided to take my Sonia Kashuk flat top brush and apply the rest to my face. And WOW. My skin looked perfect. As a matter of fact, too perfect. I looked like a porcelain doll. But the wonderful thing about the foundation is, I still looked radiant and it didn't look heavy or cakey. I have to admit, I was sort of embarrassed to go run errands because I was afraid I looked too fake, but my mom called me "nuts" and we went about our errands.

I didn't powder my face and surprisingly, my makeup stayed put perfectly from early afternoon till night time. Absolutely perfect. I didn't need any touch ups and I couldn't believe that foundation didn't settle into my laugh lines or wear off in my laugh lines like most of my foundations do.

I definitely would say this is HG material and I'm going to continue wearing it mixed with Neutrogena Healthy Skin in Classic Ivory. I would like to try it in shade #3 sometime in the future to see if it's a good match.. maybe I'll pick up a sample at Bloomingdale's to see what the undertone is like in comparison to #4.

Face: 
Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base
Guerlain Parure Extreme Foundation #4, Neutrogena Healthy Skin Foundation #Classic Ivory (1 part Guerlain, 1/2 part Neutrogena) and a dab of Coastal Scents Yellow Corrector
Dermablend Quick Fix Concealer #Beige (Under eyes and on blemishes)
Benefit Hoola (Lightly under my cheekbones)
MAC Smooth Harmony Beauty Powder (On my cheeks and up my forehead for warmth)
Sonia Kashuk Creme Blush Duo #Brighten my day (received as an "extra" in a swap - and it's beautiful! I think it's d/c though :( )
Urban Decay Sin Eyeshadow (Highlight my cheekbones & bridge of my nose)
Rimmel Stay Matte Transparent Powder (blotted under my eyes)

Brows:
Make Up Forever Eyebrow Corrector #3
MAC Girl/Boy Brow Set 
Anastasia Highlighting Brow Kit (used the shimmery champagne color as a highlight for my brow bone)

Eyes:
MAC Sorcery Eyeshadow, LE (Applied in the corner crease & smudged on lower lashline for a pop of color & to make my eye color stand out)
MAC Feline Eye Kohl (at the very end of my top lashline extended out)
Covergirl Lash Blast Mascara

Lips:
MAC Hover Lip Liner
Illamasqua Obey Lipstick (all over lips)
OCC Hush Liptar (added a tiny bit for a pink hue)
MAC Smile Dazzleglass (for shine)

16 comments:

  1. Do you think it's the mix you made that made the foundation work so well? Or do you think the foundation would be just as nice on its own (if it were the right color, of course)?

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  2. i'm positive that vichy dermablend concealer is sold in the US. I saw it at my CVS. CVS is the only place I know that sells it xD they even sell it online but i'm wondering if they're phasing it out because the only color I've seen is 10 Light on cvs.com and on vichy.com they only have 10 light and 50 coca :( i heard the glamouflage by hard candy works really well for a concealer and it doesnt break the bank either :D

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  3. This is one of the better foundation matches I've seen on you... well worth the effort it takes to create the right shade. Here's to hoping I find my perfect match lol

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  4. Wooooww natty! This looks perfect!! :) :O
    Im bit paler than you are.. but foundations always look red/pink on me. So you think that the yellow corrector would help?? I have sort of yellow/greenish undertones.. If that makes
    sense haha xx

    BTW: My current HG is Clarins Clarins teint haute tenue in Honey. Maybe you can try a sample of that if they have it US. :)

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  5. Your skin does look perfect! I wasn't going to try this foundation, but now you made me want to...oooo Natty...my enabler! LOL

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  6. u ;look a bit weird in the pic :/ its ur nose or something ..

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  7. Your skin looks gorgeous

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  8. A great place online to get the Vichy Dermablend Concealer is vichyusa.com. And it's free shipping over $25! I actually just use their foundation as a concealer. It works amazingly and you need such a little amount that it lasts forever!!
    obsessionstolivefor.blogspot.com
    xx

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  9. love it!!!
    great post!!!!
    amazing!!!follow u =D
    xx

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  10. u look gorgeous as always! I love how the foundation matches u ..it gives a glow it looks perfect..i love ur lip combo too it really suits u

    xoxo

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  11. You look lovely as always and I now NEED that foundation lol.Haven`t got a clue about my shade though and I hate getting matched up for new foundations.The makeup girls always get it so wrong,annoying.I`m about a nc30-35 if anyone reading has tried the Guerlain and is the same shade as me in mac.I`m a little worried the Guerlain shades will run too pink for me :/
    Great post Natty,I love reading your blog :)

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  12. natty you are beautiful! I love lip tars too! thanks so much for introducing!

    www.bellasbeautyspot.com

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  13. The combination of those foundations do give you a porcelain doll like finish!

    My younger sister-in-law who is 26 just went through this about whether to dye her hair red or not. We were emailing back and forth until she finally decided. Ashley Simpson's hair color to be exact! She did it and is thrilled! She loves it and has been playing around with different colors for makeup. She found she likes green eye shadow with it. I think that paired with a light grey top would look hot. Now I am a little partial to liking your hair a more rich vibrant brown with only a few highlights. Who knows, red like this could work. It is hot for sure.

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  14. I am the same way, have had every color in the book and then I did red b/c I was sick of blonde which I had been for quite some time and now I get more compliments on my hair than I ever did before! When I get tired of it I'll do a little darker or a little brighter but sticking with red for a while. And I did a semi-permanent to make sure I liked it and it stayed in pretty well so never hurts to try! xoxo

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  15. You look so pretty! I think you'd look sooo good with red hair too. I'd go to Sally's and pick up Ion or Miss Clairol dye. From the drugstore Feria does red dye the best.

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  16. I thought the US didn't carry the Foxy extensions? Maybe I read it incorrectly on their website.

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