The Latest from MUFE

Its been hard to keep up with Make Up For Ever! They've been rapidly firing out products! I'm already behind but I love this brand so I wanted to share my thoughts on the latest.

Saving My Brother: Moisturizing without Moisturizer

My brother, Arthur, has a special kind of lazy. The skin on his face might be bone dry, using anything like cream might cause stinging, and he would really rather it all just be better but...he won't moisturize. "I just don't like the way it feels!" With his logic, the feeling of lotion on his face, is worse, than knowing the top layers are mimicking the topography of the Atacama Desert. 

The Last Minute Purchase

I really am hopeless; best intentions aren't enough to hold me back. It happened. Even when I said I would buy less, and especially buy less makeup, I made a beauty purchase.

The re-promotion of my favorite face wash drew me into Sephora but what really cinched the purchase was seeing a little red box of BITE finally restocked. My hands shot out faster than my mind could caution and my feet took me swiftly to the check out.

Ode to the Stick Highlighter: 3 Perfect Places to Highlight

I know you can highlight your cheeks. I know you can also highlight the inner corners of your eyes. But when I highlight, there are a few more places on my face that I like beaming up and I have found stick/tube highlighters, like the ones photographed, to be the perfect tool for those areas.

Full Coverage Isn't For Everyone (ft Kat Von D Lock-It Foundation*)

I've loved many things from Kat Von D and I thought the Lock-It Foundation* ($42CDN, 30ml) was going to be something crazy good. High coverage, matte finish, and 24 hour wear are intense promises and I've read many positive reviews. Don't let my preferences hold you back from covering up but recent explorations with the Foundation* sets another tick against full coverage foundations. 

My Current Skin Routine

It takes forever to finish bottles of skincare so an update every...11 months (my last one was in Feb) feels ok to me. I haven't switched tactics, still going strong on anti-pigmentation and hydration but there's a renewed focus on eye care. As my colleague once told me, once 30 hits, I better be slathering on all the anti-aging potions. Best to start now, I figure.

Being True to My Make Up Life: Lessons Learned While Purging Illamasqua Cream Pigments

You will be so surprised to know how long these photos have been sitting in my Drafts. So long in fact that most of these have since been purged from my collection. While I had such high hopes for the Illamasqua Cream Pigments, I realize now that I should have known they wouldn't have ended up in my permanent collection.

12am Denny's Grand Slams

A couple of weeks ago, a friend turned 29. If you don't already know, you can get a free Denny's Grand Slam on your birthday and it was his little heart's birthday desire to have dessert at True Confections followed by a midnight, just turned 29, free birthday meal at Denny's. Being a close friend, I couldn't deny him the simple pleasures of excessive sugar followed by diner breakfast foods so I, alongside another, put aside our bedtimes and accompanied him on this food mission.

Color Correcting, Getting on Board (ft. Dior Fix-It Color Correctors*)

Same formula as the Dior Fix-It  primer/concealer do-dads but now in color correcting shades! 

Dior has launched the Dior Fix-It Color Correctors ($45CDN). While I think color correcting is secretly another option for concealing (and one I haven't really care to start figure out) I wanted to try these since I new I liked the formula.  

An Empty Worth Talking About (ft. Kiehl's Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution*)

This is an empty worth talking about. The Kiehl's Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution* ($59CDN, 30ml) has done a bang up job of lighting some of my moles and dark spots. I didn't actually believe it would work (I basically bumble around with brightening products and hope for the best.)

Innisfree Long Wear Cushion: A Great Option!

Wearing new foundation for the first time is risky (I'm sure I've said this before). That exact moment, on a workday morning, when you decide to throw caution to the wind and crack open a new foundation could mean the difference between a great makeup day, or looking like a carrot for the next 16 hours.  In the case of Korean cushion pacts which often only come in two shades (what I like to think of as, pink pale, and lesser pink pale) there is almost a "ghost-face" guarantee. But I did throw such caution to said wind and wore the Innisfree Long Wear Cushion SPF 50+ in #23 one morning.

Master Sculpting Your Face (ft. MUFE's Pro Sculpting Palette, Lip and Brows*)

I missed out on the art class that the Toronto kids got to attend for the launch of Make Up For Ever's Pro Sculpting* products. Bigger beauty launch events are one thing I miss about Toronto. MUFE's latest line features a Pro Sculpting Face Palette* ($54CDN, 4x0.08g), Lip* ($32CDN, 1g for the color, 0.9g from the highlighter) and Brow* ($32CDN, 0.3g for the color, 0.4g from the highlighter). Everything you could need to chisel up that jaw line, plump up that pucker and lift up those brows is provided! The series is practically a face lift kit.

Prime, Set and Forget (ft. Hard Candy Long Lasting Primer and Make Up Setting Spray)*

"Set and forget" makes me think of roasting a bird in the oven or the 4 hours of braising that turns tough meat into delicious fall off the bone Sunday dinners. That same quip fits can be taken out of a culinary context into the world of makeup world quite easily and yet priming and setting with a spray isn't something I do all that often.

A makeup artist recently refocused how I thought about primers. At first only considered to be superfluous and a "nice to have", I was asked to consider primers as protection for my face from the makeup I'd be slathering onto it. Never thinking about it that way, there are different degrees to which a primer can "protect" but it has turned me on to the idea of using them more frequently. I had continued to use Make Up For Ever's Step 1 Primers, some of which I reviewed here, but only on an as-needed basis. So when the Hard Candy Fast & Fabulous Long Wear Primer* and Make Up Setting Spray* showed up, I endeavoured to give both a better go.

Cushion all the things! (ft. THEFACESHOP Cushion Blush* Review)

Cushions, they're so hot right now.

Known for their proficient back supporting properties, the cushion has now been appropriated for makeup use and to much success. If the make up industry isn't known for taking one concept and attempting it in as many different varieties as it possibly can, then cheese isn't moldy milk. Starting out as the newest concept for foundation application, the cushion format is now found in eye shadows, eye liners and THEFACESHOP's Hydro Cushion Blush* ($15CDN, 10g) is the latest in the game.

NYX Cheek Contour Duo Palette in Double Dare*

NYX decided to revamp their blush collection. I hate when brands do that! Usually something I love gets chucked. In reformulating their powder blushes into the new HD line, I worried about my go-to contour shade, Taupe? Then I "comme des fuck down" because it would take forever to finish the one I have and they had kept the shade in the new line. Still though, when I received the Cheek Contour Duo in Double Date* I wanted to know if I had been given a Taupe backup. Because, if so, SCORE!

Letting Blush in the Door (ft. Wetnwild Coloricon Blush in Mellow Wine*)

Everytime I think I have enough blush, a new blush delivery shows up and I'm rocking back and forth on the floor trying to convince myself that I should/shouldn't keep it. I love WetnWild's Coloricon Blush in Pearlescent Pink and had the hugest battle over whether to keep Heathered Silk in my stash. Now, I'm battling with Mellow Wine*. 

Quick Mentions

A few posts have been building up in my schedule and I wanted to do some quick mentions of the products featured here since they've been on my mind. I didn't want to devote whole posts to these but there were a few day-to-day thoughts I wanted to get out there. I hope you enjoy these quick little snippets.

Cheeks by WetnWild (ft. Megaglo Contouring and Illuminating Palettes*)

I like the idea of using a range of products from one brand only. But I also like dabbling in many different things all at once and I don't ofte see how well partnered a brand's products are to each other. Being able to do a full cheek with two WetnWild products was a nice treat and I enjoyed comparing how the Megaglo Illuminating Palette (Catwalk Pink)* and Contouring Palette (Caramel Toffee)* complimented each other.

FOTD #14: Because Matching isn't a Bad Thing (ft. Pur Minerals Epic Illusion Palette)

*Press Sample

Thought process while trying out the Pur Minerals Epic Illusions Palette* ($32CDN):

- I don't like palettes with multiple formulas. My preference is for either all creams or all powders, never a mix. 

- Getting a face palette where every shade is truly multiuse means a lot pinks (and variants) and browns (and variants).

- I wasn't convinced that such a matchy matchy palette would really work (even though I should have learned by now that it does).

Burberry Earthy Blush and Highlighting Luminous Pen*

*Press Sample

As far as I can tell, Burberry's Earthy Blush* has been surprising every blogger I've read that has used it. It's been sold out on Sephora's website for a while (thanks VIB sales...) and though it might not look like much in the pan, once applied, you will understand why you need this. Add on some of Burberry's Highlighting Luminous Pen* and your cheeks might be ready for about anything.