Review: Kanebo Sensai Fluid Finish Lasting Velvet Foundation

This was an impulse buy on my trip to Germany -- I've heard great things about Kanebo before, and I was really excited to try this.  I justified the purchase by telling myself it would be cheaper in an airport than anywhere else.

The foundation comes housed in a glass bottle, so it has that touch of luxury.  Foundation also tends to keep better in glass, and I feel like this one will age especially well, since it has a pump.  The SPF 15 will probably expire in about a year, but I'm comfortable keeping pump-bottle foundation as long as it doesn't look or smell odd.

The colour is called Amber Beige -- it's extremely warm and golden, but it has just enough neutral beige in it that it doesn't go orange.  While I wouldn't call my skin neutral, it does need a less warm shade to accommodate the olive in my skin.

As for the texture...oh, the texture.  It's magical.  It feels better on the skin than even my beloved MUFE HD.  I'm pretty sure there's no added benefit to this foundation, but it has a buildable medium coverage, which usually means that it doesn't feel like naked skin, even with the most expensive foundation.  This doesn't feel like nothing, but it feels like a treatment for your skin.  I rub it in with my fingers and it absorbs like a serum.  And not to make any sweeping declarations, but my skin feels even better with it on than without.  Even Tod thinks so and she's patently against foundation.

I still need to use a dab of concealer after this, but the finish is so natural -- not a cakey or fake matte at all.  It's classed a semi-matte, and I couldn't agree more.  This really is one of those "your skin but better" textures.  I picked the Velvet version because with such a dark colour, I knew I would only wear it in the summer.

I paid 40E at the Vienna airport, but I've seen it at other airports for 35E.  Definitely not a cheap foundation, but for that texture, it's well worth it. 

my new favourite red lipstick.

I've swatched some of my red lipsticks before (I need to do a collection...not unlike my red nail polish collection), and if you've been following me for sometime, you know that I love everything blue-based. I've never been one for coral, brick or peach, simply because it usually makes my skin look dirty.

Until now.

A couple weeks ago, my friend (and regular blog model) Peruana dropped off a NARS lipstick that she was struggling with -- we have a similar skin tint, but I'm more olive and she's that fantastic mixture of mauve and gold that can wear every nude lip I've wanted my whole life.  

And thus Heat Wave made its way into my life.  If I'm going to start off with an orange-red, why wouldn't it be so bright it's almost neon?  That's just how I roll, kids.  This intense, fire-engine-but-oranger red will pop right off your face.  I tried to Instagram a photo and my camera turned it neon pink -- that's how bright it is.  The texture is the same as my other NARS semi-matte, Schiap.  I do find NARS's lipsticks to be a tad drying, but the colours I have I love to pieces, so I can't complain.  I typically run a lipbalm over my lips, let it sink in for a minute and wipe off all the excess.  You can do this with a cotton swab, but I usually just grab a tissue and really soak up all the excess moisture.  Then I apply straight from the bullet to get that ultra opaque, bright finish.  A lip brush will just tone down any neon potential this sort of colour can give you.

Since this is so bright, I try to tone down the rest of my face.  Starting with a very sheer base (usually just enough concealer to get rid of any blemishes), I pair it with NARS cream eye shadow in Etrusque.  If I want to be super NARS-y, I'll run the South Beach Multiple over my cheekbones and finish with a black pencil liner.  Don't forget to layer a couple of mascaras for an extra-feathery look.

I'm already itching for another NARS lip.  Any recommendations?

Inglot, revisited.

Note: My July Favourites are coming, Youtube is just really not cooperating with me.  Must have started this upload at least four or five times now!  Will try again tomorrow!

So near the very very very very very beginnings of this blog, I wrote a little piece about Inglot where I called it the Coach of high-end makeup.  Take that as you will and read the rest here.

I wrote that piece way before Inglot got popular with the Youtube crowd, when they had only the one store in Manhattan.  However, since starting the blog and dreaming of a streamlined collection (quite the conundrum, as I continue to purchase more product in order to find the next 'it' thing that will beat out my need for everything else), I've been meaning to get one of those Freedom palettes for myself.

The idea is that they have set palettes in varying sizes, with or without mirrors, and you can customize to your heart's delight.  With Inglot's extensive choices of tints, tones and finishes, you're sure to find something you like.

I've always wanted something that would hold a brow colour, a cheek colour, a daytime look and a nighttime look.  I think I've come pretty close with the combination I chose.

I wanted matte eye shadows that I use every day for a neutral, office-appropriate look.  I have a million and one shimmery neutrals, but I'm severely lacking in mattes. The eye trio in the lower right hand corner is their Rainbow shadow in 117R -- they have three of these trios that look basically exactly the same, and this is the coolest one, so it works well for my brows.

The texture of the matte shadows is a tiny bit chalky, but I think that's to be expected with mattes.  I don't suggest using your fingers for these, they'll apply much less patchy with a brush.

I've been looking for a light pink blush for a while, since most of mine tend to lean very dusty, mauvey or hot pink.   I used this this morning and when I brushed my MAC 168 over it, it kicked up a TON of powder.  They're extremely pigmented.

I maintain that only one of these is neutral.  I've been lemming an olive and purple shimmery shadow for a while -- I was thinking Sumptuous Olive from MAC for a while, but that was a little yellow for my liking.  P419 is quite a gray-green, I see myself using this under the eye.  As for a rich, royal purple, I couldn't find one I liked from any of my usual haunts and when the SA swatched P446 for me, I knew I was sold.  The brown on the right is fairly basic, but it has just enough copper and silver shimmer in that it'll suit most skin tones and eye colours.  As for the finish, the shimmer is not at all frosty -- the tiny glitter particles make up a beautiful shimmer, just pearly enough to bring a little light to the eye.

Blush in 20, Eyeshadow in P419, P446, P422, R117 (last group of three)

I know a lot of you have indulged in Inglot, would love to hear what combinations you've made, or any products you love from them.  Anyone tried their brushes?  I was recommended the eyeliner brush!

Current Beauty Pairings

This summer I've been staying inside, playing with makeup and mixing pitcher after pitcher of Starbucks' passion tea lemonade.  Here are some things I've been going back to over and over again, because they just work so well with summer colouring.  Despite not having gone out that much, my face has darkened somewhat, almost to the colour my body normally is (NC35-40), so I've been pulling out every kind of peach, coral, bronze and gold.

1. Orange lip + brown smokey eye -- Since making my lip palette, I'm obsessed with orange everything.  It really does prove that to use products, you need to see them. I used to use orange only in this look, but now I'm loving using this MAC Pro Longwear Lip Creme in Good to Go as a light stain on my lips and cheeks, paired with a smudgy brown smokey eye using Cocoa Puff and Push-Up the TooFaced Natural Eye palette.

2.  Viva Glam Gaga + Revlon Nude Lustre -- I know Viva Glam Gaga is one of those lipsticks that people hunt down in blog sales and on eBay (I used to be one of them), but after purchasing one...I just don't get it. I think maybe it's the gold/olive undertone in my skin?  It pulls all the life out of my skin and makes me look a little like a street walker the way concealer-filled lips do.  However, I knew there was a way to make it work.  After layering every single gloss I own over it, I finally realized that the peachiness of Revlon's Nude Lustre was the way to make me not look like a zombie hooker.

3.  Tarte Natural Siren + Bobbi Brown Pink Pout -- I've been so into layering blush.  It reminds me of my 9 year old self mixing eight different brown lipsticks (remember the 90s?  Good times).  Layering a cream blush under a powder one makes for great staying power, but I've been enjoying mixing my own colours.  Both these colours show up fairly natural on me, but in different ways.  Tarte shimmery coral makes me look like I'm 'glowing from within' and Bobbi Brown's mauvey lip and cheek colour is almost a natural sculpt on me, kind of like Benefit Dallas.  To get a dusty flush, I use a foundation brush and apply to the top of my cheekbone, blending down to the apple.

What products do you layer?  I'm think I want to start learning how to layer fragrance, so I'd love to hear your advice!

Polish Collection: Red

I don't often wear red.  I tend more towards cool colours -- anything blue, teal, turquoise, green, etc.  I've never gone very classic with my enamel.  There's nothing I hate more than a French nail, but I think that has more to do with how poorly they're applied.  Why does anyone want the smile line of their nail to be halfway up their nailbeds??  When people tell me that it makes their nails look longer, I throw my hands up in the air and don't bother explaining.  What I will say is though, the reason that your nails look longer when you paint them is that they're all one colour, so you see one continuous line.  It's kind of the same reason T-strap ankles make your legs look short.

Rant over.

French nails suck and have come to connote not classic elegance, but streetwalker.

Rant really over.

If you must do a French nail, keep the white edge thin and round off your nails.  Your fingers will look longer, more natural, and not like they have white shovels attached to the end.

Preaching over.


Anyway, onto my collection of red nails!

L.A. Girl, Zoya Riva, Essie Lollipop (bottle attacked by Deborah Lippmann's Ruby Red Slippers), Essie Limited Addiction

China Glaze Ruby Pumps, Revlon 730 Valentine, OPI Quarter of a Cent-cherry, Chanel 18 Rouge Noir

L.A. Girl, Zoya Riva, Essie Lollipop, Essie Limited Addiction

L.A. Girl: This red has a lot of pink in it, but I got it because it glows in the dark.  Yes, I'm 11.

Zoya Riva: This is very pink-based red, chock full of gold, silver and red glitter.

Essie Lollipop: This is as much orange as my skin tone can take -- it reminds me of poppies.

Essie Limited Addiction: A blue-based red.  I can't get enough.

China Glaze Ruby Pumps, Revlon 730 Valentine, OPI Quarter of a Cent-cherry, Chanel 18 Rouge Noir

China Glaze Ruby Pumps:  It's not showing up in the photo, but this is ultra-shimmery, glittery beauty.  It's exactly what Dorothy would have wanted.
Revlon 730 Valentine:  This was the first red I actively recall seeking out.  A good friend of mine lent it to me for a semi-formal in high school, and I remember thinking how beautiful red polish is.  I've been hooked on blue-based red ever since.
OPI Quarter of a Cent-cherry:  This is the salon brand dupe of Revlon Valentine, since I think it might be discontinued.
Chanel 18 Rouge Noir: Formerly known as Vamp -- now they've replaced it with a shimmery purple mess, and renamed Original Vamp as Rouge Noir.  Ever seen Pulp Fiction?  Me neither, but this is all you need to know.

Man, I like blue.  Even my reds aren't safe from the blues.

What reds do you love?

Downsizing and a DIY Lip Palette

Since coming back and having binged intensely on make up in Europe, I've been thinking...why can't I downsize?  Although this blog may lead you to believe otherwise, I've always been a person who wishes she had one go-to.  As in, one holy grail (HG) red lipstick that satisfies all my red lip needs and I'll never use another again.  We can all dream, can't we?

I've been reading several posts on essential beauty items and downsized makeup collections, I've decided to take matters into my own hands.  This past week, I've taken it upon myself to throw away anything I haven't used in one calender year.  I gave myself 12 months because my skin colours swings rather wildly throughout the seasons, so I end up purchasing for two skintones.  I started with my lip products, which needed desperate help.

Remember this?

I think that was about half.

I've managed to get it down to this.  I'm thinking of eventually doing a makeup collection, if you'd be interested.  Once it's all sorted and weeded out of course!

But one thing I knew I wanted to do in my downsizing process was to create a lip palette.  I normally prefer bullets, but I realized that this was a fantastic way to Back to Mac colours I wasn't sure I wanted to let go of quite yet.  Also, since I think I'm going to adopt a one-in-one-out policy (don't quote me yet, no big, sweeping declarations here), I wanted to find a way to fit a couple extra colours in here.

Hence, I read a random DIY article, stole a pillbox from my dad and went to town.  There are a million and one DIY videos/posts on how to make your own palette, but the gist is this:  Flame, bullet, spoon.  Light a candle, put your lipstick in a spoon and hold it over the flame, and pour.

I also read this really interesting post where a girl's lip colours changed after depotting them.  Of course this put me into a lip-depotting existential crisis where I couldnt decide how much of the bullet to leave behind.

Clockwise from upper left:  Revlon Certainly Red, MAC Pro Longwear Lip Creme in Good to Go, MAC Viva Glam V,  Joe Fresh Baie Sauvage

The answer?  None.  If you have wells as deep as mine, they'll just barely cover the bottom.  If you look in the upper left compartment, you can tell where I realized I didn't have enough product.  Also, lipstick hardens extremely quickly, in the time it took me to melt more of the bullet, the bottom layer had already solidified.

L: from the bullet, R: from the palette
Certainly Red, Baie Sauvage, Good to Go, Viva Glam V

I didn't lose too much pigmentation, but I will say that Viva Glam V (far right) lost some of its shimmer.  And it doesn't show up exactly in the photo, but I think Baie Sauvage has a touch less blue, which is actually fantastic for me -- it made me look the tiniest bit dead before (see it on my friend Peruana here).  Certainly red got a little more sheer, but I think that's to be expected if you plan to dab on your lip colour with your fingers.  I haven't used these with a lip brush yet, but I'm fairly happy with the way it turned out.  I chose these colours because I figured that wherever I go, you can't go wrong with bright fuschia, classic red, muted, shimmery nude and orange to warm everything up.  I know some people like to group colours together (all red, all nude, etc) in larger palettes, but I think for daily use, this works for me.

What colours would you put in?  Any downsizing tips for me?  I'm kind of struggling with foundations.

My Concealer

It's way too hot for foundation.  Agree/Disagree?

What I've been doing instead is a Lisa Eldridge-esque point concealing, but without foundation underneath.  To do this, you need a concealer that matches perfectly with your skin.

Clockwise from Left
Sonia Kashuk Hidden Agenda 07 Concealer Palette
Cle de Peau Concealer in Ochre
Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage in SC-3
YSL Touche Eclat*
Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light Peach
Clinique Airbrush Concealer in 02 Medium

1. Sonia Kashuk's palette comes with a green corrector (you can see me use it in a video here).  I am so insanely olive-toned that I use this as my base colour -- it matches my skin exactly. You need a minuscule brush to get into the pit of the scars and cancel out all the redness.  Also, you want to place the pigment directly onto the scar/spot and softly feather out the colour into the surrounding skin.
2. Cle de Peau's ultra-pigmented concealer  comes in when I need a little foundation (usually MAC's Face and Body) or tinted moisturizer.  Since most foundation colours are not green enough for me, I end up using a different colour of concealer to match it.  I use it under eyes and on blemishes with my finger or a Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush.
3. Secret Camouflage by Laura Mercier comes with two colours -- as of right now, I match the darker tone in this compact.  For nights out when I want more coverage, I'll actually just go over my entire face with this compact and a stippling brush.  That will probably be my next video.
4. YSL Touche Eclat has a star because it is not a concealer.  This product has a surprisingly low rating on MakeupAlley.com, but if you read the reviews (all 230934 of them), you'll find that most people are disappointed with its coverage.  It's marketed as a brightener, so the idea is to use it as a highlighting product in conjunction with a base product.  I usually end up using this on people to even out eyelid discoloration or along the cheekbone for a cheek highlight.
5. Bobbi Brown Correctors are great -- I don't usually use a concealer over top.  I love the texture of this, but I do feel that it gets a little heavy and too 'done' looking if I don't have foundation on underneath.
6. Clinique's Airbrush is the exact same colour as my Bobbi Brown Corrector, but since it's a liquid, the texture is much lighter, and I can use this on its own.  Just don't forget to wash the brush every few uses.

Bonus: Vintage Makeup also asked me (ages and ages ago) to compare TheBalm's Time Balm with Cle de Peau's concealer -- I bought the wrong colour and it's still a little dark for me, but first impression:  Cle de Peau is a bit softer, and blends in a little easier.  Also, the colour allows for use all over the face.  Time Balm only works under the eye because it's so pink-toned.  Then again, for those of you who are pink-toned...might just work for you :-)  

Happy Monday, dears!