Review: Make Up For Ever HD Foundation +Powder, Eshiko Face Powder, & Smashbox BB Cream

I've been trying to find something for full coverage and people keep talking about Make Up For Ever's HD Foundation. Today, I spent a good hour in Sephora trying to match foundation colors (and testing other brands as well). I finally settled on #117.

Make Up For Ever HD Foundation

COLOR: The color looks to be ever so slightly too light and yellow at first (I am NW15-20). However, after giving it time to settle, the color darkens (good for NC20). Initially I thought the color being off wasn't too bad, especially for photos, but irl it looks terrible because the tone is not right.

COVERAGE: Medium. It didn't cover everything, but for a photo it will work.

TEXTURE: Blends nicely and leaves you with a matte finish.

PROS: I love how it smoothed out my pores. It's as if someone took the blur tool to my face.

CONS: Drying to my dry skin. As time passed, the makeup started showing the flakes.

I will have to return this because at $42 it cannot just sit around here. It does have my desired coverage effect, so I wish MUFE would come out with one for dry skin.

Make Up For Ever HD Powder


I have heard so much about this powder, and today I finally got the travel sized 5g to try out. It was $16 I believe, which is a lot more reasonable to try out products. I am really loving the travel sized products Sephora is offering. Some things you just want to try, and some you don't use as much of and buying the full sized is burdensome. I want to snag Benefit's High Beam travel set next ($12).

I packed the product on, and found that I did notice it smoothing out the makeup. The dry flakes of skin that were starting to show due to the HD foundation appeared a bit more blurred. This powder does lighten skin a bit. I can see how those flash photo mishaps would be glaring on those with darker skin tones. With this product you must take care to really blend the product well. I missed a couple spots in my photo.

This is a product that drys out skin and produces a matte effect, so those of us with dry skin might have to moisturize heavily. I'm not sure I want to continue using this powder because of my dry skin, but I'll hold onto it for a bit longer.

Eshiko Face Powder


I reviewed Eshiko before, but now I get to compare it against MUFE's HD powder. Again, I packed the powder on. There was not much improvement in the appearance of my makeup. In fact, I think this powder made things worse with this foundation. Areas started clumping together and it was quite unsightly. Perhaps it would fare better with a powder foundation. It did feel a little less drying than the MUFE HD powder- I'm assuming it's because it is more finely milled.

Applied on left side of face means that it is on the left side when you look at it (Left side of pic). It looked a bit too dark, so I tried using Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream in No.13 as a highlight.

BEFORE:

Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream-Light

I'm really glad the sales associate took note of my skin shade while giving me the sample. However, it's still too dark for me. When he gave me the sample he said, "And the BB, you just pat *gestures* around your eyes, use as a primer or your foundation". 

COLOR: Too dark for me, maybe good for a NC20-25?

COVERAGE: Medium

TEXTURE: Easy to Blend, but drying on top. It has a certain sticking quality that is good as a primer.

Imo, it's already pretty heavy coverage-wise. Putting foundation on top of this is a bit strange to me. You'll likely end up breaking out more.

Fresh Sugar Lip Tint Treatment- Passion

You already know how much I love this from my review of the Rose one. Well, the Rose kind of melted and fell apart (don't leave in your car). So I went to Sephora and picked me up the full sized Passion. It has a good amount of color without going overboard. I can apply this in the church bathroom without fear of the old ladies judging me.

Recap of Before and After:

As a side note, I took a color vision test. Turns out I can perfectly distinguish hues (that's no mistakes!). It's kind of fun, try it. http://www.xrite.com/custom_page.aspx?pageid=77&lang=en

I also tried the L'oreal Age Perfect Advanced Skin Repair Serum that came in the Allure magazine (yes, they still send me these). It has that translucent color every serum has, and smells a bit like sweet potatoes o_O. My dry skin is left feeling non-dry and a little more touchable. Hmm, not bad. No idea if the age repair part actually works or not.

The Scoop on BB Creams in the USA

I finally remembered to try out the BB creams in Sephora! Now, I didn't sample them on my face for a whole day like I usually do, so I can't comment on anything but the texture and coverage. I tried out several on my hand so now I can finally give a glancing opinion on a few of them. They're all overpriced and more than I can afford- or am willing to pay for. One thing about the American brands though, is that they know the people have very diverse skin tones and they try to cater to that. Too Faced and Smashbox have a whole array of colors to choose from.

You can click on their names to go to description page. Please excuse the weird formatting... it refuses to be corrected.

Dr. Jart+ Water Fuse Beauty Balm SPF 25 PA++ $32
 Dr. Jart+ Premium Beauty Balm SPF 45 PA+++ $39

As suspected, the Dr. Jart+ has very little coverage. Very light texture- it blended right away to nothing. This is what I think of when you say "tinted moisturizer".

"Made with 50 percent water, Dr. Jart's Advanced Water Bead Technology helps hydrate and maintain healthy moisture for a dewy, fresh look. Like a drink for your skin, once applied, tiny droplets of water appear before being quickly absorbed, generating an instant soothing and cooling effect. "

We can add water to our BB creams ourselves, thank you.
" Antioxidant bio-peptides and adenosine protect skin from harsh environmental factors while restoring firmness and elasticity."



Too Faced Tinted Beauty Balm SPF 20 $32

This one does claim to have skin care properties as well. I think it was the color and the foundation like finish on this that turned me away (The bottle I had attempted to try was nearly squeezed dry though so who knows). If I remember right this one was the one that I thought was funny because it seemed like it was being marketed as a tinted sunscreen instead. But it claims to work using "antiaging, multi-mineral complex that promotes cell health, strengthens skin's elasticity, and enhances luminosity"

Boscia B.B. Cream SPF 27 PA++ $38

This one didn't have very strong coverage- a bit weaker actually, but the deciding factor for me was that it was WAY too dark and they only have one color. Says it's designed to hydrate, firm, and nourish the skin and contains antioxidants as well.

Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream SPF 35 $39

I'm actually very impressed. With all their advertising I thought it was all smoke and mirrors, but it does seem like a decently pigmented cream that applies and covers well. However, there is little mention about skincare properties. This seems more like a "Foundation +" product. My shade is Fair. See my review of Light HERE.

 Clinique Age Defense BB Cream SPF 30 $37

I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS ONE! Almost forgot about it, but hunted it down at the last minute to try. When I applied to my skin, it was like you took a photoshop blur tool to my skin. All the small wrinkles and color was evened out. I could hardly believe my eyes and had to look closer (still couldn't see anything wrong!). This one has been out but I never really had the urge to try. The price is steep so I really wish for a sample size of it instead... Once I get it on my face then we can really see what this product can do (Would Clinique like to gift me a sample to review by any chance? haha....)! Not to mention it includes anti-oxidants to help out your skin. From what I'm reading, Clinique has already established it's BB cream in Asia, so if they brought the same product over then we know why they're so successful! Clinique as a brand I think of as being marketed for those out of their teen years (those of us with a bit more life experience ;P) who want to care for their skin more. And even the BB's name is "Age Defense BB Cream" so that should tell you something. My color is Shade 1.

Actually, what I may do... I know it's really bad, but you remember what I said about Sephora's awesome return policy? If you try the product and you don't like it you can still return it. So I am VERY tempted to do just that (it's really bad, you shouldn't just buy the full sized to try randomly if you haven't at least tested it in stores!). If I really like it $37 worth, then I keep it and Clinique has another fan. If I don't like it... my wallet won't die in vain. Clinique it may be cheaper for you to just give me a deluxe sized sample >.<.