You've seen this before. The pink stall in Watson's that sells makeup that looks like it's meant for high school teeny boppers who have pink pencil cases and pink wallets and pink everything. At first look this brand never appealed to me as it looked like something my 7 year old cousin would go crazy for (she's into pinks and barbie's and princesses). See, I'm not blessed with very clear non-oily porcelain skin. I'm more the almost clear very oily morena skin. So I need good coverage, good staying power and good "mattifying" power. However, one day after reading a blog review on this product something urged me to try it for myself (my makeup-loving angel perhaps?) and so I did. Now I'm pretty sure somewhere that angel is laughing at me right now for being judgmental. This goes to show you can never judge a makeup by it's cover.
The 4U2 Dream Girl Love Pink Liquid Foundation comes in only 2 shades (bummer) - a light shade (#01) and a little less light shade (#02). I say this because girls who are NC30 and above can make no use of this. But to all my darker skinned girls, keep reading cos there's something in here for us too.
The first time I applied this I used a blending sponge and I found that it dries very quickly on me (probably because I do my makeup standing up and my face is right smack beside the a/c). I got shade #02 by the way and still it was very very light on me, about 2-3 shades lighter, that's why I described it as a little less light. However, I noticed that this foundation made my skin look flawless. It didn't settle in my laughlines (Yes, I have those at the age of 25 and I'm proud of them. We're all gonna have lines anyway might as well have the ones that show I've led a happy life.), it covered my blemishes and melted evenly into my skin. At this point I thought, "It's a good foundation but not my color so I guess I'll give it to mom." And then it enjoyed the perks of being a wallflower on my vanity table.
too light, right?
Fast forward to 2 weeks later I bought myself a loose powder mineral foundation from Ellana Minerals which was the perfect shade for me. This became my everyday foundation though the staying power is quite week at 3 hours and the coverage only a medium. Then I had a thought...
One Sunday I dusted off the 4U2 DGLP Liquid Foundation and applied it with a stippling brush. This product was very hard to stipple because, again, it dries quickly on me. So what happened was I would stipple a little and then sweep, and then stipple a little again and then sweep until I get the even-ness I wanted. Then... (this is for the NC30 and up girls) I brushed my mineral foundation over the liquid foundation after it had dried and found that this pairing worked beautifully. The liquid foundation "ate up" my mineral foundation and everything was set. There was also something different to how this pairing made my face look. Normally, when I dust the mineral foundation on my face the shade was a perfect match but my face looked dark and a little unhealthy. But when I used the mineral foundation with the liquid foundation from 4U2 there was a glow on my face coming from within and the finish looked very flawless and smooth. The shade was still a match but there was something lighter about the color of it. Now it doesn't stop there. Sunday is the busiest day of the week for my family so I needed my makeup to last all day. I did this makeup at 8:00 in the morning and at 10:00 pm it was still there. I blotted occasionally but never retouched. The color did not fade and I think the liquid and mineral foundation even did something to the oil and sweat on my face. You see, when I sweat and oil up they usually come out as tiny globs on my nose (my own morning dew) but on that Sunday there were no globs just a very thin oily layer on my nose which I blotted with a blotting paper and even that didn't remove the foundationS.
hello zit!
goodbye zit!
And so the 4U2 Dream Girl Love Pink Liquid Foundation and the Ellana Minerals Pure Blend Loose Powder Mineral Foundation lived happily ever after (What is it with companies and the really long names? It's kinda tiring to type, ya know?). Seriously though, this has been my foundation routine every Sunday for when I need to amp up my beauty routine and people have told me I look blooming and that the makeup looks nice (you think that's a compliment? I think it is).
Ever bought a foundation that's just not a perfect match? Don't send it to the garbage bin just yet. Try setting it with a darker/lighter powder foundation. You might just find your perfect pair like I did.
The liquid foundation looks nice! :)
ReplyDeletexo,
~Pauline @Kallony