Flashback Beauty Friday 91: Stila Pivotal Skin

Post does not contain affiliate links or PR gifted items.

Sticking with foundation again this week after the genie bottled Urban Decay Surreal Skin last time. I've been rummaging again and discovered yet more great things for these posts. I really need time to photograph everything so I can then sort through and decide what can be thrown out and the things that regardless of age, I just couldn't part with (i.e. the covetable and collectable). Why I was still hanging onto this one, I don't know.

Review: Lancome Teint Visionnaire Foundation

I intended to bring you this review for Lancome Teint Visionnaire before the product hit the shops, as I've been lucky enough to trial the foundation for the past couple of months. However, I've been suffering from migraines last week and just haven't had time to devote to jotting down all my thoughts and you know how I like a good, thorough review! I also wanted to include lots of images of the foundation actually on my face, but again this would take time to collate them all, basically I've been wearing it since the middle of January and between The Shoe Girl Diaries and Monster High Monday, you'll have seen it in action!
I'm generally quite the Lancome foundation fan, using Teint Miracle and Teint Idole, so was ecstatic to get to try out Teint Visionnaire. It comes in the usual range of 18 shades which I think does a good job of covering the majority of skin colours. I use 005 Beige Ivoire and that was the shade I was sent.
The foundation is contained in a dumpy glass bottle (30ml) with a pump dispenser and a silver plastic lid which contains a correcting cream/concealer. The foundation contains two steps for a perfect coverage and natural finish, claiming to visibly improve skins appearance, reducing imperfections and dark spots, minimising pores and leaving skin looking more refined.  It also contains an SPF20.  
The foundation part aims to even out the complexion, improving the appearance of wrinkles and pores with daily use as it contains LR 2412, the active ingredient used in the Visionnaire skincare line. While the high coverage corrector is enriched with Vitamin CG and claims to immediately reduce the appearance of dark circles, dark spots and blemishes.
So my first impressions packaging wise were that it was rather chunky. Personally I've never been one to carry foundation around in my handbag, but if you were, I think you would think twice about this one. Although it's the size of regular foundations at 30mls, I've been using this every day for at least 4-5 weeks and you wouldn't know to look at the bottle that I'd used any! It's shorter than the other Lancome foundations but very round. I feel like there's a lot of product in there! I do like the pump dispenser, I think it's the easiest and least messy way to apply foundation. The corrector is contained within the lid section and you just flip the cap up and there's even a mirror inside which is quite handy. Again it seems rather cumbersome if you wanted to carry this around and I feel you would be more inclined to with the corrector than the foundation. It is very lightweight plastic, so no issues there but too big for me to carry daily.
When I first looked at the foundation I thought it looked considerably darker than my other foundations in 005. It has a yellowish tan tone which I don't believe Teint Idole or Miracle have. I found this a bit of an issue throughout the trial and will talk about that later. I also want to add that I've since swatched this foundation along with the other Lancome ones I've mentioned and several more brands within my collection. I thought you would be keen to see how it compares against others, you can find that post here. Onto how the product worked for me. I found the pump didn't dispense very much product. Lancome recommend you work from one squirt and add more if you need to. I found I needed two squirts and I applied this to palm of my hands and applied it to my face, like you would a moisturiser. Then I applied another pump or two to the back of my hand and applied this using my Pout Airbrush, buffing it into the skin. This has become my application process for any foundation recently, so I didn't see a reason to discontinue that method. On the Lancome site they recommend you use a foundation brush and buff it into the skin, so that's fine. It feels pretty light on the skin and does indeed give a very natural looking finish. It's dewy and I definitely needed to finish with powder as I prefer a more matte look. Seeing as this is aimed at the older market, I think the finish would work well with those skin types. It's hydrating for dry skins and will not settle into lines.
As I mentioned above though, the colour just didn't feel right for me. On some days the lightest shades in any foundation can be too dark for me, so given that I found this even a touch darker than those, it was too dark. After I finished using Teint Visionnaire, I've gone back to alternating Teint Miracle and YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat in BR10 and I've definitely noticed that those two are lighter than Visionnaire. I've especially noted when I'm editing photos for the blog that TV did look too dark for me (and usually involved me lightening the image slightly to correct that) and that TM and YSL look lighter and more suitable for my complexion. Swatched on my hand here, it looks very dark, remember my hand is a couple of shades lighter than my face.  As for how the foundation worked as an 'anti-wrinkle' product, I have to be honest and say after 1 week I didn't notice any change at all.  After 4 weeks of use, I think I did start to see a difference, but it's a difficult thing to measure.  I did think that when I wasn't wearing makeup, that the few fine lines I do have seemed less prominent.     Lancome recommend using the correcting cream before foundation, but I've always preferred using foundation first and any correcting or concealing product second. This way it means you cover what is still seen instead of wasting product on areas that the foundation will cover anyway. At first I found the correcting cream a little difficult to work with. It seemed quite firm and I couldn't pick up much on my fingertip. Lancome suggest applying some to the back of your hand and working it from there on fingertips into the skin. The warmth of your hands/fingers should make it easier to blend. I felt I couldn't pick up enough to put on my hand and ration from there though! Instead I chose to dab directly from my finger to the skin. After a few days whether me using the pot regularly or just getting used to the texture, it didn't seem to be a problem any longer. The two swatches above show the concealer to the right of the foundation blob.
My skin has had several blemishes over the weeks and I had a very red looking lump next to my nose (not a spot), so I was keen to see how well the cream would work on these. Again the colour was a bit of an issue given that it matches the foundation perfectly and that was too dark for me. However they are seamless together. I used a tapping motion on the blemishes until the product blended into the skin. As it's quite thick, it covers well and does so quickly and I was very impressed with this. I would say it's something you would need to touch up several hours later as by the time I washed my makeup off at night (I usually apply it around midday), I noticed the blemishes had become a little noticeable again. I hadn't looked in the mirror previous to this so can't pin-point exactly when it starts to fade. I also used the correcting cream as an undereye concealer for dark circles. I wasn't as impressed with it here, I found it was too thick and would settle into lines and looked noticeable and/or made me look wrinkly.
Overall I think it's great value for money (£36) as although that may seem expensive, you get two products for that price and both will last ages, plus there's the added 'skincare' element contained. The packaging looks great but isn't the most practical, although I do love the application with the pump.  Had it not been for the colour issues, I probably would have liked the foundation even more, but it was hard to gain a good impression of it when it looked too dark on me.  I personally wouldn't be switching from Teint Miracle to this. I prefer TM for it's porcelain finish and YSL for it's glow and both for their better colour-match.  However I think if you're looking specifically for an anti-ageing makeup (and can get a good colour match) then this is a good product for that which will not emphasise lines while the Visionnaire element is hard at work 'behind the scenes'.  The correcting cream I definitely grew to like.  It's a product that gets results fast with minimal fuss, just tap and set with powder!  This part I would continue using but again it does pose some issues regarding the colour and I've had to spend more time blending when I've been using it with my lighter foundations.  I liked Teint Visionnaire but wasn't blown away by it if I'm being completely honest.  You can visit any Lancome counter just now to get colour matched and receive your free 7 day sample.  Debenhams are currently running a promotion instore of spend £40, get £5 off while online it's 10% off when you purchase two or more beauty products.  Is this something you would like to try?

PHP's Beloved Beauty Bits (December)

It's been a long time since my last BBB post. I attempted several times over the summer and time always got away from me and I vowed to do it the next month, then the next....and now it's a new year! So anyway, here we go with the products I've been loving during December.

First up is Lancome Teint Miracle foundation in 005 Beige Ivoire. You'll note I only have a tiny bit of this bottle left (breathing into a paper bag at the thought) and that's because once I started using it, I became obsessed and wore it every day all through summer and autumn. After being similarly obsessed with YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat, I decided to 'force' myself into trying something else from my stash and was so impressed with this, that like I said, I practically used it all up (until I panicked at the tiny amount left and reverted back to the YSL one). So why do I like it so much? Well the colour (the lightest) is a pretty decent match for my pale skin, it covers beautifully and I no longer need concealer on blemishes when I wear this (I apply it with my Pout Airbrush) and that's really saying something because my skin has been pretty horrific lately. I don't think it looks mask-like though and it lasts well throughout the day. It has a strong 'pearly sheen' in the bottle (which you can see in these pics) with the focus on luminosity and being a 'light creator', so I expected a super dewy product, but actually (and I don't know if this is down to me applying it with the brush), I don't find it shimmery but actually quite matte. It really does cheat at 'perfect' skin with redness, uneven skin tone and blemishes covered. It's a foundation that I'll certainly buy again because I can completely rely on it.

Next is a completely new product to me. I've actually had this Yves Saint Laurent 'Dessin Du Regard' Long Lasting Waterproof Eye Pencil (in Black Ink) for some time (I received it in a GWP) and was waiting to use it once I'd finished my regular Lancome one. I wish I'd started using this sooner though as it's absolutely fabulous! It's a soft, creamy formula rather than being 'pencil like' and so just glides on with absolutely no effort or dragging. I worried it would therefore be too 'slippy' and smudge onto my upper lids when I blinked, but so far I haven't experienced that, it seems to stay stuck exactly where it should. The colour is soooo intense, it is honestly the blackest liner I have ever seen and has an almost glossy like appearance. I've swatched it against other liners on my hand so you can see how much darker it is; however it's when it's applied to the eye that you can really see the intensity of it.

It provides an excellent base for my L'Oreal SuperLiner and has really revolutionised how that looks actually, it's like 'beauty-pages-from-a-magazine-perfect'! I've only tried it as a slick line, so can't comment on how well it smudges if you want a softer look, but it's extremely long-lasting and I've been completely converted and will be buying another once this is finished. Who knew an eye pencil could be so exciting?!

From a new product to a really old one; this Hard Candy 'Eye Candy' eyeshadow I've had for years. It was discontinued or at least in that form as it's now changed to a 'glitter eye cream', so you'll have to trawl eBay or discount cosmetics stores for it in it's powder form. This particular shade is Peppermint Patty, a slightly shimmery white. I use this constantly. I can't say it's even particularly pigmented or a great formula, but yet I always pick it to wear either as a highlighter/base or as a stand alone colour for a fresh-eyed look. If I need a white, this is the one I choose.  I tend to just apply it using my fingers (hence why it looks so worn out in the pan). I don't think I'll be heartbroken when it's finished, but it's certainly one of my more used eyeshadows.

Sticking with eye products and this was a sample sized mascara I'd received (I've actually got a couple now both from separate gwp's) and I'd used it once, wasn't too impressed, so forgot about it. I had a clear-out of old mascaras recently (my goodness, oh how I seem to accumulate tubes and tubes of mascara!) and thought I'd give this a second chance. It's Yves Saint Laurent Shocking Volume mascara and the brush isn't particularly skinny or massive. It's relatively bushy though and the bristles are quite irregular, so I feel my lashes are coated quite irregularly too, which I don't necessarily think is a bad thing. I think if you're looking for your lashes to be neat and of equal length and thickness then this probably isn't for you.

However, I'm getting on rather well with it and have worn it non-stop really for the past month or so, which speaks volumes. From the image below you can see that my lashes look much fuller. I find I can apply a decent coating without it clumping and like I said, it's not a precision mascara, but one that I'm enjoying using regardless of that.

Finally, it wouldn't have been Christmas without some sparkly nails would it? I actually painted my nails a couple of weeks before the big event and so by Christmas Day they weren't looking their best, but I've not been in a manicure type mood lately and so my nails got neglected for an entire month (they've all broken anyway). This polish lasted pretty well considering. It's Paul & Joe in 30 Pixie from their limited edition range (so snap it up before it goes) and the holographic style sparkles appealed to me. I expected it to be a beeatch to remove (it was easier than regular polish) and it applied like an absolute dream (although I'd probably apply a base colour beforehand next time just because I don't like the whites of my nails showing and it was evident in certain lights/angles).

I can honestly say it's the most impressed I've ever been with a nail polish. The quality of this is unbelievable.   The density and depth of the sparkles is astounding, it's truly multi-dimensional, you almost feel like it's 3D and you can fall into the deep sparkles. You know that holographic wrapping paper you get? It's exactly like that, in that there's the sparkles but also a flash of rainbow colours and it feels completely smooth and looks glossy, there's absolutely no 'glitter' to feel.  One coat gave decent coverage, but seeing as I wanted an intense glitter, I applied 2 coats.  It's without a doubt the best polish I have ever tried in terms of...well everything!  It applies well, lasts without chipping, is easy to remove and looks fabulous, there's nothing not to love.  ASOS currently have this in stock and reduced to a fabulous £6, but it is limited, so be quick (and if you use my link, I get a little commission, but this has nothing to do with how much I love this!).  I can guarantee you'll be impressed with this.  I'll definitely be looking into purchasing more colours in the range. Oh and it's a V pretty bottle and my photos taken quickly one night in the dark, do not do the nails justice.  

So that's it for another month!  I also would have liked to include the Oxy Seaweed balm and emergency spot gel, had I been able to get my hands on them! You may recall I reviewed the range a while back and my skin improved significantly during that time.  I've since been without batteries for the Clearlight and using only the gel and balm, my spots weren't dealt with as efficiently as when I was using all products.  Then I ran out of the balm and gel and have been relying solely on the Clearlight (and going through batteries at a ridiculous rate).  While it definitely does something, my spots are still taking some time to disappear and I can't find the range anywhere locally which is driving me nuts.  Every time I think I'm over a bout of spots, another lot come along, so I've been thankful for good makeup and that spot fixer tool on Photobucket (erm coolest thing ever)! Have you tried any of these things or do you fancy them now?

YSL Beauty Haul

I've already reviewed this foundation here and here, but I'd gone to the bother of taking photos of the actual haul and figured I may as well post them.  I'm in the middle of ebaying shitloads of stuff just now and secretly hoping it won't all sell or else I'll be lost under a pile of parcels all week!

So the foundation, Le Teint Touche Eclat, I got is shade B10. You can see my swatch and indeed how it looks on the face in the posts linked above. I'm still happily using it every day. Last week I tried wearing Lancome Teint Idole Ultra as a (thin) base layer underneath (and still applying the YSL on top with my Pout Airbrush), as my skin has been pretty spotty and I felt like I needed the extra coverage. Unfortunately doing it that way, you lose the weightlessness of the YSL because the Lancome one is quite heavy on the skin, but you still get that lovely glow. Today though I decided to just wing it with YSL and actually realised that it covers perfectly well anyway, so I needn't have been so distrusting of it this past week!

I think I mentioned to you that I placed this order online with Debenhams after several hundred attempts! They were running a bonus beauty points offer (which you just have to have faith they've added as there's no mention of it on your invoice) and so I ordered another Rouge Volupte lipstick with the foundation. Could I afford to, I'd constantly buy RV lippies, I love them! I always have a lot of trouble finding the beautiful nude shades I see on other blogs and it's because they are permanently sold-out at my nearest counter, so the testers are never sitting out. Last time after getting the assistant to rummage through all the drawers to find the two shades I was looking for, she eventually found me #2 Sensual Silk and said they'd only had 2 of this colour in since it had sold out (before Christmas) and this was only a couple of months ago! Definitely hard to find! The other almost always sold out shade was #1 Nude Beige, which thankfully was in stock online.

It's not very beigey to me, it's a pinky nude in the tube (although I struggled to get an accurate image of it) and then it came out quite peachy/beige in my swatches. I took them in different lights as there was quite a contrast between them. Swatches show one swipe versus several layers and it was my lipstick of the week a couple of weeks ago, so you could check out old posts of The Shoe Girl Diaries to see it on my face that week.

I lucked out on samples with my order (for once) after the YSL notebook I was supposed to receive for free was out of stock. I rarely get samples when ordering from Debenhams online, even although they are always running an offer 'with all beauty orders'! This time though I got some fragrance sachets and a face mask thingy, which when I come to think of it, I've totally misplaced but must find to try! Speaking of misplacing things, for the first time ever I've lost my lipstick of the week! I've only worn makeup a couple of days this week and couldn't find it to wear today. I had to cheat improvise and be thankful it's a new week tomorrow! I can vaguely recall it being in my hand at one point (!) and I know I've probably set it down somewhere but don't know where (my usual hiding place is handbags, but I haven't been out anywhere with it all week).

Finally, I shall be reviewing these Oxy products soon. I just received them this week and got stuck into using them right away. So far so good. I have lots to say about them already, but would like to use them for another couple of weeks before fully reviewing them.

Review: Yves Saint Laurent Le Teint Touche Eclat Foundation

I wanted to bring you this review a couple of weeks back, but with various other things going on it was postponed until I could give it the more thorough, in-depth review it deserved.  A few weeks ago you may remember I went along to my local YSL counter to try out the new foundation, Le Teint Touche Eclat and that I came home with an empty bottle! Full post of why here.  So on the 10th of July I popped back to get my sample bottle filled, long story short I did eventually get it, but with a little bit of bother (it was her busiest time, there were two people getting makeovers and another waiting along with me and in the end the manager served me).  There was also some sort of problem with that particular shade that they still didn't have a large tester bottle, so my sample probably didn't contain as much as others, but so long as I got a few days worth I was happy.

As I mentioned in that last post BR10 was just a little too pink for me, when I already feel I have pink undertones, so B10 was a better match.  BD10 is one of the Selfridges only shades, so I can't comment on that one.  

I was surprised to find my swatch looked very yellow, because it wasn't something I'd noted upon my first test or from looking at the bottle. Remember my hand is at least a couple of shades lighter than my face and doesn't have the pinkness beneath that my face does.  After I got home from collecting my sample, I got a phone-call from the YSL assistant to have a chat about the foundation, as she hadn't been able to serve me earlier.  I thought that was so sweet! I love the service I've received-it's really been excellent.  She also told me that she'd sold 2 weeks worth of stock in 1 day (eeek) and that if I enjoyed my sample, I would get priority to purchase, as someone who had tested it out first.  She also told me she could hold the item for 7 days for me until I could pick it up and that she'd call me in a weeks time to see how I got on (which she did).  Again all excellent, although I did start to panic that it would sell-out before I could even try it, it was that sought after!  I couldn't wait to start using it, because the quicker I tried it and decided if I liked it, the quicker I could buy it!  

So how did I get on? Well this is where a more comprehensive review begins.  This foundation is pretty light and runny and with that it feels incredibly weightless on the face.  In comparison to other foundations I use; Lancome Teint Idole feels much thicker and heavier, Estee Lauder Double Wear feels thinner but dries quicker.  It doesn't feel heavy on the skin or make it tight or itchy and I suppose you do feel like you're not wearing makeup.  There's no powders in the YSL, instead they've used a soft-focus, light diffusing gel. It claims to diffuse light without masking the contours of the face and I have to agree that it doesn't look flat or mask-like.  Back to application and I find Teint Idole takes a while to dry after applying, whereas I have to work quickly with Double Wear before it sets.  This one falls somewhere in between.  My method of application usually involves applying a layer all over my face using my fingers (after I've waited for my moisturiser to 'dry'-in these photos I was wearing Soap & Glory Wish Upon A Jar under Clarins Multi-Active Day Cream).  I then start to apply more bit by bit (especially to areas where needed i.e. blemishes) and use my 'skunk' Airbrush by Pout in circular motions to buff and blend.  You can apply this foundation with a more traditional flat-foundation brush, the skunk brush or your fingers, it works with any, so it's whatever is your preference.  It's also extremely buildable, you can layer and layer as much as you like without it looking cakey or patchy.

Now I find the coverage is much more sheer than I'm used to, it's sheer to medium and I usually opt for full coverage.  For some reason though, I really love it.  I kinda like that you can still see my freckles and it's nowhere near as mask-like as usual.  It looks fresh, more natural and I think more youthful on me than normal.  It doesn't completely cover blemishes, but it does tone down the redness somewhat (helped by the yellow tone of this shade).  Now for the part that some people may struggle with, the finish is dewy as you'd expect from a 'Touche Eclat product' which is built on radiance and light.  I'm usually a matte girl, but again I'm rather taken with this.  I'm still using powder on my t-zone which is slightly oily, but leave my cheeks free with this, as they tend to be 'normal' and I don't want to completely 'mattify'.  I think you can see in these images that I do have a little 'glow' that I don't usually have.  The YSL girl told me she had oily skin and also powdered her t-zone when using Le Teint Touche Eclat, but that the luminous particles can still 'shine through' despite being powdered.  Here's 'Day 1' of use and above you can see close-ups with powder and blush on top (although technically my cheeks aren't powdered, so maybe that 2nd image is useless!).

I find after maybe around 4 hours my face is much shinier and I would need to powder or blot.  I would opt for the latter because I don't like my face to become too clogged up with layers of powder and blotting papers take away the shine without depositing powder (fyi I use Paul & Joe).  When I'm sitting around the house with nowhere to go (most days), I haven't bothered touching up later in the day.  Below is an example of later in the evening from day 1, without any blotting and my face is shiny (t-zone and cheeks) and my blush has faded somewhat.  It's not an absolute oil disaster, but I think it was more shiny in the flesh than this picture shows.  So long as you can touch-up every 4-5 hours, I think it would look good all day and night. I didn't find it oxidised, caked or rubbed away throughout the day.  Other than the shine, it looked as fresh as when I first applied it. I've also heard that it's the type of foundation that you could reapply literally, as in layering more on hours later without the need for removing your first application and starting afresh (from my experience with the layering during my regular application, I would agree).

Second day pictures below and I think the first two are perhaps a little deceiving as they look kinda matte, but again it looks fresh and 'young' and I don't look too 'made-up'.

I had a few blemishes on day 3 (not from using this foundation), but even without concealer (which for some freaky reason I've stopped using now-look at me getting less stressy about spots!), they weren't obvious yet my foundation wasn't 3" thick! I also think I could apply this in the dark without a mirror and have no streaks or lines around my jaw. The colour just disappears into the skin (without actually looking like the colour of my skin in the bottle), plus I don't find it looks unnaturally pale or makes me look sickly like other super-pale foundations have (my Illamasqua Rich Foundation for example). With 22 shades split into three colour families, YSL have really tried to cater for everyone light to dark and warm to cool toned and that has to be commended, because getting a good colour match is half the battle with bases.

So obviously after deciding (from day 1 really) that I liked this, I purchased the full-size! I ended up buying it from the Debenhams website because there had been a couple of other things I'd needed and I wasn't sure when I would next get to Dundee to buy it in person. Turns out I spent the entire weekend fighting a losing battle online and on Monday morning eventually managed to purchase it (Debenhams are experiencing 'technical difficulties' with Illamasqua stuff, which is what I was buying this with and in the end I couldn't buy that, but got the YSL). I was also supposed to get a free YSL notebook, but they ran out of stock (!) but I'm hoping I got the 750 bonus points offer they were running-I'd wished I'd just gone to the bother of going through to Dundee, because the girls had been so pleasant there and I'd have rather 'given them the sale'! Anyway I got it and a lipstick (which is for another post). It comes in a really sleek bottle, which reflects the luxury of the brand and has a fuss-free pump dispenser (Estee Lauder DW take note), another good point. For 30ml it's £28 which I don't consider too expensive for the amount of product you get. I've also not mentioned yet that it has an SPF19 in it.

Glamour magazine had said something along the lines of 'believe the hype, this foundation is magical' and I do agree with that statement!  I'm not saying it's the most perfect foundation ever, but it's certainly one of the best I've ever tried (and I've tried almost everything).  The colour match is fantastic and makes the product easy-peasy to apply.  I like the weightless feeling, the fact it doesn't look too heavy and I appreciate getting to choose how much or little I apply.  I love that it doesn't cake and the dewy finish is growing on the usually 'matte-me'.  It's a pleasant change from my usual foundations and one that I could see myself purchasing again, especially given that I've worn it every day since I've started using it!  I can completely understand it causing the hysteria that we first saw when this new 'gold clicky pen thing' arrived on the beauty market (!) and I'm calling it 'awesomeness in a bottle'!  My only gripe would be that it will need retouching after a few hours (which could be off-putting if you were wearing it to an all day/night event), especially on those with normal, oily or combination skin, but it's a small price to pay for awesomeness right?  I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has read my YSL Forever Youth Liberator review which has now had over 10,000 hits, thus making it one of or perhaps the most read post in PHP history, oooo-eeee! If you haven't read it yet, then check it out as it's another great product that I've since repurchased.