Categories
Beauty

On Trial in May 2017 – AVON, Relouis, Faberlic

The start of a new series? We shall see. I intend to pick up several products and give them a good use throughout the month. They could be completely new or they could be some poor unfortunate souls stuck in the limbo of my collection. Since I’m on a semi-no-buy, it will more than likely be the latter.

In May, however, all the products were new.

relouis complimenti! face powder

Relouis Complimenti! Compact Powder in 01 (lightest)

My old compact powder (coincidentally by Relouis as well) finally gave up the ghost, so I went and bought practically the cheapest available on the local market. As much as I was OK with the previous incarnation of Relouis compact powder, I am having trouble with this one.

  • It does not appear to be as finely milled;
  • it’s very picky in terms of brushes it wants to work with;
  • it doesn’t stay put for a long time;
  • although the coverage is very light, it piles on and starts to cake, especially around my nose, as the day goes by;
  • I do not enjoy the scent;
  • it seems to be going pretty fast – if you look closely into the photo below, you will see that the ridges of the pan are already visible. They’ve been visible since the first week of usage.

complimenti! face powder

The positive factors are:

  • packaging – it’s black, white, and modern-looking;
  • the compact opens up to 180 degrees;
  • the shade. Although it has a pink undertone (I don’t), it’s light enough and sheer enough to fit my skin tone.

I wanted this to be sort of a workhorse, and although I’ll continue using it until it’s gone, I might pick up something else in the interim – something that would actually suit my needs.

avon mark finishing powder

AVON Mark. Magix HD Finishing Powder

I’ve been setting my face with Isadora Loose Powder for a while, but was on the fence about the result I was getting. Although I will not be writing off Isadora Powder completely, AVON Mark. Magix HD Finishing Powder gives me a better result. It doesn’t alter the colour of my foundation as it is truly translucent. It’s not the most finely milled powder I’ve encountered, but it’s nice enough. Gives a matte finish. The sifter is nice too – I’ve barely had an overshake with it, and I’m a chronic powder overshaker. You can also close it, so you can take the powder with you and not worry about spilling it everywhere.

avon mark finishing powder dispenser

I’m pretty sure this will stay with me for a while, and if AVON still runs them when I’m out, I’ll be repurchasing.

faberlic express volume

Faberlic EXPRESS Volume Mascara

I bought this mascara a while ago, but only opened it this month. It was a blind buy, so to say, and I had no idea the brush would be so small. So far, I’ve got mixed feelings about this: Sometimes I feel like it gives me good length and good volume; other days I feel like it gives me relatively long, but messy and spiky lashes with little to no volume. As it ages, it’s getting better.

No gripes with longevity, though. Stays put throughout the day.

faberlic mascara wand

Categories
Beauty

MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation.

It has occurred to me that I have never posted about this MAC Studio Fix Powder plus Foundation. Pictured here is an NC15.

mac front

One of these days I will have consistent product photography.

mac back

I have to show you the back too, because obviously no one’s ever seen a MAC powder before.

What I loved about it:

Coverage. Coverage is amazing. When applied with a sponge it’s total full coverage, and honestly, at times I would skip the concealer, and it would do the job. Recently I started applying it with a brush, and the coverage is still good, though not as intense as when applied with a sponge.

mac sponge

Staying Power. I’d need to touch up my make-up in the T-zone in two-four hours, depending on how my skin’d be doing on that particular day, but cheeks, jaw line, and most of forehead would stay covered for 6-8 hours.

Scent. Rather, lack of it.

Longevity. I’d say for regular every day use it would’ve lasted me for about 6 months. The way I used it, it lasted about a year.

What was so-so:

Used without a primer or a good buffing technique, this thing accentuates pores remarkably.

Not so much a product itself as the shade selection fail – I’ve come to realise that I’m not an NC, but NW.

mac powder

I have this odd feeling that it might be… Not breaking me out exactly, but not doing many favours to my skin either.

Would I repurchase?

A hypothetical yes. MAC is not available in these dreary lands, so I’d need to rely on friends and relatives to bring it to me. I’d also go for the lightest NW, instead of NC15, as pictured here.