Shiseido haul

I'm always thrilled whenever a foundation -- be it mineral or traditional -- is a great color match. So when the Shiseido makeup artist found a shade for me and in the mirror it looked almost exact, I just had to buy it. I ended up getting two powder foundations and two liquid ones.

The powder is really smooth, and the liquid spreads easily. As a result, both types had an even application. The oil control could use some improvement, but it's nothing that blotting paper can't take care of.

The Supplist Poreless is slightly yellower than the White Lucent, and it covers pores better. On the other hand, I find I'm a little less oily/shiny with the White Lucent, and its finish is a little more matte. The powder compact is reusable, so when you've hit the bottom of the pan, you can just push the pan out and get a refill pan. You don't have to buy another case, which means savings on the consumer's part.

As for the liquid foundations, the Lifting foundation is for dry skin, so I just use it on the areas that need more moisture - my chin and the areas around the mouth. On all the other parts of the face, I use the Dual Balancing.

Smashbox bronzer and highlighters

I hauled in some Smashbox goodies earlier this week on Monday. I can't find a match among their foundations (can't seem to find any that's both medium and yellow enough at the same time), but their bronzer (Fusion Lights Dusk) and highlighters (Soft Lights Lens and Soft Lights Shimmer) are GORGEOUS! I haven't been using bronzer-with-highlighter for very long, and these are idiot-proof; I didn't look like a sunburned orange or a disco ball. Looks very natural, and you only need to use a few light strokes for them to show up. Definitely a good deal, especially since there's a lot of product in the pan. And they're not glittery at all, so you don't have to worry about huge specks of glitter falling down your face. Just a nice, soft sheen.

Aubrey Nicole haul (again)

I ordered full sizes from Aubrey Nicole during their Mardi Gras free shipping sale last February, and I received my package yesterday. I'm happy just looking at the huge 3oz jar of foundation. My haul:

Elegant Minerals samples

Today I tested my samples from Elegant Minerals. I ordered only two foundation shades - Cornsilk and Sandstone. Based on the website descriptions, it was pretty easy to narrow down my choices to just two.

I tried Sandstone first. To my eyes it looked yellow-peach. I think it had some peach undertones; I didn't bother doing a full face. I swatched both shades - applied wet - on the back of my hand. Sandstone looks peachier, while Cornsilk looks more yellow-olive.

When I tried Cornsilk, it was a perfect match! I wore it the rest of the day. I love the powder - it has light to medium buildable coverage, great slip, and a velvety matte finish. The pores on my nose appeared smaller, and it evened out the surface of the skin, making my cheeks look really smooth. I have to get a full size of this!

Chapped Lips: Remedies!

I used to have chapped lips. As in really dry and flaking. I've tried a number of balms and creams, and these are the ones I've found most effective in healing, softening, and smoothening my chapped lips - Skinfood's Cocoa Lip Blam, The Face Shop's Lip Care Cream, and Kiehl's Lip Balm #1:

Blusche haul #2

I still have full sizes of Blusche, but I couldn't resist the cute new packaging! So I went ahead and bought more full sizes of foundation (what will I do with four jars of Creme Brulee?) , concealer, and primer.

DreamWorld samples

If you order DreamWorld foundation samples and creme toppings, the first thing you'll notice about them is the generous amount of powder! It'll take a while before the baggie runs out, so you'll really get value for your money.

Another thing is that they run a bit light. The only ones I'll be testing are Amenti, Ashnan, Themis, and Hebe, which appear to be the closest to medium.

EDIT: I got the Sands formulation for everything, and the coverage is fantastic! Enough to cover imperfections, but not cakey. The finish is matte, but not dry-looking. Definitely fullsize-worthy. My best match seems to be Amenti, which belongs to the yellow-olive family, but I've only tested it under one kind of lighting so I can't say for sure yet whether Amenti is truly my shade. More testing is in order.