"Make Down" Monday

One of my favorite things to do is find dupes for high end makeup products. Now, to be fair, I'm not a fan of the word "dupe". That implies that the products are exactly the same, and let's face it, they won't be.

I grew up a Cover Girl. My favorite go to foundation is still Cover Girl Outlast. Only recently have I been dabbling in the world of high end cosmetics. Like a lot of women, I'm all about the bargain and if I can find something at the drugstore that gives me the same tingly feelings, I'm going to use it.

My beautiful friend Meg has been having similar feelings lately and asked me to give her a "make under". I was tasked with finding her a similar look on a budget. This was the most fun I've had in awhile and I hope she's happy with my recommendations.

If you'd like me to find alternatives for your favorite high-ends, send me an email, find me on facebook or twitter, or message me on KIK and I'll get right to work.

Here are Meg's favorites:

Her Primer: Smashbox Photo Finish $36
My Primer: Rimmel Fix and Perfect ($7.49) or ELF Mineral Primer ($6.00)
Meg doesn't have any special needs from a primer other than prolonging her foundation wear. This makes both the Rimmel and the ELF perfect candidates for her. They both give her a nice smooth canvas to apply her foundation and will keep her looking flawless throughout the day.

Her Foundation: Smashbox Studio Skin 1.1 $42
My Foundation: Revlon Color Stay ($9.99) or Cover Girl Outlast Stay Fabulous ($12.99)
The Smashbox Studio Skin foundation boasts medium to full coverage 15 hours of sweat-free, transfer-proof, humidity-resistant and shine free wear. The Revlon Color Stay says it lasts for 16 hours. I wore this foundation bar hopping in Las Vegas in the middle of summer for about 24 hours and it looked just as flawless the next morning as it did when I first applied. It's a pretty solid full coverage. While the Cover Girl Outlast Stay Fabulous does not give an exact amount of time, in my experience it lasts just as long as the Revlon Color Stay. I constantly find myself reaching for this foundation. The coverage and finish is beautiful and it stays shine free on my super oily skin.

Her Concealer: Makeup Forever Full Cover Concealer $32
My Concealer: Hard Candy Glamoflauge $6.00; Maybelline Instant Age Rewind $8.99
The Makeup Forever Full Cover Concealer is designed to cover up major imperfections such as scars and can also cover tattoos. It is highly pigmented with staying powder. Glamoflauge by Hard Candy does exactly the same thing. It is super thick and creamy but still sits comfortably on the skin. For the under eye area, I'm a big fan of the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind. This is soothing and moisturizing without creasing throughout the day.

Her powder/highlight: Too Faced Absolutely Invisible Candlelight $30
My powder/highlight: Nyx Illuminator in Narcissistic $8.99
This was a difficult one for me as I share her affection for the Too Faced highlighter. The powder is so finely milled it feels like silk on the skin and looks very natural. However, Nyx does a good job of replicating the glowing effect of the Candlelight. It's a touch more on the shimmery side.

Her Blush: Smashbox Blush Rush $24
My Blush: Nyx $5-$15; Maybelline Fit Me $4.99; ELF Studio Blush $3.00
I have yet to find a super special blush, drugstore or not. All of my drugstore favorites have beautiful shade ranges, great pigmentation, and are long wearing. Some of my favorites are Nyx powder in Mocha or Tickled from their cream line. ELF Studio in Candid Coral is a go to. Recently I've become a fan of the ELF baked blushes in Peachy Cheeky, Rich Rose, and Pinktastic. These are shimmery enough they can double as a highlight.

Her Mascara: Blinc $26

My Mascara: L'Oreal Double Extend $9.99

Meg has very sensitive eyes so any mascara that runs or smudges will not work for her. Blinc is a tubing mascara so instead of simply painting pigment on her natural lashes, it encases them. It will not budge, smudge, run or move until she removes it. Even then it will pull off with the tube in tact. Not many drugstore mascaras will do this. L'Oreal Double Extend is the only one I know of currently on the market.

Her eyeliner: Smashbox Limitless Eyeliner $19

My eyeliner: Rimmel London Soft Kohl Kajal Pencil $3.99

These Rimmel Kohl pencils are the only drugstore ones I've found that don't smudge or fade as the day goes on. I haven't tried the Scandaleyes ones yet, but if they're like these they'll be fantastic.

Lips: Nyx Buttergloss $4.99; Rimmel Lasting Finish $2.49; Maybelline Vivids $7.49; NYC 8HR City Proof Gloss $3.49

Meg was looking for lip product recommendations in general. She wanted to venture into reds. The Nyx Butterglosses are highly pigmented glosses from nude pink to orange red. I almost exclusively wear these now. They're very comfortable, moisturizing and not sticky. Rimmel Lasting Finish hosts my favorite red lipstick in the Kate Moss Collection shade 06. Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids collection is gorgeous. The shades are eye catching.

Do you have any alternatives for these high end products? Anything you want me to research? Let me know!

Email: havemascarawilltravel@gmail.com

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First Impressions Friday: Rimmel London Wake Me Up Foundation

For those of you who know me in real life, you know how excited I've been to try the Rimmel London Wake Me Up foundation. For those of you who don't know me in real life, let me paint a picture for you.

I first saw a very darling British YouTuber named Polly use this foundation in "Get Ready With Me" video. It was lovely on her and I decided I had to have it. Impatiently, I completed my tasks for the day, y'know, that pesky work thing and went to Ulta.

What can I say about Ulta? It's my home away from home. When I fling open those big heavy doors the angels sing. I may be on a first name basis with the store manager... Anyway, I can navigate this store drunk and blindfolded. After sneaking past the Clinique guy, weaving through aisle after aisle of perfume, and crawling over the teenage girl testing all of the nail polish on display, I came face to face with  the Rimmel section.

It was looking rather sad today, like no one had given it any attention in awhile. A quick glance across the shelves only showed me the usual cast of characters. Hmmm. I bit my lip, walking around the corner hoping there was another display with new products. There wasn't. After standing there tapping my foot for a few minutes, an associate came by to see if I needed assistance. Why, yes I did. No, she hadn't heard of what I was looking for, but did I want to try XYZ? No. No, I didn't want to try the super magical liquid purifier made of unicorn tears and phoenix feathers. For the first time in awhile, I left Ulta disappointed and empty-handed (GASP!).

Not ready to give up, I made a stop at Walgreens, Walmart, CVS, and Target, all with the same result. It finally dawned on me that perhaps this product just wasn't available in the US yet. A quick Google search confirmed my fear. As I've previously stated, I am an impatient person. Who knows how long it'd be before this beautiful glowy foundation was available to me? I could totally hop on a plane to London the next day, but was that really practical? Not so much. I searched and searched and finally came across a website that shipped internationally for free. Ding ding ding!

Without a moment's hesitation, I dropped it in my cart and then I waited. If you've never ordered products from oversees, the waiting is the worst. You may get a tracking number, but the information is days behind. For the first few hours I refreshed my screen numerous times, hoping for an update I knew wouldn't be there. It wasn't until four days after my initial order, a little notation appeared with a flight number that my package had been loaded on. I immediately plugged that number in to Flight Aware and stalked my package all the way across the Atlantic. Once it reached New York, there was radio silence. But, here I am after two painful weeks of waiting, to tell you my initial thoughts. 

Here is what it claims:

Wake up and glow! Rimmels first liquid foundation that instantly reawakens skin with a healthy, radiant glow. Light, moisturizing texture applies smoothly and leaves skin feeling soft and comfortable all day... instant flawless natural finish... visible anti-fatigue effect. This also has SPF 15 which is a plus.

Ingredients

http://uk.rimmellondon.com/products/face/wake-me-foundation

This is what it looks like. My shade is Ivory.

I applied it with my Blank Canvas Cosmetics Airbrush Sponge

This is me before: I've cleansed, toned, and moisturized my skin. No primer this time.

I started by applying one coat to one side of my face to see how the initial coverage and shade matched up.

I'd say this is a light to medium build-able coverage foundation. One coat evened out my skin tone nicely but my blemishes were still exposed. Two coats was perfect and minimal concealer was required. Look at those under eye bags. Hooo boy! 

And here I am all set to go to a work meeting in both artificial and natural lighting. 

The time is approximately 1247.

Honestly, I feel like it's a touch on the yellow side for me, but I find that with just about all drugstore foundations. I did set the t-zone with my Nyx Stay Matte powder in natural beige. I tried not to but my oily t-zone was having none of it. I agree that it has a glowy flawless finish. I just hope glowy doesn't turn to hot oily mess as the day goes on.

First check in: 1600... I will not powder. I will not powder. I will not powder.

You can see my extremely messy car in the background. I have an aversion to cleaning.

Hello pores!

I haven't done much of anything today. I sat in a meeting for three hours and have been outdoors for a grand total of 15 minutes. The shine on my nose is out of control. That is the only area I really am dying to touch up. The rest looks dewy and luminous and I'm OK with it.

Time to don the red lips to go out! I took this picture using the flash on my iPhone 5. As you can see, there is flashback from the SPF 15 in the product. It's not horrendous like some foundations, but enough for me to not recommend this if you're going to be taking photographs. It is now approximately 2130.

Last check in of the day. I'm about to wash this stuff off. It is now 0030. 

It's been a long day. It was hot and humid but I must say this foundation held up amazingly. I never once re-powdered  which I deserve a medal for! There was no slippage. The coverage is still as amazing as when I first applied. I also did not notice any oxidation. Except for the extreme oiliness on the nose, I'm happy! I think the Wake Me Up and I are at the beginning of a beautiful relationship. Check back in about a month for a full product review.

Also, please take a moment to visit Polly's blog and YouTube channel. She is adorable and an absolute delight to watch.

http://pollyanneb.blogspot.co.uk/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg2XrZUeAOKudLAg5irVlSw

Thanks for reading and I'll talk to you soon!