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It Cosmetics CC Cream Oil Free Matte

Oh I jumped on the It Cosmetics bandwagon, I jumped on it hard 🙂 I just couldn’t bloody resist it. Good coverage and really high SPF! So many people had such awesome things to say about it, and the brand is in Arnotts now. It was a no brainer really.

I bided my time a little until the Oil Free Matte version came to our shores. I am generally oily, particularly in my t-zone. The older I get, the more dehydrated some of my skin is getting, but I still get a super oily nose, so I like oil free products.

So what is the Oil Free It Cosmetics CC Cream you may ask? Well I’ll let the brand do the specific explaining and then I’ll throw my two cents into the equation:

‘Created to improve the look of skin texture, this complexion-perfecting breakthrough provides long-wear coverage and camouflages skin imperfections including dark spots and discolouration without creasing or cracking. It’s also infused with charcoal, tea tree extract, colloidal clay and Moroccan lava clay—plus, oil-absorbing, minimising technology and an advanced anti-aging serum. You’ll see powerful results instantly and more dramatic results over time. Finally, a full-coverage CC cream that airbrushes the look of your pores while providing natural-looking matte complexion perfection that lasts!’

The other versions of the It Cosmetics CC Cream have broad spectrum SPF 50+. The oil free version is SPF 40+ which is still amazing! I love the packaging. It’s a tube with a pump, so you can squeeze every fairly expensive drop out of it.

It Cosmetics do recommend you apply this with a brush. And that’s what I was doing, like I would with a foundation for the first couple of weeks. I liked it at this point, the coverage and pigment was great and the longevity fairly decent, especially for something that has such high protection. However I did find, it clung to dry patches as it is matte, and it was hard to blend into my giant pores. I have the shade Fair Light.

Then, I brought it on holiday with me, and started wearing it as my SPF. One of the days I was just wanting to slap some on and used my fingers to blend it in. This was a bit of a revelation for me. It blended so much easier into my skin, it was easier to get it into all the nooks and crannies. Which makes complete sense I guess, since it is a CC Cream. It just performs like a really decent foundation.

Here it is in action on my skin in video form:

The coverage and staying power of this stuff is pretty overwhelming considering it’s good for your skin to boot. I need to get a sample of the original formula asap to see how that performs on my skin! I do get a bit of shine on my t-zone after a few hours, but I’ve yet to find anything to combat that. And a bit of blotting makes it disappear. The rest of my skin lasts really well though and I’ve found myself using less powder with this and can even skip setting spray if I fancy. Just be wary it is matte and it can cling to dryness. Once you aware of that, it does exactly what it says on the tin!

The It Cosmetics CC Cream Oil Free Matte is available now from Arnotts. It will set you back €39.

Have you tried it yet?

xxx

October 12, 2018/by Gem

Makeup

Barry M Flawless Original Primer

I’m not afraid to admit it, I am a makeup primer junkie. My life (nor my makeup) would be complete without it. So I am always on the look out for new ones to try. The Barry M Flawless Original Primer caught my eye in Boots a couple of months back. There is three primers to choose from in the Flawless range. They have a green one to help with redness and then a purple one to that is supposed to help with brightening the complexion. The original seemed the most suited to me, although they do say it suits all skin types.

I always enjoy a pump on a product. Not great when you’re nearing the end of it and want to get your monies worth, I know. But until you reach that point, it’s super handy.

The Barry M Flawless Original Primer is white is colour and has quite a wet texture when applied to the skin initially. It nearly feels like lotion.The first listed ingredient in it is Cyclopentasiloxane which is a type of silicone even though it doesn’t feel like your typical silicone primer.It also smells really nice and fresh!

Barry M say it’s for all skin types, pore minimising, smoothing and mattifying. Perhaps I’m wrong but I am guessing people with a drier skin probably wouldn’t be too interested into mattifying their skin any more than it already is?

On me, the Barry M Flawless Original Primer is somewhat smoothing and somewhat mattifying.

Clean moisturised skin

One pump on my foundation brush

I dab it onto the centre of my face and buff outwards

After application

My skin isn’t as shiny and does feel smoother after I’ve applied the Barry M Flawless Original primer and I’ve let it settle into my skin, but I don’t notice any major diminishing to my pores. Makeup does apply easily over the top of it, although if you have larger pores like me, you have to really buff your foundation in to make them look less noticeable. Whereas if I use a a primer with a more gel like consistency like the Smashbox Photo Ready, or one of my very favourites the Benefit Porefessional, they tend to help fill the pores in so you get a much smoother application. The Flawless primer does help the longevity of my makeup though, which is I guess is the main reason why we use a primer!

I picked up the Barry M Flawless Origninal Primer from Boots in store and of course you can buy it online too here. It costs €8.99.

So enable me…what’s your favourite primer? 🙂 xxx

June 5, 2016/2 Comments/by Gem

Makeup

Benefit Porefessional License to Blot

I’ve had the Benefit Porefessional License To Blot for a long time now.

It’s something I actually pick up quite a lot and just forgot to ever talk about it. It an unusual little product.

Its looks a bit like a pritt stick for your face 🙂 When it comes to comes to marketing and packaging the Benefit team are some of the best in the business, they really are and the Benefit Porefessional License To Blot is a really innovative little product.

According to Benefit: ‘This instant oil-blotting stick with tiny invisible blotting spheres mattifies shine for up to six hours after application. The specially designed triangular tip targets shiny zones: the sides of your nose, forehead and chin. Oil has finally met its matte!

The Benefit Porefessional License To Blot is pretty much designed to throw into your handbag for blotting on the go. It comes in a retractable tube and the product itself is in a triangular shape so it can get around the contours of your face.

The product itself has like a balm texture to it, it’s colourless, so would work on any skin tone. It does have a scent to it, but it’s really very slight.

So does it work?

It definitely blots off any excess oil you might have creeping through your foundation. It also softens the look of any pores that might come through aswell. You should really use a light hand with it and pat it onto the skin as Benefit encourage you to, as it can leave a silicone like film over the top of your makeup. It doesn’t however promote caking like adding powder might do. The fact that you’re applying the product from the tube can get a little grubby as you’re left with makeup marks on it after use, so you have to be sure to clean as you go. I can’t say that it keeps the skin matte for six extra hours, not on my skin anyways, but I would say at least half that time for sure.

I sometimes use the Benefit Porefessional License To Blot in a way it’s not intended too also. Because it works for minimising the look of pores and it is good for blotting, I’ll use it in conjunction with whatever primer I have on the go in my real problem areas on my T-zone before applying foundation (and even sometimes after foundation, if my skin is really acting up).

Overall I really like the Benefit Porefessional License To Blot. It has its flaws but overall does what its supposed to do and may I add at €21.50, it’s cheaper that the primer, but kind of does the same job 🙂 You can pick it up from Debenhams here

xxx

April 15, 2016/2 Comments/by Gem