Review of Cinema Secrets Cinema Secrets by nattyngeorge
(I talk about the shades for a bit.. to read my thoughts about the coverage, etc.. read past the *** asterisks) Since I wear self tanner on a daily basis, I can range anywhere from NC30-40. I usually stay somewhere in the middle. Around NC35-NC37. A true NC40 works perfectly on days where I'm rocking a good tan, but any darker I cannot do. I'm on the lighter to true spectrum of the NC40. Foundations that work the best for me are foundations that are yellow toned. Beige/Neutral foundations make me look ill and gray, Cool foundations make me look pink, Warm (red) foundations make me look like I have a severe sunburn and too olive of foundations make me look green. So.. golden yellow work wonderful and match my neck the best. Cinema Secrets has different "series" for different skintones. The "300 Series" is "for many Asian and Caucasian skin tones with yellow base and undertones." The 300 series contains 6 shades. 301-306. I purchased two samples from camerareadycosmetics.com for I believe $3.99 each. I ordered 301-63A (a soft extra light warm yellow beige) and 302-65A (light warm yellow beige). 301 ended up being a little light for my whole face at the moment, but it worked great on days where I'm not as tan. It also worked great under my eyes. I would say 301 is a good match for a NC30.. and possibly NC25. 302 worked great all over my face. It's a good NC35 match. You may be able to wear it if you are a NC30 as well. 303 is two shades darker than 302 (I had to double check.. it seems a little odd.. why two and not one?). Some NC40's use 303.. but I haven't so I can't say for sure. But I'm assuming it would work well. 304 is "a mixture of yellow, pink-warm tone and soft light golden beige". It appears to be lighter than 303 and I've read that it matches NC35 pretty well. 305 and 306 are shades above NC40 (possibly in the NC50 range). I'll be ordering 302 and 301. 302 for all over my face and 301 to highlight under my eyes. I might order a sample of 303 just to see how it works.. and possibly mix it with 302 if I have a dark tan. Foundation palette #3 contains 301, 302, 303, 201 & 202. (201 & 202 are deep olives.. if you're around my skin tone you can use these to contour). So, #3 is a good choice for NC30-NC40.*******Because the foundation is a cream, I like using a moisturizing wash on my face and then applying witch hazel to my face with a cotton ball so I don't have excess oil on my face prior to application.Then with my ELF angled foundation brush I apply the foundation in light strokes until blended. It blends really effortlessly and you don't need to sit there and buff for a long time. You only need to touch the foundation with the brush. You don't need to scoop or dig. It's very pigmented and its best to start out with as little as possible and then go back and add more. The finish is almost like a 2nd skin. To me, it looks very natural and it doesn't look cakey. Definitely use a setting powder because creme foundations tend to smudge easily. I've also used a MAC 131 brush and a foundation sponge and they all worked very well. When I want less coverage, I spray my brush with a little MAC Fix+ and apply the foundation. It sheers it out a bit. I don't find it to be so heavy that it needs sheering out though. I haven't seemed to have any reactions or breakouts.