Liquid -By Terry - Cover Expert Perfecting Fluid Foundation
hilsbils 1/31/2012 8:39:00 AM
I've finally stopped looking for a foundation that works for me. This is it! It's a perfect colour match (I'm nc25 and wear 7 vanilla beige), lasts all day but isn't hard to remove, doesn't clog my pores or break me out, doesn't make me oily or dry out my skin, is easy to apply, provides full but natural looking coverage and looks fantastic in photos. I have bought literally hundreds of foundations over the years and nothing has come close. I've actually thrown out all my other foundations now and hope to God they never discontinue this one. I used to use Lumiere Veloutee but this is better (i didn't have a colour match in that and had to mix two, and it didn't look as natural). It's cheaper than past By Terry foundations too, although still on the pricey side - but definitely worth it. My only tiny criticism is that the tube tends to dollop out more than I need and the lid gets messy. Thank you By Terry.
8 out of 8 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -Yves Saint Laurent - TEINT RESIST Long Wear Transfer Resistant Foundation 
hilsbils 11/26/2009 6:02:00 PM
I'm not sure what all the fuss is about with this. It's not yet available in the UK, so I bought it in France and, after all the rave reviews, was excited to try it. But after several days of wearing it I'm underwhelmed. The colour match is good (I use 5, peach and I'm NC25), the texture is nice and silky and easy to blend, and the finish looks very skin-like. But for an oil free foundation, I find myself getting extremely oily after a few hours, which doesn't happen with other oil frees. It looks shiny and greasy on me, not matte at all. And while it may stay on fairly well, it doesn't cover much. My spots, blotches and acne scars show through. This would be great for someone with normal skin, who doesn't need much coverage, but if you're oily or have things you want to cover up, I'd look elsewhere. It's a shame. I had high hopes for this.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Concealers -Make Up For Ever - HD Concealer
hilsbils 10/2/2009 4:04:00 PM
Love this concealer .I've been waiting to try it for ages and finally managed to buy some on a trip to France. It's the first concealer I've ever found that completely covers my dark circles without emphasising them, doesn't seep into my fine lines, lasts all day and doesn't dry out my under eye area. It isn't thick like some undereye concealers, or greasy - just makes my undereye look like skin. Plus, it looks great in photos. I found it hard to choose a shade but after trial and error, plumped for 330 (I use the 120 or 125 in the hd foundation). I could also have got away with 325. I don't really have a problem with the packaging, it just takes some getting used to.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Le Metier de Beaute - Lip Creme Lip Gloss - Fraise
hilsbils 8/3/2009 6:42:00 PM
Lovely lip gloss, great sparkly reddish/pink colour. Sadly, the main ingredient - as in all le metier lip products - is lanolin. It gives the gloss its moisturising effect and great finish, but also makes my lips swell up, itch, crack and bleed. Turns out I have a lanolin allergy. It's a shame, as I love every other product I've tried in this line. If you're not sensitive to lanolin, give it a try.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -Le Metier de Beaute - Classic Flawless Foundation
hilsbils 6/15/2009 11:57:00 AM
This is a fantastic foundation, I think I've finally found my hg. Fantastic coverage, glowy matt finish, hides pores, perfect colour match (6, and I'm an nc 25-30 yellow toned), lasts all day, doesn't make me oily, doesn't break me out (i've been using it for two full weeks, and no zits or clogged pores). It also looks good in pictures. I can't fault it. I've been hunting for a perfect foundation for 20 years - this could be it! UPDATE - now been using this for several months and still absolutely love this foundation, but after playing around with shades, I now mix 4 and 8 and have a perfect match. Took me a while to get there, but I persevered because I like the finish so much. I could also get away with 3. I think this foundation somewhat adapts to your skin tone, if you don't want to fork out for 2 colours.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Crème -By Terry - Eclat opulent
hilsbils 5/8/2009 5:48:00 AM
This stuff is incredible. Ever since I've been wearing it, everyone I've met has said, 'You look really well, you're glowing, you look so fresh faced - what's happened?' I don't know how it works but it does. When I tried it I was sure it would be too pink for my yellow toned skin, but within a few minutes, it had completely melded with my skin tone, and I look like I have perfect, poreless, lineless skin (I have very open pores, acne scars and a few fine lines). I have combination/oily skin, but this doesn't make me oily and it stays on all day. The coverage is fairly light, but because of the light reflecting properties, it diguises your flaws. I have never been so impressed with any product. It's like a super-charged version of the light expert, but works better for me. Expensive, but I think I will go without food to afford it in the future. Some more shades would be good for pale or darker skinned people - I think the universal shade would only work for those with light or medium skin tones (I'm an nc25-30). Update: still love the look of this, but have a horrible feeling it breaks me out, so I don't wear it very often. Such a shame.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -Christian Dior - Diorskin Nude Hydrating Makeup SPF 10 [DISCONTINUED]
hilsbils 1/26/2009 5:00:00 AM
I can't understand the raves for this product. I couldn't get an exact colour match - the 2s are a bit too pale, the 3s too dark - and I don't have hard to match skin in other brands. Worse, after wearing this for a few hours I looked in the mirror to see that my face looked blotchy and dull, with foundation collecting in patches on my nose and cheeks. Again, this hasn't happened with other brands. Maybe the formula didn't work with my skincare or primer, but it looked awful. I won't be trying this again.
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Foundations -Make Up For Ever - HD High Definition Foundation
hilsbils 4/12/2008 6:54:00 PM
This is a fantastic foundation. It covers brilliantly but naturally, hides pores and imperfections and makes the skin glow, without making it oily (it's oil free). No break outs. It's probably not quite as long lasting as the mat velvet plus but lasted a good eight hours. Colourwise, I'm a 120-125 in this (I use 30 or 40 in mat velvet plus). It's the first time my husband has ever commented on a makeup product - he told me my skin looked great and said the foundation was worth buying (and he knows I have a drawer full of rejects). I love this stuff!
5 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Concealers -TheBalm - Time Balm
hilsbils 12/8/2007 5:40:00 PM
Sorry to be a lone dissenting voice, but I was very disappointed by this concealer. I bought it after seeing the rave reviews and had it shipped to the UK. I've been looking for a good undereye concealer for ages to cover my dark circles, and particularly wanted something that didn't sink into my fine lines. I put this on and thought it looked great. But a few hours later I caught sight of myself in a mirror and thought how drained and tired I looked. When I got home, I realised the concealer had completely worn off. I tried the next day and, again, the same thing: this concealer simply didn't last, despite careful application with a brush and fingers, and powdering over it. What's the use of a concealer that only looks good for an hour or so? I've never had this happen with a concealer before. It also makes the area under my eyes feel itchy and irritated. Hey ho. Back to the hunt.
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Crème -Giorgio Armani - SPF20 Shaping Designer Foundation
hilsbils 9/26/2006 4:53:00 PM
I've been wearing this foundation for five days and I must say I love it. It gives great coverage, I have found the perfect match for my skin, it lasts all day and doesn't turn my combination skin into an oil slick (although it's not oil free I find it controls oil better than the LSF which made me shiny quickly. With this I don't need to powder for several hours). Best of all, I've had no breakouts (and I break out easily - becca, Mac both broke me out). It may have oils but it's non-comodogenic. My skin looks poreless - and I have big open pores - and flawless. I can't attest to its 'shaping' abilities as, fortunately, my face does not yet need lifting or sculpting. Great foundation if you want medium - full buildable coverage and an SPF of 20. For reference, the colours are slightly lighter than the LSF. I wear 6.5 which is approximately equivalent to shade 5.5 in the LSF but it's more yellow (and therefore a better match on me). I don't think you need to buy the special brush - even the MA agreed it was very similar to my prescriptives foundation brush. UPDATE:Sadly, after about 9 days of wearing, I started to break out. I've stopped using it and no new spots, so this must be the culprit. This is great foundation, and feels much less greasy than LSF, but it's not for the acne prone.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -MAC - Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15
hilsbils 5/8/2006 11:26:00 AM
Is everybody on something? I'm afraid I'm going to be the voice of dissent here. I have never liked MAC foundations (always make me breakout) but there were so many raves for this that I thought I had to give it a go. I have combination/ oily skin which occasionally breaks out but I have no problems with the majority of foundations. The colour match - NC 25 - was good for me. And it does indeed provide good, medium to full coverage. But that's where my praise begins and ends. This foundation itched and highlighted flakes I didn't know I had despite my skin being oily and despite good moisturising and exfoliating. No other foundation has ever done this. It looked very un-natural and patchy. But the worst thing was that after two or three days' wear I broke out horribly all over my face (not just hormonal areas like chin which is what I usually get). It has taken a good couple of weeks to recover from. Please don't believe the hype. If you have any tendency to acne and have ever broken out from MAC's foundations before give this a miss. Your skin will thank you.
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Foundations -Chanel - Pro Lumiere Professional Finish Make-Up ] [DISCONTINUED]
hilsbils 2/9/2006 4:52:00 PM
I'm so glad I tried this new foundation from Chanel. The creamy texture and luminous finish are wonderful - it provides medium to full coverage but can be sheered out (it's buildable and can betouched without looking masky). It hides my open pores, gives me a glow but doesn't get shiny or oily (I have combination-oily skin). Lasting power is good too. I've been wearing it for a week and no breakouts either. The colour match is perfect - I'm an NC 25, LM sunny beige and use no.30. People have commented on how well I look when I wear this - my skin looks flawless but not heavily made up, fine lines are diffused too. It's definitely the best Chanel foundation I've tried and could well be my HG. I've tried so many new foundations lately - and this is far better than LM silk creme (doesn't last and colour match not good), Px flawless finish (settles in pores and looks too heavy). Edt: ultimately too greasy for my skin and therefore didn't stay on long enough.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -Prescriptives - Flawless Skin Total Protection Makeup SPF 15
hilsbils 9/2/2005 6:59:00 PM
At last I have found an oil free foundation that matches my skin perfectly (I got ivory - I'm an nc25, LM sunny beige for ref), lasts all day, gives my skin a glow and doesn't break me out. Plus, the coverage is good but natural. I've only been wearing it for a few days but it does seem to be the best I've found (since I had to stop using my beloved la prairie skin caviar because my skin changed from combination to oily/acne prone. And it's half the price too.) And believe me, I have tried everything on the market. I have never been happy with the colour of a foundation before. Although lots have been close to my skin colour, they've never been quite right - either too pale, too dark, too pink or too yellow. This is perfect. Those Prescriptives SAs know what they're doing. As soon as I put it on I look healthy and glowy - like me but with better skin. It means I don't need to put loads of other products on in order to look alive. I never realised what a difference an exact match could make. My only complaint is the bottle. The top is so wide that half the content pours out each time you use it. Edit: After wearing this for a while I've noticed that it settles in my pores and can look a bit too over-made-up. Great when first applied but not so great as day goes on.
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Concealers -MAC - Select Moisturecover
hilsbils 5/1/2005 6:28:00 AM
Please don't lynch me. Sorry to be the lone dissenting voice here. I really, really wanted this to work for me but it's only average. Twice, since I've been wearing it, people have remarked on how tired I look. So it obviously isn't doing a great job under my eyes. When I tried it on blemishes it broke me out. I will go back to Becca. Sorry. Don't believe the hype - it's a decent product but that doesn't make it a miracle product that suits everyone.
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Skincare - Face -Revive - Face Serum
hilsbils 1/19/2005 4:24:00 AM
This serum has cleared up my skin completely. I used to get horrible cystic acne and lots of zits. I have only had one or two tiny little pimples since I started using it. Since using the revive products, including this one, in combination, my skin is clear, it glows and people have actually remarked on how lucky I am to have good skin! Plus I was asked if I was a student and told I look 23 - I'm 33! I think I can justify the ridiculous cost for this.
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