Physicians Formula

Excellent cleansing balm! Right out of the jar, it has a texture that reminds me of a much lighter version of Vaseline. It spreads easily across the skin and melts almost instantly into a thin oil. Add a splash of water, and it emulsifies into a light lotion-like consistency that rinses away easily. This balm breaks down makeup (including waterproof mascara) and sunscreen efficiently, and unlike with some oil based cleansers, I don't feel like I need to follow up with a second cleanser to get rid of any film or residue left behind. My skin just feels soft and clean.

To use it, you spread about a pea sized amount of product on *dry* skin and massage it around your face to dissolve makeup and dirt. You can then add a splash of water to emulsify the balm into a lotion before wiping everything away with a damp face cloth.

My only beef with this product is that the size of the jar makes it look like it contains much more product than it really does. Also, I wish that the spatula that comes with it fit into the top lid instead of into the removable plastic insert as I usually throw that part away. Other than that though, this is a great product and I'd definitely repurchase.

Ok. So I wish I didn't like the way this foundation looks. Because applying is a pain. Partly because of the utterly dismal shade range, & partly because of the stupid giant doe foot applicator. First the shade range. Awful. I have 4 different shades - LN4, MW2, MN3, MC1 - and they're all so different, it would be funny if it wasn't so frustrating. Anyway, I mix LN4 with a bit of MW2. It works, but come on! I just want a damn foundation I can put on out of ONE bottle, and then call it good. From any of the muas I've talked to, shade matching is the biggest problem with foundation, so maybe I shouldn't be complaining about that so much. Whatever. It's just damned inconvenient. I hate the applicator too. If it wasn't for that, I'd probably try to mix my two shades enough to be able to use 1 bottle. Ok, so now the good side. This foundation looks freaking AMAZING on my skin. The finish is absolutely beautiful - soft focus, pore and line smoothing, not matte but not super dewy, incredibly skin like. It's long lasting, doesn't move around, and keeps my dry skin looking very nice throughout the day. Also, it doesn't break me out. I apply with a brush & this foundation melts into my skin - so it is simultaneously offering excellent coverage but is basically undetectable. The price point is extemely reasonable, so I'll definitely repurchase, in spite of the product's shortcomings.

I needed a green color correcting concealer cause I had a massive red breakout on the hollow of my cheekbone and I needed to cover the redness. I put some clearasil rapid rescue cream on it that helps with redness but not instantly. I found this and saw that it had great reviews. When I first tried it I accidentally used too much and it's so pigmented that it colored my foundation and concealer too so I had to wipe off and redo. I then read that a small pin dot amount is all that is needed, which I used the 2nd time and it worked better at toning down the redness of my angry zit and the areas around my nose, as well as blended better. The key here is don't go ham with it or you'll have a hulk face and have to start all over. A tiny amount is all you need which means this tube will last a year at least so the size of it is generous at most

Firstly the negative: that brush! I hate wastage so I use the kabuki brush that comes with this to dust my keyboard - which it does just perfectly. Erm ok moving on swiftly...I recently experimented with Mineral Wear (Natural Beige) whilst out of my usual CC cream. As normal I first moisturized and then used my usual Clinique purposely-dried-out pore solutions primer to fill in the pores on my nose and cheeks (texture becomes more solid like clay and actually fills-in literally anything), then applied Mineral Wear with my very own kabuki brush starting from t-zone and blending outwards. Results: excellent skin-like coverage with some decent SPF in (it contains Titanium and Zinc oxides) meaning no separate SPF required. Although my skin can get oily I had no breakthrough for approximately 6 hours, at which point I used some blotting paper to remove any traces of shine. The shade I got is ever so slightly lighter than what I would normally use but this appears to be a universal problem with this. Please bring out more shades!

Other than that, for natural-looking medium coverage that doesn't accentuate fine lines or pores, this will do great, especially in winter when my skin is at its palest and I get my closest match.


Selena x


~ My HG list ~

(As I've sampled many 100s of skin, hair and m/u products over the last decade and a half, I thought it might be useful to share my top 10 must-have products, subject to change if and when I come across something more effective. I love constantly trying out new stuff - usually sample sizes via e-bay, also plenty courtesy of a friend who works at Sephora)


1. Hair Loss Treatment: ‘Divine Herbal’ - Hair Oil
2. Lip Balm: 'Nuxe' - Reve De Miel Lip Balm
3. Pigmentation + Anti-Ageing Treatment: ‘Divine Herbal’ - Facial Treatment Serum
4. Cleanser: 'Paula's Choice' - Skin Balancing Cleanser
5. Concealer: ‘Mac’ - Studio Finish Concealer
6. Lash Growth Serum: ‘Divine Herbal’ - Divinelash
7. Foundation/SPF: ‘Juice Beauty’ - Stem Cellular Repair (warm glow)
8. Foot File/Callus/Heel Treatment - 'Microplane' - Colossal Pedicure Rasp Foot File
9. Moisturizer: ‘Antipodes' - Rejoice Light Day Cream
10. Hand Cream: 'Origins' - Make A Difference Rejuvenating Hand Treatment

I've been on a concealer kick lately buying up all sorts of drugstore offerings (Wet n Wild Photo Focus, Covergirl Outlast All day, Maybelline Lumi) before I picked up this. The packaging is horrible. The pump doesn't work and I had to unscrew it just to use the product but it doesn't even screw back on properly. But the coverage of this is a wonderful and full, the color is excellent for me, and doesn't melt. The little sponge it comes with works really well for blending. I got this on clearance at Target so it's probably being discontinued? Or maybe hopefully the packaging will be updated.