review: ysl fusion ink foundation

                                     

When I was in Sephora this past weekend I decided to look around for a new high end foundation to try. My last love of this genre was the Nars Sheer Glow, but I was starting get a bit tired of it, especially because of how unforgiving it was of dry patches. Plus I wanted something a little lighter, and that's when I spotted the new YSL Ink Fusion Foundation. I've never tried a foundation from this brand before and it just looked so pretty and, well Cara Delevigne was on the ad so the decision kind of made itself. There were 21 different shades to choose from, which was fabulous & easy to navigate, unlike my usual 15 minute struggle to find my shade. The price tag was a bit scary at $60 (ouch), so I asked for a sample instead... which is my favorite thing to do at Sephora. They give you a hefty sample too! I've used the foundation everyday for about 4 days now & I've not even made a dent in it.

Okay back to the review.. The foundation is said to boast feather-light texture with its "fine as ink formula.. perfects the skin yet wears weightlessly all day. Never cakey or heavy..." (YSL website). Also, it is supposed to have a soft-matte finish.

first impression. I've got to say, all of these metaphors kind of screamed 'malarky' to me at first sight. But, I've got to say they were spot on. This foundation really lives up to it's fluffy description. The website says that you use the applicator (I used my finger bc of the sample, but same difference really) and dab product on the high points around your face and that's really all you need. It leaves a beautiful perfected satin base with minimal product. It instantly sinks into your skin & it doesn't even feel like I'm wearing foundation. I had some blemishes on my chin so I added a few more small dabs of product and it covered it well. I would suggest adding a concealer too, but you won't need much.

application. Now I've applied this three different ways so far and they've all worked wonderfully. You get the best coverage using your fingers, so that no product gets absorbed by a brush as well as it gives you more control of where the product goes. I've also used a beauty blender and a duo-fiber brush. The foundation website suggests using your fingers and the tutorials use a duo fiber brush. The brush gives an airbrushed finish, but my favorite way to apply is with the beauty blender. It makes for a more dewy and light application. It's not the best coverage this way, but on the days where I don't want to look like I'm wearing makeup, it's beyond perfect.

lasting power. It is very long lasting. I've been guilty of wearing this foundation to bed once and it actually was still on my face and looking good the next morning with no evidence on my pillow!(perfect 'third date' foundation winkwink) I do get oily in my T zone, especially my nose, so I've been using the Becca matte primer just on the T zone with a little Rimmel Stay Matte powder & the foundation held up perfectly, with no oily breakup. There is a fragrance to the foundation, which I actually quite like that doesn't linger too much, which I also like. I just can't say enough good things about this foundation. It's amazing and perfectly low maintenance. I'm even contemplating getting the full size.. OH gosh, my poor wallet! But I can't help it , this stuff is quickly becoming my new favorite & I would suggest to everyone of all skin types.

Have you tried this foundation? let me know what you think!

ttyl :)
madeleine.

*photos are from the YSL website

a splurgy beauty haul

Recently I had a slight moment of weakness in the the mall and went a lil cray cray in Sephora and MAC... OKAY OKAY and Walgreens on the way home. But since I'm a glass-half-full kind of woman, I decided to turn it into a triumph and share my loot with all you lovely people!

In my defense, these are all products I've been lusting after and dying to try for a while. So I just threw caution(and some dollah dollah bills) to the wind and treated myself. Behold!

LINKS

 by Chaz Dean Sweet Almond Mint Cleansing Conditioner // DevaCurl DevaTowel // Soap & Glory Smoothie Star Breakfast Scrub // Dior Rosy Glow Awakening Blush // Beauty Blender // MAC Orb //MAC Cork // MAC Quarry // MAC Sable // MAC Satin Taupe // L'oreal Voluminous Miss Manga Mascara (Black Brown) // Maybelline Tattoo Leather (Deep Forest) // Maybelline Color Tattoo Leather (Creamy Beige)

BTW: The MAC shadows in the palette that I already own are Woodwinked, Patina, Nylon, Club & Sumptuous Olive. 

I have tried all of my new purchases and have not a single bad thing to say about them. They all live up to their hype/ purpose and are quickly becoming my favorites of the moment. 

Let me know if you want me to do any reviews on these products, I'd be happy to oblige!

ttyl :)
madeleine

bonus post! my ulta wish list

Heya friends!

So my plan for today was to do some blogging, stuff for work, clean out Pepper's litter box... and making a cheeky stop by my nearest Ulta for a little peruse to see what's new and exciting. But to my compulsory beauty product-ogling dismay, the sky opened up with dismal glory and literally rained.. no.. poured on my parade. I took this as a divine sign from the big boy upstairs that I should stay home and save myself the temptation. So I did and went on the website instead! See what I did there. It's all about the loopholes ladies! Here's my Ulta wishlist picks:

buy.

buy.

buy.

buy.

buy.

buy.

buy.

OoO this is making SO EXCITEDD laskdkdsiejffoaifi!!! Okay, control yourself maddie.

What's in your shopping carts??

ttyl :)
madeleine.

Disclaimer: I'm not sponsored or affiliated with any of the stores or brands mentioned in this post. My thoughts and suggestions are 100% my own.

the battle of the cleansing conditioners

Being that I've got some crazy curlage going on top of my head, I'm always about trying different products to tame them into submission. I've done a fair amount of research on how to best take care of them, I've even written a blog post here for your perusal! So since I've gotten the rules down, it's time to talk about the tools, aka the products!

It's become pretty common knowledge now that cleansing conditioners are the way to go. They supposedly clean your hair without stripping the oils essential for keeping hair (especially curly or coarse textures) moisturized and frizz-free. There are tons of cleansing conditioners out there from various price points and I've deemed myself your fluffy-haired guinea pig to save you some time, money and bad hair days. I've done the dirty work for you and picked three, one from each price point (drugstore, pricey, luxury) to review.


drugstore. Herbal Essences naked cleansing conditioner $4.99
Since this is the cheapest option of the three, you're going to get what you paid for. I'll say the pros first. It made my hair feel smooth and soft and had a pleasant smell that didn't linger. I actually repurchased it because it was such a good deal and I wanted to try the lavender scent. Sadly that's where the pros end. Now for the cons... I originally bought the one for colored hair but it didn't seem to hold my color that great at all (I recently box died my salon ombre to a darker brown). I used it for maybe a month and my color noticeably was fading. Although, I cant totally blame the conditioner because my previous ombre color was blonde so fading was expected, but it didn't help. Also dimethicone is a listed ingredient, which is a silicone-based chemical that adds a film over your hair to make it feel smoother and silkier. It's not that it's bad for you hair but it creates a greasy film buildup. The label says it's more of a treatment and shouldn't be used as a consistent product, which kind of defeats the point of replacing shampoo & conditioner, right?

pricey. DevaCurl no poo & one condition $40 (for both)
Now this duo I love. It is on the pricier side for both products combined, but I think it's of greatest value out of the three. The two 12 oz bottles lasted me about two months, which is amazing for my thick mane. I typically run out before the month ends, but you need so little of each product that it lasted me really well. The No Poo is a cleansing conditioner, and the One Condition is a daily conditioner. But get this, no silicones! It made my hair feel amazing instantly and never any greasy build-up. It's suggested that you use the products together and I always have, but knowing how great the No Poo made my hair feel, I would say that it would be fine alone for those with finer hair on the wavier side as opposed to coarser, curlier hair. For us, I would definitely say go for the one condition too. They sell small 9 oz. sample sizes too for $9 if you want to test it out.

luxury. Wen by Chaz Dean sweet almond mint cleansing conditioner $32
This is my more recent experiment. I've only bought this about two weeks ago. There are a lot of things I love about this product and it's certainly got a lot of hype around it. I've always wanted to try it and I watch a Chaz Dean hairstylist Anna Lee on youtube with her photog hubby Jesse. They make the cutest vlogs here (i'm obsessed). So that added a little fuel to my Wen fire. I bought the sweet almond scent ,which is supposed to be geared towards normal hair (not oily or dry). It smells wonderful and manages to linger for a long time without being annoying or overpowering. My hair felt super soft and my hair dried wonderfully without using any other product (just one pump of the conditioner as a leave-in). It does contain that silicone, but the people at Wen insist that as long as you massage it thoroughly into your scalp and rinse it out completely you wont get any film build-up, which I haven't. My only really complaint is that you have to use so much of the product per use. I have pretty long hair so it says to use 24 pumps.. that's just crazy to me. In three uses, half of the 16 oz. bottle is gone and for $32 a bottle, it's hard for me to justify. using Wen is supposed to reduce the amount of time you have to cleanse your hair, but still I'm not totally sold because of the price.

Phew! that was a lot of esplainin to do, but I just can't help myself! forgive meee.

So to round this all up: I would probably say Deva Curl is my favorite because it's cheaper, lasts longer, has no silicones & I haven't seen Wen do any better, except on the scent front. With Wen I don't need a styling cream like I do with the other two & it's one product instead of 2 or 3. Finally the Herbal Essences, I wouldn't recommend using it like the others but as more of a treatment, or to use it as a daily conditioner with a shampoo. But beware of the film build-up & use a clarifying shampoo every week-two weeks.

Well that's it then! Hope I helped a little to navigate the maze of cleansing conditioners out there. Let me know if you have any that you recommend. I'm always looks for new ones to try out!

ttyl :)
madeleine

face of the day #2: stay all day

This week's FOTD is actually from this past Saturday. My boyfriend Sean and I were invited to go paddle boating with some of his friends from work. I wanted a look that was summery, breathable and low maintenance with no worries of touching up. I know this looks like a lot of makeup, but I needed something that could take me from day to night and really last and this is what I came up with!

I went for a sheer, light and luminous base with my BB cream and added small dabs of concealer on blemishes and discoloration for some added coverage. My Beauty Blender gave my base a natural yet seamless finish. I set it all with a translucent powder swept across my T zone. I warmed up my complexion with my favorite matte bronzer and a natural pink blush.  For my eyes I went for an understated bronze look with natural lashes using two brown-black mascaras; one for volume and definition and then a waterproof formula for my lower lashes. I used a tinted brow gel with fibers to give my brows a low maintenance boost and finished off the look with a pinky gloss.

FOTD Breakdown:

Base: Garnier Miracle Skin BB Cream // Maybelline Fit Me Concealer // Rimmel Stay Matte Translucent Powder // Nars Laguna Bronzer // Dior Rosy Glow Powder

Eyes: MAC Orb // MAC Woodwinked // MAC Cork // MAC Nylon // NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk // Tarte Cashmere Eyeliner // Loreal Voluminous Miss Manga in Black Brown // Covergirl Waterproof Lashblast in Black Brown

Lips: NYX Butter Gloss in Strawberry Parfait

Brows: Benefit Gimme Brown in Medium Deep

Tools: Beauty Blender // Real Techniques Contour brush // EcoTools Powder Brush // Real Techniques Blush Brush // Real Techniques Base Shadow Brush // Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush

Hope you enjoyed it!

ttyl :)
madeleine

fall trend friday #1: a glowing fall face

hey now! just because you'll soon be trading in your sun hat for a knit beanie, doesn't mean your face has to look like it's preparing for hibernation too. Luckily the makeup trend gods are in agreement. Personally, I have never understood the overly muted and corpse-y makeup trends that seems to habitually crop up when the weather turns nipply. My pasty face will grow plenty pale and dull on it's own, thank you very much. so im thrilled to hear that we can still be glowing goddesses this coming season and leave the bronzer-shaming for another time!

This fall it's going to be all about dem copper lids, bold yet natural brows, bronze cheeks and toffee lips.  WOOPWOOP for looking alive!

Now for a teensy disclaimer: just because these trends are sitting next to each other in this post, does not mean they should be that way on your lovely visage. I would suggest choosing one to two (at most!) of these looks to rock at once and let the rest of your makeup be the slutty best friend to your leading lady in this hilarious, yet heartwarming RomCom we call your face.

copper lids

Metallic lids have a tendency to look potentially too strong and vegas-like. The trick here is that you want to achieve a softer look. Try making your own little eyeshadow cocktail, to create a slightly more muted and soft eye look. To do this I suggest mixing a deep reddish brown with a light peachy pink, sweeping it across your lid and blending that into the crease. That way you get the reddish brown tones one finds in copper, but the peachy pink mutes it out and makes it more daytime and wearable. smudge a little chocolate brown liner on your lower and upper lash line and you'll be golden. metaphorically.

'sable' from the Lorac Pro Palatte mixed with my Tarte blush in 'captivating' gives the perfect soft copper effect!

bold and natural brows

Statement brows have been in for like everrr and there is no indication of them going anytime soon. My brows are naturally on the fuller side, so color me happy (less tweezing!) What's different this time around is the previously coveted sharp angles are being traded in for a slightly softer, less overly defined look. go for a more natural and rounded brow shape, using a pencil. pencil allows you to make thinner, smaller strokes that look like hairs as opposed to drawing a block of color over your brows.  Personally I like using a tinted brow gel with fibers. It's less maintenance and it gives your brows that full, yet natural look.

I love Benefit's Gimme Brow in 'medium/deep' and the the Brow Wiz in 'brunette' by Anastasia. Together, they give you the most control and the most natural brow look.

bronze cheeks

Typically when I think of fall cheeks, berries and dusty roses appear in fluffy thought bubbles above my head, but not this season; it's going to be glowy cheeks in Fall 2014. soft contouring with a light brown powder paired with a natural, brown toned blush on your cheeks will give you that gorgeous, yet understated glow we've (I've) been wishing for, for fall.

Try the NYX blush in 'terra cotta'. It'll give your cheeks that gorgeous subtle glow.

toffee lips

Neutral lips are in this upcoming season, but that doesn't necessarily mean a brown-toned lip. For darker complexions, brown-toned neutral lips are stunning, but for paler skin tones go for a rosy-beige, soft pink or pale apricot. Or make your own color and add a little concealer to an existing fall lip color to nude it out a bit. For the medium skinned gals, go for a more caramel lip. Just keep it light and fresh looking, add a gloss with no sparkle or glitter to liven them up.

Revlon Kissable Balm Stain in 'honey' with Kiko gloss '110' over top

Kate by Rimmel lipstick in '08' with a few very light dabs of Maybelline's Fit Me concealer in '10 Light' to nude it out

I dont know about you guys, but i'm pretty pumped about sporting these new lively makeup trends in the coming months.
let's let the leaves be dead, not our faces.

What are your thoughts on these upcoming beauty trends, yay or nay?

ttyl :)
madeleine

face of the day #1

Welcome to madeleine says’ FIRST “face of the day” post. I’ll be posting these every week to show you what looks and products I go to for all the different happenings in my life.

Today was a pretty boring day, a ran a few errands, had my dishwasher replaced and mostly sat on the couch job-hunting… and yes you guessed correctly, after being in Florida for a month I’m still unemployed! YAY for jobless adventures? Anyways, I digress. So for my makeup I kept it pretty simple. I used my favorite foundation of the moment, Benefit’s Oxygen Wow (my shade is “im so money, honey”). It has a natural, glowing finish with great coverage. I used my favorite beautyhack, Maybelline Dream Fresh BB cream in “medium/dark”, to warm up my face and add a subtle contour (see the beautyhack post for more on this!), and then went in with my Garnier roller ball to conceal and brighten my under eyes and the high points of my face. Didn’t feel like setting with powder today so I just added some color to my cheeks with Benefit’sDandelion blush. For my eyes I used one of my favorite palettes, the Lorac Pro Palette. From it I mixed “white” and “cream” for my all-over lid color and put “light bronze” in the center of the lid. Then I just put “taupe” in the crease, the outer corners and along my lower lash line. I finished the eye look off with one coat of the CovergirlBombshell Volume mascara in “ very black”. For my lips, I just put on some Burt’s Bees Wax Lip Balm.

And there it is! Hope you liked it!

FOTD Breakdown:

Base: Benefit Oxygen Wow Foundation // Garnier Skin RenewAnti-Dark Circle Eye Roller

Color: Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream // Benefit DandelionBoxed Blush

Eyes: Lorac Pro Pallete // Covergirl Bombshell VolumeMascara

Lips: Burt’s Bees Wax Lip Balm

Tools: Real Techniques: Blush Brush // Expert Face Brush // Contour Brush // Base Shadow Brush

:) ttyl,

madeleine

review: maybelline color elixir

So I know these lip glosses have been circulating all over the interwebs, but I made the educated decision to hold off for a little bit and let the initial hysteria die down before I would strike with my own review.

I am not typically a lip gloss person, the stickiness doesn’t appeal to me and I usually prefer a more balm-like texture on my lips that feels hydrating. With this said, I was pleasantly surprised when I tried the new Maybelline’s New York Color Elixir. It goes for $6.94 at Walmart, which is a decent price.

I bought the shade “085 Hibiscus Haven” which is a bright blue-toned fuchsia, also out of my comfort zone. I usually go towards more natural colors but this one called to me for some reason. So I went with it, and I’m glad I did. The color payoff was highly pigmented and opaque  on my lips and really gave me the “BAM” I hoped for, but it was also very wearable, which I love.

The gloss feels very thick on the lip, and definitely hydrating. Although the gloss wears off after a few hours, it does leave a bit of stain that is really nice and I almost like it more when it’s worn off a bit. I personally am not crazy about feeling thick shellac on my lips so usually I will blot it with a napkin. It takes the thick, high-shine gloss off but it still looks lovely and pigmented. the doe-foot applicator is also very nice and makes application easy and precise.

 

^ gloss as it is ^      

^ gloss after one blot ^

The way I prefer to apply it is I use a lip scrub first, like this one from Lush that tastes like mint chocolate, then a put a balm like my favorite Burt’s Bees one to make a nice smooth canvas for the gloss, put the gloss over and then blot once with a napkin.

^ Burt's Bees Lip Balm, Lush Mint Julips Lip Scrub ^

All in all, it’s a really nice product. The smell is nice but not overwhelming, the color is opaque, wearable and stays put on your lips and it definitely was hydrating. My only cons are that I don’t really like how thick it feels and it will cling-to and show any dryness you may have, so you should make sure to exfoliate your lips prior.


What do you guys think of the elixirs? I definitely want to buy more. Tell me your thoughts and suggestions in the comments!

:) ttyl,
madeleine

beautyhack: bb cream contour

Now I love a good contour just as much as the next beauty junkie, and there are a ton of different ways you can achieve a contoured face. You can use matte powder bronzers, cream bronzers, darker foundations and concealers etc. I have tried everything and realized there are pros and cons to all of those options. While they all give you the chiseled cheek bones, powders can tend to look unnatural in texture on your skin, especially in daylight. I’ve noticed a few crème bronzers look a bit orangey or muddy, and that using a dark foundations or concealers can cake up your face. So I’ve gone in a slightly less conventional route in the search for a natural looking contour that will let my skin breathe and that I can wear in the sunlight without feeling insecure.

This is when I noticed a bb cream in my makeup drawer that was too dark for my skin tone and a little light bulb shaped like a well-defined cheekbone went off in my head. Using a bb cream is perfect for a more natural contour because it’s meant to be a subtle tint of color without heavy coverage. It wont cake up your face or leave a powdery and unnatural finish on your skin. It just blends in perfectly, but creates the shadow affect you want from a contour. I use this everyday as either just a bronzer for my cheeks and forehead or use a little more product and concentrate it where I want to create a shadow and chisel out my features. 

The BB cream I’ve been using is the Maybelline Dream Fresh8-in-1 Beauty Balm Skin Perfector ($7.59) in the color Medium/Deep. It gives the perfect tint of color without caking up my face. The brush I used to apply was the Real Techniques Contour Brush. Its the perfect size to concentrate the product in the small contour of your cheek and the tapered synthetic bristles blend the product out to a beautiful and natural finish (the brush comes as a part of their "core collection" set of 4 brushes for $18.00).

Shop the rest of the brushes. They're all perfection! http://realtechniques.com/

:) ttyl,

madeleine