Custom Foundation Made For YOU!

I think most women dream of perfect skin. With the age of photoshop and instagram filters, it can get even the most confident gal a little skin envy. 

I take extremely good care of my skin and focus on skincare in my beauty routine the most. Makeup just works better with good skin. However, I still need a little help from cosmetics especially if I want to vlog and take some selfies throughout my day. Like most, I'm forever on the hunt for the perfect foundation. I want something light, fluid, bendable, with no SPF. I don't want to feel the makeup on me. I want to feel and look naked, but also filtered. My skin is combination oily and dry and that can make finding foundation difficult. 

Prescriptives Custom Blend Foundation is my solution. Back in the day before I worried about what my skin looked like, I remember Prescriptives in department stores. I remember watching my sister and mom get custom blend foundations, powders, concealers, and lipsticks. I thought it was so cool! It looked like a mad scientist creating stuff. 

I had no idea that Prescriptives was still available online! Now they offer custom blend foundations over video chats and sending in your photos. You can watch my whole video explaining the process and how it works here. 

I've been getting many comments lately on my vlog channel about how beautiful my skin looks. 

First off, it's my camera, I have a really great camera that just does things on auto. 

Second, I take good care of my skin, so even without makeup I hopefully won't scare anyone. 

Third, I've been wearing this everyday as my basic go to foundation. It's the perfect mixture for my combination skin, with the natural finish I asked for, while also controlling my oily T zone. The color match is beyond amazing, you can't even tell the difference between my skin and the foundation. 

Prescriptives Custom Blend Foundation really is the solution for women who are looking for that perfect mix and color match. It's a pricier item at about $85 after tax, but in my opinion if your someone who just wants their perfect foundation and that's it, then why not invest on your own custom blend?

The packaging is frosted glass with a twist off silver cap. I wish there was an option for a pump. WHY WITH THE NO PUMP?! Your order includes a nice travel size foundation that you can refill for any travel needs.

If your having trouble finding that perfect shade or formulations, check out Prescriptives.com to make your own!

XOXO
Serein

The Best Liquid Foundations 2014

New Best of 2014 Liquid Foundations video is now live. You can watch the video here or below. 

Make sure to subscribe to my channel to get all of the Best of 2014 Makeup Products!

XOXO
Serein

All About Personal Airbrushing at Home

I'm a huge fan of airbrush makeup when done right. Now that's a BIG IF.

Being an actor working in the professional world since 16, I've been exposed to a lot of different forms of airbrushing. Most of the time I'm not a huge fan.

Airbrushing when done carefully and well can create the most beautiful flawless skin finish a la Downton Abby. The makeup artist for the show uses airbrushing to create flawless, no makeup makeup on all the women.

Recently I was lucky enough to visit Dinair in North Hollywood to get a first hand look at their airbrush kits and makeup. Working with the makeup artist we found my perfect combination of shades for the perfect foundation match, a MUST for airbrush foundation, otherwise you end up looking like your wearing too much makeup.

Watch my youtube channel for a full demo.

The color options are incredible! 

Dinair offers a very wide variety of colors, you will be able to find your perfect match! Mine is equal parts C128 & C110.

One of the benefits of ordering an airbrush kit from Dinar is that they come with a set of 4 foundation shades based on your skin tone. You can choose from Fair, Medium, Tan, or Dark. This will give you a great variety of shades to play with and mix and match for your perfect shade. Great for beginners and professions building their kit.

Dinair has 3 very affordable kits available starting at $99 with a basic compressor, colors, cleaner, and tons of tools for learning. The best part is if your not local, you can schedule Skype lessons with an in house makeup artist, not to mention the tons of learning videos on their website. 

The kit I received is the Personal Pro Kit for $199. This kit comes with so much stuff I was surprised! You get the professional powered compressor that is easy to set up and travel with, 8 colors, practice colors, worksheets, cleaner, and more! This is really the best value in terms of airbrush kits out there. 

Me testing out the kit for the first time

about to spray some color in my hair.

Airbrushing can be used for basic foundation, contouring, highlighting, blush, eyebrows, lips, liner, shadow, but you can also get creative and use it for body makeup, hair color, covering roots, bad tan lines, creative body painting, and more! The imagination is the limit. 

While I might not use my airbrush kit everyday, I do pull it out for events, on camera days, and whenever I feel like I need a long lasting, flawless face. 

The kit also includes bumpers so you don't release the trigger too far. 

My surprise at how flawless my skin looks

Learning about using stencils to use airbrushing for my eyebrows. 

I'm in love!

My Tips for using airbrushing on yourself and clients expecting a flawless look.

1- Color match perfectly!
2- Less is more
3- Start slow and build up if you need to
4- Prep the skin with moisturizer and primer
5- Practice Practice Practice!

Airbrushing is wonderful for working on lots of clients and to get the flawless skin look. It is sanitary and quick. It talks me less then 5 minutes to apply foundation on my whole face and clean the gun for the next use.  Watch my video demo here.

Have you ever tried airbrush makeup? Which kits have you used? Will you be asking Santa this year for your own Dinair Kit?

XOXO
Serein

A Perfect Pair For Flawless Skin

Recently I did a blog post all about the perfect bridal makeup look and which products I recommend and even used on my own wedding day.

I have to say, with any makeup look you want to start off with the most flawless skin you can achieve. When it comes to special occasions, I alway reach for these two products.

Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation 
The perfect your skin, but better finish. Long lasting. Blends beautifully. Just can't get enough of this beautiful perfection. Do yourself a favor and get a sample to test out.

Hourglass Veil Primer
Everyone who has ever tried this ends up buying it. When in doubt about primers, reach for this one. Oil Free. SPF 15. No flash back. Creates the most perfect canvase to apply foundation. Works beautifully with almost every foundation I've tried with it.

Review Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation

Review Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation

How can this little bottle be so effective?

I’m always a little hesitant to spend so much money on such a small amount of product, but after reading and watching all the rave on this baby, I decided to give it a try. 

It’s amazing how so much love can be given to such a small bottle of product. This foundation is water based, so you have to shake it up before applying. 

I prefer to apply with clean finger tips since it’s such a thin fluid consistency. It feels like a light moisturizer, but it covers amazingly. I’d say the coverage is about light medium with definite build-ability, but I like to not feel my makeup, so less is more in my case. I do use a primer with this. Currently I prefer my hourglass mineral primer. 

Other than a little under eye brightener/ concealer I’m good to go with a dust of powder after applying the chanel vitalumiere aqua foundation. 

You only need a small drop of this stuff to cover your whole face and it really is a great light weight feeling on your skin that lasts all day. 

Definitely worth the splurge for the look and feel. 

Review and First Impression Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 Foundation

I am a HUGE skeptic about this product. First off I hate covergirl foundations and powders. My first powder compact in 6th grade was from covergirl and it was awful. I have not used covergirl foundation or powder since middle school, when I learned better. 

That being said, the CoverGirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 foundation has been a huge must have among the beauty guru community, especially on youtube lately. So I caved and finally bough my own bottle to try.

The product claims to be a primer, foundation, and concealer in one and stay on all day.

After wearing it all day this is what I find:

Goes on with a powdery finish

light to medium coverage with potential to build more

does not need a primer (Huge plus)

Still need concealer

Did not really need to powder thought the day. My nose got a little shiny by 9:30PM.

Looks better after application

dries quickly so need to blend well right away

Does last all day

Matte finish

Good for combination oily skin

Probably not going to work on dry skin or dry patchy skin

I am actually over all quite suppressed with this product. I do like that I can skip priming my face with a primer. The stay power is pretty amazing and I love the matte finish for certain looks I do. For a drugstore foundation, I’m impressed, for a Covergirl foundation I’m amazed.

Will I wear it again? Yes. I’ll actually probably use it consistently for the next few weeks to make sure I like it.
The packaging is great with the pump and easy to travel with.
I also did a video review and first impressions of this product you can find it here  http://youtu.be/vntQqT8CMR8

Revlon Colorstay Whipped Foundation

I have to say I was skeptical about this foundation, but I’m loving it! I’ve used it twice now and I love the creamy, whipped texture. To apply I use my just cleaned fingertips. A little goes A LONG WAY. It really does cover really well and feel great on my skin. So far it lasts all day and works well with my other make up. Doesn’t feel like i’m wearing it and I don’t need to really add powder to my face like I normally do with other foundations.
The cost is pretty good too. I got true beige, but I think I’d like to go a shade lighter for the winter time. 

Best Foundation Ever

BEST FOUNDATION EVER

So while I’ve been exploring more economical foundations from drugstores, I still always go back to Giorgio Armani’s Luminous Silk Foundation. This is my favorite foundation by far. I even asked my wedding make up artist to use it instead of the airbrush stuff she had for my trial. It’s silky, smooth, covers great, and lasts all day.

So for special events or when I want to look my best, I use this foundation. Most importantly it feel good on. I hate when I feel like i’m wearing make up.
A good drugstore version that is just a little heavier than the armani is the Revlon Colorstay Whipped. 
In my opinion I prefer the whipped version to Revlon’s normal colorstay foundation because it feel lighter on my skin. The original colorstay is great if you want a bit more coverage. I also like how the whipped one feels and it’s easy to travel with by scooping a bit out and putting into a mini container. 

Clinique Even Better Foundation Review

CLINIQUE EVEN BETTER FOUNDATION REVIEW

So I’ve been watching a lot of Tanya Burr tutorials on Youtube and she mentioned how much she liked Clinique Even Better foundation. I was a bit skeptical since I haven’t used Clinique since High school and am not a fan of their makeup or skincare, but I decided to give them a try.

I’m shocked! I love this foundation. It goes on really smooth and does a great job at evening out my skin tone and making my skin look flawless. It feels light on my face and I’ve worn it all day and it still looks good. I did use a primer before and  Maybelline’s dream matte powder to set it.
I can’t even explain why I love this so much other than it really makes me feel like I’m glowing and it feels good on my skin. It’s $27 at Macy’s and I wear Ivory in combination skin formula. I do like that they break up the foundations by skin type, because I believe it’s very important to buy a foundation that is made for your skin type. There’s no weird smell and for $27 you get a decent amount since you don’t need to use too much.

Beaty Blender Review and How To Use

BEAUTY BLENDER REVIEW

So I know I’m super late on the beauty blender wagon, but I finally caved and bought a kit from amazon.com 38 dollars later (eek!). I was really skeptical especially for having to pay that much for a sponge. 
Before I opened my beauty blender I watched the how to video on the official beauty blender website and read tons of reviews and watched a bunch of youtube videos. I’m happy I did, because it’s not like any old makeup sponge.
You have to remove it carefully from it’s packaging to not cause any damage to the sponge. To use, you need to run it under the faucet while squeezing. The beauty blender grows before your eyes. Next you have to squeeze out any excess water and wrap it in a towel and squeeze again. This is all much faster when you do it in real life and not as much work as it sounds.
The water prevents you from using too much product, but I do find that I use more product than if I were to apply my makeup with a brush or my fingers. So you know I tend to be on the less is more on my foundation.
To apply the makeup with the beauty blender I pour a bit of my foundation or bb cream onto the back of my hand and then dab the beauty blender in the product. Then in a stippling and bouncing motion i tap the blender on my face starting from my nose blending out.
The beauty blender really does an amazing job at covering the skin and creating a flawless finish that looks airbrushed. The coverage is medium to heavy with the beauty blender. I was shocked at the amazing coverage from just my bb cream and the beauty blender. I also did my first impression with the beauty blender with the Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation and it never gave me as much coverage as it did when applied with the beauty blender. You can find the video on my youtube channel and here.
I have to say that the beauty bender really did live up to the hype. While I feel the cost is a bit steep, I’m really enjoying the application and it’s fun to bounce the cute pink sponge on my face in the morning. It feels nice, the coverage is great, and it’s quite easy to clean as well. I’ll be doing a how to video on that soon. I look forward to using my beauty blender each morning and find that the finish it provides is natural, yet flawless.
So as long as you follow the directions, I think it’s worth it. Not sure how long a beauty blender will last, but I did get the kit with the cleaner and I’m trying to take very good care of it, depending on the longevity
of my beauty blender, I’d definitely repurchase one based on my weeks worth of use so far. Who would have thought a little pink sponge could do so much for makeup.