And #TuesdayTwirl
Dear friends. A veritable feast of beauty tips for the over 50s today as I share my thoughts on two products you've probably seen advertised on Instagram. I'll also be creating a natural "no make-up look" with products from Look Fantastic Forever (gifted).
Let's start with the natural look. I'm always surprised how many women of my age say they don't wear makeup. Maybe you are more confident than me. There's always such a huge difference between my befores and afters that I wouldn't contemplate not wearing at least 3 products before going out: concealer, blusher, mascara.
I've mentioned Look Fabulous Forever several times before. It's a wonderful British brand for older women created by, yes, an older woman, Tricia Cusden. The makeup is wonderful quality and it's helpfully labelled neutral, cool or warm so that you can buy the right tones. The brand uses its target audience as influencers on FB and Instagram, and has a number of ambassadors. There are plenty of tutorials too. Their website ships globally.
I was sent a few items which I've used to create a natural look. Me, but better. Here's the Before. Like a lot of woman of my age, I have sun damage from my teen years, wrinkles and dark circles.
After applying my usual hyaluronic acid serum and moisturiser, I've applied Look Fabulous Forever (LFF) Smooth Like Silk Face Prime. It's worth using a primer because it provides a smooth, stable surface that enables foundation, concealer and blusher to sit nicely and last all day. However I no longer wear foundation because I find it tends to sit in wrinkles.
In the spirit of disclosure, I don't generally like primers. I find they fight with my other products and result in that awful pilling when products don't get on together, and suddenly you have those bits all over your face.
Happily I didn't have this problem with the LFF primer and my concealer, which is by Nars. No pilling. The concealer is a thick creamy consistency. I tap it onto my finger from the wand and then place it onto my sun damage spots.
On my eye lids and dark circles, I use a product I saw advertised on Instagram, which I'll describe in more detail below. It's called Luminance Milan, and is a nude shade which lightens the eye area.
My prep complete, I added what I consider to be a key product, blusher. It wakes up our face and provides a healthy glow. I'm using LFF's Real Radiance Blush Small Refillable Compact Set in Peach Cream. These refillable compacts are a great idea. I prefer a cream formulation for blush: powder blushers can look a bit dry and sometimes "catch" in our wrinkles.
I apply blush with my fingers to the apple of my cheeks and on the temples. As I have some pigmentation bang in the middle of my cheeks, which is amplified if I apply blusher on top, I have to carefully avoid it.
Now for my eyes. LFF provided another refillable compact plus a trio of shadows which drops nicely into the palette, thanks to magnets. This is the No Shimmer Eye Shade Trio Refillable Compact Set and the shade combination is warm browns.
The interesting thing is I wouldn't normally use brown shades because of my dark circles. I was pleasantly surprised, however. I used the middle shade on my lids and the darkest shade with a smudge brush on the fold of the eyelid. After blending well I added a little of the light colour as a highlighter under my brows.
LFF's soft eyeliners are very good indeed, the colour range and for application and longevity. "Soft" is the key word because we don't want an eyeliner that drags. I applied Warm Taupe along my eyelashes. It helps to open up the eyes and being taupe, isn't too noticeable.
LFF's Lithe Lash Mascara, black, followed. I like the sturdy brush which defines and thickens the lashes. Plus, no panda eye effect by the end of the day!
My lipstick is LFF Lustrous Colour Lipstick in Soft Cinnamon. This is a lovely nude shade, enhancing my lips which have become thin and lined with age. LFF also gave me a Nourishing Lip Oil which is great when you don't want to wear lipstick but want something moisturising on your lips.
My final touch was using LFF's Instant Bright Highlight, a magical wand to apply where you want to hjghlight and emphasize. I used it on the top of my cheek bones and down the centre of my nose (an optical illusion to make it less wide).
I think you'll agree, a big difference on the Before!
My Thoughts on Two Products You May have Seen on Instagram (Bought by Me)
Luminance Milano Under Eye Brightener
Sucker that I am, I was hooked in by their claim that Julianne Moore had briefly posted her positive experience of this product on her Instagram, but it had then been taken down, no doubt because of the big brands she works with. Well, this might be entirely untrue but we'll never know.
I ordered the product plus the brush, and I'm impressed. It has a light-diffusing formula that blurs dark circles and boosts radiance by reflecting light — not by matching your skin tone.
Its light-diffusing formula blurs dark circles and boosts radiance by reflecting light — not by matching your skin tone. I chose the soft peach shade. It has very good reviews, although I wasn't asked to review it. I would have said that while the actual product is good, and I use it on my eyelids and under eyes, the packaging is terrible. The cheap plastic compact fell apart within 2 weeks. Below, you can see the case has broken with hardly any use. I'm still using it but I don't put it on my makeup bag where it would make everything else filthy.
It's $29 for one and the brush is $17 (ships from the US).
Prime Prometics Instant Coverage Hairline Powder
I saw Susannah Constantine getting good results with this on Instagram. The name of the brand is terrible, I have ro say. I've seen hair products before which claim to lighten roots inbetween colour treatments but this is the first time I've seen one in a Blonde variant.
I try to make my hair go 2 months between colour sessions. After six weeks my dark roots are quite noticeable.
The hairline powder container is dinky and clever. Unscrew the bottom and there's a pad which you rub over the solid powder, and then dab onto your hairline. The lid contains a mirror.
It definitely works. Check out my Before and After!
I wouldn't necessarily use it every day when my hair needs a root touch up, but if I had a special event to attend, yes I absolutely would. It doesn't come off on pillows either. The hairline powder costs £28.
On the subject of this brand, I also have their Prime Lash mascara in Navy Blue and it's also very good. I love a blue mascara for summer.
Finally, I was sent by L'Oréal a potentially game changing serum. Their Revitalift Laser triple laser creamy serum uses a patented ingredient which is said to deliver visible results in just 7 days, or your money back. I've started using it and will let you know later what I think.
Don't think you have to spend large amounts of money on serums. L'Oréal is the world's largest beauty company and its portfolio includes many other other brands including Skinceuticals, Lancôme, Yves Saint Laurent (YSL), Giorgio Armani Beauty, Prada, Aēsop and Kiehl's. Their investment in research and testing is vast, far more than boutique-y artisan brands whose products are twice as expensive. You're often paying top dollar for the packaging and marketing.
That's it for today; do let us know in the comments if you've tried any of these products and what you thought. Disclosure: I indicated that the products mentioned from Look Fabulous Forever and L'Oreal were gifted, but my opinions are objective and unbiased.
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