Saturday, December 18, 2010

Summer Foundations

Right,Im sitting,its very very hot and its 10pm at night,SUMMER IS HERE( despite the fact its bucketing down raining outside!)!

Over the past few weeks,foundation wise I have only been wearing mineral powder(Im not a fan of using mineral powder and depending on it for complete coverage!) as my liquid ones seem to "sweat off" with the heat(I get quite sweaty in the face,gross and way too much info I know!) so I thought time to find a foundation that will be more heat resistant than my normal ones.

Now having two children and a husband being a one income family means I cannot buy all the high end brands I would like to try(as you have noticed all my product reviews are more budget friendly) so I found 2 foundations from 2 different brands both varying in price but still affordable.

I have decided to put these foundatuons against each other,see which one is best for standing up to heat and humidity,which has the best staying power,what each of their different benefits are etc etc.

So the 2 foundations are: Revlon Colorstay Make Up for Normal/Dry skin and Australis Stay Put foundation.

I wore these 2 foundations on the same day, for the same length of time,at the same time(one on each side of my face)so I could fairly review them.
So first I will write a bit about each of the foundations!


Revlon Colorstay Make Up Normal/Dry Skin

Price:$41.95(Purchased at Radius Pharmacy Paraparaumu NZ)
Size:30mL
Packaging:Glass Bottle with a screw top lid,open neck so the foundation pours out
Price per mL:$1.40 approx

Benefits of using Colorstay Make Up

- Lasts for up to 16 hours
-There are a whopping NINE shades available
-Contains an SPF 15
-It is super easy to apply
-A little goes a long way
-It is very lightweight
-Offers medium to full coverage
-Comes in two different formulations for different skin types(combination/oil, or normal/dry)



Australis Stayput Foundation

Price:$23(Purchased at Radius Pharmacy Paraparaumu NZ)
Size:23mL
Packaging:Glass bottle with a pump for easy dispensing
Price per mL:$1


Benefits of using Australis Stayput
-Contains moisturising multivitamins and antioxidants
-Doesnt melt or smudge in heat and humidity
-Very Lightweight
-Offers medium to full coverage
-Very easy to apply
-Contains and SPF 15
-Stays Matte and keeps you shine free even when your face is sweaty and gross
-More tight budget friendly


So what foundation is better?

Heat and Humidity:While Revlon Colorstay did a good job at staying put when it was really hot it did smudge a little and slide off a tad. Australis stayput was made by an Australian Company for Australians and their massive heat and it stayed put,so the winner here is AUSTRALIS


Long wearing:Now while Australis withstood heat,when it cooled down it faded and wore off earlier than Revlon Colorstay(in the areas of my face that Colorstay hadnt slid off) so in normal conditions I think Colorstay would have longer wearability,so the winner here is REVLON

Price:While Australis had a smaller bottle by 7mLs(Australis has 23mL while Revlon has 30mL) Revlon was more expensive at $1.40 per mL while Australis was a budget friendly $1 per mL,so the winner here is AUSTRALIS

Shade Range:Australis Stayput has only 5 shades available while Revlon has 9 shades,the winner here is clearly REVLON


Coverage:Now this is truly a tough one,both offer amazing medium to full coverage and they both do a great job so the winner here is AUSTRALIS AND REVLON

Heaviness/Lightweight:I'll admit it is very VERY hard to choose as the are both very lightweight,but I did notice Australis was a little lighter weight than Revlon. The winner here is AUSTRALIS

Product Usage:I did notice with Australis I did have to apply a little bit more than Revlon so the winner here is REVLON

Packaging:Revlon to look at is more aesthetically pleasing but there is the problem of how the foundation is dispensed. We have a wide open neck with a very liquid foundation and if your not very careful you can pour too much product out and not need it all which is wasteful. Australis has a pump which is great for product dispensing but when the foundation gets low the pump ceases to work(all foundations with pumps have this problem) but it can be remidied by turning the foundation upside down the removing the pump when you want to use the foundation. So the winner here is AUSTRALIS

Benefits: With this its hard to judge as its a little of each to their own. While I love the fact that Revlon has two different formulations for different skin types,I also love the matte finish and the fact that it contains moisturising multi vitamins and antioxidants.I love the fact that they both contains SPF 15,they are both lightweight and that they both offer great coverage. BUT for ME PERSONALLY Australis is something I can afford to continue using so for me the winner here is AUSTRALIS

Overall Winner:AUSTRALIS STAYPUT FOUNDATION

(please note that these views are my own views and all info is based on my personal opinion,yours may differ.I must add that this was a VERY close call and I still think Revlon Colorstay rocks and I will purchase it aswell as Australis stayput when my budget allows me too)

If you want to see another vs review(battle of the bronzers or the review of Australis perfection brush on foundation follow the link http://simplystunninglygorgeous.blogspot.com/2010_10_01_archive.html

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Product Review: E.l.f Eyelid Primer


Product Review: e.l.f Eyelid Primer

Well it has been far too long since I have posted and Im sorry to any of my faithful followers so thought I'd do one of my many product reviews that I have been putting off doing !

Now e.l.f (eyes,lips and face) is an american brand and sadly do not ship to NZ unless it is a BIG order(like over 500 products),although there is someone who sells a few e.l.f products of TradeMe

I love this primer,some beauty reviewers on YouTube say its comparable to the popular Urban Decay Primer Potion at a fraction of the cost. Now I cant say either way as I have not tried Urbcan Decay Primer potion but cant say the e.l.f primer is GREAT!

It brings out the pigment in my shadows really well,even my cheap shadows,the shadow stays put ALL day and there is very little creasing(with my eyelids there will be some creasing no matter how good the primer or shadow is)

I purchased this for about $13 from TradeMe(americans get it for about $1!) and I have to say it is actually worth the $13!

If you can find it,grab it it is definatley a worthwhile buy!


Till next time stay Simply Stunningly Gorgeous xx