An Elf look for Monday....

This was my look on Monday.

Eyes:

All products are ELF.
Mineral Shadow Primer
Cream liner in Ivory on browbone
Cream Shadow in Smoke on lid
Mineral shadow in Smoldering  on lid
Mineral shadow in Angelic on browbone
Black cream liner to line
Mineral shadow in dreamy in crease and dry over lower liner
Mineral shadow in Outdoorsy in outer corner and outer crease
Studio line volumizing and lengthening mascara

Face:  Products other than Elf will be listed with a company name

Studio concealer in Ivory under eyes
Tone correcting concealer in light beige
HD powder as primer
Bare Minerals Matte foundation mix of Golden Fair/Medium
HD powder
Pressed powder in porcelaine
Blush in Fuschia Fusion

Lips:

Silk Naturals Vegan Kisser Slicker in Mirage

I've completed pics of my swatches, etc from my hauls but have to edit them.  I'll be doing that gradually over the next few days and probably posting them this weekend.  I'm going to have to spend some time this weekend reorganizing too...right now everything is hodge podge piled into drawers and I have to find a new system!

This weekend my oldest dd leaves for camp and my youngest will be home with us until Sunday when we take her to my parents for the remainder of the week.  I promised her a special surprise just the two of us...she knows what it is (movies coming out this week anyone????) but my oldest doesn't.  Don't want to make her jealous.  We're going to see it again the following weekend as a family.

Have a great Thursday!  The weekend is almost upon us!

A quick look from yesterday and a foundation comparison on my skin

So yesterday was my oldest DD's birthday party (she turned 14 on Monday) and I decided to compare my two at the moment favorite mineral foundations on my skin for coverage, finish, oil control, and feel.  So here's what I did:

Please excuse the closed eye pic, I took a bunch and it's the best one even though it's blurry.

Eyes:

Smashbox photo finish eye primer
Indelible cream shadow in curacao on lid
Indelible cream shadow in Bare Necessity on browbone
AL Sylph on browbone
AL Celeste on lid
Mad minerals in drama queen on browbone
Smashbox liquid liner in black

Face:

Smashbox photo finish light primer
BM Mineral Veil
Foundations:  On the left is Meow Pamperred mix of Naughty/Frisky Abyssinian and on the Right is BE Matte in Golden Fair/Medium. 
BM Mineral Veil

Face Cont.:
Unknown Mineral powder (the label fell off LOL) in Passion on cheeks and mixed with Burts Bees Gloss on lips.  I know it's safe for this; I used to wear it that way all the time.  I'm fairly certain it's a Barefaced Minerals powder, but I'm not for sure.  HAHAHA

OK so in comparison:  I like the coverage of the Bare Minerals a little better, as well as for oil control.  However, it feels drier on my skin and it doesn't blur my pores like the Meow does.  They're pretty much the same color; I couldn't tell a difference in color on my face!

Oh, and so you can see, I pulled my hair back into a hair piece and held it in place with an acrylic hair fork.

You can see the fork peeking out the top right.  It matches pretty well.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY OLDEST FROM MONDAY TOO!!!!!  UGH....2 years till driving! 

Monday's LOTD....I have NO IDEA what to call it....Purple haze????

This was Monday's look this week.  I loved how it turned out!!! 

Eyes:

Smashbox photo finish eye primer (my new fave!)
Indelible cream shadow in Bare Necessity on browbone
Indelible cream shadow in Marcasite on lid
Hi Fi shadow in Phantom Stranger on browbone
Hi Fi Shadow in Dark Carnival on lid
Smashbox liquid liner in black to line
Hi Fi Shadow in omen in crease and dry over lower liner
Smashbox hyperlash mascara in black

Face:
Hourglass Mineral Primer
Bare Minerals Mineral Veil
Bare Minerals Matte in Golden fair/Golden Med
Bare Minerals Mineral Veil
Meow Lost Rainforest Siren as blush

Lips:

Smashbox The Nude Lip pencil in Light
Shiseido lipstick in BR702 Almond Pink
Nars lipgloss in Belize 

I'm REALLY loving Nars and Shiseido's lippies!  They're divine, and don't feel overly heavy.  However, they're both fairly expensive.  I'm planning on an order from Silk Naturals that I'm very excited about, and it will be full of their lippies to try!  I'm sure I'll continue to add to my Nars and Shiseido lippies as well, since I'm basically starting over where lippies are concerned.  Lippies are one of the most important things to watch when you're gluten free as you ingest them. 

Foundation Comparison

I thought I'd do a foundation comparison for you. 

This came about because I'd been using my MAC Studio Select Plus Foundation for awhile, and loved the coverage and tone it gave me as well as the ease of using a pressed powder.  When I found out that I had to be gluten free, I discovered that this is not so I decided to try a few new things as well as break out some old favorites.  I'm still on the search for my hg, oil controlling all day, ease of use powder foundation.  I've come very close though.

Let's get started with Non-minerals.














L to R:  Nars Pressed foundation in Barcelona, Nars Sheer Matte foundation in Fiji, and Shiseido Mattifying Pressed foundation in 20. 

L to R:  Nars Barcelona and Shiseido 20.  The barcelona pressed powder foundation is a lot darker than the Fiji sheer matte, which is my perfect shade in the liquid.  I find that the barcelona works better in the pressed though.  I tried it over the fiji and ended up looking too dark that way, so I'm sure it would work better with Fiji pressed foundation over it.  I may get one, but at $45 each it's expensive and I have other things I like better.  Next, minerals.

Larenim pressed foundation in 2WM.  This bothered my skin.  I think it's some of the extracts used in it to press the minerals.  Also, the color is too pale.















L to R:  AL 2NW and 2YL.  I can use both, but 2YL is a better match.  As a matter of fact, I base all my foundation shades off of it now, trying to match it.

L to R:  Bare Minerals Matte foundation in Golden Fair and Golden Medium.  I have to mix these two, but they're a good match mixed. 

L to R:  Meow pamperred puss foundation in Frisky Sphynx and the same in Sleek Abyssinian.  I can wear sphynx, but the abyssinian line is a better match.  The sleek was sent to me accidentally.  I'm going to use it this winter to tweak my matches. 

L to R:  Meow Pamperred Puss in Naughty Abyssinian, the same in Frisky Abyssinian.  The mix of these two are the best match I have right now.

OK.  So here's the lowdown.  I don't use my Nars foundations, Shiseido, or Larenim right now.  I've been going back and forth between my Meow Naughty/Frisky Abyssinian mix and my Bare Minerals Golden mix.  As far as coverage, they're both good, and they both control oil about the same, though the BE is a bit better there.  The Meow is a bit better in blurring my pores.  They're about even right now with me as far as which are my favorites. 

In order, it would be:

1.  BE Matte mix, Meow Pamperred Abyssinian mix
2.  AL
3.  Nars Powder
4.  Nars Sheer Matte
5.  Shiseido, Larenim

None of them are perfect as far as coverage, oil control, blurring of pores, and all that.  I'm still on the lookout for my HG, but there are some good choices there.  I still prefer the feel of powder, but sometimes having a liquid to use for coverage is good too. 

Have you tried any new foundations recently?