Foundation Comparison.....NARS and Too Faced Powder Foundations

Not too long ago I got a sample of Too Faced Amazing Face foundations, both the liquid and the powder to try.  I did NOT like the liquid....it made my face overly oily and felt heavy, and set aside the powder for awhile, but recently broke it back out to use.  I will compare them for color, coverage, and oil control.  Those are my largest concerns with foundations.  My oily skin has breakthrough by lunch usually, even with good skincare and primers.  I like decent coverage due to being acne prone.  Also, color matching is for me sometimes an issue.

These are the three foundations I have.  L to R:  NARS Barcelona, NARS Fiji, and Too Faced Warm Vanilla.  I bought Barcelona when I was a bit darker toned, and it now tends to go peachy on me.  Fiji is a very close match, but the Too Faced Warm Vanilla is even better.

Swatches, L to R:  The dark swatch is Barcelona.  Right above my little moles (hee hee) is Fiji, and right next to my knuckles is Warm Vanilla.  While Fiji blends in fairly well, Warm Vanilla is the ONLY one that melts right in so you really can't see it.

One thing I like about both these formulations is the coverage.  It's variable, similar to the mineral foundations I love.  All I have to do is add layers.  I can change the tool I use to apply also to get better or more natural coverage.  I do find that I only prefer sponges for touch ups (even a flocked sponge) rather than a full application.  I usually use a flat top brush, like my synthetic jumbo flat top or my ELF face brush.  They both work excellently for this.  For lighter coverage I'll use a wider, less dense brush like my Ecotools  Bronzer Brush.

The formulas of both are very silky and creamy; however, the Too Faced feels just a touch more on the soft side on my skin.

Where one stands out as a true HG is in oil control.  I thought the NARS was as close as I could get to a HG for powder foundations prior to trying the Too Faced.  With my NARS I get oily breakthrough at around lunch but it's not terrible by any means.  However, Too Faced Amazing Face has an ingredient in it that they call Regu-Seb that controls and reduces oil production.  I can say without a doubt at least for me that this is true!!!  I got NO oily breakthrough until around 3:30 PM....which is the majority of the day!  And that breakthrough was far less than even the NARS gives me.  That in and of itself makes this product a HG for me!  It softened and balanced out the imperfections in skin tone and I feel that it makes my skin look close to flawless!  I was told that by a stylist as well.

As far as price points, both are on the higher end.  NARS powder foundations are $45 for 0.4 oz, and Too Faced is $32 for 0.32 oz.  So while the Too Faced is a bit smaller in size (0.08 oz) it's also $13 cheaper!

Will I buy the NARS Powder Foundation again?  Possibly.  I do like it a lot, and it works well as a pressed powder over their Sheer Matte Foundation too.

Will I buy Too Faced Amazing Face again?  YOU BETCHA!!!! It's a true HG for me!  Everything I look for in a foundation is in this....amazing oil control, blurring of imperfections, pores and fine lines, good coverage and durability, and color tone.  I do like the NARS a lot, but the Too Faced just edged it out for sure!

Have you tried either of these foundations?  What did you think?

Silk Naturals Foundation Kit

So in my recent haul from silk naturals, I ordered a Medium coverage Ivory foundation starter kit with the Buttery Gold undertone.  Let me tell you a little about Silk naturals Foundations as they're different from anything I've experienced in my 10 plus years using minerals.

Silk Naturals foundation is patent pending.  You can buy sample kits or starter kits like this, and refills once you figure out what works for you.  The difference in other mineral companies and this is that you get to make your own recipe for foundation.  The kit comes with all this (plus a finishing powder sample that's not in the pic) but this is the full sized starter foundation kit.  The sample kit is different.  I went on and ordered this one, because I already knew that true yellow undertones work best for me, and that's what the Buttery Gold color is. 

L to R are:  The empty foundation jar, removable sifter, scoop for your measurements for your recipe, the bag it all came in, the Medium coverage Ivory base (this is the white basis for the foundation recipe) and the buttery gold undertone base. 

What you do is you mix so many level scoops of the white base with so many level scoops of your undertone to get a truly customized foundation.  So in the summer I can add more gold, and in the winter I can add more white.  This is going to work really well for me, as I have to mix two foundations in both Bare Minerals and Meow cosmetics.  So now I don't have to pay double, I just mix up the tone and depth I need! 

These are my mineral foundations.  Left is Aromaleigh 2YL, followed by the two Bare Minerals (Golden Fair and Golden Medium) I have to mix together as the medium is too dark and the fair is too light, the two Meow foundations I mix (Frisky Abyssinian and Naughty Abyssinian) for the same reason, and the last jar is my first attempt at a Silk Naturals recipe.  I think I got pretty close....I thought it was perfect, until I looked in truly natural light today.  It's still just a touch dark, so I'm going to add one more scoop of the white.  My recipe right now will be 6 scoops white to 1 scoop buttery gold. 

Swatches of the foundations I use.  L to R:  AL 2YL (too light right now), my Bare Minerals mix, my Meow mix, and my first attempt at Silk Naturals custom foundation.  The Meow and Silk Naturals are the best matches.

Please forgive the funky, end of day pic from yesterday.  All I did was apply my Silk Naturals recipe with my flat top brush. 

I think the tone is going to be perfect, but I'm still going to play with the depth.  I will say that I stayed very matte today, which is a big bonus for oil slick me!  Nothing usually keeps me matte all day, but this afternoon after lunch all I had to do was one oil blotting paper and I didn't have to apply any finishing powder.  It's typical for me to reapply a finishing powder about twice in a day!  I do like the coverage as well.  It's buildable but didn't feel heavy at all.  I do feel that it covers a bit better than my Pamperred Puss from Meow. 

I'm going to continue to use this with various primers to see what combinations work best for me.

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! 

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?