REVIEW & LOTD: The Body Shop Extra Virgin Mineral Cream Compact in Golden Vanilla

Phew! Thats a long name in the title of the post ;) This perhaps is the most awaited review since a long time but seriously guys I needed to try this foundation out nice and proper before I gave you all an honest and an extensive insight about this product. So then let me start at the beginning...

I do not use a lot of TBS cosmetics, only their solid perfumes and the Tropical Rainforest range of their haircare products. But I still generally go through the various stuff on display to make mental notes and to tally with my previously made mental notes. Weird? Nah! :P So while "aisle" shopping, I saw this foundation and on a whim picked it up... The SA I must say was really good and she was able to tell my shade bang on. I haven't seen anybody so confident and yet so right about someone's skin tone as she was! :D Thats a plus while shopping now isn't it? :)

Once I got this home, I kept it in the "ghar ka mandir" for about an hour praying to God that it suit me and that this would prove to be my HG foundation. Yes I sometimes do that. I did that with my first MAC buy as well and with my most of my cosmetics that come a bit "expensive" :D So after I did a full aarti type puja, I took the foundation out, opened the package and fell in love with it. Awesome packaging, great quality foundation brush, odorless product... What else do you need? yes yes you need to check out the product on you before a verdict right? So I did that. I applied it and it felt like butter... It blended it out smoothly on my skin, the brush was soft yet firm, the shade was perfect and my skin looked all glowy and hydrated :) I fell in love for the second time :)

After I did my make-up and preened and pranced around the house, I removed it and went off to sleep. I wake up the next morning to see not one but TWO zits on my face! And my face never breaks out!!! Can you imagine the betrayal I felt? I was heart broken! The way I fell in love with this product and the way he betrayed me was just so painful :( I did not touch it for a couple of days when I observed that my skin had started drying up and flaking! Can u imagine, on one hand I have to care about two stupid zits and on the other my skin totally starts flaking! I just couldn't understand as to what was going on! Ok I wont go into further details but I finally found out that it wasn't the TBS foundation but the Pears Gentle Face Wash that was doing all this to my skin!!!! Sighhhh! Was I relieved or what!

So anyways.. Final Verdict: I have found my HG foundation. It was MAC first but this is way cheaper ;)

Oh btw I bought it in the shade Golden Vanilla and I am MAC NC40 :)

Image of the Product

Swatches

LOTD

Oooohhss And Aaaahhhss!!
1. It is non-drying
2. Gives a nice glowy and a healthy finish.
3. Has tons of shades to match almost every skin tone.
4. The brush that is comes with is just perfect!
5. It stays on for pretty long and even stays put in the sun.
6. Is waterproof.
7. Does not streak due to sweat!
8. Comes in a nice and convenient cream compact form. This form is my favorite! :) Very easy to carry around.
9. Does not cause allergies, breakouts and reactions ;)
10. It gives medium coverage (I loathe the heavy coverage ones!)
11. It comes with a mirror as well!

Ouches!
Nothing that I can think of :P


Price
It costs INR 1375/- for 8.5 gms.

Repurchase?
Definitely! Since its my HG I am even contemplating on buying a couple of back-ups and stocking them up! 

Would I Recommend?
Oh yes! I would recommend it to all dry/normal skinned beauties... I am not sure if will suit oily skinned girls though it suits Ankita from Corallista who has oily skin :)

Overall Rating:
 9.5/10

Dupe For: MAC Mineralize Compact Foundation with SPF 15

Mixing foundations: The way out

There have been times when I go out looking for a foundation that matches my skin tone, only to find that the range I am coveting doesn't really stock on the shade that matches me :( So what does one do during such times? Yes of course, the obvious way out would be to check out another brand or range that stocks your shade... But you see I prefer sticking to the brand or range I want and customize the already available shades to suit my skin tone ;) well yes... all I do is I buy one shade lighter than my skin tone and one shade darker and just mix them in the right proportions and VOILA! I am ready with a shade closest to my skin tone! :D Simple isn't it?

Well I stumbled upon this genius of an idea when I bought myself the Maxfactor second skin foundation in GOLDEN and found it to be a shade lighter for my complexion. So, when I went back to the counter and bought a shade darker i.e. BRONE, I realized that the correct shade for me was lying in the middle of the two shades that I had bought... Now since the consistencies of both the foundations were the same, mixing wasn't really a problem and in the process I found my shade :)

My new look with my new RED Lipstick :D

I was so happy to finally find my shade that I ended up doing a whole new look for myself... I finally found a RED lipstick that suits me!!! More about the lipstick and it's review in an upcoming post... Till then let me know if you guys like the shade on me :) of both the lipstick and the foundation :P

REVIEW: ORIFLAME Visions Peach Me Perfect Skin Glow

I have always been scared of foundations and hence have always steered clear of them. They scare me, they intimidate me and they totally make me want to run for my life! I am a sucker for natural looking skin and hence I could never get myself to put a mask on my face and go around town. But... yes there is a but ;) But there came a day when my friend who is a consultant with Oriflame showed me one of her catalogues. Oooooohhh... The yummy looking Visions Peach Me Perfect Skin Glow was on discount! and it looked so tempting and so so sinful in that catalogue that I just couldn't stop myself from buying it. Phew! and there went my resolution to be a smart make-up shopper out of the window!

Anyways, now that I had bought, I had to get it to some use. So, first I tried the traditional method of using it as a foundation all over my face and well I have to give in and tell you honestly that it was good! It was more than good. It felt light, did not have the powdery/matte effect that loads of foundations do and it gave an instant glow! I loved it! It blended really well into my skin and the glow it imparted did not look OTT and could be worn even to the office :D Yay!

But,,, yes there is that but again (no pun intended!), but like I told you before I totally dislike the feeling on something on my face and so the foundation effect made me not use it for a while. Aaaah! what a waste of a purely good and a competent foundation you'd say... and well yeah I felt the same and so I thought of a new way to use it :) LOL... Yeah I used it to tint my daily moisturizer i.e. my Garnier Body Cocoon, which I have already reviewed HERE.

Anyways, coming back to my stint with tint (awesome! I love the way it sounds), all I did was take a tiny circle of the foundation on my palm, put some regular glob of moisturizer mix it with rubbing both my palms together and applying it on my face and neck as usual. Dude! It was amazing! My moisturizer moisturized well, like it is supposed to and the foundation mixed in my lotion imparted that subtle glow and glitter to my face :) I simply loved the effect :)

Let's now discuss the pros and cons of this product.

PROS

1. It blends well.

2. Yummy subtle fruity lemony smell

3. Very good coverage

4. Imparts a very natural looking glow

5. It feels very light on the skin.

6. Affordable at Rs.249/-. Though I bought it at a discounted price of Rs.189/-. Yay! :D

CONS

1. A single shade. Dunno if it would match all complexions!

You guys must try it out ;)