My favorite foundation?

And my genuine knee-jerk response would be, “NO Foundation at All!”

Yeah, I would prefer the look and feel of 100% natural skin as opposed to makeup any day.  I never routinely wore foundations until my mid-30’s and started noticing some uneveness of my skin.  And although becoming a lot wiser with the passing years, my skin has continued to be blotchy in places around my cheeks, chin, and forehead. Finding a foundation that can provide natural light to medium coverage, without looking cakey, too matte, or shiny, blends perfectly with my skin tone, and most importantly, does not make me break out is a very difficult one! (more…)

Hi there, it’s your friendly primer & foundation fanatic friend Jen!  This summer I took a very quick trip to Las Vegas and made sure to stop over at the Sephora store on the strip.  While going through the store, I came across the Hourglass Cosmetics display and sampled their primer.  The product itself seemed very compelling to buy, but the price tag ($52) kept me from doing so.

A few months later I was given to review (big woot!) and was overjoyed to try out the Hourglass Veil fluid makeup foundation and Veil Mineral Primer for Mythbuster Beauty.

The Veil Mineral Primer differs from many primers because it does not have the heavy dimethicone feel, and being oil-free does seem to mattify and even out the look of the skin.  I am not sure (more…)

A little over a year ago, tarte cosmetics was one of the first companies Jen introduced to me that I hadn’t tried before. I remember first trying their cheek stains and just falling in love with the whole concept and ease of the product. Then I tried the lights camera lashes mascara, and the light, natural look and feel of the formula made me realize tarte is really on to something.

The ’spring greening’ palette had a few nice surprises for me as well. The straw case is reusable (my son has already claimed it as the future home of his hockey card collection) and even the foam tray inside is constructed of post consumer recycled material.  It features 6 eye colors, a bamboo handled shadow brush, and 3 of their t5â„¢ infused lipglosses. t5â„¢ is tarte’s proprietary blend of 5 super fruits, packed full of antioxidants and nutrients, and it gives you a healthy anti aging boost in a product you were going to apply anyway. (more…)

Spring Fever anyone?!   This weekend we had snow falling in Utah and cannot wait for the skies to clear and the outdoor temps to rise above 60.  I am also hoping all of you will take the opportunity to share your favorite green tip and get a chance to win a fabulous Alison Raffaele Reality Base Foundation!  Three winners will be selected and this foundation retails for $38!

Hurry over to the giveaway post to enter:  Alison Raffaele Earth Day Giveaway – 3 Winners!

These gorgeous lilac blossoms (my favorite flower) are from my yard last spring, in a few weeks they should be ready to bloom again.  Hooray for spring!

Alison Raffaele Cosmetics is partnering with Mythbuster Beauty to award 3 prizes to 3 winners - which will be a bottle of her Reality Base Foundation in the shade of the winners’ choice! 

Reality Base Foundation is an oil-free liquid foundation that looks and feels good! New creamier texture for medium coverage with a satin finish – now talc and paraben free and fortified with our Frutta di Vita antioxidant complex.

(more…)

If you’ve tried one mineral foundation you’ve tried them all, right? Wrong. For a product that is supposed to be “simple”, there are a lot of options out there. The major differences are in ingredients and coverage. As far as coverage, well, that’s pretty much a personal preference issue. But ingredients effect the health of your skin and, depending on what studies you read, possibly even your body as a whole.

Many women choose mineral foundations because they want a more natural product and hope that mineral products will have less risk of irritating their skin. Though these products are usually marketed as the “natural” choice, the amount of added junk in many of the major brands would make your head spin. Parabens of all kinds, dimethicone, and bismuth oxychloride. Now, there are tons of women out there who have reactions to bismuth oxychloride, a by product of lead mining,  but companies still use this because it’s an inexpensive filler and adds a dewy, shimmery look. But the first time your face starts to itch like crazy I doubt you’ll think the shine is worth it. If you are currently using a mineral makeup that sometimes irritates your skin, especially when you sweat, or if you tried mineral foundation but your skin reacted badly, check your ingredient list. Bismuth oxychloride might just be to blame. The basic story behind these added fillers and parabens is that they’re an easy way out, cheaper and easier for companies to mass produce, more “bang for their buck” as it were.

There are few mineral companies out there that don’t use these products. One that has been gaining recognition lately is Purely Cosmetics. Purely Cosmetics not only avoids bismuth oxychloride, but goes the extra step in avoiding hotly debated ingredients like talc and micronized particles. The jury is still out, but Purely Cosmetics decided  “better safe than sorry”, and showed that you can create an effective product without including those contraversial items. (more…)

So many new and wonderful beauty products are being released currently, and tarte cosmetics has announced some exciting additions to their line!

For the rest of February, we are very pleased to be giving away one of tarte’s complexion sets!  This set includes: 

ReCreate ($37) – anti-aging foundation with Wrinkle Rewind(TM) Technology, SPF 15 UVA/UVB Broad Spectrum

After discovering tarte’s smooth operator foundation (to read my review click here), I am beyond enthusiastic to hear of tarte’s newest clinically proven anti-aging foundation!

clean slate natural primer ($27)

This natural primer helps makeup stay in place longer while preventing creasing in fine lines and wrinkles. Unlike other primers, clean slateâ„¢ contains natural fruit and plant derived extracts to treat, protect, sooth and hydrate the skin.

the eraser ($19) – 4 in 1 natural concealer

Unlike other concealers that just cover the problem, the eraser contains skinvigoratingâ„¢ ingredients that help treat and soothe irritated skin and blemishes. The eraser also doubles as an eyeshadow and lipstick base, creating a barrier that prevents against fading and creasing

Rules:  To enter this giveaway enter your name, email address in the contest machine box below.  One entry per person and the deadline is at midnight (EST) Sunday, March 1st, 2009.  One winner will be chosen and will be announced on Mythbuster Beauty, PRIZEY.Fetch, and contacted via email.  MBB will not share your email address with anyone, and only uses your email address to contact you if you are a winner.  This giveaway is open to residents of the USA and Canada only.  The winner will receive one tarte complexion set (eraser, clean slate, recreate), this complexion set has the retail value of $83.

So much makeup, so little time. 

Here is a list of my favorite cosmetic products for 2008, no small endeavor!  This past year I have  sampled more makeup than I have tried cumulatively in my entire life.  All of these beauty products passed my A+++ big cosmetic love status!

HD Invisible Cover Foundation ($40) - leaves my skin feeling natural, flawless and works well with my sensitive, break-out prone skin

For your amusement, I decided to list some of the beauty products that I reviewed  in 2008 that left me feeling less than enthusiastic.  We are all entitled to our opinion, and personally know individuals who adore many of these particular items, and if you are one of them, feel free to defend your beloved product.   Without further adieu, here are my list of beauty stinkers for ‘08:

• Lorac aquaPRIMEâ„¢ Oil-Free MakeupPrimer ($30) - Love the idea of not adding silicones, absorbed well into my skin, sure it added moisture, but felt like it was overpriced and didn’t notice any added benefits while using it.
• Clinique Superfit Makeup – too much shimmer in the formula for my taste, hard to blend, shade appeared slightly orange with my skintone.
• Urban Decay’s Transformaton Potion – Sloppy, hard to apply, and heaven forbid some drips into your eyes, OWIE!  Wanna create your own eyeliner using an eye-shadow or mineral makeup pigments?  Try this sealant with a bent eyeliner brush:  “Indelible” Eyeliner Sealant ($4 at Aromaleigh.com). 
• Blinc Kiss Me Mascara – Love the fact that this mascara doesn’t run or smudge, hated how my lashes appeared spidery and clumped together.  Difficult to remove.
• NP SET Eye shadow duo – found the color lacked vitality, overpriced, and difficult to apply.
• Ole Henricksen’s Red Tea Eye Cream – My eyes teared up for several minutes after using this, whatever is in it, my eyes do not like!
• Somme Institute Double Defense Sunscreen – Similar problem, the sunscreen seems to seep into my eyes and causes them to tear and sting.  Yes I need the sun protection, but can you make it so it won’t irriate my eyes?
• YSL’s Radiant Brush Foundation - The application brush stinks, the formula seemed too thin in its consistency, and my skin’s flakiness was magnified while wearing it.  

Any beauty products that you tried this year and ended up feeling disappointed?  Feel free to warn the rest of us!

For even more fun, check out Bionic Beauty’s Worst of 2008 and Beautiful Makeup Search’s 10 Things I’d Like to Forget.  You won’t want to miss out on these reads.