Last year I did a Holiday Gift Guide as my December beauty post but I discovered too many AMAZING products recently that I decided to do both! (click “Continue Reading” button below)
- MAKEUP: Huda Beauty Complexion Perfection Pre-Makeup Base – $35: This is a must buy if you decide to purchase the Huda Beauty #FauxFilter Foundation! It’s definitely necessary for a smooth, flawless application! It is much more moisturizing than the mattifying Tarte Clean Slate Timeless Smoothing Primer that I reviewed below. I really like using the Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Microfinishing Loose Powder with a powder pouf to set this foundation.
- MAKEUP: Huda Beauty #FauxFilter Foundation – $40: I bought the color “Tres Leches 320G”, which is a shade too dark for me in the winter but will be perfect come summer with my tan. I’d say this color is comparable to MAC’s NC40 with a nice olive undertone. Next time I think I will try one shade lighter in the golden undertones, which would be “Amaretti 310G”. It is so hard to shop for foundation online since matching the right color is a shot in the dark. However, I actually found a super helpful chart on the Huda Beauty website that shows you what color you would be in Huda Beauty Foundation based on what color you wear in some other popular brands: Huda Beauty #FauxFilter Shade Comparison Guide. Well done, Huda Kattan, on including such a wide range of beautiful shades to suit all different skin colors! 👏🏼 Another plus: a little bit goes a long way with this foundation… I only needed to use 2 pumps for a very full coverage finish to my entire face. The bottle also seems larger than most foundation bottles so maximum bang for your buck! The first time I tried this with the Tarte Clean Slate primer and found it was a little tough to apply with the Huda Beauty Blend & Buff Brush because that primer is so mattifying. Definitely use this Foundation with the compatible Huda Beauty Complexion Perfection Primer instead for a smoother application. I love this full coverage formula too! It covered so well that I didn’t feel the need to wear concealer. However, the one place it fell short for me was on the oil-control factor. I had quite a but of oil seep-thru in my T-zone after a few hours that caused some blotchy patches. No bueno! 👎🏼 If you have oily skin or combo skin with an oily t-zone, I would not recommend this foundation. Your best bet is the Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra Wear Foundation that I reviewed below.
- MAKEUP: Huda Beauty Face Blend & Buff Complexion Brush – $25: I’ve never been partial to applying Foundation with brushes as I like the control I get with a Beauty Blender sponge. However, this brush may have changed my mind! In one swipe over, my Foundation was beautifully blended. I couldn’t believe it when I looked close up! I thought I would’ve had a caked on layer especially in the smaller detailed eye area. Nope! This brush blends!! If you buy this, consider keeping the ziplock bag it comes in to store your brush for travel 👌🏼
- MAKEUP: Huda Beauty Liquid Matte Lipstick in “Wifey” – $20: I would describe this as a cool pink nude, which doesn’t look as good on my skin tone as a warmer nude. I will be giving this one away.
- MAKEUP: Huda Beauty Liquid Matte Lipstick in “Sugar Mama” – $20: now this color is more up my alley… a nice soft warm nude that has more of a peach undertone than pink. I also like this color as a nice mixing color that can help lighten up some darker colors like “Icon”.
- MAKEUP: Huda Beauty Liquid Matte Lipstick in “Icon” – $20: This color is a beautiful rust color with a warm undertone.
- MAKEUP: Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra Wear Foundation with SPF 15 – $47: My color is “320 Bisque (W)”, which is a comparable color to the MAC Foundation I wear – NC35. OMG OMG OMG!!!! I am in LOVE with this Foundation! Honestly, I cannot imagine ever finding another foundation I will like better! It has a fantastic coverage (only 1.5-2 pumps for full coverage on face & neck) and also includes SPF 15 so no need to add another SPF product. It claims to offer up to 24-hour color wear and comfort and says it is Transfer-Resistant. It gives a beautiful full-coverage matte finish, perfect for my oily skin, covering imperfections & redness and smoothing our pores but doesn’t look cakey. The holy grail of foundation is here! 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼 I set the Foundation with MAC Mineralize loose powder in “Medium” using a Laura Mercier powder pouf. My makeup stayed looking so perfectly fresh all day! If you have oily skin or combo skin or are simply looking for THE best matte full coverage foundation, look no further! Our prayers have been answered!
- MAKEUP: Tarte Clean Slate Timeless Smoothing Primer – $39: I have to give a huge thanks to Beauty Blogger @makeupshayla for introducing me to this miracle product! This product alone is why I decided to a separate December beauty post apart from my Holiday Gift Guide. After letting my moisturizer set in a few minutes, I rubbed some of this fabulous primer on both hands and rubbed it all over my face. Instantly, I could see the coverage and smoothing effect. My pores were softened a good amount. The real test was the application of my foundation over it. I have uneven skin and if a primer can provide a layer in between my unevenness and my color-perfecting Foundation, then we have a deal! Wow! I don’t know how I have lived my life to this point without this primer! I don’t think I could ever even try another primer because I can’t imagine anything that could come close. Buy it! Buy it for your friends! Give it as stocking stuffers! They will love you for it! 💜
- MAKEUP: Edward Bess Deep Shine Lip Gloss in “Lover’s Desire” – $32: I stumbled upon this newcomer on Revolve.com. This color is a pretty semi-sheer light apricot pink. When using with lighter shade lip glosses, I found that my skin tends to look more golden with peach based colors rather than pink based or neutral nude based colors. This color looks great when paired with the Edward Bess Defining Lip Liner in “Barely”, an apricot nude that comes with 2 pencils per box! The other colors in this collection look equally beautiful though! The “French Lace” color looks like a fab subtle light pink shade!
- MAKEUP: Edward Bess Ultra Slick Lipstick in “Demi Buff” – $35: Another bestseller from the new brand, I decided to try this popular true beige nude color “Demi Buff”. I was looking for a color that subtly enhanced my natural lip color for a nice everyday “no makeup makeup” look or “gym makeup” look. Based on the swatches I had seen online, I thought this color would be exactly what I was looking for. Swatches can be difficult to judge though since your natural lip undertone plays a part in how the shade will actually look on you. The color is actually more pigmented than I expected and a little darker the some of the swatches I had seen but still beautiful! However, I actually preferred the Edward Bess Classic Beauty Lustrous Lip Color in “Satin”, which was a sheerer version of this Demi Buff lipstick with a very slight hint of a plum undertone and has a pretty gloss-like look to the finish without the stickiness. It is much closer to the natural lip color shade I was looking for. Both colors look great paired with MAC’s “Boldly Bare” liner.
