Friday, December 5, 2008

Product Review - Foundation - Neutrogena Healthy Skin Liquid Makeup

If you're like me, you're the kind of girl who wants your face to look absolutely perfect. You want to cover your flaws but you don't want to look like you've covered your face with so much foundation it looks about ready to peel off. In fact, you want it to look like you didn't exert any effort at all and you just look absolutely smashing without even trying. You want to give the impression that it's God given beauty and you don't need makeup to look prettier than say Elizabeth Hurley or Kristin Kreuk.

I have tried plenty of foundations out there. Just to give you an idea, I have tried Smashbox High Definition Foundation, Almay with Kinetin, Maybelline 3 in 1 Express Foundation Stick, Elizabeth Arden Sponge-on Cream Makeup, Elizabeth Arden Flawless Finish Dual Foundation, Christian Dior (I forgot the exact foundation coz it was way back in 2003), a whole range of M.A.C foundations because it was always what makeup artists used on me, Neutrogena Skin Clearing Foundation, Neutrogena Wet/Dry Foundation, Clarins AutoFocus True Radiance Foundation, Lancome Photogenic, Lancome the Wet/Dry Whitening kind in the blue compact, Beaubelle (a Swiss brand that Spas use), Shu Uemura, Shiseido ...need I go on?

Call me foundation girl. Can't leave the house without it. Can't stick to one product. Always trying to find the perfect foundation . Always searching for the foundation that will never cake, dig into the laugh lines, look good on camera and photos, make me glow but not look oily, in other words perfect in every way. Of course my expectations are virtually impossible. How can I have a J.Lo glow and have matte skin? Yep, that's how crazy I am about this foundation issue.

There is one, however that gives me just the right amount of 'glow' without making my face sticky to the touch in this humid country. It was my first foundation when I was in Junior High School. It's quite popular and I can appreciate why. Neutrogena Healthy Skin Liquid Foundation. It doesn't cake but you should be careful on the amount of loose powder you put on top of it. Not too much. Too little or none is fine if you don't have oily skin. But if you don't want that really matte look, then don't put too much. It doesn't absorb light so your face won't look like the life was sucked out of it. It also doesn't reflect too much light so don't expect the J.Lo glow. But for everyday foolproof use, I would recommend this product. If you want more glow try Neutrogena Visibly Even. For a more matte effect try Neutrogena Skin Clearing Foundation. But I have to say the Healthy Skin line hit the bull's eye when it comes to balance in everyday use.

To be fair, all the other foundations I mentioned above are not bad. They have specific specialties. For example, Shiseido has the most coverage. A little goes a long way. So on days when my skin is acting up with acne marks and I have to face a lot of people or the camera, I would opt for that one. For dates that will last till the wee hours of the morning, the Elizabeth Arden Dual Foundation blends so beautifully. You will get that creamy complexion as the minutes pass. But wait for it to blend, at first it doesn't look special. The High Def one from Smashbox is probably supposed to give that glowing look, but up close in the mirror all I see is an oily face even if I'm not oily. I think it will work best when used with Makeup Forever's High Def Loose Powder. But alone, I sort of didn't like all that 'glow.' I'll have to test it on camera & photos to see the real outcome. The smell of Smashbox's High Def Foundation reminds me of industrial-strength paste. Not glue. Paste. No offense Smashbox. I love your primer. The foundation just doesn't smell good. Peace. =)

Back to Neutrogena's Healthy Skin Makeup. For a special day such as Birthdays, Christmas Celebrations, even a romantic dinner with yor dream guy, I would recommend this foundation. It covers imperfections pretty well. the coverage is medium so your face is not totally covered. You have to layer it on a bit on zit marked areas. Still, it's the nearest I've seen to being klutz proof. It's hard to go wrong with it even if you're not very skilled at putting on makeup. Just make sure to add a little moisturizer or primer before you put it on so it'll be even more fool proof. And when putting on powder, try not to use a big fluffy powder brush if you're heavy handed. Use a fantail brush. Benefit cosmetics has an excellent fantail brush.
If you're not a makeup beginner and know how to put on makeup like a pro, you might still want to consider fool proof stuff on days you don't have a lot of time to make yourself up.

You can find the Neutrogena Healthy Skin Liquid Makeup and Benefit Fantail brush in the Philippines at http://www.tameraonline.com/ . It's the first online cosmetics store in the Philippines. Excellent! Our very own Sephora! Just enter in the keywords in the search bar and click search. If the item you're looking for is not listed yet, you can e-mail them and request the products at customerservice@tameraonline.com . I had to e-mail them for the fantail brush and reserve one because it was sold out for some time.



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