Why does my foundation oxidize? The Oompa Loompa effect. / ¿Por qué se oxida mi base de maquillaje? El efecto Oompa Loompa.

The Oompa Loompa Effect /
El Efecto Oompa Loompa o Naranjito.

You might have experienced this before: you do your make up, leave the house and by the time you get to college or work your face looks orange or two shades darker than when you first applied it at home. Why? What is this? Why does my foundation hate me? Well, your foundation doesn't exactly hate you, you're suffering from oxidization. The oils  in your skin interact with the pigments in your foundation and the result is a not-so-pretty orange or darker face.

Facts:
Combination to oily skin types are more prone to suffering from oxidization.

Once your foundation color has changed there is nothing you can do to make it look normal again except but wipe it off and reapply it. And chances are it is going to oxidize again.

MAC foundations tend to easily oxidize, that's why I stopped using them and are not so likely to give them a second try. I did a bit of research and found out this does not only happen to me but to a lot of the people using MAC's foundations.



Tips:
Use a moisturizer even if your skin is oily: if your skin isn't moisturized and hydrated it will produce more oil to interact with the pigments in your foundation.
By starting to build a physical barrier your skin and the foundation will not interact so much.

Use oil free moisturizers and foundations, the less oils in your face, the less risks for your foundation to oxidize.

Use a matte finish primer: the physical barrier between your skin and the foundation should help preventing the whole oxidizing thing.
By using a matte primer you should stay matte for a little longer, again no oils on your face, less likely to get oxidization.

Give your foundation a good try before buying it: get color-matched, ask for a sample and try it out at home: see if it behaves on your skin or gets darker and orangy, if it does, try to look for another foundation or maybe try that one a couple shades lighter so by the time it oxidizes it will match your actual skin tone.










***



Tal vez esto te suene: te maquillas, te vas de casa y cuando llegas al trabajo o a la universidad tienes la cara naranja o un par de tonos más oscura que cuando te aplicaste la base de maquillaje.
Pero ¿por qué? ¿Qué invento es este? ¿Por qué mi base de maquillaje me odia?
No es exactamente que tu base de maquillaje te deteste como tal, es que estás sufriendo el efecto Oompa Loompa: tu base de maquillaje se oxida. Las grasas y los aceites de tu piel interaccionan con los pigmentos de la base de maquillaje alterándolos.

Hechos irrefutables (o casi):
Las pieles mixtas - grasas son las más propensas a sufrir la oxidación de la base de maquillaje.

Una vez que la base de maquillaje se ha oxidado no hay nada que hacer para arreglarlo, en todo caso retirarla y volverla a aplicar. Y es más que probable que nuevamente se oxide.

Las bases de maquillaje de MAC, nunca entenderé muy bien por qué, se oxidan que da gusto. Dejé de utilizarlas principalmente por esto y no estoy muy por la labor de darle a Matchmaster una segunda oportunidad.
Buscando información al respecto parece ser que esto no sólo me ha ocurrido a mí sino que es un efecto secundario frecuente entre los usuarios de bases de maquillaje de MAC.


Truquillos, consejos, etc.
Hidrata tu piel antes de maquillarte aunque ésta sea grasa. Cuando la piel no tiene suficientes emolientes segrega un extra de grasa que es perfecto para interactuar con tu base de maquillaje y que se oxide.
De este modo también comienzas a crear una barrera física entre tu piel y la base de maquillaje, de modo que interaccionan menos y hay menos posibilidades de que tu base se oxide.

Elige hidratantes y bases de maquillaje libres de aceites. Si tu piel es grasa y le añades encima una base de maquillaje grasa no esperes que llegue al final del día sin haberse anaranjado y sin brillar como una bola de discoteca.

Utiliza una prebase de acabado mate. Te mantendrá libre de grasa por más tiempo de modo que también lejos del tono de Naranjito.
Esto contribuye a crear la barrera física que comentábamos antes entre tu piel y tu base.

Prueba a fondo tu base de maquillaje antes de comprarla: asegúrate de elegir el tono correcto, pide una muestra y pruébala en casa para ver si su acabado se mantiene y el color no cambia o si por el contrario se altera facilmente con el paso del tiempo.
Si la base se oxida o altera trata de encontrar otra que sea más estable. Si la base que habías probado es la base de tu vida, prueba a intentarlo con un par de tonos por debajo del que has probado ahora, tal vez así cuando la base se oxide y se vuelva más oscura llegue a adaptarse al color de tu piel.

Urban Decay Make Up Setting Sprays: All Nighter? De-slick me? Dew me? What the freack, I need help!

Ok, now there's a lot of movement on the internet concerning these babies that promise to keep our make up perfect for 16 hours (All Nighter)

Or to do that BUT to also control the oil in our face if we do have oily skin (De-Slick!)

Or yet again to maintain our make up alive and kicking for up to 16h and give a glow to our skin (Dew Me!)


However I find ladies have been rushing into the All Nighter one neglecting the two others.

It does not control the oil on my face was often their reaction to it. They claimed that the All Nighter does a great job when it comes to keeping your make up intact (the whole 16h thing I don't buy it, though) but it was not doing anything else.

Ladies, I have to tell you: you got the wrong bad boy. The All Nighter just claims to seal your make up to your face until you possibly want to wash it off as long as it is within the next 16h after having applied it, if you go past those 16h it can't follow your super long days.. or nights. Whatever, just kidding, I told you I don't think anything besides Superglue could seal your make up in place for months, which would be rather gross, on the other hand... And please, don't get funny or simply just brave and cover your face and make up in Superglue, I was, again, just kidding.)
But nowhere does it say it will help you control oils on your face cause it is his buddy, De-Slick! which has commited to do so. That's your man, ladies. If you do have oily skin, this baby will keep your make up in place WHILE it also caters for your skin making sure you don't end up looking like a disco ball.

Finally, if you happen to find that being on the dry side as far as your skin is concerned, the All Nighter does for you what it doesn't do for other, keep you looking matt, you may want to give Dew Me! a go. It will seal the make up to your skin AND also give you a bit of a boost, a dewy glow that your dry skin needs.

Overall I'd say:

1. If you have normal skin: go for the regular All Nighter. It will seal you make up and make it last without making your skin glow or dull and matt.


                                         
                                    Urban Decay All Nighter Make up Setting Spray.






2. If you have rather dry skin, Dew Me! is your baby: it will secure your make up in place and give your skin the super duper dewy glow we all love and you lucky ladies can pull off!




                                  
                                Urban Decay Dew Me! Make up Setting Spray.








3. My fellow oily skin ladies, go for De-Slick! It has the benefits of the All Nighter but will keep the grease-ball factor under control.

                                Urban Decay De Slick Make up Setting Spray.

Hope this could help, ladies, let me know which one do you use and if it works!

Talk to you soon!
xXx

Guerra de Paint Pots: Soft Ochre o Painterly?

Algunas personas llegan a mi blog poniendo eso en su motor de búsqueda.

Y la respuesta es sencilla: depende del subtono de tu piel.

PAINTERLY funciona cono subtonos fríos, concretamente éste paint pot tiende al rosa, un rosa sutil, obviamente, no es fucsia.
Es adecuado para chicas de piel clara con tonos fríos, con venitas azúles o violáceas en el párpado ya que el subtono rosado anula los tonos azules y violetas.


SOFT OCHRE tiene subtonos cálidos. Tiende al sutil amarillo perfecto para contrarrestar la despigmentación o las manchitas marrones de los párpados de las chicas que aún siendo pálidas, no tienen, por ejemplo, una ojera que tienda al azul o al violeta sino al marrón.

Os pongo unas fotos, sacadas de Google, para que los veáis:


                          

                                          Derecha: Soft Ochre
                                             Centro: Painterly.
                                        Izquierda: Quite Natural
(Este último lo incluyo para chicas más morenas de piel y porque tiene el mismo acabado los dos anteriores: cremoso. Ni frost ni metálico. Son los tres Paint Pots de acabado cremoso de la colección permanente de MAC).
Vistos aquí asustan un poco, probablemente por las condiciones de luz en las que la chica tomó la foto pero precisamente por eso la he elegido: en persona los colores no son tan chillones, se aprecian menos, lo que lleva a confusión: ¿cuál es la diferencia entre los dos si yo los veo casi iguales? Pues en esta foto y con esta iluminación, se ve: uno es amarillo y el otro, rosa. Aplicando una pequeña cantidad, difuminando y teniendo en cuenta que esta foto potencia el color de los Paint Pots y que en el tarrito se ven mucho menos brillantes y escandalosos, que nadie se asuste, no váis a salir con los ojos rosas o amarillos de casa).


                         (Image Credits: http://www.thefreshfiends.com/)



Para definirte pues, lo primero es tener claro a qué gama pertenece tu piel: ¿colores fríos, cálidos o neutros? De qué color son las venitas o manchitas de tu párpado que quieres neutralizar, ¿azules o violáceas o más bien marrones?
Si tu piel tiende al rosa, la mejor elección será Painterly. Neutralizará tus venitas azules o violetas.
Si tiende al amarillo, decántate por Soft Ochre. Neutralizará tu despigmentación marroncita.
Si estás entre ambos, es decir que tienes un subtono neutro, cualquiera de los dos te puede funcionar, piensa en de qué color son las venitas o manchitas que hay en tu párpado y que quisieras corregir a la vez que aplicas una base para sombras (ya que estamos matamos dos pájaros de un tiro...) y si, ¡dichosa tú!, tus párpados no tienen imperfecciones que corregir.. entonces sólo se trata del que más te entre por el ojo, el que más rabia te dé :)



Espero que este post os haya sido de ayuda, ¡nos leemos pronto!

xXx

Illamasqua Rich Liquid Foundation: review, tips and tricks.

                                        Illamasqua Rich Liquid Foundation
                                              £21.50 price per 10ml £7.17

                                       For reference, I am an NC15 and
                                    my shade for this foundation would be 115.


So I now this product might not have been recently lauched however many of us struggle working with it and end up returning it or just forgetting about it at the bottom of our make-up storing case. And it is such a shame...

This is a fantastic product (as all of Ilamasqua's ones) that perfoms brilliantly.. if you know how to make it work. Believe me, unless you are a Pro make up artist, this might take a while to master.

Here we go: review and some tips to make it work.

PROS:
1. Amazing color range for ubber pale people just like me.
2. Fullest coverage ever.
3. No SPF so no flashing back in pictures = photographs nicely.
4. Nice packaging that is purse-friendly (plastic transparent bottle that closes securely)
5. A little goes a long way, could last for ages.
6. Pretty good staying power (ok, you could not keep in three weeks on your skin without needing touch-ups but overall it can handle a busy endless day.. or night!)


CONS:
1. Does set so you need to work with it quickly.
2. Sets into fine lines and dry patches.
3. Needs to be used with a good moisturizer and primer underneath.
4. Needs to be cut with some other product to make it easier to work with.
5. Take a bit of time to get used to working with it.
6. Takes some time to apply, it's not going to be your fastest foundation job ever.
7. Thick consistency, although the smell is great, not overpowering and does not linger for a while so if you don't like scented products, I don't think this one will disturb you any longer than the application while.


TIPS:
1. Mix it with a bit of a mattifying primer to avoid the shine this might give to slightly oilier skin or with a bit of a pearlescent or sheer one if your skin is on the dry side and make it easier to apply (for reference if you don't have any primer and don't know where to start looking for one, Illamasqua has a Sheer primer -drier skin- and a Mattifying one which is the one I use for my oily skin and love. They come in the same packaging as the foundation except that the bottle is white. Price: £19.50)
2. Use a very dense, flat brush (Sigma F80 for reference). 

                                      (Sigma Flat Top Synthetic Kabuki F80,  $16 ). 


3. Don't dot it all over your face at the same it, it will set and get unblendable. Work section by section adding product to another section once the previous one is done (first dot some on you forehead and blend it, then dot a bit on your nose and upper lip, blend it, then move on to the chin... you know, little by little, do not dot it all over your face.)
3. Work it into the skin, work it, work it, and keep working it for a bit of time since it takes a bit of work to behave on your skin, if you don't keep working it it will just sit on top of your skin.
4. Prior to powdering, especially if your skin is normal to dry, pat a damp sponge all over your face. It will take away some of the foundation's cakeyness.
4. After you've done this and if you will powder on top, after powdering, proceed again to pat a damp sponge over your face for a more natural result.

I really like it for shoots, videos or endless nights when I know there's going to be quite a bit of photo taking action. That's when I use it for my foundation and concealer.
To conceal blemishes daily it works brilliantly as a concealer, you might use a lighter coverage foundation and then use this as a concealer. Much better than my MUFE Full Cover and I really love that one. But this foundation is even better.
If you do decide to purchase it and try it out, give it sometime before returning it, it takes a while until you get to know which is the way that you need to work with it for your particular skin type as for normal to dry skin you have to proceed differently than you'd need to for oily and very oil skin.
It is a very good product if you find out how to handle it :)
(A bit of a low rating due to its price and the time it takes to figure out how to make it work for your skin and also the time it takes to be applied.. and nice looking!)


And REMEMBER, this is NOT a water-based foundation from what I know, it is oil based so people witch acné-prone skin or acné might prefer to stay away for it or to just ask for a sample and test it out before purchasing it. Don't be afraid of the naughty and rude girls we sometimes found at the counters, it is your RIGHT to ask for a sample, there is nothing wrong with that unless you ask for it rudly and hit the girl at the counter which I don't really think you are going to do.
Test it first for a few hours and if you are ok, proceed to give it a longer try some other day. You may not want to use it everyday cause maybe daily use could cause break-outs but if your skin is fine with it for a little while you can use it for special occasions when you want to have a beautiful photo-friendly polished look.
I have acne-prone skin and can use it on week-ends if I go out somewhere without any problem. But you do however need to test it on your own skin.


Anyway, I hope this was somewhat helpful, talk to you soon!

(Spanish translation coming soon since I don't want to use Google Translator and this has been enough writing for me today!)



(Image Credits and prices according to http://www.illamasqua.com/ and http://www.sigmabeauty.com/, if purchased elsewhere prices may vary.)