Tuesday Review—Kryolan Dual Finish Powder and Bobbi Brown Red Lipstick

Hedy Lamarr with makeup artist Ted Larsen
Over the past couple of months I’ve tried out several new makeup items (My name is Amanda, and I’m a makeupaholic lol). I’ve come across a couple of standout products that I think are definitely worth checking out, and so I decided to review them here for you!

The first is a powder foundation by Kryolan. I’m definitely a big fan of this German brand, which was started in the 1940s, and I include several Kryolan products in my makeup bag. Their TV Paint Stick foundation is one stellar product that I use almost daily, and as I love the color match, coverage, and finish so much, I thought I would look into their powder foundation as well. I’m very glad I did, as the Dual Finish delivers the same as the TV Paint Stick—excellent coverage, a gorgeous matte finish, and a lovely color match.

The range of colors isn’t as broad as in some of their cream foundation options, but I selected the shade Alabaster, which turned out to be a pale beige that complemented my very fair, neutral skin tone quite nicely. It’s a tad darker in the pan than the TV White I wear in the stick foundation, so I was a bit disappointed when I first opened the package, but it somehow blends seamlessly into my skin—it’s not too dark, and it doesn’t turn the dreaded orange that so many other foundations do. I apply it a couple of ways—I sometimes use it as a setting powder with a bit of extra coverage over the TV Paintstick, and I also wear it alone. It can be applied wet or dry—applying with a damp sponge gives it a bit more coverage than applying it with a dry sponge or kabuki brush. Both methods are fast, easy, and pretty goof proof. Regardless of the application method, I find it maintains a satiny matte finish all day long, with minimal oil breakthrough (I have combination skin that can sometimes be rather oily). I also find that it lasts very well under summer conditions too—we all know how horrid it is when the heat and humidity cause your foundation to slide around your face, and this foundation holds strong under the worst weather conditions!

So, if you are looking for a new foundation to try, I highly recommend this one!



I'm wearing both the Kryolan Dual Finish and Bobbi Brown Red lipstick here
The next product I’d like to review is Bobbi Brown Red lipstick. Now, I am a pretty big fan of Lip Ink’s long wearing lipstick, and generally reach for it every day. But sometimes I dabble in ‘traditional’ lipsticks, and as I am obsessed with red shades, I like to try out new ones from time to time. I’d heard that Bobbi Brown makes a nice cream lipstick, and the Red shade is described as a “fire engine red” shade on the Web site. I decided it would be worth trying out when I found an inexpensively priced tube on eBay. Initially, I wasn’t so sure about this lipstick—I like my red lipstick to be shockingly bright, and when I first tried this one out it seemed a little too muted for my taste. I decided to try wearing it over a basecoat of Lip Ink Red (Lip Ink also works very well under regular lipsticks, as it grabs the color and makes it nice and long wearing) and ended up loving the look I achieved—a rich red shade with a beautiful satin finish. It photographs very well (I’m wearing it in my Jungle Girl set), and I find it to wear comfortably too—creamy without being smeary (I love lipsticks with a creamy finish, but hate it when they slide off your lips!)

Well, that's all for now! I do have a few other products to review, so I'll be posting those soon :-)

xoxo,

Amanda Lee

Makeup Mondays--Skincare

Maria asked me to talk about my skincare routine, and I’m very happy to oblige! My skin is the sort that is very sensitive and easily irritated, and I struggled with it in my teens and early 20s. I began using cold cream at that time, and my skin loved it—it cleared right up, in fact. I was a loyal user of Pond’s from that point forward until about two years ago, when it seemed that cold cream no longer agreed with my skin. It was back the drawing board then, though I never really found a suitable replacement for my beloved cold cream. A few months back I read that Pond’s had changed the formula of their classic cold cream, and had added a number of potentially irritating ingredients. Apparently, the store brand cold cream (CVS or Walgreen’s) continued to be made using the original formula. Intrigued by this bit of information, I picked up a tub and tried it out—and the skin issues I’d been dealing with (mostly excessive oiliness) disappeared in just a few weeks, and my skin is back to normal once more. So, I wholeheartedly recommend trying cold cream—for anyone who tried Pond’s and didn’t like the results, you might try the store brand and see if that works for you!

My routine is fairly simple: morning and night I apply cold cream to dry skin, massage it in, and then remove it with a warm, damp washcloth. In the mornings, I follow cleansing with a light moisturizer and sunscreen—my morning routine is quite simple, which is a good thing as I am usually running behind (I wouldn’t describe myself as a morning person.) In the evenings, I follow cleansing by exfoliating with an BHA product, and then apply moisturizer and a retinol cream. That’s it—my skin stays smooth and clear and I’m quite happy with the results.

I adore Arcona’s Magic White Ice serum; this lightweight moisturizer is wonderful for normal to oily skin types. It applies easily and absorbs quickly, and it smells delicious too (like grape Nehi—I love the scent, as does my Sweetie.) It’s the perfect base under makeup, and I like to mix it with any treatment products I apply in the evening, to buffer the active ingredients. I’ve already repurchased it twice, and plan to purchase another bottle when I run out of my current—and for someone who is a product junkie, and is always trying new things just because, that really says something!

For sunscreen, I use BurnOut’s Clean and Clear SPF 32 sunscreen. I’ll confess to avoiding sunscreen for many years (having temperamental skin makes one shy away from it, it’s a catch 22 for sure—wearing it can cause breakouts, not wearing it means skin damage in the long run), but now I use it faithfully. It took a number of tries for me to find one that works for my skin—chemical sunscreens are out (as they cause major irritation for me), but most physical sunscreens are thick, greasy affairs—not an elegant product to apply on their own, and absolutely horrid worn under makeup. I finally found an excellent product in BurnOut’s offering—a physical-only sunscreen that feels light and non-greasy and works fabulously under makeup. Oh, and it does its job well—the only sunburn I’ve gotten in the past six months that I’ve used this was due to me missing an area when I applied it (at the military benefit I forgot to apply sunscreen to my chest, and had a delightful red “V” for a few days. Lovely, it was.) Again, I’m already on my second tube, which really says something! If you’d like to try this product, it can be found here; it applies best on damp skin, so I apply moisturizer and then follow with sunscreen right away.

In the evenings, I use Arcona’s Raspberry Clarifying Pads—I cut the pads in half, as they are quite large. I adore these as well—they are well-suited to sensitive skin, and have a light, fruity scent. The other product I swear by is Avene’s Ystheal Emulsion, a retinol product that is the only one my skin has ever been able to tolerate. I mix a pump of it with a pump of Magic White Ice and apply after using half of a clarifying pad; this has been my nightly routine for the past few months and I am very pleased with it.

That’s it—my skincare routine is fairly basic and streamlined. It took me a number of years to find the right products, but I’m quite happy now, and recommend all of them. I'd love to hear your favorite products--what works best for you?

xoxo,
Amanda Lee