Purchase Review: Stila Illuminating Powder Foundation + Mini DIY

Powder foundation is a basic item in my makeup routine. I don't use it solely as a foundation but as a finishing powder. For a few years now, my main favorites come from Japanese brands--Maquillage and Coffret D'or since they come in moisturizing formulations. Recently though, I haven't been able to find a Maquillage powder foundation labeled as moisturizing so have been using Kanebo Coffret D'or Silky Pact UV Moist Keep. 

Due to a recent mishap and extenuating circumstances,(which I will explain a little later) I was deperately in need of a new powder foundation and decided on Stila Illuminating Powder foundation. I even found a color that almost perfectly matched the Coffret D'or one that I had been using.

Like many Japanese brands, the compact case is sold separately from the powder. I read many reviews on Sephora by people upset that they had to buy the case separately. It didn't bother me since that's the way I have been purchasing my powder foundation. I decided not to buy the case since I wasn't sure if I would like the product enough to use it as a daily basic.

The ingredient list: 

According to Sephora's website, it is a velvety powder foundation which leaves a luminous, transparent finish while protecting the skin with SPF 12. You can apply it dry for a light coverage or with a damp sponge for a heavier coverage.

This is a nice powder, but using it dry it really does provide a very, very light coverage. Using it damp does provide more coverage but on me it gets a bit cakey. Even dry with the light coverage, it seems to settle a bit in my fine lines. I don't feel that it provides enough coverage for me as the day wears on.

Another beauty blogger asked me recently what I use to conceal under my eyes. I use the powder foundation. One of the very few good points for me is that I do not have dark circles and puffy under eyes.

While I do have some discoloration, it is very light that I don't need to do heavy concealing.(I do need to conceal the freckles though.) For my under eyes, all that I do after I apply foundation, is pat another light layer of foundation under my eyes and then set it with the powder foundation. 

The Stila Illuminating Powder foundation doesn't work as well as Coffret D'or for me but it's a good backup in case of an emergency. So what was my mishap? I had hit pan on my Coffret D'or powder foundation and had it at the point where the bottom half was pan and the top half was powder. I had to be out working all day and knew that I would be needing a touch up before heading to another function so I packed it into my makeup case. Unfortunately because it was only half a pan, it ended up cracking and breaking into many pieces. I had been debating several weeks before on whether to order a new one for backup but held off thinking that I would be traveling to Japan in a few months. To top it off, when I went to my online vendor, Ichibankao, for this product, she was closed for summer vacation and it would be a couple of weeks before she returned and opened business again. This is what made me decide that I needed to find a substitute until I could place an order.

In the meantime, I decided to empty out the Coffret D'or pan and compact.

I decided to try to repress the broken remains of foundation. To my delight, it worked! I used the 44mm round pan to press the broken product and it was just the right size.

As you can see, it is smaller than the original compact size and it fits perfectly into the travel palette that I am using to travel with. It ends up being perfect timing for me to eliminate more bulk by not having to take the original compact case.

So my final conclusion on the Stila Illuminating Powder Foundation is that it will be a nice backup to have to use in emergencies. It just doesn't cut it to replace the Coffret D'or powder foundation since Coffret D'or gives me more coverage without caking or settling into fine lines and lasts on me for hours. Besides, I LOVE the case that I got when I first started using Coffret D'or.

Isn't it pretty?!

*Kat*

Purchase Review: Milani Eyeshadow Primer

Ever since my friend reviewed Milani Eyeshadow Primer on her blog here, I've been wanting to test it out. I finally picked it up at WalMart and started using it a week and a half ago.

Ingredient List:

You can click on the picture to enlarge the list.

Up till now, my HG eyeshadow primer is Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion. I must say that I have to agree with Cosmeddicted in that this eyeshadow primer is great! Let's do some comparisons.

Milani Eyeshadow Primer:

.30 fl oz/9 ml

$6.57 at WalMart

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion:

.33 oz

$20.00 at Sephora

.16 oz (mini)

$12.00 at Sephora

Milani offers a much better value, being it's a drugstore brand. A big negative for me is that Urban Decay has discontinued the squeeze tube, which is what Milani has, and has gone back to having a doe foot applicator.

Cosmeddicted says that she has oily eyelids, which is why she creamy primers don't work well for her. I use Mezaik Stretch Fiber to create a double eyelid thus I can't use anything creamy, which will lift the fiber. Urban Decay has worked well for me but I am finding that Milani works well and in fact, works better. It works better because recently with Urban Decay, I've been finding that the darker eyeshadows are going into the crease where the stretch fiber is and creating a significant crease mark. It is obvious if I look down, some days being more obvious than others.

Urban Decay

With Milani, I haven't had much problems and am finding my eyeshadows applying quite nicely. My eyeshadows last just as long and well as when using Urban Decay.

Milani

FYI: the Milani EOTD was done using Urban Decay's new Naked Smoky Palette. Inner 1/3 of eyelid I used Half Baked from Naked 1 palette, middle 1/3 is Radar and outer 1/3 is Smolder. I am liking this new Naked Palette.

*Kat*