Milk Makeup Blur Liquid foundation | Review

I don't know what's come over me in the last few months, but I've become more interested in trying new foundations. It never used to be something that excited me, especially not high end foundations. But a switch flipped, and I find it fun to see if my next  holy grail product is out there waiting. 

Enter - the Milk Makeup Blur Liquid foundation. Somewhere (of course I can't recall where) I heard that this foundation is amazing. The claims I remember hearing were that it lasts all day, it makes your face look flawless, and it had nice coverage. 

I thought about this one for a while before I purchased it because it is rather spendy, ringing in at $40 for 1 oz. I waited until a Sephora VIB sale so I could get it $20 off, and then excitedly threw it in my cart and made it mine. Since the November sale, I've been using this foundation regularly, a couple times a week or so. Spoiler alert: it's become a fast favorite. But you already know this if you read through my Top 10 of 2017.

The bummer thing about the Blur Liquid is that it only comes in 16 shades. That's (sadly) a pretty average number of shades to choose from, but let's be honest, that means a bunch of you, especially on the farther ends of either spectrum, may have trouble finding something that works. I have the shade Fair, which is supposed to be for fair tones with pink undertones. 

To note: I've got normal to combination skin. I have a history of acne, but now have only minor hormonal breakouts. I prefer medium to full coverage foundations to even out my skin tone and cover up any blemishes I may have. 

The Milk Makeup Blur Liquid in Fair is just a bit too dark for my skin tone, so as you see above, I mix in a little lightener with it (see more on the lightener here) and then it's the perfect shade. That doesn't really knock off points in my book, because it still works, but again - bummer that the shade range isn't more inclusive. 

A little goes a long way, and there's a fine line to straddle; you need about a pea sized amount, maybe a little more, for complete coverage. Too much of the foundation and you risk a cakey face. It may not be a cakey-ness you realize right away either, it's that gross kind of cakey that shows it's ugliness as the day wears on - you leave the house looking fly as hell, and then catch a glimpse in the bathroom mirror and gasp in horror at your over exaggerated pores and separating foundation and wonder how things ever got this bad.... ugh.

This foundation provides medium to full coverage, depending on how you apply it. It really does give a nice, blurred look to the skin - probably not as flawlessly as a pore-filling primer would, but coupled with one it makes my skin look soft and smooth. 

I prefer to apply it with a damp BeautyBlender; admittedly, I haven't applied it using a brush because I rarely use brushes to apply my foundation nowadays. It dries down nicely, within a minute or so. I like to set it with a powder for longevity, but you could get away without one if you have skin similar to mine. 

It wears nicely throughout the day (assuming you straddle that fine line of using just enough product, like I mentioned above - a mistake I've made when first testing this out). I can throw this foundation on at 5:30 in the morning, and it still looks good at 5:30 in the evening. 

I think this foundation would work for a range of skin types, notable normal to dry skin. If you have oily skin, I think you might find this to be greasy at the end of the day. My skin looks a healthy amount of dewy at the end of the day, not enough to look oily or gross.

I really enjoy this foundation. It doesn't topple the ranks of my beloved Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 foundation, but it's a close second. These two foundations have very different price points ($40 vs. $10), so it's a good thing it didn't dethrone my drugstore favorite. 

I do intend to keep this within reach in my makeup drawer, and to grab a bottle when the Sephora VIB sales roll around (because we all know I'm cheap af) since it's weaseled its way in to my makeup-loving heart. If you tend to like the same foundations I do (these reviews may give you a closer look at my tastes - here, here, here), I'd recommend giving the Milk Makeup Blur Liquid Foundation a shot, too. 

Hourglass Vanish Seamless Stick Foundation | Review

I don't know what's gotten in to me lately, but I've had this itch to try out new foundations. Even though my beloved Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous has done me no wrong, I just feel like experimenting, and foundation is something I haven't played with much. 

So, when I canceled my Ipsy subscription a couple months back, I redeemed all of my points for the Hourglass Vanish Seamless Stick Foundation. Kind of a big leap for me - I don't normally buy high-end foundations because I'm cheap, and I've never used a stick foundation before this one. So I dived right in.

The Hourglass Vanish Seamless Stick Foundation sells on Sephora.com for $46 for 0.25 oz (not a lot of product!). It comes in 26 shades, which is pretty impressive. It's touted as "a long wearing foundation with the coverage of a concealer, fluidity of a liquid, and weightlessness of a powder..." Already, it sounds kind of like my favorite Outlast Stay Fabulous foundation just from the description. It describes that you need very little product to get full coverage, as it claims to have double the pigment than normal foundations. The Vanish Seamless stick works with your body heat to blend in to your skin for an ultra smooth finish. 

One thing to note as you figure out if this foundation would be right for you: I have normal to combination skin. My skin maintains a normal amount of moisture, without many dry patches, and my t-zone gets a tiny bit oily. I'm also prone to breakouts, especially around my mouth. I do have fine lines that certain foundations can sink in to and accentuate. 

Above is the before and after - before I applied anything but moisturizer and primer, and immediately after I applied the Hourglass Vanish Seamless Stick Foundation in shade Blanc (the lightest shade) using a Sigma foundation brush. I applied my typical makeup routine on top of it - bronzer, blush, concealer, etc. and a setting spray. I then wore it to work and for 12 hours of the day. 

Click the image above to see a close up of how the foundation performed, with snapshots from hour 2, hour 6 and hour 10. Initially, application looks great, especially at hour 2. My skin looks radiant and a little dewy, and the tone is evened out. That darn forehead wrinkle isn't quite so obvious at hour 2. Then we look at hour 6, and wrinkles are looking a little more prominent and my face isn't looking so seamless anymore. By hour 10... WOOF. Take a peek at the skin between my eyebrows. The foundation has started to wear away and is looking really cakey. It's settling in my eyelids and in other wrinkles on my face. It's broken down around and on my nose and some imperfections are shining through. 

And really, that's the story of the Hourglass Vanish Seamless Stick Foundation. It looks great if you need to wear it for just a few short hours, but if you want to wear it all day, don't count on looking flawless at the end of the day. This is touted as long wearing foundation and I think that's a stretch. It's on, sure, but it does not look nearly as good as it did in the first few hours. 

The pros: 

• There are tons of shades to pick from so you're almost certain to find one that works for you. 
• You probably do end up using less foundation than a traditional liquid foundation, especially if you like a light medium coverage.
• The packaging of the product is classy and high quality.

The cons:

• It's not long-wearing as it claims to be. 
• It wears away over the course of the day, and sinks in to fine lines and wrinkles.
• It is expensive for the amount of product you get.

I think if you had semi oily skin, or like a light coverage, you might like this stick foundation, but honestly - my recommendation would be to try something cheaper. I think there are far cheaper foundations that perform just as well, if not better, and you won't be out $46. 

Overall, the Hourglass Vanish Seamless Stick Foundation isn't for me. I've used it a bunch of times, and the last time I did, I swore it off. It doesn't mesh well with my skin and honestly, I'm embarrassed by how my skin looks when I have to wear it for more than a few hours. Not my thing, but I don't mind because getting hooked on a $46 foundation is the last thing my wallet needs! 

Have you tried the Hourglash Vanish Seamless Stick Foundation? Let me know how you liked it!