Category — Foundation

Among celebrating the holidays and welcoming a brand new year… I decided we’d all enjoy a new giveaway! SKINN has kindly teamed up with Bionic Beauty to offer 3 (!!) readers a set of mineral makeup. You’ll be ready for an all-new makeup routine with this!

• 1 High Definition Cotton Foundation - 0.3oz (8g) ($28.00 value)
• 1 Orchid Gel Tint - 1.3oz (38ml) ($24.00 value)
• 1 Triple Cover Conceal Wheel - 0.13oz (5g) ($16.50)
• 1 Kabuki Buffing Brush w/ Custom Print ($12.50)

How do you enter? Share a moment in 2008 that made *you* feel beautiful… whether it was inside or out. Did someone compliment you, did you achieve a goal, or do something courageous? Leave your entry in the comments section below.

The Rules: Three (3) winners will be chosen from the qualified entrants and will receive the SKINN makeup set as detailed above. To qualify for entry, you must follow the entry rules as outlined in this post. This giveaway is open to United States and Canada residents. Please enter only once; duplicate entries will be detected and discarded. Entry deadline is January 17th, 2009 at midnight USA ET. The winners will be chosen via Random.org and will be announced here on Bionic Beauty, on PRIZEY.Fetch, and contacted via email.
*Please note that I will never share your email address with anyone! I only use your email address to contact you if you are a winner. However, if you do not enter a valid email address, you will be disqualified. Please do not post your email in the comment itself… *just* in the email box (for your own safety).

Don’t forget to sign up for the Bionic Beauty blog newsletter (or you can subscribe in your favorite RSS reader) so that you can keep up with the product reviews, beauty and makeup samples and giveaways offered here. Good luck Bionic Beauties!!

Dear Bionic Beauty,
Hello, I need your advice. What can I do if I have a few foundations that I’m not so pleased with? …. I have one or two foundations that I’m wearing since I didn’t like the final result on my skin. What can I do to give them some use… I wouldn’t like to give them away.
Thanks.
Andrea

Dear Andrea,
As for foundations… those are tricky to use up. What is it that you don’t like about the product?

If the color is not for you, say it’s too dark, try mixing it with a lighter foundation to bring the color closer to your skin tone. Or mix it with your face lotion to create your very own Tinted Moisturizer.

If it’s the feel and performance of the foundation that is lacking, you could use it up by applying it to your eyelids as a “Eyeshadow Primer”. This will help your eye shadows stick better. You could also use a few dabs under your eyes for a concealer. Dab the product on, let it sit for a minute or two and it will thicken a bit. Then blend it out to conceal.

You can also use foundations to cover spots on your legs, chest, and neck before a big special event or evening out.

If you have kids, they can use the foundations to finger paint (Supervised!) on paper. The skin color of foundations will be perfect to fill in their stick figures and color book characters faces!

I hope this gives you some ideas on how to use up those foundations you’re not too fond of.

Best regards,
Bionic Beauty

I’m also going to ask the other Bionic Beauties out there… do you have any tips for using up foundations that aren’t your favorites?

Back when I first heard the news of Jemma Kidd doing a line of makeup for Target called JK, I was beyond thrilled. And I still am. After a thorough test of the Pro Finish Moisture Tint with SPF 20, basically a tinted moisturizer, I’m here with my thoughts…

First off, I LOVE the JK Jemma Kidd packaging. Black with red flowers and trendy rock star looking makeup? Yes, please! Moisture Tint comes in a 1.01 ounce tube. You just squeeze out the makeup and apply. It’s currently only offered in 3 skin tones (fair, mid, and mid-dark). I have the mid and I’m actually very pale, so I’m not sure the 3 offerings will cover everyone.

The scent on this makeup sort of turned me off. It’s very “makeup-y”, and actually feels much heavier than any tinted moisturizer I’ve used in the past. This makeup is more like a traditional foundation. It blends very well and held up superbly in the Florida humidity. It does contain some oil (see my test results here), so I’d be sure to check the ingredients for items you might be sensitive to. Overall, it’s a great makeup and if you need a bit more coverage than a traditional tinted moisturizer, this may be the one for you. And you gotta love the fact it has SPF 20! I’m not sure the high-ish price tag is worth it though. If I’m to spend that much in the future, I’d probably rather get my favorite mineral makeup or a department store foundation.

Find the JK Pro Finish Moisture Tint at Target stores or Target.com (it runs $28).

Photograph is the copyright of JK Jemma Kidd and Target.

I have tried many a version of mineral makeup; from drugstore to high-end brands. Being a gal that’s now in her thirties with some eye wrinkles (Where the heck did those come from???), acne flare ups, and dry skin patches, my skin just ended up looking like I had caked powder on it with most brands. The dry skin would be accentuated and the minerals would settle in my eye wrinkles. I have sensitive skin, so I really want to like mineral makeup.

All my worries evaporated once on I met Robyn, the founder of Purely Cosmetics. She’s such a friendly person, listened to my skin woes, and patiently taught me about what actually is good for skin and what isn’t and how to properly apply mineral makeup.

Purely Cosmetics went on like a dream. Since I really hadn’t put my heart into mineral makeup in the past, I also got a flat-top foundation brush from Robyn. This brush is a wonder. I can’t seem to do anything wrong when it’s in my hands! It’s soft and keeps me from having clumped makeup deposits.

The biggest difference when I applied the Pure Silk Mineral Foundation was the feel. My skin felt soft and airy. My breakouts were covered but you could still see the real me under my makeup! The photo above is of me in the midst of a full acne breakout. Looks pretty smooth, right?

I ran outside to sweat a bit since my other issue with previous mineral makeups was found during sweating. Once my pores would open, something would react with my skin and cause extreme itching and burning. Not so with Purely Cosmetics. I didn’t feel a thing.

On the second day, I stayed inside in the dry AC to check if it would suck the moisture out of my semi-parched skin. By the end of the day I was even babbling about how this foundation didn’t dry me out to my neighbor (a lawn care ‘manly-man’) and my husband.

In short, I have found my must-have makeup. I still wear my tinted moisturizers occasionally, but I don’t feel the pull to them I had before. My little jar of Purely Cosmetics (I use the California Blonde color since I’m pretty pale) has a place of honor in my makeup case. I am extremely indebted to Robyn for creating such an amazing product.

I also tested Purely Cosmetics’ Silk & Pearl Primer (for Normal/Dry Skin) - This provides a fantabulous primer under mineral makeup application (photo below). Use your standard face lotion, top it with the Silk & Pearl Primer, then follow with your makeup. The primer helps control face/oil shine while not allowing the environment to dry out your skin, minimizes pores, and prevents the makeup for settling into any creases (i.e. wrinkles). I typically do not use primers since I’m a “out-the-door” kind of gal, but w-o-w. This product is very cool, and worth it’s weight in moolah. Oh, and there’s also a all Silk powder Primer and Normal to Oily version as well. Definitely 2 thumbs up from Bionic! ($18.50 for a *huge* 10 gram jar)

So now I have another Bionic all-time favorite to add to my pretty small list: Milani eyeshadows, Physician’s Formula Mineral Wear mascara, Herbaria Soaps, and anything by Purely Cosmetics. It’s actually a pretty small list and quite an accomplishment to make it to my “loyal following” level. Thank you, Robyn!

Here’s an EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT for Bionic readers! Get 10% off any Purely Cosmetics purchase (minimum $20) now through December 20th, 2008.  Enter code BB (case sensitive) in the “redeem code” box on checkout. Buy yourself a little something fun to wear for the holidays!

Stay tuned for eyeshadow looks I’ve been wearing using Purely Cosmetics’ cream-to-powder and loose pigment shadows!

Full ingredients listed below:
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I’m kicking off a brand new Wednesday series here at Bionic Beauty called “Bionic Asks”. Basically this is YOUR chance to shine! I’ll ask a question and you get to answer.

To start things off… “What makeup are you wearing today?”
And since it wouldn’t be fair unless I contributed, here’s my “look” for today:

• Physician’s Formula Organic Wear tinted moisturizer
• Sonia Kashuk’s pressed powder (translucent)
• Eyeshadows: Clinique’s Stay Matte shadow in Martini (a khaki brown) for the base, Lancome’s Positive for brow highlight (matte cream), and Designer (metallic khaki green) for outer corners and along eyelashes.
• Physician’s Formula Mineral Wear mascara in Ultra Black
• Bobbi Brown’s lip tint in Black Cherry (but it had worn off by this point…oops!)

My hair was a bit of a mess, since I took this photo after a long trip to Lowe’s and then working outside in the garden.

You turn! What makeup are you sporting today?
Check back each Wednesday for the next “Bionic Asks”.

I received my two samples of Maybelline’s Mineral Power foundation in the mail. I tend to prefer sampling foundations before I try a new one since it helps to know how your skin will react, test colors, and you get an idea of the actual coverage. My samples came in Nude and Pure Beige which blended well into my medium-fair skin.

The coverage is perfect for me. It covered my under-eye circles and slight melasma and yet didn’t feel like I was wearing a mask. Mineral Power goes on as a liquid but quickly dries to an almost powder like finish and leaves your skin soft. It works really well as a mineral makeup primer too! Just top it off with your favorite loose minerals, buff, and go. Maybelline has really upped the ante in drugstore foundation makeup with this offering. When my normal tinted moisturizer supply is depleted, I’ll definitely pick up a tube of this to keep on hand for days when I want a little extra coverage. Oh, and it packs SPF 15 (yah!).

Grab Maybelline’s Mineral Power Makeup at your local drugstore or Target/Walmart or online at Drugstore.com ($8.29).

As I posted before, Target is now carrying an exclusive line of Jemma Kidd’s makeup, called JK. Target didn’t stop there though. Napoleon Perdis has a new line called NP Set, and famed Swedish makeup artist, Petra Strand has Pixi. It’s a whole new cosmetics section at Target. I was in love… so I snuck in my camera to take some photos of the displays for YOU!

I felt like a funny little makeup spy snapping off photos and playing with everything. They had testers set up for everything! It was quite fun!

The prices aren’t the most affordable, but it *is* nice to be able to pick up high-quality makeup at a mass market retailer. I have mall-phobia so I hate braving the overwhelming department stores. Target, Walgreens, CVS, and Wally-world are much easier for me.

And now on to the pictures… (Click the image for a full size version which will open in a new tab or window depending on your internet browser’s settings.)

The full JK Jemma Kidd display at my Target. I loved the “rocker” look of this display. Pretty reds and blacks with feminine floral accents on the packaging.

After the break for the rest of the photos…
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