The first time I used this foundation I was in a hurry, I hadn't moisturised (tut tut) and I thought it was a bit meh. I WAS WRONG. The next time I tried it it blew my mind. It's that good.
In this job you hear a lot of 'this is the best... it does everything... it's better than... etc etc' and I have to say it's very easy to go 'yes yes' nod enthusiastically, go home, try it and find it's not as amazing as they've made it out to be (and why not? it's their job after all). And I assumed this was the same for the new
Diorskin Star foundation but this product actually lives up to the hype.
With a long-lasting, radiant, professional finish this it the foundation that the lovers of the now extinct Chanel Pro Lumier are looking for and, available in 12 shades, this medium to full coverage foundation is pretty light on the skin and lasts all night even without a primer underneath. The luminosity comes from the doughnut shaped pigment spheres that reflect two dimensional light which intensifies the natural healthy glow - most modern foundations contain solid spheres only reflecting light in one direction which can cause a flat mask-like appearance.
But this new technology is not the only fantastic thing about this foundation. It contains powerful active ingredients with longer-term skin benefits. Immortelle flower encourages cell renewal and softens the skin, daisy extract regulates melanin production to counteract dark spots and liquorice extract combats redness. These are said to improve radiance and smoothness of the skin by 50% in just 4 weeks - whether this is true or not it's great to know that something you are putting on your skin as make-up is benefiting it as well.
Dior recommend using this with their Backstage Pro's Fluid Foundation Sponge (also available in September) - their version of the now famous
Beauty Blender - but I use it with my foundation brushes and/or hands and it goes on very well. The trick with it is to use a little at a time and build and blend on well moisturised skin. It really does even out your skin tone and I hardly had to use any concealer when using this foundation - it worked that well on my redness and dark circles.
This is one of the products that was on my 2017 wishlist and in fact I have been meaning to try for years. The reason I haven't is that I sometimes see Daniel at make-up events and wanted him to colour match me as it was his product and he's such an amazing make-up artist... but it never happened. Then he very kindly sent me some to try and it was probably one of the highlights of 2017 so far. Seriously, I have been desperate to try it.
I have mentioned that I have very mixed feelings about Benefit. I'm sure it's something to do with their packaging, now I'm over 30 maybe it feels a bit young for me, but some of their products are amazing and they have had some (sadlynolongerwithus) gems in the past: Talk to the Tan and the old Erase Paste (not the new, yuk). I think maybe I subconsciously feel like nothing that great can come in such youthful packaging. I know I'm wrong but that's what I think must be my problem with Benefit.
I'm dubious of the whole BB, CC, EE cream debacle. Surely they are all just variants on tinted moisturisers? Well yes they are but with specific claims and the Estee Lauder EE cream claims to even skin tone (the EE stands for Even Effects apparently). This 'even-ing' claim coupled with my life-long quest to find the perfect tinted moisturier is what initially led me to buy it and I have to say at first I was a little disappointed. Yes I love this product but why oh why does it only come in three colours? The lightest colour is very pale on me and the medium would be far to dark. I got the lightest and it will be fine until I get any sort of tan. However, I do love it enough that I may buy it in medium so I have the option of mixing the perfect colour throughout the summer.
This is one of those products where I feel like maybe I've got a duff tube, or was given the wrong colour, or I must have the worst skin ever. Skincare goddess Caroline Hirons swears by it, the Space NK girls who sold it to me raved about it and promised me I would love it, it has 5* reviews everywhere I look but I find Just Skin totally frustrating.
Every make-up artist is different, yes there are few things that the majority carry but everyone finds things that they use and use over and over again and never like to run out of. So one of the new things I'll be doing on Monday's is looking at something from my kit that I wouldn't be without be it make-up, skincare, the tools themselves or the weird little things that I carry around just in case (clear nail varnish, medical tape, Gaviscon to name but a few).
When I first bought this in New York I was a little dubious. It came highly recommended from everyone I spoke to in Sephora but it seemed slightly cakey to me. This week however I've been in such a rush all the time that I've just been slapping it on with my hands and that seems to be the way to do it. A great medium to full coverage tinted moisturiser Hourglass Illusion Tinted Moisturiser is perfect for those who need that little bit more now autumn is finally here. I know I do.
The first couple of times I used this it seemed almost too watery and not very perfecting at all. My red blotches seemed to glare through and I was quite disappointed. However, I persevered and with a good shake before use this foundation has become one of my absolute favourites.
This is one of the products that was on my 
Most make-up artists will tell you that the weight of their kit is a big problem for them in terms of travel and physical health and this does affect their decision on what products they carry with them. Some slavishly decant as much as possible into palettes (more on that another time), some prefer to use products in their original format, some of us hop about somewhere in between but really, the Bobbi Brown palettes are a really great addition to any kit.
I was sent this foundation to try out and wasn't expecting much from it, but I now use it most days when I want the coverage of a foundation but nothing too heavy. I'd say this is, as it says, a light to medium coverage, with a lovely natural finish. 
Right this is the longest video ever. We will do better next time and try to be more concise. We do discuss 21 foundations here though so it may be worth just skipping ones that aren't of interest to you. I've listed what we talk about in order below. Please do leave a comment if you want further info and we will get back to you.