Make-up Product of the Month: November - Barry M Blusher

I’ve just discovered Barry M’s latest addition to their range, the collection of blushes. I went for the most neutral, earthy, inoffensive shade, number 6. These blushers are seriously pigmented hence why I started off with a safe colour choice. I was really attracted to the vibrant pink shade, (number 2 or 3 I think) which is comparable to MAC’s Dolly Mix. After trying this out I’m definitely going to return and try out some other shades. Aside from the one I bought, the rest are a lot bolder, along with the Dolly Mix dupe there is one that reminds me of NARS’s Taj Mahal. I’ve never experimented with orange toned blushers but I think the price of Barry M definitely allows for trying out new colours without feeling like I’ve wasted money if I don’t like it.

(blusher without flash)

The perfectly pigmented, matte blusher is highly sought after, and this ticks both boxes. I personally love a bit of shimmer in my blush, but for a more natural day time look, matte is more preferable. So if you are on the hunt for a really pigmented blusher but could do without the shimmer that often comes along with it, then these are worth a look.

The blushers are £4.40 each, a bargain for 7g of product and especially good value for money because these blushers tend to stay put all day without the need for reapplying. I also don’t need a lot of product as a single wash of colour I find is enough.

MAC Select Foundation Review, comparison to SFF

I’ve been using this foundation long enough to give a more in-depth review now. I originally changed to this from Studio Fix Fluid because it is easier to get lighter coverage from. I felt like SFF was too heavy for summer and although it doesn’t give you that caked on feel like a lot of foundations, it’s easy to feel cakey when the weather is hot and sunny, so I’m letting it breathe! Select is advertised as being “medium coverage” but in my experience I’ve found it easy to get a light coverage from it. The Mineralise Satinfinish foundation offers light to medium coverage, but I opted for this one over it because it’s more suitable for oily skin. Satinfinish offers a dewy glow, but I think us oily skin girls know this doesn’t really work for us.

The first considerable difference I notice with this foundation compared to SFF is the smell. Those that have used SFF know that the smell is not exactly desirable. Select smells less like Dulux, and more like how a foundation should smell. That’s not a major criticism of SFF because the smell does eventually fade, that or you just get used to it. With Select, I think I use a slightly bigger quantity than SFF, where a little goes a long way. I’m used to using one small pump full, but with Select, it’s more like one and a half. It is runnier in consistency and you have to blend it more to get the same flawless finish, but the matt effect is very similar. It holds my blusher or bronzer really well although I’ve noticed my tea zone looking oily after wearing this for the whole day, something that I didn’t notice with SFF. That’s not to say it’s the foundation, because I don’t, like a lot of people, set my foundation with powder, I don’t know why, it’s just a step I often miss out. Also this is the only liquid foundation I’ve worn over summer so it’s quite possible that SFF would cause me the same problem with oilyness. I think it is still a durable foundation, and maybe I am asking too much for a foundation to stay flawless and matte for a whole day. I’ve worn this on a night out and at the end of the night my make-up has stayed in place, and, blurry-eyed, I didn’t notice any oilyness which is impressive because I still must have worn it for at least 5-6 hours. Overall, Select has served me well over the summer, and I will continue with this into autumn where hopefully with less hot weather, it should prove even more durable. I have noticed slightly more breakouts since using this but I can’t say directly this is because of the foundation it could be a number of factors so I wouldn’t want that to put you off if you’re thinking of buying it. I’ve used SFF and expected an increase in breakouts since it’s chemically harsher, but my skin was just fine. I’d be interested to know if anyone else had that problem with this foundation though.