Ponds Luminous Finish BB+ Cream Review and Swatches

I've been wearing Pond's Luminous Finish BB+ Cream for a few days now and I'm loving it!

This formula is creamy and super easy to blend. It provides light coverage but you can build it to a solid medium without things looking cakey. It's emollient and does not accentuate dryness, even on these super dry and cold winter days. And the fact that it has an spf 15 will make it great for summer days as well. It's not greasy at all, but I'm not sure how those with oily skin will fare with this.

Pond's says the finish is matte but to me it's too skin-like to be matte. I'd say it's somewhere between matte and satin. And there is no shimmer or glitter. A lot of products these days put words like "luminous" in the name, when what they really mean is "shimmer" but that's not the case here.

 So far the longest I've worn this is 10 hours and it still looked as good as it did when first applied - And that's without a primer or setting it with powder. I found that it feels a bit heavy on my skin when I wear a primer underneath it, but I can't feel it at all if I use it alone.

Light Shade

The Light shade is perfect for my fair skin. Depending on the line of foundation, I tend to find my shade matches in the lightest or second to lightest shades that are offered.  This one is light with neutral undertones. I think it will blend seamlessly into skin tones from the light to light-medium range, but it might be a bit too dark for those with extremely fair skin.

Ponds claims that this cream will fade dark spots, but I don't really have any so I can't say whether it delivers there.

This retails around $10-$12 depending on where you make your purchase, with is a great value if you ask me.

Coastal Scents Camo Quad Light Review and Swatches

So begins another chapter in my quest for the perfect concealer

Camo Quad - Light

I really wanted to love Coastal Scents' Camo Quad. (I want to love every concealer I try!) I started out being really disappointed but then I figured out the perfect method of application and now I'm a fan.  

Coastal Scents offers these quads in 4 shades - Light, Medium, Dark and Color Corrector. I got the Light, which is a decent enough match for me but I think Medium probably would have been fine for me, since they provide a white shade in each of the three concealer quads allowing you to lighten any of the three colors to match your skin tone. I was drawn to Light due to the inclusion of the yellow toned concealer as yellows seem to really work for my ridiculously dark purple under eye circles. Also included in the Light Quad are a salmon toned shade and a more flesh toned shade. The salmon shade has actually turned out to be the best shade for me, giving me the most natural finish. The others are a bit too light.

Camo Quad Swatches - Light - in sunlight

They currently cost $7.95 which is a great value considering how much product you get. So often products I buy online end up being much smaller that expected, but this was actually bigger! And CS has frequent sales so you might be able to get it for even less.

When I first saw my quad in person, I was disappointed because the shades looked quite dull in the pan to me. However once applied, they are actually rather brightening, so no worries there. All of the shades seem to be lighter once applied than they look in the pan.

These concealers are a cream to powder finish and I personally don't think anyone over the age of 27 has any business putting anything even remotely powdery under their eyes, unless of course you have some major oil issues, which I don't. Without primer, each one of the 4 shades immediately looks cakey under my eyes and they only get worse throughout the day. With primer, things are a bit better to begin with, but they still eventually cake up, rendering this product almost unwearable. I say "almost" because I can get away with wearing them if I have a short day planned AND I'm wearing my glasses (which cover up any weirdness that may be going on in the eye make-up dept)
The key for me is to apply my regular eye cream right before applying all my makeup and to not apply any primer. This sheers out the coverage a little (it's still medium-full though) and provides a nice, smooth and natural finish.

These quads are definitely worth a try especially at this price. You might have to do some experimentation of your own to get your desired results though. I'm glad I didn't give up on this right away because I'm quite pleased with it.

Laura Geller Spackle Primer Review and Swatch - Champagne

I had super high hopes for Laura Geller's Spackle Primer in Champagne. Spackle has a fairly decent reputation and I love the idea of my primer adding a bit of glow, especially in the winter months when things are pretty dry and dull. Overall I'm quite pleased with its performance. Is it the end all be all, knock my socks off, never going to look for another primer again product? Not quite, but I've been using it every day and will probably repurchase it.

I think I should start by mentioning that this contains shimmer. A lot of it. So if you are one of the many that have a serious aversion to shimmer, this is not for you. It says that you can apply this on its own, for a more flawless look, which really excited me, but that's not happening. This primer doesn't reduce the look of pores so if you don't apply foundation on top of it you'll just be walking around with a sparkly face, which is not a good look on anyone. Having said that, most foundations cover the majority of the shimmers, leaving only a hint of them behind. I personally like the effect, but some will hate it. 

Champagne Spackle with no foundation

This primer does a really good job of perfecting the finish of my foundation, making it look more skin-like from the start. It also keeps my foundation from fading or becoming patchy almost all day. I'd say I get at least a full 10 hours wear with this primer. I've got dry skin which can sometimes make wearing even the lightest coverage foundation in the dry, winter months a total nightmare! Spackle keeps all those dry patches and weird, tiny flakes that foundation loves to cling to in check. I can't say that it's moisturising but it is a friend to my dry skin. This might mean trouble for those with oily skin. I'm not sure though.

It retails for $30. Seems a bit much at first glance, but you only need a little to cover your entire face and since it improves the finish of my foundation I think it's a fine investment.

Bath and Body Works Shea Cashmere and Silk Hand Cream

I'm really on the fence about Bath and Body Work's Shea Cashmere & Silk Hand Cream (part of their True Blue Spa line). I like the fragrance, if I don't over do it, but it's not great as a hand cream, if you ask me.

One thing I love about this product it the way it glides onto and into your skin. "Cashmere" is definitely not a misnomer here. The formula isn't greasy at all and leaves your skin feeling just like the cream's namesake. The first time I used it, I was really impressed. I don't think any other hand cream I've tried before has had this effect. Unfortunately it isn't as moisturizing as I had hoped. With "SHEA" so big on the label I expected something quite rich. My hands, especially my finger tips, get really dry and cracked in the winter time and this hand cream just doesn't cut it. It's not useless or anything. It'll do for days when light moisturization is needed, but if your hands are chapped and in need of something serious, this won't do the trick.

The fragrance of this cream is a mixture of almond, vanilla and sandalwood and it lingers on your skin for hours, even after you've washed your hands. It can become a bit too strong for my liking if I apply too much (almost perfumey), which I have done several times hoping I could get the moisturization I needed. But I usually really like the soft scent it leaves behind.