Felice. Science and Beauty.

http://feliceleung.blogspot.co.uk

A beauty and fashion evaluation blog.

With a scientific background, here I analyse the ingredients in the products on the market and provide my reviews on them.

Architecture is an important aspect in the beauty and fashion world. Understanding the architecture of your face and body is crucial in enhancing your beauty.

Makeup is a mask you put on every morning and take off every night. It can enhance your inner beauty but it can't mask an ugly heart. Beauty is all from within.

Bourjois Delice de Poudre

This bourjois bronzer is a good example of those that are only suitable for pale skin. For light medium and beyond skintone, this will look yellow/ orange. 

As shown in picture below, the finish this powder gives is matte even though some shimmers could be identified in the product itself. This product is blendable (hardest one to blend) but once it sets, it stays on all day.

Overall this product is only ideal to those with lighter skintones. 

Unblended: top-bottom; Bourjois, Nars Laguna, Sleek Contour kit- medium.

Blended.

Nars Exhibit A blush

Blushers are core products in completing a perfect base for the flawless skin. It accentuates your femininity and glow and most importantly the youth in you. Different coloured blushers can bring out different looks that you desire. 

The most natural blushers that you can find are the ones that mimic the colour of your cheeks when you blush i.e. the flush of blood that flows to the surface of your skin. Therefore a blusher that mimics the colour of blood is bound to suit all skintones. 

Nars Exhibit A is definitely a blusher that is universally flattering. It does not contain any shimmer. It is highly pigmented as of all Nars products and the lasting powder is phenomenal. It glides onto the skin like a cream and easily blendable. 

This product is definitely the one that adapts to your skintone and looks different on everybody and incredibly natural. People with an incredibly light skintone, it is important to use the right amount of product and slowly build up the colour to achieve that natural look.

Alternatives:

Sleek Scandalous blusher.

Sleek Bonfire Blusher (in blush by 3)

Mac Face and Body Foundation.

In some way foundations are suppose to look just like skin. They are suppose to even your skintone but not to hide discolouration or unevenness. 

This foundation offers a natural and sheer coverage, between a tinted moisturiser and a light foundation. Although this only provide a sheer coverage, it can be built to a light-medium coverage. If this foundation is applied correctly, it is definitely undetectable. 

This foundation is best suited for dry to normal skin to combination due to the fact that this product does not contain any oil absorbent. This foundation also requires a longer period of time to set in comparison with other foundations.

A setting powder will definitely allow better control of the whole makeup and one with oil absorbent will be beneficial to those with combination skin type. 

Alternatives:
Jemma Kidd light as air foundation (slightly more coverage). 

Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub


Exfoliants are products that removes the cornified layer of the epidermis (outermost layers of cells in the skin). There are different types of exfoliants: chemical or physical. 

Chemical exfoliants are ones that are much preferred to be used on the face and physical exfoliants are body or facial scrubs that contain grains of particles that physically remove the layer of skin cells.  

Removing that outermost layer of cells will reveal fresh, smoother and brighter skin. Scrubs can also increase your blood circulation and accelerating the skin renewal process.

Ingredients:

Glycerin, Maris sal (Sea salt), Sucrose, Polysorbate 20, Glyceryl stearate, Butylene glycol, Sodium chloride, PEG-100 stearate, Caprylic/capric triglyceride, Prunus amygdalus dulcis (Sweet almond) oil, Macadamia integrifolia shell powder, Citrus aurantifolia (Lime) oil, Dioctyl Adipate, Parfum (Fragrance), Benzyl alcohol, Ricinus communis (Castor) seed oil, Stearalkonium hectorite, Talc, Propylene carbonate, Propylene glycol, BHA, Propyl gallate, Limonene, Linalool, Citral, Citric acid, CI 77492 (Iron oxides), CI 77499 (Iron oxides), CI 77491 (Iron oxides).

This product is a physical exfoliant and unlike many other body scrub, this product is packed with grains that does the exfoliation. The consistency of this is is thick but unfortunately sea salt is the main ingredient that does the exfoliation- which dries your skin out. 

Since the name of this product is sugar crush with smashed brown sugar, the amount of brown sugar in this is questionable. This product also contains BHA which is a chemical exfoliant but unfortunately body scrubs are not usually left on the skin long enough for this ingredient to do anything. 

Even though salt is a major ingredient in this product, the dryness of this is counteracted by the almond oil, macadamia powder and other moisturising ingredients, leaving the skin soft and supple.

Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub

Boots Simply Sensitive Cleansing Wash Gel.

The most important products to have in your skincare routine is a cleanser and a moisturiser. No matter what skin type you have, you should always invest in these products. The purpose of a cleanser is to remove the excess oil that you may produce without stripping all the natural oil off your skin. Cleansers are not designed to remove makeup, this is what makeup removers are for.

Cleansers are suppose to cleanse and protect. Cleansers that contain many harsh ingredients that strips all natural oils off your skin will only leave your skin feeling dehydrated which encourage more oil production.

There are many cleansers on the market with different consistency: gel, foam, cream, liquid. 

With gel cleansers, the best way to use it is to lather up the cleanser with water before applying it to your face. This will allow easy application and also dilutes the cleanser slightly.

Ingredients:

Aqua, Cocamidopropyl betaine, Butylene glycol, Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, Sodium chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium methylparaben, Propylene glycol, Sodium ethylparaben, Citric acid, Tetrasodium EDTA, Aloe barbadensis extract, Methylparaben

The formula of this product is basic, really gentle and fragrance free which is ideal for those with sensitive skin whether it is oily or dry. It leaves the face clean and soft but it does not remove tough makeup- perfect as a morning cleanser. A makeup remover before cleansing is required.

Formula of cleansers are suppose to be very basic and gentle and the more expensive cleansers are not necessarily better. Any cleansers that claim to unclog or reduce acne do not usually work very well and leave the skin dehydrated. Different products should be used to reduce acne or to unclog pores. 

Nars Laguna Bronzer

Dating back to the early days when fair skin used to be the popular skin tone that many women tried to achieve; bronzers were used to define the structure of the face- defining the cheekbones, forehead and jawline; balancing out the structure of the face.

Nowadays with different perspectives, having that sunkissed look is what people desire for and bronzers are used for achieving that sunkissed look.

There are many bronzers in the market that fail to obtain the right colour to mimic a tan or shadows on the face. Many of them either have a yellow or orange based tone. As to many fake tan products, they also have an orange tinge that some may consider as attractive.

Orange toned bronzers can be used to achieve that sunkissed look if you are very fair (use with a light hand) but if you are light-medium toned or using it as a contour, it can look unnatural.

Bronzers with a greyish or ashy tone are perfect for contouring as it is suppose to mimic shadows; although these are very hard to find.

The ideal bronzer will be one with a proper brown undertone (with no orange tinge), these bronzers can be used as both contour and for a bronzed look.

Nars Laguna bronzer is one of the most popular bronzers, it has light shimmer and a brown base colour. The shimmer in this bronzer may not be preferred for some to use as a contour powder, but for others that fear that “mud” like colour, the shimmer may just eliminate that.

Personally I think the colour is universally flattering, shimmer is subtle, product is highly pigmented and lasting powder is good. The texture of this bronzing powder glides on like a cream making it really blendable and it is also buildable.

Nars Laguna Bronzing Powder- perfect for contour and bronzing.

Alternatives:

Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate- perfect for contouring, a cream product that has a grey tone.

Sleek Contour Kit.- great cheap alternative.

A foundation that is 2-3 shades darker.

Figs & Rouge 100% Organic Balm

                                       

Figs & rouge balms are 100% organic multi-purpose balms. They are available in many different flavours from coco vanilla to wild cherry.

Pomegranate balm Ingredients:

Helianthus annuus seed oil, butyrospermum, Parkii Fruit butter, Cera alba, Citrus grandis peel oil, Punica granatum seed oil, Limonene, Linalool.

(Ingredients are different for different flavours.)

There are many lip balms on the market with different consistency: oily/ greasy, waxy, creamy.

Oily/ greasy- Vaseline

Waxy- Burt’s Bees Original

Creamy- Chapsticks.

Personally I prefer lip balms that are petroleum free because I dislike that slimy feeling. I believe that lip balms are one of those products that are applied on to the lips multiple times a day and also eat a lot of annually. The consistency of this lip balm is creamy approaching onto waxy, very comfortable to wear. As this is a cream base product, the gripping powder of this product is not as great as those with a wax base but better than those that are solely creamy based and definitely better than those that are petroleum based.

Why not petroleum based products?

Petroleum is a naturally occurring chemical, crude oil/ fossil fuels and are widely used in the cosmetic industry. It is a brilliant ingredient in sealing moisture and shielding our skin; protecting it from the harsh environment (ideal if you’re living in the city) but it is not an ingredient that gets absorbed into the skin at all.

This is definitely a great product for those that dislike petroleum or beeswax products.

These are available in many stores, please check stockist: Figs & Rouge Stockist.

The Egyptian Magic All Purpose Skin Cream.

                       
This product has been hyped about and earned many press in the past few years. Recommended by many celebrities in the world to be the miracle cream used for wrinkles, cuts, bruises, stretch marks.. etc.

Ingredients: Olive oil, Beeswax, Honey, Bee Pollen, Royal Jelly and Propolis extract.

With no synthetic preservatives or synthetic fragrance added.

All ingredients are natural although product does not claim to be organic.

Olive oil is a fabulous antioxidant rich ingredient for dry skin and honey is a mild antibacterial agent but all these vitamins and antioxidant ingredients break down in the presence of air. This means that once the jar is open, all ingredients deteriorate.

Personally I don’t think this product does any of those that people claimed e.g. reduce fine lines, aid the healing of cuts or bruises, for it to do. However, this as a night time moisturiser is great, especially used as an overnight mask (due to its greasy consistency) could be great for those with dry skin or dry-combination skin to restore moisture.

With that in mind, a far cheaper alternative that does the same job would be pure extra virgin olive oil or argan oil.

To Purchase Egyptian Magic Cream.

Great alternative:

Melvita Argan Oil

Any Extra Virgin Olive oil.