Foundation Dream Team anybody?? - Drugstore Edition

This is for all my girls out there who know what it's like to be acne prone, so oily your makeup feels like a greasy easy-to-rub-off cream sitting on your face, and to have hyper pigmentation/scars/redness to top it all off! Ah...what a life we oily girls have, am I right or am I right? 

If you completely understand all of the things I described above, you probably know that the never ending struggle to find a perfect foundation routine is 110% real. Although I have found multiple foundations and powders that work decent at keeping me from becoming overwhelmingly oily, I could never discover a routine that kept my face fresh and smooth AT LEAST 3 hours after application. Usually, it takes my skin about 2 hours (or less) after makeup application to become a wonderful land of grease and makeup breakup (pores seeping through and whatnot). 

Okay now that I'm done whining... a couple of days ago, I decided to experiment a bit with my foundation. First off, I absolutely adore the Boots No. 7 Beautifully Matte Foundation for oily skin. It gives a gorgeous somewhat satin finish to the skin by smoothing over my pores and giving near full coverage for all my scarring and redness (and trust me, I have A LOT). However, the foundation color I purchased is a tad too dark and the color runs a bit on the grey side, so although I've worn it multiple times by itself, I decided to attempt mixing a bit of my CoverGirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation into it. Since this foundation also gives the skin a beautiful finish similar to the Boots No.7 foundation (although the Boots No.7 Beautifully Matte controls my oil better than CG Outlast) and is a bit too pale for me at the moment, I became curious as to how this combination might work out.

Well, to my pleasant surprise, it worked BEAUTIFULLY. Beautifully is actually an understatement. Below you guys can see a picture of both products along with swatches and the shades I currently use, just to give you an idea of what these products look like. (:

Left: CoverGirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation in Classic Ivory

Right: Boots No. 7 Beautifully Matte Foundation in Cool Beige

Left: Boots No.7 Foundation

Right: CG Outlast Foundation

(I probably should've ligned them up to match the first picture...haha. Whoopsy!)

Once the foundations unite!

As you can probably tell, both foundations appear to have a very similar consistency. To state the obvious they're both quite liquidy, but despite being liquidy, the formula of each foundation can't be described as thin. Considering these are meant to be mattifying foundations, the formula does have just a hint of thickness to it, but since both tend to feel quite light and comfortable on the skin, mixing the two never feels heavy or bothersome whatsoever. 

Also, as shown in the pictures, the CG Outlast Foundation seems to appear brighter when sitting next to the Boots No.7 Foundation. This is definitely where their undertones come into play, as I briefly mentioned earlier in the post. CG Outlast colors tend to run on the pinker and more neutral side of shades, where as Boots No.7 runs darker with greyish undertones that can make it seem like it may appear dull on the skin (which isn't the case). The two mixed together actually create a shade that is somewhat neautral/pink...does that even make sense to anyone but me? Haha. Although my skin leans closer to the neutral/yellow undertones, this combination doesn't seem to throw my skin tone off at all. Below I'll give you guys some more pictures of the actual application. (:

As you can see, I have plenty of scarring from a recent explosion of acne. Alongside natural redness.

One layer of the combined foundations over the scarring and redness.
The other half of my face with one layer of the combined foundations in comparison to the uncovered side.

After one layer the foundation combination has been applied to the entire face.
Again, a single layer of the foundations.

 So if those pictures didn't prove to you that these foundations look amazing together, then I don't know what will. After my first year of college, my skin has gone haywire. Luckily it has gotten back under control at the moment, so my main obstacle is very pigmented scarring (which we all know takes forever to disappear). These two foundations combined really seem to work as partners in enhancing the beautiful coverage each provides on its own, no concealer needed. In the last picture, you can probably notice the slight greyish tone left by the Boots No.7 Foundation. This finish can come off as scary when first applied, but believe me, after a few minutes and after setting it, it's as if the color adjusts and melts perfectly into your skin. 

Two last things to keep in mind about these two foundations...First is SPF! The Boots No. 7 Foundations contains SPF 15 and the CG Outlast Foundation contains SPF 20. Just be weary of this in case you're expecting to take lots of pictures and prefer not to look ghostly white! Secondly, like I said before, my skin is beyond oily and I have yet to find a product that keeps me from having to blot at all. Although this combination is beautiful, I still had to blot twice throughout the day. For you, that may be a lot, for me that is almost a heaven-sent gift. :P

To finish this post off, I'm going to give you a guys a picture after the foundation dream team has been set and other makeup has been applied.

Well, I think I've said all I've got to say on these two! Honestly, I was skeptical about the Boots No. 7 Foundation simply because I NEVER, EVER hear anyone talking about it. Trust me guys, I'm sure you will be pleasantly surpised. That being said...you also may not like what I like! Different people, different taste, different skin, different foundation ball game. I can only share what I like and hope you all enjoy! <3

Thank you soooooo much for reading and below I'm going to give you guys links to these foundations so you can get an idea of the price range and the available shades. Don't be afraid to comment and let me know your thoughts and ideas! (:

Adios amigos!

TWITTER: @marisalebleu

INSTAGRAM: @misslebleu

Foundations:

Boots No. 7 Beautifully Matte Foundation

CoverGirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation

My Welcome to Beauty Paradise!!

A Teensy Introduction

Hello Hello fellow beauty lovers (: 

Well to start off, my name is Marisa, a.k.a. "misslebleu" (That username isn't too lame, is it? Haha). I guess my goal with this first post is to let you know a little bit more about the person behind this blog, rather than remaining some spooky, mystery figure with no identity. So if you'd really like to take a peek through the looking glass (that is...your computer screen), then hopefully I'll be able to give you an idea of who I am, why I've decided to start this blog, and what you could expect from me in the future. I know there are about a bajillion beauty blogs out there, but I just hope we can work together to make this blog something that is a true paradise for all of you. (:

P.S. This will be a lengthy post...read at your own risk. :o 

A Bit About Who I Am

To begin, I'm a small town girl from the countryside of California and I am currently about to enter my second year at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). I began my college career as a declared Biology major with the idea that I may want to enter the cosmetic/skincare industry by becoming a Biologist conducting skin research for a cosmetic company. However, as my experiences during my first year began to shape my aspirations, I came to realize that entering the beauty industry as a Biologist wouldn't be the best suited path for me. I adore being able to share inspiration and motivation with others through skincare and cosmetics, therefore I would love to work directly with people and the products. Although my mind is subject to change, I currently believe entering the industry as a type of business woman may fit me best. 

So eyyyyy, shout out to all of the other university students out there who are totally confused about the future, I'm right there with ya! No worries though, rest assured, our paths will unfold as long as we continue to strive to be the best we can be. (: 

My Desire to Start This Blog

In the section above, I sort of told you where I am in my life right now and hopefully gave you an idea of the type of person I am, but I didn't give you much deeper insight about what motivates my passion for skincare and cosmetics.

Let's rewind my life a bit...okay, actually, we're taking it back about seven whole years, back to when I was getting ready to enter my very first day of seventh grade. Aside from all the usual first day jitters and butterflies that we all remember, I had one other problem...a monstrous, individual, bright red bump smack dab in the middle of my nose. It was horrifying since I had yet to encounter any previous acne on myself and on my friends. I was imagining all of the possible reactions and stares I would have to face on the first day of school, but kept trying to push this frightening image aside and reassure myself that everyone would keep to themselves about my pimple. Unfortunately, I was wrong. To this day, I adore my best friend and she would never mean any harm, but being the verbal person she is, she didn't hesitate to exclaim, "Marisa, what is THAT on your nose?!?!?!" Being overwhelmed by complete and utter embarrassment, I bolted to the girls bathroom and hid myself in a stall where no one could see my tears. Although my friends chased after me and attempted to get me out of the stall to console me, I waited until the bell rang so they were forced to leave for class...and so began my battle against cystic acne.

I would love to give a detailed explanation of the endless treatments and regimens I endured to try winning this war, but I don't want to make this post more unbearably long than it might already become (maybe if you guys start to like me enough, or even like this post enough, I can dedicate a post to many of the things I tried, yes? Yes. Your comments will be my command ^-^). Basically, I first tried meeting with a skin practitioner for a couple of years (the equivalent of dermatologist), but eventually got exhausted of pills and creams that didn't eliminate the acne. The only remaining treatment was Accutane, which I was not yet willing to try. I proceeded to try various alternatives and it wasn't until I met an esthetician between ninth and tenth grade who saved my skin's life for awhile by decongesting it, smoothing over the majority of cystic scars, and throwing it into the most stable state it had been in the longest time. Although, years later I still have scars on my nose that will never go away. In fact, you will probably notice many of them in future pictures I upload.

After being ecstatic over the magic these treatments carried out on my skin, I still struggled with stubborn periodic breakouts of cystic pimples, but nothing near before. By senior year, my skin seemed to be almost normal. However, now it is after my first year of attending university and it managed to throw my skin into complete chaos again. As much as I research skincare in my free time, I do not believe any treatments, whether natural to chemical, will permanently save my skin any longer. I'll be sure to keep you guys updated on what my next step in defeating my acne will be and whether it works or not, that'll be for another post. (:

Anywho, now that we are FINALLY finished with my skin's background, hopefully you're able to see why I have such a love for helping others when it comes to skincare. Now you might be wondering, well what about her love for beauty? My love for beauty has definitely become intertwined with the love I developed for skincare through my journey. Since preschool, I have worked my hardest at improving my artistic abilities. I always had a passion for drawing and art in general. For the majority of my life, up until high school, I had thought for sure that I wanted to become an artist of some sort (graphic designer and animation were at the top of my list for awhile), but also developed a growing passion for science and skincare. Slowly, these two loves are what caused me to become fascinated with cosmetics. I'm going to stop there though since I don't want to get too nerdy on you about my interests ;D, and again don't want to drag out this post any more. :P 

Future Plans!

Now that you got to know me a little better, here's what you can expect! This blog is definitely going to focus  primarily on skincare and cosmetics, i.e. reviews, demos, tutorials, etc. Of course, a lot of what I post will be guided by whatever you might want to see, and will also favor those who may be struggling with the similar skin to mine (an oily mess, red, and extremely acne prone). (: If any suggestions get thrown out there, I will be happy to see what I can do! A YouTube channel might just be in the future as well...the suspense...

Also, like I stated before, I do love helping others and if anyone would like me to begin a blog dedicated to advice in the future...please don't hesitate to state your opinions (: Make use of those comments! 

Major props if you made it to the end! I thank you for reading it all. My acne story has always been a sensitive subject, as I'm sure many of you out there understand all too well, but you aren't alone...And with that, we come to the end of the very first post. (:

INSTAGRAM: @misslebleu

TWITTER: @marisalebleu

P.S. Below is a picture of none other than moi! I imagine it's also nice to put a face to a blogger if possible, so there you all go. :D (Haven't quite figured out how to enter a picture permanently on my actual blog page yet. Haha) Please request tutorial on my makeup look if you would like to see!