Make Up For Ever Velvet Mat+ Foundation: The Rundown

Liquid makeup foundation has always had a tough road to hoe when it comes to my super oily skin. Most begin to slide off like a Picasso painting within an hour or so and you can forget it if the temperatures and humidity soar like they do in Florida. There is only one liquid foundation I’ve found holds up quite well with my oily skin regardless of the heat and humidity and that is the Velvet Mat+ foundation by Make Up For Ever.

Make Up For Ever Velvet Mat Plus Foundation in #75 Shade

Available in 16 shades, Make Up For Ever bills this as foundation as a full-coverage, mattifying, water resistant (read: holds up to sweat). Great for combination to oily skin, this full coverage formula mattifies with a velvety finish. With a formula that is very buildable, it is also very good at concealing light blemishes when blended using a brush. I use shade #75 (Coffee–Deep skin w/ Beige undertones) of this foundation.

MUFE Mat Velvet+ in Shade #75 (set using MUFE Pro Prime Powder foundation in #174 Neutral Saffron)

As i am constantly battling shiny skin, this foundation is amazing at giving me that matte look I like. FYI–I am not, nor have I ever been, down with the ‘dewy’ look. It doesn’t take a lot of product to cover the entire face and while the formula does oxidize on the face a bit, the finish is still beautiful. You can apply it with your fingers but I find using a fluid makeup brush provides a gorgeous ‘airbrushed’ finish with this foundation. As a bonus, this formula is GREAT for sensitive skins! I’ve never had an allergic reaction to this foundation. There are a few downsides to this foundation but they’ve never been dealbreakers for me. First, while is is definitely water-resistant, oily skins will need to set this formula with a powder. Even in high-humidity in Florida, this foundation holds up very well for about four hours. After that, if you’re an oily girl you will need your powder compact nearby. Unfortunately there is no sunscreen in this product so if you value your skin as I do, you will need to use some SPF on your face. My biggest peeve with this formula is that there is NO option for dark skin with red undertones. Some cosmetic companies need to realize that not all dark-skinned women have yellow to beige undertones.

From left: MUFE Velvet Mat + Foundation in #75, NARS Sheer Matte Foundation in New Guinea

While I really do like how Velvet Mat+ performs on my skin, NARS Sheer Matte foundation in New Guinea is a better color match for me. I use both foundations interchangably during the winter months. This foundation is also used a lot for bridal makeup. However if you do have super oily-skin as I do, make sure someone’s got a compact of Make Up For Ever Pro Finish powder foundation for a quick touch up. Make Up For Ever Velvet Mat+ Foundation is available exclusively at Sephora stores and Sephora.com and Make Up For Ever boutiques.

Make Up For Ever Velvet Mat Plus Foundation in #75 Shade (Ingredients)

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Makeup Intelligence: Pro Finish Foundation from Make Up For Ever

Looks like Make Up For Ever has a brand new foundation out and in a wide range of shades!

New for Spring 2013: Pro Finish Foundation from Make Up For Ever. FYI: The brown girl in this photo is wearing Shade #177.

Make Up For Ever’s new Pro Finish foundation looks to be direct competitor to MAC’s ubiquitous Studio Fix foundation. Available in a range of twenty-five (25) shades, it can be applied wet for a sheer finish or dry for a matte and full coverage finish. I’ve never been quite pleased with the existing powder foundation from MUFE so it is very exciting to see this new product and formula.

MUFE Pro Finish foundation on display at Sephora. And yeah, the Rouge Artiste lipsticks are great too!

I tried applying this to my bare skin in Sephora using the new tapered foundation kabuki brush. The foundation went on flawlessly and the tapered brush expertly laid the foundation down in those challenging areas of the nose bridge and eye sockets. It was very easy to blend when dry and the resulting finish was nice and matte. I believe a sponge applicator is included with the compact but if you are prone to breakouts as I am, toss the sponge and go with the foundation brush. Even with all of the swatches I’ve shown here, my ideal shade is #175. Why this color was not included in the Deep skintone sample card is beyond me. Interesting how I am #75 in the Velvet Matte formula and #175 in Pro Finish.

MUFE Pro Finish Foundation deep shades on sample card (available for free at Sephora)

Swatches on NW43 skin of MUFE’s new Pro Finish Powder Foundation (w/o flash)

Definitely check out the foundation Kabuki brush. I am beyond impressed with how well it applies and blends this foundation. The bristles are soft and deliver practically mistake-proof application. This is definitely on the list to be reviewed/Florida Tested when I head to Disney World in July.

Make Up For Ever’s new Pro Finish Powder foundation is now available exclusively at Sephora stores and Sephora.com.

NEW! MUFE Pro Finish Foundation. All swatches are on bare MAC NW43/MUFE Velvet Mat+ #75/NARS New Guinea skin.

Swatches on NW43 skin of MUFE’s new Pro Finish Powder Foundation (w/ flash)

MUFE Pro Finish ingredient list. Why is there NO sunscreen in this? ::sigh::

MUFE Pro Finish foundation can be applied either wet (for sheer coverage) or dry (matte full coverage)

MUFE’s Pro Finish Foundation for Deep Skin (free card from Sephora, w/ flash)

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Preview: NEW Make Up For Ever Aqua Creams!

Score one for the Sephora inside JCPenney for this one!

It’s late May, which means Miami Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week approaches…and so does new MUFE launches!

It turns out not only has Estee Lauder surprised me this week, but so has Make Up For Ever. They have added four (4) new aqua cream shades for eyes and cheeks that are so vibrant, so gorgeous, I had to acquire a few of them.

The four (4) new shades are:

23 — Acid Green (straight up frosty chartreuse green)
24 — Yellow (semi-matte taxicab yellow)
25 — Pastel Blue (frosty pastel blue–stunning!)
26 — Purple (looks a lot like the legendary #19 that never made it to the US on initial product launch)

The Aqua Creams I bought–so happy! (w/ flash)

Make Up For Ever Aqua Creams are my favorite cream shadows to use in the summer and in hot humid climates like Florida. I have tested these extensively in the hot July Florida weather and they hold up beautifully! The price has gone up to $23 per pot but you only need very little to get intense color payoff. If you think you can get the same kind of payoff with Maybellene’s Color Tattoo cream shadows, you are sadly mistaken. They are extremely good for a drugstore product but nowhere near the longevity and pigmentation as MUFE–especially if you have oily eyelids like I do.

These aqua creams are available NOW at Sephora.com. GO, GO, GO!!! But before you leave skid marks, check out the picspam!

Swatches from top: #26, #23, #24, #25 (flash)

The Aqua Creams I bought–so happy! (w/o flash HDR)

Gorgeous, perfect for summer and could probably withstand a nuke blast w/o creasing

#23 Acid Green: Stunning alone or under NARS Rated R green shadow

#25 Pastel Blue: An excellent choice to make brown eyes pop

#26 Purple: A long time coming and the PERFECT base for MUFE Eyeshadow #92.

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NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in Martinique: The Rundown

I am so in love with this product I went back for the lighter (and better match to my Winter/Spring skin) shade in Martinique!

NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in Martinique

Martinique (which is an island in the Caribbean and yes I was geeky enough to look it up) is described by NARS as a medium-dark with red undertones. If you wear NARS Sheer Matte/Glow in Cadiz or New Guinea, or NW40 – NW45 in MAC foundations or Make Up For Ever Velvet Mat+ in 70 – 75, this shade is a good color match.

If you’ve read through my review of NARS Tinted Moisturizer in the Polynesia shade, you know how impressed I am with this product. While I loved Polynesia, it really is too dark for my Winter skin (though it did give me a gorgeous summer bronzed look!). After a trip to my local Sephora where they’d just gotten these in stock, one of the sales associates picked out Martinique for me straight away. I took a sample home and was so impressed how well this shade matched my skin that I bought the full size.

For reference, Seychelles was too yellow in tone though the shade did match and Malaga was also very yellow and obviously too light for me. Cuba was also too light. Also while these colors were too light, the yellow tones were more apparent and the color didn’t look ‘ashy’ on me–just an undertone mismatch.

So let’s get to some picspam of NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in Martinique!

Back of the container with sunscreen active ingredients and usual cosmetics warnings

NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in Martinique, swatched on NW43 skin (no flash/HDR)

Martinique swatched on NW43 skin w/flash

Martinique swatched w/o flash (overhead light)

By now you’re probably wondering how Martinique compares to Polynesia and of course, I’ve got you covered there. Polynesia is more of a dark chocolate as compared to the milk chocolate color of Martinique. The picspam speaks for itself.

Side by side comparison of NARS Pure Radiant in Martinique & Polynesia

Swatches of NARS tinted moisturizer on NW43 skin from left: Martinique, Polynesia (w/ flash)

I mixed Martinique with Polynesia and got the PERFECT shade!

From left: Make Up For Ever Velvet Mat+ in #75, NARS Pure Radiant in Martinique, NARS Sheer Matte in New Guinea

I’ve had Polynesia for about a month and Martinique for about two weeks and my impression of this product has only gotten better. I’ve noticed (and other people have too) how my skin is improving with the consistent use of this product. A few acne scars that I had been covering up with concealer have begun to fade noticeably and I’ve got this nice glow going on! Another added benefit is this product has no artificial fragrance and neither is the natural fragrance overpowering.

NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer is now available at NARSCosmetics.com, Sephora.com and Sephora stores, and of course at Nordstrom.com and Nordstrom stores.