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Blog name change!!!

This is the blog formally known as Aallexxy, but is now TheFoundationDirectory, apologies for any confusion, but I've been contemplating a change for a while. I hope this makes things easier in the long run, and while it's still not my optimal name (my other ideas were already taken), I'm taking this leap and hope you will join me and/or continue to support me.

Thank you

Alex.

Deciem; Hylamide Multi-Depth Rehydration Booster

So my love for Deciem brands continue, see here, here, here and here. I think you get the picture, and it seems it hasn't gone unnoticed as the brand kindly sent me one of their five new Boosters.

Deciem; Hylamide Multi-Depth Rehydration Booster

This is a super strength hydration serum with 5 forms of hyaluronic acid with varying molecular weights to target rehydration at multiple levels. This booster has very low molecular and hydrolyzed hyaluronic acid, which is said to encouraged better absorption and therefore hydrate lower and middle levels of the skin. The hyaluronic acid ferment is purified from a non-animal source and is oil free, also hyaluronic pre-cursor's encourage hyaluronic production and visible plumping of the skin, while the tamarind derived plant hyaluronic acid aids with improving visible skin elasticity.

This booster is to be used once a day before your moisturiser, in conjunction with your usual skincare products, for short and long term below and above surface rehydration for plumped up hydrated skin. Dehydration is something any skintype can suffer from, this lightweight gel is absorded easily, with no sticky or tacky residue on the skin and a great addition to my skincare regimme.

With all these things consider you'd imagine this is where I state how expensive it is,but at £18 for a 30ml pipette style glass bottle and only a small amount needed once a day, I think this will last a good while too. There are 4 other boosters for one for sensitivity, a Glow Booster, Photography Foundation (Blurring primer) and C25 that targets pigmentation, the latter two are currently on my wishlist.

have you tried any of the boosters?

Aallexxy's Foundation Files; Make Up Forever Ultra HD Foundation

Foundation Files; This is where I test out different base products, from concealer to powder, tinted moisturiser and foundation etc, over a period of 7-14 days and post my findings. (Follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Bloglovin so you don't miss a post) So let’s get started!!!

First off some information about me; Skintype: Combination (leaning dry in winter and Oily in Summer). Shade Reference: in between MAC NC45-50/NW43. Undertones: Yellow/Neutral.



Make Up Forever Ultra HD Foundation

 Brand: Make Up Forever

Name: Ultra HD Foundation

Coverage: Medium - Full

Shade: R510 Coffee - 175 in regular formula

Swatch:

Make Up Forever Ultra HD Foundation Swatch

What The brand says: Created for the very latest high-definition technologies of the film and TV industry, ULTRA HD advanced formulas look invisible on 4K camera and to the naked eye. Perfect for the makeup pros and for you.

ULTRA HD foundation feels like a second skin, but still provides medium coverage, and the light-diffusing formula looks natural and makes skin look flawless and feel moisturized. Exclusive 4K Complex guarantees invisible, natural and comfortable makeup. The fluid texture blends in seamlessly and conceals imperfections to unify the skin’s texture. Great for all skin types, and features a full-range of shades to cover all skintones.

Wear time (with/without primer): This lasts well throughout the day, although touch ups are required in my oily areas even with a mattifying primer as a base. But for the rest of my face, it lasts really well with no touch ups.

Price (ml): £33.50 for 30ml (Price starts from £29, depending on where you purchase it)

Pros: 40 Shades

Cons: New numbering system can be confusing

Suitable Skin Types: All

Ingredients: Not on website (will update from packaging in due course)

Oxidation: None

Any Other Information: Shades that start with an R represent those with a red undertone, while those with a Y, yellow undertones. There are 4 groups representing your skintone 2 - Light, 3 - Medium, 4 - Tan and 5 - Dark, then the last 2 digits represent the shade, which go up in increments of 5. The ones that have a match in the original formula will also have these numbers on the bottom of the bottle, but there are 15 extra shades in this formulation, but some of the previous shades have been discontinued. You maybe wondering why I got R510 then, well the original shade 175 is described as having coral undertones and I like a good neutral toned foundation, it works, but I think come winter I'll need a different shade. (NB: I have not tried the original, which I belive is being discontiuned, so I cannot compare formula)

Conclusion: This is a really nice foundation, that covers well without looking cakey or heavy and has a great shade range. However with all the hype around the original formula I expected to be wowed and wasn't, that's not to say it's bad, possibly I had very high expectations. It is good for photographs and filming, reasonably priced, especially if you get it at the cheaper end of the price bracket.

*Rating: Like

*Ratings; Hate, dislike, Like, Lust, Love

Aallexxy's FoundationFiles; Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze and Glow

Foundation Files; This is where I test out different base products, from concealer to powder, tinted moisturiser and foundation etc, over a period of 7-14 days and post my findings. (Follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Bloglovin so you don't miss a post) So let’s get started!!!

First off some information about me; Skintype: Combination (leaning dry in winter and Oily in Summer). Shade Reference: in between MAC NC45-50/NW43. Undertones: Yellow/Neutral.

Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow

Brand: Charlotte TIlbury

Name: Filmstar Bronze and Glow

Coverage/Pigmentation: Medium

Shade: Medium-Dark

Swatch:

Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow Swatch

What The brand says: This is a secret that silver screen sirens have kept to themselves for years – and once I share it with you – so will you! With FILMSTAR BRONZE & GLOW you can slim, sculpt, shorten, trim and highlight your features. It’s amazing what clever shading and highlighting tricks can do to your facial framework - it’s an illusion that I use all the time, particularly for red carpet scrutiny, and my clients can’t get enough of it. Take what you were born with and maximise your assets with FILMSTAR BRONZE & GLOW!

 
This shade is perfect for medium to dark skin tones, or deep tans, to contour features and mimic a sun-kissed complexion.
• The bronzer is the perfect universal blend of pearl and pigment to contour features and mimic a sun-kissed complexion.
• The highlighter is built up from a golden base that flatters any skin tone, and uses Light Flex Technology to capture light and radiate it out for a luminous complexion.
• Colour-rich pigments are rolled into elastomer pearls that smooth & buff the skin for excellent blendability & perfect colour uniformity.
• Paraben-free

Wear time (with/without primer):

Price (ml): £49 for 16g

Pros: Gorgeous packaging
Highilight shade very flattering for darker skintones
Travel friendly

Cons: Contour/bronze shade is not dark enough for it's purpose

Contour shade is not matte
Pricey

Suitable Skin Types: All

Ingredients: Talc, Mica, Isononyl Isononanoate, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Starch, Dimethicone, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, Zinc Stearate, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Dimethiconol, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Hexylene Glycol, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Silica, Tin Oxide, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499)

Oxidation: N/A

Any Other Information: The sculpt shade in this palette has shimmer running through it and it's warm toned , however the shimmer is not that evident on the face, none the less if you prefer a matte cool toned contour this is not for you. I did not think I would like the highlight shade, as it looked too orangey gold for my liking, but on the skin it creates a gorgeous, glowy sheen, that I think would look even pretty the deeper your skintone is.

If you contour with a liquid/cream product and then apply this after, you obviously won't need it to be as deep, and this can help set your contour as well as add a subtle glow to your features. But as you can see from the swatch above, the contour/bronze shade is not very deep at all, it does create a very subtle shadow when applied to my face, but does not bronze my skin.

Conclusion: I'm a little frustrated that it's taken so long after the original was released to produce a darker shade and on top of that the shade is just barely deep enough for me to actually contour or bronze with. I also bought the Powder and Sculpt brush which is often referenced to be used with this, but in order to build up the colour on my face quickly I end up using an angled more densely packed brush, however the Charlotte Tilbury brush is perfect for the highlighting portion of the palette. I think those no darker than an NC48ish and/or Asian skintones may benefit from the sculpt shade if you like a very subtle contour/bronze, while the highlight shade is more suited to a variety of skintones.

Personally there are more affodable options that will do a better job on deeper skintones, however I cannot fault the feel of the powders and the packaging, also the highlight shade is gorgeous, for this it gets a like rating. But if I was to rate the shades in the palette seperately, the sculpt shade gets a dislike rating and the highlight shade would get a love rating, so I split the difference.

*Rating: Like

*Ratings; Hate, dislike, Like, Lust, Love

Aallexxy's Foundation Files; House of Glamdolls Glambase Wheel

Foundation Files; This is where I test out different base products, from concealer to powder, tinted moisturiser and foundation etc, over a period of 7-14 days and post my findings. (Follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Bloglovin so you don't miss a post) So let’s get started!!!

First off some information about me; Skintype: Combination (leaning dry in winter and Oily in Summer). Shade Reference: in between MAC NC45-50/NW43. Undertones: Yellow/Neutral.

House of Glamdolls Glambase Wheel 2

Brand: House of Glamdolls

Name: Glambase Wheel

Coverage: Light - Full

Shade: 2

Swatch:



House of Glamdolls Glambase Wheel 2 Swatches

What The brand says: Created by David Horne, The GlamBase Wheel is a mixing revolution for complexion enhancement. The wheel contains 6 shades that have been blended for easy complexion perfection every time. The GlamBase Wheel 2 is presented in a windowed compact. 35g;

1. Radiate: The centre shade Radiate is a copper iridescent cream highlighter.
2. Caramel: A cream pigment designed to illuminate and lift features.
3. Toffee: A cream pigment designed to use as a lid neutral base and to highlight and sharpen features.
4. Chestnut: A cream pigment designed to use as a mixing beauty base shade and to shape and sculpt features.
5. Truffle: A deep neutral pigmentation concealer designed to conceal pigmentation and enhance the complexion.
6. Shadow: A deep olivine brown concealer and contour.

Wear time (with/without primer): The wear time on this is good on my combination skin, you will need to touch up through the day, to keep it looking at it's best even with a mattifying primer. Although when my oils do push through it gives more of a glow than an oil slick look.

Price (ml): £25 for 35g

Pros: Great for travel
6 Shades in one compact
Multi-purpose i.e. concealer, contour, highlight, base etc.
Reasonably priced
Will last a long time
Compact and lightweight
Great for Makeup Artists

Cons: No ingredients lists on the website

Suitable Skin Types: All, extremely oily skins prep accordingly.

Scent: A lightly subtle floral scent that I can only smell when i stick my nose in the palette and not on my face.

Ingredients: Not stated on the website, on the back of the product, but each shade has a slightly different ingredient list.

Oxidation: None

Any Other Information: I was initially scared of the Shadow (olive Green Brown) shade in this palm sized wonder, but I got a tip on Instagram from David Horne himself, who suggested I mix it with the more red based shades (Truffle or Chestnut depending on your skintone) to make the perfect neutral contour shade. Which made perfect sense, once he said it.

This palm sized compact is lightweight with it's plastic packaging, but secure due to the screw top lid, with a clear pane you can see the product through. The radiate shade is also perfect for the current craze 'Strobing', aka highlighting, on darker skintones for that lit from within, hit by the light in the right places glow.

Conclusion: This is a great product if you love highlighting or contouring or if you struggle to find your base shade, it has everything in it for a flawless complexion, all you need in addition to this is powder. I think this is a great buy for it's multi-purpose function and practicality, there isn't a single shade in this that I cannot find a purpose for, which is unusual for a palette you haven't personally picked the shades yourself.

*Rating: Love

*Ratings; Hate, dislike, Like, Lust, Love

Aallexxy's Foundation Files; bareMinerals Blemish Remedy Foundation and Seamless Buffing Brush!!!

Foundation Files; This is where I test out different base products, from concealer to powder, tinted moisturiser and foundation etc, over a period of 7-14 days and post my findings. (Follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Bloglovin so you don't miss a post) So let’s get started!!!

First off some information about me; Skintype: Combination (leaning dry in winter and Oily in Summer). Shade Reference: in between MAC NC45-50/NW43. Undertones: Yellow/Neutral.

Bareminerals Blemish Remedy Foundation and Seamless Buffing Brush

Brand: bareMinerals

**Name: Blemish Remedy

Coverage: Medium - Full

Shade: Clearly Almond 11 - Dark skin with neutral undertones (darkest shade available in the UK)

Swatch:

Bareminerals Blemish Remedy Foundation Swatch

What The brand says: A gentle yet effective, creamy, weightless, non-drying, mineral powered foundation that conceals imperfections and helps reduce the appearance of blemishes and pores for clearer-looking skin. Formulated with Aspen Bark and Tea Tree Oil to help promote clearer, healthy looking skin and Aloe to help soothe and hydrate the skin. It will help to reduce the appearance of redness, while controlling oil and shine; 100% of the 102 women included in a clinical study noticed a reduction in skin oil after 6 weeks of use and 92% experienced a significant reduction in pore size appearance.

Application is recommended with the newly launched accompanying Seamless Buffing brush for best results, and apply using the Swirl, Tap and Buff method.

Wear time (with/without primer): This foundation has very good wear time, by the end of the day if I do not touch up at all my oils do push through, but gives me a glow rather than an oil slicked look. Being a powder foundation also, touch ups are super easy, if you are willing to carry the foundation around with you. Otherwise your usual touch up powder will work just as well

Price (ml/g): Foundation; £26 for 6g
Seamless Buffing Brush £24

Pros: Extra shades available in the USA
Formulated for blemish prone skin
Contains skincare ingredients

Cons: 10 shades; Not enough shades for darker skintones

Brush is sold separately, meaning initial outlay could be expensive

Suitable Skin Types: Acne prone, Oily, Combination, Normal

Ingredients: Lauroyl Lysine, Silica, Salicylic Acid, Populus Tremuloides Bark Extract, Soil Minerals, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil, Litchi Chinensis Fruit Extract, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Extract, Disodium EDTA, Limonene, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Sorbic Acid. May Contain (+/-); Mica, Titanuim Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI77492, CI 77499).

Scent: Light, sweet smelling, but inoffensive. Dissipates quickly on the skin.

Oxidation: None

Any Other Information: The newly launched accompanying Seamless Buffing Brush is a densely packed kabuki style brush with a chrome silver handle, it's a synthetic brush that's very soft on the skin. I wouldn't say it's essential, as long as you have a kabuki/buffing style brush that fits nicely into the circular opening of the foundation. Even though this contains skincare ingredients, some which are quite high up the ingredients list, if you have severe blemish prone skin I would still consult a professional (which I am not) and continue your usual skincare routine.  (Although you can use this foundation even if you do not suffer from blemish prone skin).

Conclusion: Being an avid liquid and cream foundation lover I've surprised myself that I like this, but I think it would be great for the summer months, and it can be used to set liquid foundations/tinted moisturisers when used with a powder brush. I have the odd blemish here and there, so it's nice to know a daily foundation can benefit my skin even if only in a small way, and compliment my skincare routine rather than hinder it. I'm hoping bareMinerals will extend the shade range, as there previous foundations come in 20 shades, even though some of these still lack WOC friendly shades. This launches in September and will be available from bareminerals.co.uk, among the other usual department stores that stock the brand.

*Rating: Like

*Ratings; Hate, Dislike, Like, Lust, Love

**Pr Sample