Matte matte matte - Revlon vs Benefit foundation

I'll not beat around around the bush here -I am a greasy, oily girl. That shine on my hair, yeah wait a day it'll be slick, slick, slick. The glow and softness of my skin, give it an hour and I'll be shiny and maybe even a little bit sticky. Who knows where I get it from but I have oily skin which is a bit of a nightmare for someone trying to emulate the pin-up era when flawless, even, skin was de rigueur. I can do a pretty solid cat-eye liner and can even make a decent attempt at contouring but I'm always struggling with that matte skin. This is especially a problem in the warmer months and for daywear when I don't want to spend ten minutes building up layers of foundation.

For a while now I've been using Benefit Playsticks which claim to do the job of concealer, foundation and powder all in one. I found them highly recommended for mattifying skin and I like the creamy consistency and ease of application. Unfortunately they have reduced the range and I've been struggling to match my skin tone so I thought it was time to try something new.

After a quick bit of research Revlon Colorstay foundation came up again and again as a product recommended for a matte finish. They offer one blend for combination/oily skin and one for normal/dry skin so it seemed like they would cater to my needs. At £12.49 it's also less than half the price of the £26.50 Benefit Playsticks so I thought I'd give it a try. 

I've never been much of a fan of liquid foundation, probably due to my oily skin as it feels like layering liquid onto an already balmy surface but this dries quite quickly. I found it gave good coverage and did go on matte. It comes in the most annoying bottle though, with no pump for application, so getting it out of the bottle is very faffy! I didn't quite get my correct skin match so I might go a shade lighter next time but overall I've been pretty happy with the even, anti-shine affect it provides.

Time to put them head-to-head! 

I applied each in the morning before work and abstained from my usual covering of pressed powder to see how matte they were and how long they lasted! I then took a photo at lunchtime and another when I got home. I tried to do this in the same location at roughly the same time to compare.

First thing in the am....

As you can see the shades are completely different! I was starting out with one that was too light (Spin the Bottle in the Playsticks) and made my olive arms look bizarre. My choice in the Colorstay (310 Warm Golden) was probably a bit too dark but will match perfectly if I catch the sun! It's a good start to both, pretty matte with a little shine on the T-Zone but this is a problem area for me anyway.

Lunchtime!

By lunch I was surprised at how well they were both holding up. Considering I normally layer over with powder I was impressed that I had only a little shine by lunch. You can see that my eye make up is starting to slide due to the oily skin and there's a little shine in each.

Hometime!

By the time I got in from work the shine had got me, but definitely more so with the Playsticks. It shows up less in the photo but I had a very slippery forehead and nose! I think it's also obvious from my expressions which one I preferred! The Colorstay just gave me less glow and I definitely would have reached to top up or powder over way earlier in the day with the Playsticks. With a layer of pressed powder over it the Colorstay gives a perfectly pin-up matte finish that keeps my oily skin under control and provides a good base for my other make up as well as being better for the budget. While the bottle drives me absolutely insane I'll be sticking with this to keep me shine free through summer!

Bella Donna dreams

A little while ago I was tempted by the PUG online yard sale and picked up a few discounted beauties. It's hard to resist any PUG sale. I was lucky in that I wasn't coveting anything too hard at the time but I still thought I'd have a little browse. Then a few things found their way into my basket, you know, just in case, just to think about.... Then somehow I was entering in my payment details...

Any kind of sale has a weird affect one me. Things I'd thought were kind of pretty suddenly become must-haves and I find myself whittling down a wishlist that I never would have considered before! A PUG sale is extra dangerous because most of the site falls into the wishlist. The prices are the only thing that holds me back. Reduce those and I'm hopeless. This will probably end up with me living in a garden shed, dressed immaculately in retro evening gowns that I wear to sleep in.

The speed of the PUG website during a sale proves that I'm not alone in this though. I've got some soul-sisters out there, tensely waiting for each page to load. It's worth the wait though when you pick up a bargain like this....

The Bella Donna dress in black with red rose border print by PUG brand Pinup Couture. I'd admired the flamenco flare of this style before but probably wouldn't have parted with the full $144. For $60 however, I was sold.

The dress has a nice full skirt that you could fit a petticoat under but also looks fine without. It's not as full as the Harley dress so it's easier to wear without one. The adjustable, thick straps and boned bodice make for a secure fit that would work with a range of body shapes. The fabric is a sturdy cotton mix with a beautiful rose print along the skirt.

One day I'll remember to iron my dresses....

As if that wasn't pretty enough it's finished with a row of little pom-poms along the hem and neckline!

So cute!! 

I choose a M in this dress and it fits perfectly. I definitely prefer the look of the dress with a belt though. It helps accentuate the shape of the dress and pull it together.

If you like Spanish/Flamenco inspiration this is the dress for you! It's sadly no longer available in this colourway but you can get it in red with a black border print or red with an Italian landscape border print over on the PUG website. Both dresses have different feels, The red with rose border has the same look as this black version but the Italian border print is amazing and evokes the Riviera (no pom-poms on this version).

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All photos by the lovely Sally Molineaux

Miss Terri investigates................. Bicarbonate of Soda!

So I'm thinking of doing a series where I investigate different beauty treatments etc and see if they work. I'm not sure if it'll make interesting reading but I think it'll be a fun thing to do and I might just find some new tricks!

First up, using baking soda/bicarbonate of soda to clean teeth!

I'm pretty lucky to have teeth that are generally quite white but since I started drinking coffee regularly I've definitely noticed some slight discolouration. I looked into some of the teeth whitening products you can buy in the shops but got a bit scared about how to use them so I opted for a natural approach first.

Apparently you can use bicarbonate of soda in a ton of different ways from cleaning your whole kitchen to putting out fires (and I've just been chucking it in cake mixtures tsk!). Maybe I'll try cleaning my hairbrushes with it at some point but for now I'm just brushing my teeth with it. Here is my initial photo to show where I started at.....

I've always wanted a close up of my mouth...urgh

They're really not too bad at all but there is some discolouration to the canines and I'm fussy!

I started a few weeks ago using a bit of bicarb on my toothbrush with some water and brushing gently for two minutes. At first I did this every other night but after eight days I switched to just every five nights as it's quite abrasive to your tooth enamel. I also brushed as normal for teeth and mouth hygiene. Luckily I have always weirdly enjoyed brushing my teeth so this never felt like a problem. It did confuse my housemates to find bicarb in the bathroom though!

One thing to warn of is that it doesn't taste very nice so it's not particularly pleasant but my teeth did feel super clean afterwards so I ploughed on. After three weeks, this was the result..............

To look in the mirror I can't see a difference but there is perhaps a slight one in the photos. I took the photos at the same time of day in the same place to try and give an accurate representation. I think I might have seen some more dramatic results if I had had a big problem when I started but as my teeth were fairly white to begin with there wasn't much change. 

Overall I'm not sure it's worth the disgusting taste unless you have bad staining to start with. Having said that I'd be tempted to do this from time to time to give my teeth a bit more of a deep-clean as they felt lovely after. For now though it's back to the baking cupboard for my bicarb!