Weekend: Foundation & Fragrance

So I headed to the shops over the weekend with a few things in mind. Firstly, I was after a dress for a black tie event coming up at work, unfortunately I did not find anything I liked, although I admit I did spend more time looking at makeup than dresses. I was also looking to purchase the Nars Sheer Matte Foundation which I mentioned in my wishlist, however this also did not go to plan. With a couple of my close friends’ birthdays coming up, the shopping trip was also a good opportunity to see what presents I could find them.

I attempted to search for my perfect Nars shade in House of Fraser and asked the Nars assistant for some help with this. Firstly, she recommended going for the Nars Sheer Glow foundation as the Sheer Matte Foundation is due to be discontinued. I felt that in comparison to choosing a foundation in the Mac store there was a lack of range, as the assistant didn’t even ask about my skin type. She then went on to apply three streaks of different shades of the Sheer Glow foundation to my face, yet none of the shades were a perfect match for my skin. The shade recommended by findation.com was also completely wrong and way too dark. The assistant mentioned that there was another shade called Syracuse which they did not have in stock, but she believed would be a good match for my skin.

Nars Sheer Matte

Mac Studio Fix Fluid

Mac Pro Longwear

Having gone out shopping with an intention to buy a new foundation, I then ventured into the Mac store in Westfields. In Mac, the assistant asked me about my skin type and what type of coverage I was after. Although I currently use Mac Studio Fix fluid foundation in shade NC44, during winter, as my skin gets lighter this foundation looks far too dark on my skin and I have been using it to contour my cheeks. The Studio Fix foundation is said to offer medium to “build-able” coverage – or what I would call heavy coverage. The foundation I ended up purchasing, as recommended by the assistant in Mac, was the Pro Longwear foundation with SPF 10 in NC42. I am thoroughly pleased with this purchase as it offers sheer to medium coverage which I think is much more appropriate for my changing skin needs and the colour does not make me look like a complete different person! I hope that this foundation will live up to this great first impression it has made on me.

I entered Jo Malone London looking for a fragrance I could purchase as a present for one of my friends. One of the ladies working there, approached me and helped me narrow it down to a few scents my friend might like. Although the fragrance I eventually selected for her was the Pomegranate Noir scent as I believe she would prefer a stronger, more signature scent, the assistant also suggested the Peony and Blush Suede fragrance. I instantly fell in love with this Peony and Blush Suede fragrance. It is a truly beautiful floral scent. I had my mind set on only buying for my friend and not treating myself,  but the assistant, Teresa, offered a complimentary service and applied a hand wash, body butter and fragrance to my arms all in the Peony scent which I adored. She also gave me a complimentary sample of the fragrance for myself and a birthday card for my friend. Not only would I highly recommend this gorgeous fragrance, but I would also highly recommend a trip to your nearest Jo Malone store because I found the service to be truly outstanding and a cut above the rest.