We each have different skin types, colourings and preferences and those differences will affect how a certain product performs on us and whether or not we are satisfied with that performed.
With that in mind I thought that it might be useful to include of summary of all of those factors that are individual to me that are going to affect my review of products.
COLOURING AND SKIN TYPE
Colouring
Fair with freckles, blue eyes and dark brown curly hair.
Skin type
Oily. Think oil slick and you won’t be far wrong. Also prone to blemishes.
Under eye area
Dry. The only part of my face that gets any dryness. I also have quite a few fine lines appearing now. I also have serious dark circles going on under there thanks to a combination of genetics and small children.
Eyelids
Oily. Just like the rest of my face. Also mostly hooded.
Lips
Dry. Prone to flakiness. It doesn’t take much for a lipstick to emphasise the dryness of my lips.
FOUNDATION AND CONCEALER MATCHES
When I read other people's reviews of products or I watch their YouTube videos, I often find it useful to know what shades they wear in various products. This is particularly useful when I find a blogger/YouTuber who has a similar skin type or similar colouring to me. If you're anything like me, matching yourself correctly to foundations isn't the easiest task in the world and I appreciate anything that gives me a hand in that area.
So with that in mind, I thought that I would include a section here that outlines what shades I wear in different products in the hopes that it might assist you too.
Mac Pro Long Wear foundation and concealer: NW20
Mac Studio Fix: NW15
Estee Lauder Double Wear: Eccru (this is a little dark for me but if I blend it down my neck it works)
Bobbi Brown Long Wear: Warm Ivory (closest match I have ever found to my skin)
Bobbi Brown Corrector: Bisque
Bobbi Brown Concealer: Sand (this is an incorrect shade match but I can get it to work if I wear one of my slightly darker foundations)
Revlon Colorstay: in between Buff and Sand Beige
Covergirl Ready Set Go: 105 (pretty close to perfect)
Covergirl 3 in 1: 810 (although the undertones in this foundation are slightly too pink for me)
When we review a product, a lot of what we include in our reviews revolves around timing. How long wearing is a product? Does it crease and if so, when does it start to crease?
I think that often when people say that they consider that a product is "long wearing" they sometimes forget to say how long wearing the product is or what conditions they have tested the product in,
With that in mind, I thought that I would set out my typical day because it is this typical day that forms the basis of my reviews a lot of the time.
I work four days a week and the other three days I am at home with my son.
I judge my makeup on how well they perform on my days at work. On work days I wake up at about 7.00am. My makeup goes on somewhere between 7.00am - 7.30am. I am then at work all day (in an office environment) and I don't get home until somewhere between 5.30pm - 6.00pm.
This means that I would preferably like my makeup to be able to last for around 12 hours at a time.
I am not unrealistic. I know that it will not look the same for that period of time. Certainly by lunch time because of my oily skin my foundation will be separating and fading around my nose and chin area and my blush will be fading as well.
Nonetheless, if I am going to spend money on a product it is how long and how well it can last on a work day that I am primarily basing my judgment of it on.
MY TYPICAL DAY
When we review a product, a lot of what we include in our reviews revolves around timing. How long wearing is a product? Does it crease and if so, when does it start to crease?
I think that often when people say that they consider that a product is "long wearing" they sometimes forget to say how long wearing the product is or what conditions they have tested the product in,
With that in mind, I thought that I would set out my typical day because it is this typical day that forms the basis of my reviews a lot of the time.
* * *
I work four days a week and the other three days I am at home with my son.
I judge my makeup on how well they perform on my days at work. On work days I wake up at about 7.00am. My makeup goes on somewhere between 7.00am - 7.30am. I am then at work all day (in an office environment) and I don't get home until somewhere between 5.30pm - 6.00pm.
This means that I would preferably like my makeup to be able to last for around 12 hours at a time.
I am not unrealistic. I know that it will not look the same for that period of time. Certainly by lunch time because of my oily skin my foundation will be separating and fading around my nose and chin area and my blush will be fading as well.
Nonetheless, if I am going to spend money on a product it is how long and how well it can last on a work day that I am primarily basing my judgment of it on.
UNIQUE EYE CONDITION
It is also worth noting that I have a unique eye condition that also affects my makeup application and product preferences.
I have nerve palsy in my right eye, which is thought to be caused by a serious case of rubella which I contracted as a child before I was immunised.
What it means is that I have little control over my right eye. It often doesn’t often look straight ahead and instead wanders off toward the right. I can’t use my right eye to look to my left eye and I can’t close my left eye and keep my right eye open. I also can't look straight ahead so my head sits permanently at an angle facing the left. The pupil in my right eye no longer reacts to light so you will always notice that it is clearly larger than the pupil in my left eye.
This affects my ability to apply eye makeup because I can’t see clearly what I am doing to my left eye. It also means it is in effect impossible to apply winged eyeliner (*sniff*).
It also means that I can't take photo's of myself looking straight ahead. You will notice that the photos I take of myself I will often have my eyes closed. This is why.
I have had several surgeries on my eye throughout the years and have had two unfortunate complications.
The less annoying one is that my inner right eye is quite swollen and red. I recently had a surgery to reduce this problem which has worked really well but it is still very different to a normal eye.
Far more significantly from the point of view of makeup application is that the tear duct on my right eye has stopped working. This means that my right eye constantly leaks tears. It can look like I am crying out of one eye. This has significant implications for under eye concealer and eye shadows that I apply to my lower lash line and around the tear duct area.
I am used to these challenges and in the grand scheme of things there could be a lot worse things to happen.
