The Makeup Mole

This is my base discovery of the year – it is the perfect product for women who need some coverage, but don’t want to wear a proper foundation. It is the best ‘real life’ foundation I have tried in years.

Regular readers of MM will know that Myface Cosmetics is a bit of a favourite line of mine, since pretty much everything I have tried from the line is excellent. The colour pay-off and shade selection on the coloured products is fantastic, and the price point is drugstore as opposed to department store. Myface is a fantastic range for everyday life, and I also keep quite a few of the products in my kit for editorial work.

Why is this foundation my unsung hero of my makeup bag? It’s like a beefy tinted moisturiser, and now that I have reached an age where my skin needs a bit more help, true tinted moisturisers have been relegated to the weekend. I need more coverage now as my skin seems to get redder and more blotchy as the years roll on. The Myface foundation really mimics skin, providing a glow and covering what needs to be covered without sticking to pores or looking like makeup. I apply my makeup in direct sunlight, so I can really see what’s going on, and it just disappears in, making all my manky red bits go away.

It also comes in 9 shades which pretty comprehensively covers the range of skintones, including tawny Indian and light complected black skins. Unfortunately it doesn’t extend as far on the shade spectrum as I would like, leaving truly dark and pale skins unnacounted for, but it is a more comprehensive shade selection than some of the European prestige lines.

In fact, I would go as far as to say it’s a pretty good substitute for Chanel Vitalumiere! And a third of the price. I’ve been using it now every day on myself for at least six months, and for me it’s perfect. If your skin is very oily I would think it might be a bit greasy or shiny for you, but for drier or more mature skins who need a bit of help without wanting to delve into real foundation territory, this is for you.

A word of warning with the container though – I love its lightweight plastic design and the smooth pebble-y feel of it, but if you’re flying, double-bag it first as it does have a tendency to leak. Not good if it’s in your handbag!

Myface Cosmetics can be bought at Boots chemists in the UK and online at www.myfacecosmetics.co.uk

This little velvety hot pink nugget of makeup blending goodness is the BeautyBlender. Why so amazing, I hear you ask? Well its curves fit perfectly into the palm of your hand, and blends foundation into an airbrsuhed, seamless finish. It can be used wet or dry, and its pointy end gets right into the deepest parts of the face, like around the eyes and the nostrils, which are often hard to reach with regular makeup sponges.

Designed by Hollywood makeup artists Rea Ann Silva and Veronica Lorenz, it was created to improve the foundation application process – making it as undetectable as possible (this we like!) It’s been used backstage on the international show circuit by mega makeup artist Dick Page, and celeb favourites include Kim Kardashian and Rihanna. It’s also fab for the environment because it’s reusable, and it comes with it’s own special cleanser (cleverly called BlenderCleanser) that is a mixture of Tea Tree and Lavender so it smells delish and is also tres nice for cleaning brushes. It’s latex-free, non-allergenic, and for those of you with problem skin it means you can wash it and always have a fresh, clean applicator to apply your makeup. It’s also amazing to apply cream blushes, as it just gives this flawless, gorgeous finish to the makeup. Plus the color makes me happy. It goes with me on every job.

I order mine from my favourite online beauty boutique, The Beauty Closet and dangerously! they ship worldwide.

For more info on the BeautyBlender, visit www.beautyblender.net

When the weather warms up in a capital city like New York or London, there’s lots to think about – like am I going to asphyxiate under someone’s armpit on the Tube/subway during my commute to work? Have I got time to shave and fake tan my legs before I go out so people don’t think a hairy celery stick is walking down the road if I wear a skirt? Will my massive man-hole sunglasses from last year be acceptable this season, or do they make me look like a tragic Victoria Beckham wanna-be?

What you don’t want to be worrying about is “will my foundation turn into a soupy mess with the heat?” Enter my new favourite for summer, Chantecaille Future Skin.

Chantecaille is a lovely brand created by a French mother and daughter team (unsurprisingly their surname is “Chantecaille”) which is based on plant botanicals. Their skincare is gorgeous as are their blushes, both cream and powder, but they are on the more expensive side of things (as in, ask the price before you pay as you may pass out at the till). However their products are divine and last ages, so it’s up to you whether you’re scrimping or saving on foundation – for me it’s always an item worth spending on, as glowing gorgeous looking skin really is the base of your beauty.

Future Skin is a lovely rich foundation that provides good coverage but as it is gel based and oil free it never looks heavy, even in bright sunlight. For the foundation boffins out there apparently it has 60% charged water (whatever that is), seaweed extracts, and light-reflective pigments to ease flaws. Great, I’m there!

I apply it with a foundation brush (an Armani one to be exact, which I’m loving) and simply applying it to any red areas and patting in with my fingers. It takes five minutes and it stays all day, giving you a lovely glow that has more to do with good genes than heat induced sweatiness. And what I like most? It looks like your skin, only better.

Major LA makeup artist Patti Dubroff loves it and uses it on all her A-list clientele (and if it’s good enough for Gwyneth Paltrow, Naomi Watts and Kate Bosworth, it’s good enough for me!) One drawback– it’s better for our fairer skin sisters as although it comes in 8 shades, it’s definitely on the lighter side of the spectrum. In an upcoming post I’ll be looking at the best foundations for women of color. So hold on to your makeup sponges girls! There’s lots more makeup fun to come.

Chantecaille Future Skin is available at Space N.K in the UK and Neiman Marcus in the US.