**UPDATE** Making Cosmetics for Fun or Profit? (8/16/24)

**UPDATE**

After hyping a certain site for years, I have to cut ties. 

I no longer use Making Cosmetics and have not for about 3 years now. I think the last thing I bought from them was some silk protein or something.

The reason I have had to find other suppliers is that M.C. got too pricey and wishy-washy. I could buy something one day in a certain size or quantity then, as soon as the item got popular (maybe), either the price would shoot up or else the minimum quantity would. 

Also, I figured out long ago that I could find similar (quality or ingredients) products elsewhere. A huge example of this is the Repair Vita Oil I once loved so much. When the price shot up on that one, I found something as good (and, in some ways, better). There are several products similar to the Repair Vita Oil, but I think my favorite one is Palmer’s Coconut Oil Formula Coconut Monoi Luminous Hydration Facial Oil (I can get this at Walmart, Amazon, Target, etc.). Why would I sell an arm and half a leg to buy the M.C. stuff when I can get the Palmer's Oil for under $15?

Also, I think I was just loyal to M.C. and it took me a while to look around at other sources. There are lots of other sources out there, believe me. I found 10 without even looking hard.

The main reason I used M.C. was to be frugal. With that out the door, I can take my pennies elsewhere.

Things for my skin and haircare are luxuries (when I get past the basic hygiene items) and I do not have a luxury budget. So... goodby Making Cosmetics.

WHY THIS POST?

I have blogged here before about a site I occasionally shop from or just use for info. I think this was my very first post about Making Cosmetics. I have only ordered from their site a few times - including for the most recent purchase but I got very my first M.C. product from their Amazon storefront. That was before I knew they had their own site.

Anyway...

That's the Nars looking reddish

Since I have been fussing and ranting these past few weeks about not being able to find a good drugstore foundation with a red undertone in it, I finally decided it was DIY time again. The first M.C. item I purchased was some Wrinkle Blur powder as a substitute for an expensive O.T.C. product that I loved. I can't believe I didn't think of the site from the start of my foundation troubles.

Other than the so-perfect-but-unaffordable Nars, I think I have 4 foundations that I can make work for my skin tone but that would be awesomely perfect if they had that tiny bit of red undertone that the Nars Khartoum does. Well, I am not throwing that stuff out like somebody with more money than sense. If I have to, I will keep wearing a little of my Butter blush underneath the foundation even though it's a real pain to get just right. Right now, foundations all leave me with a nice finish but are just a little bit... off from my natural coloring. One of the best quality foundations makes me look a whole other race. I priced some of those shade-adjusting drops and couldn't even find the colors I needed. That left me in a ditch. I have makeup for days but none of it is absolute perfection.

LOVE this blush for
 cheeks and lips

So... I could use up all my blush to tint my foundation or I could try something else. (My blush is Butter London Cheeky Cream Blush that is not even sold on their site anymore and which I got as a gift from my late sister some years back while visiting Arizona... Yeah. I don't want to use it all up. The blush is more than a product I just don't want to run out of; it represents memories and love and it is also as cute as heck.)

The "something else option" that I figured out is the best way to go. It's also the cheapest way. (Took me forever to get here, didn't it?)

So. I've ordered three items from Making Cosmetics that I can use to customize my foundations to my liking. (I hope.) In the MC category of Colors and Color Blends, this is what I'm going to use:

• Iron Oxide Brown (Liquid) - Makeup Brown Pigment Blend Dispersed in Oil (to deepen the shades that are currently slightly too light).
• Iron Oxide Red (Liquid) - Makeup Brown Pigment Blend Dispersed in Oil (to add to the red tones in some of the items).
• Mica Blackstar Red - Fine Dark Red Lustre (For adding some red to the other products).

I know that I will have to experiment. I figure that I might even end up blending together some of the red colorants with the brown pigment to get a shade I can add to a couple of the foundations. To be as frugal as possible, I only got a teaspoon of each colorant. I love that I could order such a tiny amount. Apparently, from what I've researched (hi, Google), it won't take much for what I need. And if I have to go back for different colors/pigments later, I will stick to my teaspoon quantity. (Too bad brands won't sell foundation by the teaspoon so we could find a good shade without going broke.)

Anyway.

See my plan here? If I have to, I will start just getting the stuff to make my own foundation from scratch...

All told, I spent fourteen dollars to (again, hopefully) try fixing at least fifty dollars worth of makeup. Maybe one day I will try making my own line of foundation. It's totally possible.

THE FOR FUN and/or PROFIT PART

Now, I mainly wrote this post to let other women know about the items available on Making Cosmetics. I have never had a problem with them (except when they discontinued some fragrances I loved) as far as quality or customer service. Also, they have a points reward type system based on dollars spent.

Making Cosmetics has been the only place I get items to DIY it with my makeup but they have potential competition. Here are some other places to check out for ingredients or just products that might be hard to find for some reason:

• Inolex (a "specialty ingredients company") I really need to look this one over.
• Althea (for "getting you K-beauty fix outside of Korea" they ship to the USA and elsewhere) I saw a Water Sleeping Mask in the skincare section and...
• Lucas Meyer Cosmetics - They have a variety of natural products that look interesting.
• PCA Skin's site is "under construction" but I found some PCA stuff here & here. They might be other places. I will check back on the brand site to see what's up.
• Hermo appears to be Malaysian and they have a global store site here. For some of my many Asian sisters.

I am sure there are many more places to find and buy ingredients to make or rig your existing products. I like Making Cosmetics because of the detailed information they provide and their onsite resources. They have a large resource section, formulas for newbies, equipment and kits and, if you are timid or just want to go big and produce stuff for sale, they offer both formulating and consulting services.

If you do decide to play around with some DIY cosmetics, this is another good site for looking up info on ingredients - what they do and how they might react together, etcetera. The most important thing is to do your research, check for allergies and BE CAREFUL. DIY projects mean the work put in is all on you and you have to use your head. I am not a professional at anything other than running my mouth so, again, use your head.

To summarize:

You can make and create your own cosmetics. You can create cosmetics for your own use or you can create cosmetics to sell as a niche brand. Do your research. Find reputable suppliers for ingredients. Ask questions. 

Peace

--Free

UPDATE: The products arrived just after this was scheduled to post so I will be doing a show and tell post asap. (Anybody else bored to tears with this COVID lockdown????)

The Big Black Swatch & Shade Post

This post is in lieu of a finish to the Juvia's Place review. No need to go on beating that dead horse. In the meantime (and since even being the hermit I am, this lockdown is crazy) I thought I would do a swatch post that includes the 2 new Juvia shades.

It's nice that a lot of the established cosmetic brands are adding shades for "deeper" skin tones. New brands seem to be popping up all the time (like Juvia's Place). Still, finding an affordable and appropriate shade of foundation is tough for a lot of us. I know ladies of all races and colors who have almost as hard a time as I do in trying to find something that works with their peach- or olive-hued tones. If you can't pull off one of the basic shades - porcelain, ivory, buff, light, tan, medium, "deep", chocolate, almond, or some variation of "toast" - then you have to be the Indiana Jones of the makeup world.

These are some arm and face swatches of all the shades I have lying around. I throw nothing out so I have stuff from 4 years ago. Don't judge me!

Just so you know:

• I photographed my leg in the natural light of my home. (ceiling and floor lamps)
• I applied a light primer and nothing else other than the moisturizer I already had on  
• I did not apply any other powders or setting products
• I used a makeup spatula to apply (cleaning after each use)
• I ran a line of the Nars shade along the top so you can compare it to each of the other shades.

These are the ones taken a couple of minutes after applying all the swatches:

sorry for the bad cropping
see names and shades below

It's easy to see that the Khartoum, Ebony, Mali, and Bronze 8 shades are ones I can work best with. The others can be used, I suppose, for highlighting, contouring, and blending to lighten or darken other shades.

This is after I lay a paper towel over them and did a light blotting:

You can barely tell the Nars from my skin. Perfect.

This is after I have let the makeup rest and completely set for about 5 minutes

I tried to keep the camera the same distance away but there could be some variation. You get the idea though.

By the way, this is the wonderful primer I used. It was sent as a full-size sample (yay) from Tryspree and I will be buying more when I am finished with the jar.

Hard Candy Primer Balm

If you are always on the lookout for shades in "deep" tones, here are some that I have considered. With a couple of exceptions, they are affordably priced and seem to come in a good variety of deep shades. And, since I was only looking at shades, you would have to judge for yourself how good they are as far as wear and staying power. The links are to where I found the item and not always the brand site.

Black OpalTrue Color

NYXBorn to Glow

MaybellineFit Me

MilaniConceal & Perfect

 

e.l.f.Flawless Finish

I did notice that Target carries quite a range of brands with diverse shades. Also, the site has a "foundation guide" to help locate suitable brands on their site with your shade range.

Actually, once I started searching, I found quite a few brands with "deep" shade choices. You have probably heard of most, but I think at least a couple will be new for you.

Here are some with prices in the mid to higher range - depending on what your budget is. I'm too tired to do links for all of them but hit up Google.

• Uoma Beauty (totally new to me)
• Fenty (Rhianna's gig so I won't bother with it. Personal bias.)
• Il Mikiage (see this a lot on social media platforms)
• ColourPop (I've seen this on Influenster)
• Black Up (I had one of their foundations in a near-matching shade for my skin. Good foundation as long as you get a match.)
• Urban Decay
• Nars (of course)
• Becca 
• Marc Jacobs (who knew?)

• Lancome (love theirs but it's pricey for me at around $45)
• Hue Noir (another totally new one for me)
• MAC
• Makeup Forever
• Black Radiance (of course)
• Flori Roberts (I used to love their Gold perfume but it's no longer made)

The name of the last one I want to mention gives me the creeps but I love that they seem to have a wide range of shades. It's called Flesh Beauty. See what I mean? Anyway... The prices are mid-range ($32 for a foundation) but they offer free shipping. If you sign up for their mailing list, you get a discount on your first order. 

Believe it or not, there are more I could have listed but I got tired.

Hope this helped.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Kevyn Aucoin's Etherealist Skin Illuminating Foundation

Don't even ask me how I snagged a 58 dollar product for 18. Either I got supremely lucky or I got a fake. Even if this stuff is fake, it's a dang good fake

stole the photo from
Amazon

That is Kevyn Aucoin's Etherealist Skin Illuminating Foundation in the shade of ef 16 - Deep.

I wasn't even looking for a foundation when I saw this. It popped up on side-advert when I was shopping for shampoo. For real. But once I saw it, I remembered watching a documentary about Kevyn Aucoin. I had been struck by the fact that he was kind of responsible for the makeup industry offering products for more skin colors. Thanks to him, I guess, "nude" doesn't just mean "nude and pinky/peach". Also, he died young, which was really sad.

The documentary really played up Aucoin's natural talent with makeup and artistry. If I never believed his skills before now...

This foundation is so amazingly sheer that it looks sort of sprayed on. And sprayed on in a light mist of color. It's sort of veil-like. The name says it all: ethereal and illuminating. By the way, I just took a peek at the Kevyn Aucoin Beauty site and saw this about the Etherealist line:

...Creates a natural, luminous, airbrushed appearance. The Etherealist Skin Illuminating Foundation blends effortlessly for shine-free, comfortable wear. 

All true and I'll tell you what, for 58 bucks, it's supposed to be this good.

I've tried pricey foundations because I haven't always been this broke. And I get spoiled by family and friends. I remember thinking that Lancome's Teint Idole was awesome (and it is). I even tried Armani and St. Laurent. Borghese would have been awesome but had no suitable shades for me at the time. All of these were amazing but with amazing price tags. Aucoin's only cost me 18 dollars and I still can't get over it.

As I said, this has a very light and veil-like look. I almost feel as if I'm wearing only my moisturizer. The shad, if I didn't mention it, is ef 16 Deep and I have never - not even with the Teint Idole - matched a shade so perfectly.

That's a neck swatch you can't see

This shade matches me so well that the only way I know I'm wearing any is that it softened my features. The website says that this is a "medium" coverage foundation but I think it leans towards very sheer and light coverage. Probably it's because it does match my skin so well that it doesn't seem to be buildable.

Not blended in

smudged

Blended in

So I have decided that I am basically the color of chocolate milk. I have also decided that I love this foundation. The one downfall is that I won't be able to afford it should the price go back up. If it's a fake, I will be looking for more. This will be right up with my favorite Foach bag, Folex watch. No shame to my game. I don't need the real thing, I just like a cute face, purse, and watch. So, for the person on Reddit who bet me that this foundation is a fake, if they are offended, they can always buy me a bottle of the authentic stuff.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation

I found this at Walmart the other day.

It's Rimmel's Stay Matte Flawless Finish Mattifying Foundation (in shade 605 Deep Chocolate).

I am hotter than a jalapeno that I even went through all the bother with Juvia's Place! This Rimmel foundation is perfect. Perfect shade, perfect finish, perfect price. Most of all, it's the perfect price. Let's talk about that.

Remember the Lancome Ultra foundation I loved so much? That was close to $50. Nars Sheer Glow? Around the same as the Lancome. This Rimmel? $4.97 at Walmart. 

Normally, with drugstore foundations - even if they are good - there is a little something that gives away the difference between them and the higher end brands. Either they feel different or wear different or they are just slightly off in some way from the pricier stuff. Not so with this Rimmel.

When I first tested this shade on the back of my hand (I should have tested it in the store and I would have gotten more than one tube!), I knew the shade was a dead-on match to my face color. 

I thought that even though the shade was great - actually so close you can't see it in that swatch photo - that the makeup itself might not look or wear as well as I want. 

Wrong again.

This makeup wears almost EXACTLY like the Lancome and lasts all day without needing to be touched up. The shade is very similar to the 555 Suede C I wore. It's extremely mattifying - just like the Lancome. I have to moisturize my face well before using it - just like with the Lanco- well, you know what I mean. I think the only difference I could point out is that the Lancome was more of a liquid and this Rimmel is has a creamy consistency. It's labeled as a "mousse" type foundation.

It took very little of this to cover my entire face - I think it was about 3 dabs of the amount shown in the above photo (if even that much). Most extremely matte products I've used haven't gone on as smooth. Once I had this on it was almost immediately "set". (By the way, when I first tried applying it without additional moisturizer and just using the Hard Candy primer, it did set instantly.)

For such a mattifying foundation, this is not drying. Yes, it sets very drily on the skin but it didn't cause any tightening or stiffening sensation. Still, as with any makeup, I will apply a good moisturizer in my dry zones before using it just as a precaution. 

Want to know what I love the most, most, most? There is no transfer. None. One thing every woman hates about makeup - especially those in any deep or very colorful shades - is having it transfer to clothing and paperwork. So embarrassing and inconvenient. This one is matte enough that I can palm my face and not have it transfer. Now, I am not going to be rubbing my face on collars or papers, but I like not having to worry about hugging someone or handling paperwork and leaving behind a tell-tell mess.

Where has this stuff been all my life? 

By the way, I have used Rimmel eyeliners before and I might have picked up a gloss or mascara from a makeup bin but I think that is the extent of my experience with the brand. At least, I have never purchased anything major because I don't remember it. Now, I am telling everyone about this foundation and I will look for other Rimmel products. Shoot, I'm going to write them a fan letter! Hahaha.

 I was so upset about the experience(s) with Juvia's Place and I had resigned myself to just making do with the foundations I have on hand. Mary Kay is out of my budget - even if I could get a rep to come around at this point... Now that I have this Rimmel, I feel better. This is a shade I really like. It lacks the red undertone of the Nars, but I don't care. I can wear some blush underneath or just go without - especially now that it is summertime.

I'm not sure if this is something that someone can be happy with if they have very dry skin. As I said, I wear a deep moisturizer underneath in my dry skin areas so it balances out. My t-zone - which can develop a shine quickly in warm weather - is completely matte with this foundation.

Listen, this is such a great product and the price is just too good. People ought to know about it while we're all rushing around trying to afford some of these other brands.

Peace

--Free

**REVIEW** Black Radiance Ebony Powder

Hey, dark-skinned ladies! I have found another fantastic product that you might be interested in.

Black Radiance Pressed Powder Compact 

Black Radiance made me so mad when they discontinued my favorite shade of liquid foundation, but they just won back my love with this product.

I don't normally use powders as my only foundation because I never could find one that complimented my skin tone. With a powder, shade matching is crucial. The wrong shade can come off looking mask-like or caked on. Plus, a poor quality powder settles into even fine lines and creases. Yikes!

Just a quick mention here: This powder is for setting your liquid foundation, I suppose, but I am my own gal and I use it as a foundation. So there.

This powder does exactly what a good powder foundation is supposed to - evens out my skin tone and softens my look - and it does it perfectly. It doesn't cake up the least bit (even in humidity), and it blends so well with my skin tone that in the mirror I don't look so much made up" as I do lightly 'filtered'. It's that softening effect that you get when you are in the right lighting.

Okay. Why do I look so mean? Let's try that one again:

I know that's kind of a fake smile, but what do you expect when it's just me and my webcam? Nah, really I was smiling because I love the look I get with this foundation. Actually, when I use this powder, I get the same effect that other women do when they use only a little bit of blotting powder. You know what I mean - something to tame the shine and fine lines.

By the way, I dug out my Black Radiance Illusions Lip Gloss - shade #3229 - for my little photo shoot. Glad I did. Forgot how much I like it.

"Diva Desire" is the shade name. I think.
Whatever. Bet it's discontinued.

The powder is very light and doesn't feel as if it's smothering my skin. I also love that it doesn't "transfer" easily, messing up my hands and clothing.

You can't even see my jawline

This particular shade is (surprise, surprise) the same one that I loved in the now-discontinued liquid foundation I swore by. The price was reasonable, thank goodness and even more surprising, I found the product in my local Walmart. I'm not sure how long the store will carry the item since I found it as a mark down ($3) on an end cap in the cosmetics aisle. No worries though, because Amazon also carries it (though it costs around $10). Yay!

I was so happy to find this on markdown. Otherwise, I might not have tried it. (Yeah, I was still made about the discontinued foundation!)

The photo quality it not the best (sucky webcam), but you can at least tell that I don't look like I'm in clown-face. Matter of fact, I took one photo with only one side of my face made up (lipstick and all) so that you could see how subtle the effect is.

lipstick side is the made up side

The negative thing I have to say is not to do with the makeup. It's the applicator brush. Ugh! I hate those cheap little brushes for applying powder foundation. Instead, I'm using this brush that I got for free as part of a review:

Got this set free in exchange for a review

This style of applicator brush is amazing. Just perfect for applying powders although I wasn't crazy about it for applying liquid foundation...

Anyway, if any of you have seen this product and were wondering if it were any good, I can tell you that, if you find your shade, you should grab it. I'm glad I did!

Peace

--Free

**MAKEUP** Swatches on Skin (dark foundations)

Since I have said over and over that I should do this, I've decided to go all Nike on y'all and just do it.

(By the way, ladies, even though I'm posting about darker foundations, I believe that each of the products covers ,most skin tones from the palest to the deepest. Just wanted to toss that in because the makeup struggle is real, no matter what your shade!)

The shades are:

1. * BH Cosmetics Complexion Collection (shade - Deep Espresso)
2.  Mary Kay's Timewise Luminous Wear (shade - Bronze 8)
3.  *Black Radiance' Complexion Perfection (shade - 8435 Ebony)
4.  *NARS' Sheer Glow (shade - Khartoum/Dark4)
5.  *Black Opal's True Color Pore Perfecting (shade - Ebony Brown)
6. Mary Kay CC Cream/sunscreen SPF15 (shade - Deep)

I starred my faves, but I won't count on Black Radiance not to discontinue the Ebony shade. The Mary Kay products were my late sister's and she loved the way the looked and made her skin feel. I might have to see about some shades that suit me.

Now, here is how these looked against my skin in full-on sunlight:

#1 shade is bottom, #6 is top by eye

By the way, to help with which shade is which, #1 on the list is on the bottom part of my face while #6 is the first and nearest my eye. I lost track when I was adding the numbers onto the photos!

Keep in mind that I didn't blend these, but just wiped them on to give you an idea of what the shades looked like. When my faves are blended, they are pretty flawless. Even the too-light Mary Kay Luminous Wear doesn't look outrageous if I blend it in. That's why I want to try one of the darker shades from the brand.

When I moved back a bit so that my face was still getting a lot of sunlight but not as direct, this is what the swatches looked like.

This is the reason I want to point out is that, even when a shade is too light (or orange/red/whatever), there can still be some use for it. I like to highlight the area just over and under the outer parts of my eyebrows with a slightly light shade. Sometimes, I will use a lighter shade as an eyeshadow.  Also, everything depends on lighting, lighting, lighting. You think I'm lying? Just go look at how some folks prove that "ugly" can be about the angle (or lighting) of a shot. Big thanks to Sad and Useless for the post. Lifted my esteem a notch.

The next photos are of the swatches on my arm held at different angles. This was done under indoor lighting - or "office" lighting since I had a couple of computer lights on.

Most days, I don't go all overboard with my makeup. Let me back up and admit something: most days I only half-step it when doing my makeup. Sometimes, all I'll bother with is some lip pretties (stain, stick or gloss), but usually, I do light foundation, mascara, and the lip pretties. That's because I'm getting older and am not as confident as I used to be. There was a time when I went totally barefaced and strutted around like my poo didn't p.u. It's nice when I find a shade that works to look natural and light.

Anyway, I hope that these photos help to give some of you all ideas for shades you might be wondering about.

Next time around, maybe I will show some of the lip pretties I love.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Black Opal True Color Foundation

Cue the singing of angels!

I have found yet another reasonably priced foundation in a shade I love. It's not hard to find a good foundation. I've checked many brands at the drugstores that feel good on the skin, have a great look (if it matches the wearer's shade), and doesn't break the bank.

My problem is my darker-than-"deep" shade. I love how all the darkest shades near where I live stop somewhere between Mocha and Cafe Au lait. It's as if someone decided that most black women are actual sisters of  Beyonce, Mariah, or Alicia Keyes. I might find something real close to a Jennifer Hudson shade every now and then, but those usually go wrong just enough to leave me looking ashy or chalky. That's just what happened with this Revlon 2-in-1 foundation and concealer I recently tried in "Cappucino"...

NOT the reviewed product!!!

That certainly looks like if would work for me. If anything, from the photo, it looks like it might be perfect.

It's not.

First of all, it's only that dark in the photo. Second of all, even though the actual product was dark enough to fool me when I saw it at the store, it's not that dark when applied. It's more of a Cappucino with a dose of cream. When I applied it, it worked so well that I could have gotten away with wearing it if no one looked past my jawline, In other words, I looked like a black kabuki-painted chick. If there is such a thing, I mean. (No offense intended to any cultures.)

~sigh~

I was disappointed until I found this:

This is the Ebony Brown shade of Black Opal's True Color Pore Perfecting Liquid Foundation.

Since I first spotted it online, I was a bit worried about the shade match to my skin.  Thankfully, some sweet lady had lots of photos in different types of lighting. That made it easier for me to take a chance and try this one.

I'm going to pause now to share some photos in different lighting. Sort of a pay-it-forward thing since I didn't get the name or site of the lady who helped me out.

The TOP (darker) photos are the truest to color.
The BOTTOM photos make the liquid look lighter than it actually is

Most of you should have an idea of what shade my complexion is by now. One thing I learned long ago from a beauty consultant was to always test new shades to the neck or jawline. I don't know how good this photo is, but I can tell you that this foundation in Ebony Brown is just about a super match to my skin tone.

There is ZERO makeup below my jaw. I actually did one side of my face and left the other side bare this morning, but the match is too close for my camera to show you the difference. Looking in the mirror, it looked as if I had "blurred" or put BB cream on the side with the makeup. There's just a smoothing and evening-out effect that I love. Doesn't do much for the 5 decades worth of wrinkles around my eyes, but I still love the effects. 

Good thing that I didn't see this part of the box before I bought this makeup or I would have passed. From the picture below, this would seem way too light for me:

Here's the crazy thing: when I compare the bottle of this Ebony Brown to the (now returned/refunded) Revlon Cappucino cream foundation, they look like exact matches. But, oh, nay nay.

There is one interesting thing that I noticed when I was checking the label. There's this part about the product being "alcohol-free"...







































...that sounded good until I looked at the ingredients:

Am I missing something - or is something that has "Cetyl Alcohol" in it considered free of, well, alcohol? Apparently, yes, I am missing something. I guess it's not only important to read a label but to also know the games played with them.

Because I assume the alcohol is meant to keep down the shine, I'm a tiny bit disappointed that I do get shine with this product. I have discovered that it best to blot this really well to remedy that. Also, even when I did blot after applying, after a few hours in the car (on a warm day), I had to tissue my face again. If you don't blot (or re-blot), this makeup transfers to everything that you touch. (Side note: my optometrist was probably hating me when she had to clean all her testing machines after my exam today.) My NARS and BH foundations are much better non-shine/non-transfer products, but the coverage is lighter than with this foundation. (I will have to review the NARS one day soon.)

Aside from the (not really) alcohol-free and the other issues, I do love this foundation. I'm going to be checking with Black Opal to see if they send out samples. I'd love to check the Black Walnut shade in the product.

One day, I will have to do a post comparing all the different brands and shades I've still got laying around. For now -

Peace
--Free



P.S.: I do want to give credit to Revlon for having a shade as dark as Cappucino. At least they are offering some shade variety. By the way, if you can wear their 2-in-1 product I mentioned, it's some great stuff and I'd tell you to give it a try. Can't wait to find a cream-to-powder that works for my skin shade.