Nancy, Author at spiffykerms.com

Dior Forever Foundation

March 1, 2016 6 Comments

Reminder, I’m blogging about Dior beauty products all week!

It’s always tricky reviewing foundations on my blog.

What works for me, doesn’t necessarily work for you, and vice versa. Some Dior foundations are my holy grail (the Dior Hydra Life BB cream is my FAVE, the Airflash is amazing too), and others I could simply chuck off to the wayside. I mean, I’m giving you my honest thoughts here. I want you to trust, and value my opinion and not come here just for the pretty photos and read my PR sample pitch.

I’ve been quietly testing out the Dior Forever foundation since the beginning of February. I received it to my California address while spending 8 weeks back home, and when I gotÂ back to the west coast, I tested it out almost every day (obviously not on the days I was wearing/testing out my H&M BB cream).

I want to give foundations fair trial runs before chatting about it on my blog, and wearing the product multiple times helps. I appliedÂ the Dior Forever foundation using various techniquesÂ â€” using the Dior Fluid Foundation brush, Real Techniques core collectionÂ brush, and a Beauty Blender.

Of course, it helps seeing the product before/after on my skin to produce your own opinions of how the product performs on the skin. For a quick reference, I have dry/dehydrated skin and I applied philosophy hope in a jar face moisturizer before the foundation.

Before/After: (I’m wearing the shade 030)

First photo: No face makeup (I applied mascara + eyebrow pencil).
Second photo: Dior Forever foundation applied with my Beauty Blender sponge.
Third photo: Finished look (I added bronzer, concealer and lipgloss).

Click to view an upclose shot of the final photo, to see how much coverage it truly gets. No photoshopping!

Quick after thoughts:Â ItÂ blends easily, and goes on smoothly with a medium coverage applied with all three techniques listed above, and it lasts all day long.

However, Peter Philips, the Creative + Image Director of Dior Makeup describes the foundation perfectly:

“a working woman’s complexion that she can count on for a perfect matte finish and just enough coverage.”

What I look for in a foundation, is something that provides a medium coverage, and has a soft sheen and glow to my skin making it as naturally dewy-looking as possible. However, on occasion I do like to have perfectly flawless skin, and that’s when I reach for my Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation (I often use a bit of the Estee Lauder foundation mixed with the Dior Hydra Life BB cream to provide a dewy AND flawless look, it’s what I wore on my wedding day!…ok getting off topic here).

I’d recommend the Dior Forever foundation for anyone who wants a long lasting formula that provides a flawless finish. Apparently this is a fantastic foundation for those with oily skin types as it is marked to help control shine. This is a matte foundation, but it doesn’t look flat, cakey or fake on my face, nor does it oxidize on my skin.

Dior Forever Foundation is available in 16 days for $50.00 CDN at Dior counters nationwide, The Bay, Sephora.ca/Sephora.com, and Holt Renfrew

Beauty, Daily

Buy the Dior Gel Coat. Yep.

February 29, 2016 2 Comments

WHY HAVE I NEVER TOLD YOU ABOUT THIS?

I’ve dropped so many of my dollahs on this beautiful Dior product. I re-purchased it many a time. Yea, that’s right.Â Just because I work with a brand, doesn’t mean I don’t spend money on their products. CAUSE I DO. Buy the Dior Gel Coat.

Let’s call this top coat exactly what it is, a beautiful top coat to finish off your mani/pedi. It’s like the seche vite of quick drying top coats. Except the Dior one I wouldn’t call quick drying, more like shellac-like-top coat. It creates a shiny finish to your nails, and potentially lasts as long as a shellac. I haven’t found it lasted quite that long (2+ weeks, pfth yeah right), but it does last a while. And that’s why I’ve repurchased it. In fact, I need Sephora to have their 20% off VIB sale soon, when is that happening by the way? Anyone know? I know it happens twice a year. I need to stock up, I only have about an eighth of the product left.

Plus, it doesn’t get all goopy when you’re half way through the bottle (ahem, like other top coats do). Just saying.

As most of the Dior nail polished I’ve tried out in the past, they have been consistent with their formulation. That’s what sucks me in. Perfectly creamy colours, no shimmer, and the widest application brush for fools like me who make a mess with painting nails with the scrawny nail polish brushes. I just can’t do it man! I am consistently raving about Sally Hansen & Dior brushes. They’re almost identical to one another, but of course not identical in price. Obviously.

You can buy it at Macy’s (where I first purchased it). But I’d recommend buying it at Sephora, so you can get your points for it.

P.S: This week I’m talking about everything DIOR beauty related. Dior needs more love on my blog, plus I have some items from the Spring collection to show you. Come back every day this week if you’re interested :)

Daily

Apis Floral + Bliss & Bale

February 25, 2016 1 Comment

Exploring.

Meeting new friends.

One of my favourite things to do in California.

Even though I wasn’t posting much on social media while I was home, I was still scrolling through Instagram to get my mind off things.

That’s when I randomly came across Bliss + Bale, a Bay Area California local who curates and makes custom gift boxes. Loving her aesthetic, I follow her immediately. I didn’t even realize she lived in the Bay Area when I first came across her Instagram page.

As per usual, as soon as I open my eyes in the morning, I’m immediately scrolling through Instagram. Luckily I came across one of the photos she posted mentioning she was having pop-up shop at Apis Floral, a local flower shop in the Willow Glen neighbourhood. So ya knows now, after my orthodontic appointment (my retainer broke!) I drove down to see what it was all about, and to speak to her in person! And to meet the friendly faces at Apis Floral while I was at it. Guys, it may seem like a sponsored post. It’s totally not. I’m just sharing the local-love.

Like I mentioned. Exploring. Meeting new friends. I love it. So I went in, and checked out the floral shop (which in’t just flowers, it’s a retail store as well – and just so gorgeous with all sorts of neat items to purchase for anyone, whether it be for their new home, their upcoming birthday, or just shopping for yourself. I picked up a few birthday cards for some friends while I was at it.

I want to let all the photos do the talking, so I’ll show you inside the gorgeously designed Apis Floral, which opened last year (and they are expecting to expand in the early fall to incorporate a coffee shop inside the floral shop! Talk about awesome. I can’t wait to see it all come together.