Review : Boots No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation in Deeply Beige

Hey loves!

There are so many makeup brands out there that aren't available in the Philippines yet that I really want to try out. I see them from youtube makeup tutorial videos and I wish that I can get my hands on them. One of the brands I keep seeing is No7 and the products they used from this brand looked so promising so when I was in L.A., I took the opportunity and bought some of their products.

Boots No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation in Deeply Beige

I bought this at Target somewhere in L.A.. It's quite affordable... I can't remember the exact price but I'm pretty sure that it's not over $20... Maybe around less than $15? But it's $13.99 on the website. :P

 I didn't plan on getting a foundation that day. I just wanted to get something from No7 badly. While checking out the available products, this really peaked my interest. A matte foundation that controls oil, has sunscreen, is hypo-allergenic, with medium-full coverage, and recommended for normal-oily skin, that's EXACTLY the kind of foundation I want. It promises EVERYTHING that I look for in a foundation! 

They didn't have available testers there so I have to make a brave guess on what would suit me best. They have 6 shades available there (but in the website, it has 14 shades) and Deeply Beige is the middle shade with the most yellow tone. All of the shades are cool toned which was a bit of disappointment for me so I think that Deeply Beige is the safest to get for my skin match.

So let's inspect the packaging first for info...

And this is what's written on the website:

Product description

No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation

• Matte finish

• Medium/Full Cover

• Best for Oily Skin
• Hypo-allergenic

No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation formula has been tested to provide a shine free look for up to 12 hours. It leaves your skin shine free - essential for anyone with oily skin. Minimising the appreance of pores, leaving a more flawless complexion.

There is no powdery grey finish, associated with some matte foundations and overall looks flattering to the skin.

The formula has been tested to ensure it won't block pores and high levels of colour pigments means the coverage is relatively opaque with a silky matte finish. Salicylic acid had been included in the formula to help unblock pores and improve the condition of the skin throughout wear.

With SPF15, it helps protect the skin from the damaging effects of the sun. Ethanol leaves your skin feeling cool and refreshed.

How to Use

Step One - Shake before use.

Step Two - Dot a little where you need it most, usually your cheeks, nose and chin.

Step Three - Blend smoothly and evenly with your fingers or sponge, working downwards and outwards from the centre of your face.

The packaging is pretty good. I love the slim, matte bottle. It looks so professional and classy. I also love the pump because you can easily control the amount of product you get. The cap seals perfectly as well so yeah... everything's good!

The consistency of this product is thick and creamy. It takes time to blend it all over the face because of the very creamy consistency but you can take your time... it doesn't dry too soon so you can just blend it until your skin is all covered up. You can use your fingers or a brush but I love using my beauty blender with this one. And it is barely scented too.

This is the swatch.

Most of the shades available are cool tones and this is the warmest one.

When spread out

See that coverage? It gives a medium-full coverage indeed!

When blended

It blends on skin really well and it doesn't feel sticky and thick. No oily feeling as well! 

Below are pictures of my face so you can see how this works on me...

Bare face

with the foundation

The shade is lighter than my skin and it still lacks the yellow tone I need. But just look at that beautiful coverage! It managed to hide all my pimple marks and other imperfections with just a layer of it. But what's great is that this foundation is very buildable so I can actually skip on the concealer!

Below's a pic of my face with the rest of my makeup...

I had to top it off with a powder closer to my color to balance it to my skin tone. It really made my face look clearer than it naturally is. With primer, it can last the whole day and my skin would only start to oil up after 6-7 hours without retouching. BUT without a good primer, maybe it's around 5-6 hours before I notice that it is starting to fade. There are also incidents that it sits on the lines of the face (like the laugh line) when I get oily. But these just happen when I don't have a good primer (I'm using a primer from Smashbox). And no breakouts nor irritations encountered when I use this.

So for the summary of this review:

What I LIKE:
- Affordable
- Medium to heavy coverage
- Nice matte finish
- Good oil control
- Has SPF15
- Long lasting
- Good packaging
- Hypo-allergenic
- No breakouts
- Great for oily skinned people like me

What I DON'T LIKE:
- Not available in the Philippines
- Too few shades selection

Would I repurchase? I would if they create more shades, especially one that is very close to mine. Haha! It's a really good product! I really like it, it's just that I have to do something with the color mismatch. I checked the other shades on some reviews on youtube and they are mostly cool-toned so... yeah, I doubt that I have a color match with their current shades. 

I do recommend it for people with normal to oily skin. I really think you will like it too. For people with dry skin, I think it's best if you skip this one. I tried this on my friend Yuki who has extremely dry skin and it just made all the flaky, dry areas very visible so I bet that this would be a horror for you. :P

So what do you think of the Boots No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation? Do you use other products from this brand? Which ones are your favorites?


Cheers,
DAWN

No7 Precision Lip Pencil in Nude

Hey loves!

I was supposed to do some school work for the whole weekend but ended up doing nothing... well, I did get to watch two Cinemalaya 2014 films... so I guess I still did something productive... But anyway, I'm still in "lazy mode" so I won't be doing a long post for tonight. But that doesn't mean it's nothing special. :D

I'll be sharing with you a swatch post of a product that I've been wanting to have for more than a year now. I kept seeing this product in the videos of my favorite Youtube Beauty Guru, Lisa Eldridge. In fact, she named this as one of her favorite lip pencils for natural or nude looks, and she recommends it for those with light-medium skin tones (like me!).

No7 Precision Lip Pencil in Nude

I bought it at Target when I was in L.A. last June. It was around $6 I think...

This is also the first product that I have tried from the brand. I hope this will be available in the Philippines soon. :D

I've seen the brand's Precision Lip Pencil as a pencil and not like this which is a twist-up/retractable one. I'm not sure if they've phased the pencil out or if they sell them in both ways.

Here's a close up of the product.

Swatch on arm

The product lined on my lips

It is so close to my lip color that you can hardly see the difference. I don't really use lip liners since I find my lips well-defined already but I really like this particular color, especially when I use it all over my lips.

when used as a lip color

It's matte and nude! My favorite kind of lippie (besides a matte red one). It can be drying though so it helps if you have a non-glossy lip balm underneath.

And there you have it. A really good products that's inexpensive. I do recommend this, a lot. I think it suits Filipina skin really well!

Cheers,

DAWN

US Trip (2014) Haul Part 1

Hey everyone!

My vacation in the US will be over soon and I'll be back in Manila on the 26th. I really had fun during the last few weeks and I'll make sure to enjoy the last couple of days here. I am considering blogging my 3 week vacation (it's gonna be a long post LOL) but I'll probably make it a few days or maybe a week later when I get back. :P

For now, I'll just share some of the beauty products I bought while staying over my friend's place in Los Angeles, the first stop of my trip. I stayed here for 7 days. Most of the beauty products bought were for daily use since I didn't bring much makeup with me (my luggage was almost full).

First off, drugstore makeup at Target. I didn't bring any concealer or loose powder with me...

Rimmel ScandalEyes Kohl Liner in 005 Nude

NYX Full Coverage Concealer in a Jar in Beige

Sonia Kashuk Undetectable Loose Powder

No7 Precision Lip Pencil in Nude

Maybelline Illegal Length Mascara

No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation in Deeply Beige

I bought a lot of nudes since it's the safest makeup I can use while on trip. I bought some No7's because one of my favorite makeup artists, Lisa Eldridge, used this brand on many of her makeup tutorials. I wanted to try this out myself and bought a couple since this brand is not in our country yet.

Next stop is at Sephora! Of course I had to stop by at one of their stores ASAP. :P

Too Faced Beauty Blogger Darlings Set

NARS Light Reflecting Loose Powder

Make Up For Ever Aqua Liner

Beauty Blender
Clinique Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector

I got some freebies too. Sachets from Murad and Dr. Dennis Gross.

I bought another Beauty Blender because I am not satisfied with the foundation brush I bought. LOL. The beauty blogger kit from Too Faced is such a great deal! It has everything I needed during the trip—a primer, an eyeshadow primer, and a bronzer! And all these have great reviews online so I can't wait to try them out!

Of course I had to buy some artsy stuff during my tours in museums like in The Getty and LACMA...

I thought that I came here to appreciate American Art but I am just too in-love with French Impressionism and Japanese art. :P

And since I am so inspired to draw after seeing so many beautiful artworks, I went to Micheal's and bought me some art materials so that I have something to do during my spare time in my trip.

I also bought some clothes (which are in the laundry while I am making this post), a 1 inch hair iron, and a DKNY Bag. I'll take pictures of these on my next haul post. :P

These aren't even half of the stuff I bought. I already told my mom that I'll give her most of my salary for the next coming months. I feel guilty for all the shopping I bought using my supplementary card. LOL (She's cool with it just so we're clear). Hope you stay tune for the next part!

I'll leave you with this fresh, pretty peonies from my best friend's room. 

Aren't they just lovely? :D

Cheers,
DAWN