The Body Shop Fresh Nude Foundation Review

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The Body Shop Fresh Nude foundation is one of the best foundations I’ve worn to date. I wanted to do a dedicated review on this foundation since I wear it all the time, but have never done a review. First, my skin type if normal – dry and not acne prone. It stays pretty balanced and my preferred finished is generally natural to a radiant finish. 

Let’s start with the foundation claims: “Make every day a good skin day with The Body Shop’s Fresh Nude Foundation. Enriched with English rose water and aloe vera, this hydrating formula leaves skin feeling beautifully fresh and comfortable all day. With a semi-matte finish, each of these 16 nature-inspired shades mimics the look of fresh-faced natural skin with a nude glow”. The other bullet point claims are: “Up to 24H moisturization, Light to medium coverage, Semi-matte, fresh-faced finish, Suitable for sensitive skin & dermatologically tested, Pair with The Body Shop’s new Shade Adjusting Drops”

The claims of the foundation are pretty accurate – except I wouldn’t even say this has a matte finish what so ever, it is more of a satin finish. I find that this does have a solid light to medium coverage, but you know me I like to sheer this out for light coverage. I also find this is one of the most skinlike foundations in my collection. It is best applied for me with a sponge as it really sheers it out and blends it into the skin seamlessly. This product has 14 shades that are basically all shades of beige. While shade range is never a problem for me personally, it would be nice to see them add a few more shades. 

After application

The application: this foundation applies easily with a brush and a sponge. If you want more of a medium coverage look, I’d use a brush, but if you want a more light coverage look I’d use a sponge. As someone with sensitive skin, this does not irritate me at all. I use this foundation on the daily (or at least a few days a week) because it is a favourite but also it is a year old and is in my project pan right now. I enjoy using this and it’s always a joy to put on each day! 

The Price: This foundation is $25 CAD which is actually close to a lot of drugstore foundations. Further, the Body Shop also always has amazing deals that include makeup. 

Left to right: Sephora Collection matte foundation. The ordinary serum foundation, Sephora Collection Skin tint, IT Cosmetics CC Cream, Kosas Tinted Face oil, The Body Shop Fresh Nude not pictured: benefit hello happy because I forgot to swatch it.

Overall rating: This foundation gets 5/5 stars from me. I love this so much. I’ve had it for a year and continue to use it 3 – 4 times a week, both to use it up and because I love it. It gives that fresh-faced look it claims and gives you a natural glow. It also wears well throughout the day and wears well under powders. I don’t set this foundation but if you have an oily skin type I could see people steering away but since it has a nice true satin finish then you may like it. 

CoverFx Monochromatic Blush Duo Review

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Peach blushes get me (well blush in general but that is neither here nor there)… every single time. I’m just a peachy girl. I love peach lips, peach blushes, peach eyes, so when Coverfx came out with their monochromatic blush duos I felt the need to pick one up. Coverfx is a Canadian cruelty-free, Sephora certified clean brand, and thus far don’t have too much in the way of colour cosmetics, more sore foundations and primers etc. I haven’t really reviewed many powder products other than eyeshadow palettes so hopefully, this review is thorough enough. 

My standard for blush is pretty low: I prefer a blush that isn’t super pigmented because I really like to swirl my brush in and pack it on. Think the hourglass blush formula and the mac sheer tone blushes. First, let’s go through the claims of this product:  Formulated talc-free for a color-true, high-impact payoff, these blush duos include both a matte and a shimmer shade, each, for a monochromatic, multidimensional effect. Use each shade individually or layer them together to customize your finish”

This blush was a welcomed change, I bought it in soft peach. I really like to glow (as you may now if you follow me on insta I do quite a few glowy looks over there) and I love that glow on the apples of the cheeks. I find the shimmer in this can be built up or just spackled on for a bit glow on the skin. The matte side really packs a punch and creates a beautifully peach look. These also work on the eyes as well. 

The packaging. This has lovely white, heavier packaging. It also has a huge mirror making it each for application. 

Pricing: $50 CAD sold at Sephora for 14.5 g of product. This is definitely a lot of bang for your buck (or maybe not I don’t really know maths but it seems like it). I compared it to some of my other peach blushes, but alas these photos didn’t turn out and I couldn’t be bothered to reshoot since my weeks are super busy! This shade is definitely more of a nude peach compared to both my Burt’s Bees bare peach and my mac peach twist. I like that it leans a bit more beige than peach so I find it pairs well with a lot of looks. 

Overall rating: 5/5 stars. This is like any other blush – but it lasts all day on my skin. I find that blush is something that my skin “eats” per se. And because this can be packed on and then fades nicely, it is the perfect daily blush for me. If you want a nice starter two in one product I would recommend this!

Makeup Revolution Reloaded vs. Naked Heat

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In the past, I have been skeptical of the brand makeup revolution because of its reputation of blatantly copying other brands best selling products accept selling them at extremely affordable prices. Now, I have just managed to get my hands on this because orabel beauty sells the brand. Makeup Revolution is a brand from the United Kingdom and is cruelty-free. I wanted to compare this palette to my much loved naked heat palette. This is very clearly made to dupe the urban decay palette but makeup revolution has sneakily added a few more shades so it’s not a blatant copy like their makeup revolution golden bar whose packaging couldn’t be more obvious that they are trying to copy Too Faced. On one hand, I wasn’t sure how I felt about this because they are copying another brand, but on the other hand, I think makeup and makeup trends should be accessible and that is what makeup revolution gives to consumers. In any case, I wanted to compare the two palettes because I love warmed tones and couldn’t resist testing it out. After the disappointment of their concealer, I wanted to try a few other items form the brand.

First the claims on each: Time to get RELOADED! Our 15 shade eyeshadow palettes that are bound to pack a punch at an affordable price. Warm burnt shades for lovers of orange and burgandys, in a variety of matte and shimmer shades. Highly pigmented, long-wearing, smooth and blendable eyeshadow shades that will keep you on trend all year round. The price of this palette is 9.99 CAD on orabel.ca. Orabel is a great website to find makeup that isn’t easily accessible in Canada. The shipping was super fast too!

The naked heat claims: Urban Decay’s Naked Heat features all-new, amber-hued neutrals—including warm browns, burnt oranges, and rich siennas. Each shade features Urban Decay’s Pigment Infusion System™, a proprietary blend of ingredients that gives each shade its velvety texture, rich color, ultimate staying power, and blendability” . This palette is currently $66.00.

As you can see, these to have a similar description in that it is a warm-toned palette but the makeup revolution one does not blatantly state that it is duping and after all brands are free to create warm toned palettes as long as no copy writing is being infringed upon. I think that these have similar vibes.

The Comparison

The biggest differences I see in these palettes are the density of the shadows. The mattes and shimmers in the makeup revolution ones feel thinner than the naked heat shadows and apply with less pigment. The same goes for the shimmers, the ones in the makeup revolution palette are quite similar to the naked heat but again, the naked heat ones to pack a bit more of punch.

MR means Makeup Revolution and UD means Urban Decay

I think that price wise the makeup revolution palette is a nice affordable option for that same warm vibe that the naked heat gives you. The naked heat really for me, steals my heart in that I am an avid lover of the naked series. While I don’t own the newest one, as a collector of these particular palettes I would always choose the naked over the makeup revolution. Now, the lack of pigmentation in the matte shadows in the makeup revolution reloaded is actually welcomed so that you don’t overdo it and it doesn’t require as much blending to diffuse the colour as I enjoy doing in all my eyeshadow looks. However, I’d say if you have a darker skin tone then you would have to build up the mattes in the reloaded palette quite a bit.

The application

Right is urban decay and left is Makeup Revolution

The application of the naked heat vs. the makeup revolution is different. The naked heat packs a punch essentially right away whereas with the makeup revolution I find you have to build it up a bit more to get that full opacity. I created two similar looks here. The makeup revolution also did not last as long as the naked heat after a 12 hour day. Granted what I used for primer was a matte foundation and even when I have worn the makeup revolution palette with a sticky primer they tend to fade more than the naked heat.

Is this a “dupe”

In the makeup world a dupe is a duplicate, generally intended to be a more affordable version of the high end version. In all cases of duping, this is a colour dupe if anything. The Makeup Revolution Reloaded palette definitely has similar shade colours, but the formula is very different. I think that is a great dupe and if you want that naked heat warm vibe this is a great affordable alternative!

12 Pans of Christmas

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I’m SO EXCITED to start the 12 pans of Christmas. I also wanted to announce that instead of doing blogmas I think I’m going to a 12 days of blogging or something just to make it easier on myself so I can balance all the adult things in my life.  Stay tuned for later in December.

I’m really excited to start this project since my 13 by Halloween was so successful I am really excited to start this project. I have selected 12 items and this project will end on Dec 31. This project is a shortie but goodie.

Foundations and Concealers

I wanted to chose a few foundations that I have and that are a bit older in my collection to attempt to use up for this project. First is the Gosh Foundation Drops. I do really like these and I think that I can use a lot of them up. I don’t wear foundation to work as its long shifts but otherwise on my days off I will be either wearing this on its own or mixing it. I also wanted to utilize the Andalous Naturals CC cream sheer tint because I am very close to using this up and since it’s so sheer it’s great for work and otherwise. Okay so controversial – and you all know my feelings on this concealer, but I want to try to use the Too Faced Scuplting concealer because it is so light and brightening I think it might work well for my winter skin. I also wanted to throw in another concealer that is a bit “older” in my collection (I got it in July but you know I love it and want to use it) is the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer.

The Eye Products

I want to use my Bite Beauty MultiStick in Brioche. I really like this on the eye and mixed in with a lip gloss and on the cheeks when applied with fingers and sheered out. For an eye shadow palette the Naked Heat. I really do love this palette and it’s really a classic warm toned palette that can work for several holiday looks.

Did I select too many highlighters? Yes I did.

I LOVE the Nars forte de France Highlighter so I thought I would throw it in this project. You might notice all of these highlighters are in my makeup stash Fridays posts but I thought in an effort to use up things in my collection I’d put them in this project. I also chose the Physicians Formula Butter Highlighter in Pearl. This is a beautiful icy highlighter that has a stain finish. The third highlighter I want to use is my Nudestix illuminaughty Highlighter. I really like this for just an everyday easy glossy highlighter. As for goals, I know I realistically won’t hit pan, but I want to just make a dent in these items. 

The Face palette and Random wet n wild product.

I feel like I always have some sort of wet n wild product in my projects. I want to use the Wet n Wild Contour stick in Oaks on You. I actually really like this product I just rarely stray from my powder products and from my Nudestix Cream bronzer. I also wanted to throw in the Hourglass Ambient lighting palette in surreal light. I use this all the time. It’s so easy for work, everyday and can be built up to glowy goodness. I also wanted to throw in a red lipstick because it is the holiday season after all. I love the Burt’s Bees Lipstick formula and equally love the shade Scarlet Soaked. It\s a low maintenance red that is good for every day but can be built up to full opacity for holiday gatherings etc.

Are you planning on panning anything for the holiday season? 

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