Geek in Heels

Sep 6, 2023 • In Beauty, Personal, Shopping

My Top 7 Foundations

In the past, I used to be more comfortable with my bare face but after I hit my late 30s (I’m currently 42), I found myself reaching for face makeup more often. As such, I have tried tons of foundations — in various finishes, coverage, and price points. And while I recommended only one in year’s Sephora spring sale post, I tend to rotate my foundations depending on my mood. And the following seven, in no particular order, are my all-time favorites. (Some of the linked products are affiliate links, meaning I get commission for purchases or clicks made through those links in this post.)

Pat McGrath Sublime Perfection Foundation, $69:

This foundation has light to medium coverage, with a natural finish that isn’t too matte or too radiant. I use the shade Light 3 and on me, the sheer wash of color leaves a smooth, almost-airbrushed look. It isn’t the longest lasting or transfer-proof but with primer, I can make it last the whole day. It has remained one of my favorite foundations since its debut in 2020.

Armani Beauty Luminous Silk Perfect Glow Flawless Oil-Free Foundation, $69

It seems like the Luminous Silk foundation has been around for ages, and now that I’ve looked up its release date (the year 2000), it practically has, in the fast-evolving world of makeup. I still remember driving to Tysons Corner from Baltimore when I was in college to pick up a bottle of this foundation for the first time.

I stopped wearing this foundation in my mid-to-late twenties, but in the past few years have I started to love it again. It is a cult favorite for a reason — it doesn’t just cover, it evens everything out and gives my skin a flawless finish without being heavy. I wear the shade 3 and it leaves just such a pretty finish to my face.

Dior Backstage Face & Body Foundation, $43

This is the foundation I turn to when I want something akin to a skin tint. The coverage is sheer but can be built up to medium, and out of all the foundations on this list, this is the least heavy feeling with a very natural finish. I wear the shade 1W and it usually lasts the whole day for me.

Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate Soft Radiance Foundation, $150

I wish this foundation weren’t so expensive, but even at this price point it makes this list because I think it’s worth the money. The Nordstrom product page describes it as a “medium- to full-coverage foundation with three-dimensional radiance that reflects soft light” and it couldn’t be more apt. There’s something about this formula that leaves a softly radiant finish to your skin that you can’t replicate with highlighter or finishing powder. I wear the shade 1.1 Warm Sand and it leaves a luminous, perfected look to my skin that’s simply divine.

Nars Light Reflecting Advanced Skincare Foundation, $50

This is another medium coverage foundation with a natural finish. It leaves a beautiful finish that just makes your skin look healthy. I’m not too sure about the claimed skincare benefits but even if they’re nothing but marketing gimmicks, I would still love this foundation. I wear the shade L3 Gobi and it always imparts such a smooth, softly glowing look to my skin.

La Mer The Soft Fluid Longwear Foundation, $145

Here is another expensive foundation that, IMHO, is totally worth the price. The coverage is sheer to medium with a very skinlike finish. It supposedly contains the La Mer “broth” that is the hallmark ingredient to its skincare products, so it’s a foundation and skincare in one. I wear the shade 130 Warm Ivory and every time I wear it, I feel like I’m having a good skin day.

Laura Mercier Real Flawless Weightless Perfecting Foundation, $48

This foundation is probably the longest-wearing of all the foundations on this list. And like most on this list, it is a medium-coverage foundation with a natural finish. The name says weightless and it does feel like practically nothing on the face. I wear the shade 0W1 Satin and every time I wear this foundation, my skin looks airbrushed and blurred.

What are your favorite foundations at the moment? Do any on this list make it to your list of favorites?

Next time, I’ll list my favorite concealers!

Secret Invasion Ads, Remixed

Have you heard of Secret Invasion, the latest lineup in the MCU’s Disney+ shows? The first episode only just aired this past week and I gotta say I like what I’ve seen so far. If you have heard of the show, I’m sure you’ve encountered the visually fractured ads that have been all over the internet the past few weeks. Well, Redditor King-Owl-House remixed these ads to include other characters the actors have played in the past with great results. Check them out!

Samuel L. Jackson, Nick Fury and Jules Winnfield:

Cobie Smulders, Maria Hill and Robin Scherbatsky (aka Robin Sparkles):

#YouAreAwful

Have you watched season 6 of Black Mirror yet? The first episode is titled “Joan is Awful” and it stars Annie Murphy as Joan, who discovers a Streamberry (a streaming service that is eerily similar to Netflix) show called “Joan is Awful” (starring Salma Hayek!) based on her life.

Well, Netflix has now released a promotional site that lets you “sign up” to Streamberry, take or upload a picture, and voilà! You are greeted with your own “____ is Awful” show.

You can even download a digital image advertising your show:

Kudos on a clever way to promote what is probably the most talked-about show of the new season! (Just a heads up, though…if you decide to use this site, your uploaded picture may be used to promote the show/website.)

Try your own version at https://youareawful.com/

P.S. — My favorite episode of this season was “Loch Henry.” It had horror, it had grit, it had gore, and it was completely believable. Which was your favorite of this season?

Happy Father’s Day

Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there! J has been away this week on a business trip and will not return until late tonight so we already gave him his gifts before he left. The picture below popped up on my Facebook memories and I couldn’t had a chuckle over how little our girls used to be.

My own father is in Texas so I am not able to spend the day with him. Two months ago, he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. This came as a complete shock to us — he already suffers from chronic hepatitis B, so his health is already fragile. He had been admitted to the hospital for vomiting blood; the cause was esophageal varices due to cirrhosis of the liver. The varices were clipped, but the doctors were concerned because his platelet counts were so low, and they continued to stay low even with transfusions. That’s when they discovered the leukemia.

My father stayed in the hospital for a month and a half, receiving chemo and recovering. Luckily, he had a great oncologist and after just that course of chemo, he went into remission. Before my father’s diagnosis, I wasn’t aware that going into remission technically means (at least for acute myeloid leukemia) that there are less than 5% cancerous cells in your blood and bone marrow. So there are still “bad” cells in his body, but they are under control.

The oncologist says that my father has mutations in his blood that need addressing. So he’s going through more chemo, but not as intense as last time. He can do this as an out-patient. And there’s still a chance that he may need a bone marrow transplant.

It sucks that this happened just months into my parents’ retirement. And it sucks that I can’t be there physically for him. I will probably make a trip to Texas this summer and spend some time with my appa.

Please keep my father in your prayers. And I hope your fathers are happy and healthy!

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Sephora Spring Sale 2023 Makeup Recommendations

I know you’re probably getting inundated with recommendations for the Sephora sale, but I thought I would throw in my two cents here because I have some stuff that I have not seen on many other people’s lists. Additionally, I am only picking one makeup item per category. (You can see my skincare recommendations here.) And because I am only listing the items I’m currently using, the products that are not available on Sephora (like concealer, brows, lippies, etc) are not listed.

In other words, this list will be a lot shorter than others. 🙂 (I get commission for purchases or clicks made through links in this post.)

Primer: Rare Beauty Always An Optimist Illuminating Primer

Because my skin has turned dry, I now prefer more moisture in my products and that includes my makeup. As foundation tends to become drier throughout the day, I look for moisturizing/radiant primers. This one by Rare Beauty gives a dewy, almost pearlescent glow without being heavy and creates a nice canvas for foundation.

Foundation: Laura Mercier Real Flawless Weightless Perfecting Foundation

This is a relatively new foundation, released just a couple of months ago. But I fell in love with it as soon as I tried it because it really is weightless and looks so natural. It is medium coverage with a natural glow that wears so well throughout the day. It blurs my imperfections makes my skin look airbrushed. Definitely one of my top 3 foundations.

Eyeliner: Gucci Stylo Contour Des Yeux Khol Eyeliner

When my HG Tom Ford eyeliner was discontinued, I wanted to cry. I had literally tried dozens of eyeliners to find that one. (I don’t like liquid/pen liners and I prefer pencil.) I went on a new quest and found this one. I actually wear dark brown liners instead of black liners because they’re less harsh, and the Chocolat shade of this liner is just perfect. Once it’s applied and smudged a bit, it stays put.

Blush: Laura Mercier Blush Color Infusion

I’m not a huge blush collector — I usually pick one and stay with it until I hit pan or it goes bad. The one I’ve been using for the past year is this one, in the color Passionfruit, which is described as “warm coral luminescent pink.” The quality of the blush itself is great — smooth, buildable, and long lasting.

Eyeshadow: Tom Ford Eye Color Quad Eyeshadow Palette

My favorite Tom Ford quad, Virgin Orchid, has been discontinued. (But I made sure to snatch up an extra when I heard that it was being discontinued. 😉 ) I’m not a big eyeshadow junkie and I don’t have much real estate above my eyes so I don’t play around with shadows much. So I prefer singles and quads, and Tom Ford quads are some of the best. The one pictured above in Nude Dip seems basic but is so gorgeous in person. Because the quads are expensive, the Sephora sale is the time to get them if you’re interested.

Mascara: Tarte SEA Surfer Curl™ Volumizing Mascara

I only discovered this mascara because it came in a set I bought from Sephora, and I ended up loving it. It holds my curl, it volumizes, doesn’t flake or smudge, and stays put all day. It seriously is underrated and not enough people know about it! The best part is that it’s on sale for half off right now (I hope it’s not getting discontinued!) so I would grab a tube while you can.

So that’s it. Pretty short list, if I do say so myself. Please let me know if you want me to do a list of the non-Sephora items in another post.

Spring Break in New Orleans

We just returned from five glorious days in New Orleans! I have always wanted to visit the city and finally decided to go for it by combining the girls’ spring break and J and my anniversary trip.

J and I are too old to participate in the raucous activities that one usually associates with NOLA, and we obviously can’t do it with two tweens in tow. But we still had a great time in the city because it has such a rich history and culture — and the locals are so friendly and welcoming. This isn’t to say that we didn’t have any adult fun. I always had a bloody mary or a mimosa with brunch and a cocktail or two with dinner every night, and they make those drinks very strong in New Orleans!

On our second night, we took a Haunted History Tour — a two-hour walking tour featuring the city’s ghosts, true crime, vampires, voodoo, and other frightful history. Although it was a lot of walking (and a couple of people in our group dropped out midway because they were too tired), our girls had a blast and Aerin even cited this tour as her favorite part of the trip. Who knew Jackson Square, now a picturesque park, had such a gruesome history? Continue reading »

New York Basketball Is Back

You see, I’ve been a Knicks fan since the 90s. I cried when we lost the Finals in 1999. I know we had a glimmer of hope with Melo (and we can’t forget Linsanity), but you can’t deny that being a Knicks fan in the past 20 years has been tough.

But two years ago, we finally made the Playoffs. Sure, we were knocked out in the first round. But the excitement was palpable. With Julius Randle, that year’s MIP, the Knicks were relevant again. And this year, with the acquisition of Jalen Brunson, we’re even better. And as of now, on March 6, 2023, we’re on a 9-game winning streak — the longest in the NBA. And people are taking notice.

Last night, Immanuel Quickley (pictured above) scored a career high 38 points in a 2OT win against Boston. The picture was taken during the second overtime during a game where he played an impressive 55 minutes — the most of any player this season. He should have been panting and sweating but there he is, skipping and laughing. This dude plays with such joy. And many are saying he’s a strong contender for this year’s Sixth Man of the Year.

The Knicks have been such a joke for so long that people still have a hard time taking them seriously. But I am so happy for them these days. As I read recently, they have gone from “lol Knicks” to “wtf Knicks.” And even non-Knicks fans agree that the NBA is better when the Knicks are playing well.

Do I think the Knicks will make it all the way? No. But they sure are playing some damn good basketball these days. And I’m sure they will make the Playoffs this year, perhaps even to the second round.

Bing Bong.

Skincare Device Reviews: NuFACE, Light Salon, & Medicube

As a self-proclaimed geek, it’s a give-in that I incorporate technology into my skincare routine. There are three devices I have been rotating regularly, and they are: the NuFACE Trinity (with Eye and Lip Enhancer attachment), the Light Salon Boost LED Face Mask, and the Medicube Age-R Ussera Deep Shot.

The NuFACE Trinity is the one device where I can see an immediate effect upon use. The device sends microcurrents down to the muscles of the face to tone, lift, and contour, eventually reducing lines and wrinkles. I swear that when I do one half of my face, it looks more lifted than the other half!

I actually have the NuFACE Trinity with the Eye and Lip Enhancer attachment. The Eye and Lip Enhancer attachment can be used to deliver a more precise microcurrent around the mouth and eye area. I don’t have any lines or wrinkles around my mouth yet (knock on wood), but I have been using the attachment around my eyes. I can’t really tell if there’s much of a difference with the attachment because the microcurrent is weaker, but the Trinity device itself definitely works and with regular use, my face as a whole definitely looks more lifted!

The next device I want to talk about is the Light Salon Boost LED Face Mask. My sister generously gifted this for me for my 40th birthday because I had been looking to purchase a high quality LED face mask. I wanted to get a red light LED mask on the recommendation of Gothamista and chose this one from Light Salon, again, based on her recommendation. (See all about the benefits of LED light therapy in this very informative video by Gothamista here.)

830nm is the most effective effective wavelength for anti-aging and it is what is used in professional LED red light treatment therapy. This Light Salon mask uses a combination of 830nm near infra-red light and 633nm red light. (Most at-home anti-aging LED masks will only use 633nm red light.) I don’t know if using this mask has produced more collagen in my face, but I have noticed that blemishes heal faster and redness has reduced.

The last device I want to talk about is the Medicube Age-R Ussera Deep Shot. This is another device that is meant to stimulate collagen production within the skin. (You will see that there is a video of Tati endorsing this product on the product page. I swear I had this product on my wishlist before Tati reviewed it — I know Medicube to be a fairly reputable brand in Korea.)

I’ve had this product for only a couple of months (J gifted it to me for my birthday) so I can’t speak to its long term benefits yet. What I can say is that it feels divine to use — the warmth and ultrasonic frequencies just feel comforting on the skin. And my face just looks glowing afterwards. I’m still on the second lowest setting and I’m still building up to a higher setting so I may see more results then.

* * * * *

Disclosure: I get commission for purchases or clicks made through links in this post.

My Top 7 Foundations

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