Murad Absolute Bronzing Boost: Natural Makeup Look

Murad Absolute Bronzing Boost is an instant, oil-free liquid bronzer that can be worn alone or mixed with foundation, for a golden glow with added SPF 15 and skin conditioning treatments.  When I first received this I wasn’t sure that it would work for me as the colour seemed quite strong, but a little experimentation has proved that this is a really versatile product.

It’s a proper deep bronze in tone (slightly deeper than it appears above) with a subtle golden sheen, which makes the skin glow rather than shimmer - a preferable finish in my book.

 

I applied it using my Real Techniques Stippling Brush for the above swatch and found that this distributed it much more finely and evenly than my fingers.  18months ago I wouldn’t have dreamed of applying a liquid product with a brush, but find that I’m choosing liquid formulas more now as they work so well in this way and look much more natural.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been favouring a much more natural look recently, so decided to try and create a very natural makeup look incorporating the Murad Absolute Bronzing Boost.  These are the other products I used…

  

From top left: Murad Absolute Bronzing Boost, Dr Jart Water Fuse BB Cream {review}, Vichy Dermablend Ultra Corrective Foundation Cream Stick, Max Factor Mascara False Lash Effect (black/brown), Real Techniques Stippling Brush, YSL bronzer in Light 01 {review}, Balance Me Rose Otto lip salve, M&S Ltd Edition Lipgloss in Mulberry.

Step by Step…

1. Wearing only Murad Absolute Bronzing Boost SPF15 and Max Factor mascara. 

For me, this would be the ideal holiday makeup. My lashes are almost invisible naturally and my face is quite pale (even in the many years I tried desperately to get it to tan, it got very little colour compared to the rest of me - could have saved myself a fortune in skincare if I hadn’t bothered!). Used alone, this product adds colour, a natural glow and lightly camouflages small imperfections.

2. With the addition of Dr Jart BB cream in Water Fuse, evening out the skintone and covering minor blemishes.

Personally I can’t bear a finished look without at least blusher.  For me, blusher is what makes the face look alive… I’m always wishing I could whip out my blush & apply some to faces that pass me by, which look fine, but could look amazing with the addition of blusher!

3. Final natural makeup look, using all of the products above. 

Using my Crown Brushes Deluxe Double Sided Blender I added Vichy Dermablend Ultra Corrective Foundation Cream Stick as concealer.  This product is capable of extremely high coverage and is often used by makeup artists to cover tattoos. It’s also great for scarring, bruising etc, but a light layer buffed in with this (brilliant!) blending brush acts as a great concealer.

I applied the YSL bronzer with my Eco Tools Powder Brush. as it’s so pigmented I only need a teeny amount.  Illamasqua Powder Blusher in Lover has a beautiful finely milled texture and is again very highly pigmented.  I found it difficult to get along with this in Winter, but think its warm tones look best over a more golden skintone. I applied this with the Japonesque Professional Fan brush, which I reviewed recently {here}.

For my lips, I was going to stick with Super Balance Me Rose Otto Lip Salve (recent magazine freebie) but couldn’t resist adding my current fave nude lipgloss, Mulberry by M&S Limited Collection on top.

A final pic taken with flash, as some of you have asked me how BB creams perform with flash - this makes the whole finished look much more ‘made up’ than it does in natural light - there are patches of white out from the BB, but nothing I’d overly worry about.

I didn’t want this to look like I was using natural makeup… I wanted to look like I wasn’t actually wearing any at all!  I don’t think I achieved that in this case. The next day I tried mixing the Murad with the BB Cream and have been doing this ever since as I think it gives a much more natural finish.

One final pic to illustrate this (sorry - I’m getting bored of looking at my face too!)

The only other difference here is that I used a pink Illamasqua Powder blush this time.

I feel that this kind of makeup allows my skin to breathe a little more and also saves me a lot of time… when I got ‘properly’ made up on Friday evening I felt as if I was wearing SO much makeup. I think the minimal eyes makes a big difference as well as the skin - my eyes definitely look better when a bit more defined, but for now I’m quite liking the natural look!

What do you think… are you a fan of natural looking makeup?

Murad Absolute Bronze* is £31.50 here

*press sample

Dr Jart + BB Cream: Regenerating & Water Fuse Review & Swatches

One of the most talked about BB Cream launches of the year, Dr Jart+ BB Cream is one of the longest standing formulas around.  Asia’s best selling BB cream,  it was developed in Korea in 2004 by a team of 21 dermatologists and comes in four formulas designed to address specific skincare needs {outlined in my previous post}.

For me, Dr Jart stands out among a plethora of recent BB launches by numerous major beauty brands, so I was really excited to try this one, which I considered ‘the real thing’ and somewhat set apart from the others.

 

While personally I would have chosen the Platinum or Premium formulas (dry/ageing), it was great to receive two different formulas to compare, especially when I realised how different they are. Regenerating is aimed at sensitive skin, while Water Fuse is designed for oily (mine is dry).  Despite this, I have enjoyed using these products and am really impressed by their properties.

“Acting not only as a moisturiser, serum, primer and perfector, each Dr.Jart+ BB Cream
targets individual skincare needs… and has adapted ingredients, features and
benefits to deliver beautiful results.”

Swatches

First up, the colour: Regenerating is several shades lighter than Water Fuse and leaves a slight chalkiness often associated with BB Creams.  This can easily be warmed up with powder, bronzer or blusher, but is worth noting.

Regenerating is a yellow toned beige while Water Fuse has more golden apricot tones.  Regenerating is also thicker and more creamy in texture, with greater coverage; Water Fuse is light and silky - and despite being designed for oily skin, feels moisturising.

If you scroll back up to my top swatches, you can see the extent to which my freckles are covered, giving you an idea of coverage (there is a small gap between the two blended shades where my biggest freckle is uncovered).

The difference between the two shades is minor indoors, though you can still see that Regenerating offers a touch more coverage.

After around half an hour I noticed that the product seemed to have settled into my skin, looked slightly more opaque and the dewy finish of Water Fuse had reduced a little.

Both of these formulas have an incredible texture and to me feel much more like a skin treatment than makeup.  Regenerating feels really rich and nourishing and while the slight chalky finish does nothing for me at the moment, it will probably be ok in Winter, warmed with a little blusher.

Water Fuse really does feel more like a product for dry than oily skin, purely because it feels hydrating rather than oily or shiny.

It’s a balm. That’s why it feels this way; that’s exactly how it feels.

On application, you can see the little bubbles of moisture on your skin as you blend it in. It was difficult to capture this on myself, while blending, but I managed to do so on my sister - after applying several layers in the above pic. The droplets of water magically appear then disappear - it’s as if the products seals them into your skin.

This is Water Fuse applied, with a teensy bit of Liz Earle cream blush on my cheeks and lips (review coming soon) and a very light slick of mascara: my ‘no-makeup-makeup’ look. Not the one I wear when I’m trying to look au naturel (good Lord that takes forever!); the one I wear when I’m racing out the door because I have no time for further pampering (which is quite often with two small children on an 8 week school holiday!).

I know I don’t look brilliant, but do I look a lot better than without makeup!  Dr Jart BB Cream smooths out the complexion and covers minor imperfections, slightly more than a tinted moisturiser would.  There is still some redness and shadows and the addition of concealer would help a lot - when I have time that’s exactly what I’ve been doing while testing this out over the past few weeks.  I’ve become much more comfortable (almost) in my own skin and that’s a good thing, right? 

Edit: Just found this pic on my camera, wearing Dr Jart with concealer, a little powder & blush - thought I’d include it to show how it looks worn like this!

If you don’t need a lot of coverage, I think you’ll adore this.  I’ve also used it under regular foundation or with a little light foundation where I need it most, both of which I love.  The fact that it contains a decent SPF and feeds your skin while helping you look better (or good if you’re lucky) is an absolute bonus.

Dr Jart+ BB Cream is only available at Boots in the UK, instore or online priced at £18-24.

I’d love to know what you think if you’ve tried Dr Jart - please do leave a comment below.