"Your Foundation Looks Lovely"

Ha! Take that expensive brands. Physician's Formula has a new winner with their Mineral Wear Talc-Free Mineral Airbrushing Loose Powder SPF 30.

Ridiculously long, convoluted, inflated, and self-important name, but an amazing product. I ran into Sephora to lust after products I can afford only after I win the lottery (which will happen damn it). The sales associates recommended some products they love and told me my "foundation looks lovely"  and asked "What was I wearing?" I proudly answered Physician's Formula, which was met with some incredulous looks, but I pulled this lil' beauty bullet outta my purse to silence the haters. This stuff is that great.

Of course, it has the terrible brush and ridiculous packaging of all PF products, which they really need to get over. Hard. Peeps over at Physician's Formula need to stop, collaborate and listen: QUIT WITH THE WHACK PACKAGING. Moving on, this powder can be applied lightly as a setting powder, and it's yellow-based shade lends itself well to that, or as a full on mineral foundation. Of course, the shade range is limited, but fair gals can rejoice in the natural looking flawless coverage.

Heart it. Even more than I heart Ben Affleck circa 2000. Hard core.

Natural Wonder Drugstore Products That I Love

Here are a few of my favorite cheap, drugstore Natural Wonders:


1. Physician's Formula Organic wear™ 100% Natural Origin Tinted Moisturizer

This stuff is amazing. All natural, cruelty-free, feels good on the skin, and has an SPF. It also smells amazing. Not the greatest coverage in the world, but you will notice how the condition of your skin changes for the better when  using this product.

2. Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm

Another natural wonder. I love Burt's Pomegranate Lip Balm. This is my fav balm hyped up on crack. A perfect sheer wash of color in a lip smoothing balm. Tastes good too. I recommend the color Hibiscus.


3. Yes to Cucumbers Daily Makeover Shampoo and Conditioner

Want shiny, soft hair? Want your color to last and last? Want this all in a natural, sulfate-free formula? Yes to Cucumbers is your answer. And it smells great too. So good.

4. Alba Natural AcneDOTE Deep Clean Astringent

If you have a case of the greasies, this is your cure. Willow bark extract naturally supplies salicylic acid, an oil and acne fighter. Aloe and chamomile soothe your skin so it doesn't dry out. Even I can use this, with my irrationally sensitive, nasty skin. It keeps me oil free longer, and even shrinks my pot hole sized pores. It wins so much, it must be made of Tiger Blood.

REVIEW: Physician's Formula Happy Booster™ Glow & Mood Boosting Blush

Drugstore goodness doesn't come in a cuter package:

Seriously. I am a callous bitch, but this lightly violet scented, shimmering heart covered lovely cracks through my gruff exterior and turns my cheeks into shimmering pink orbs of adorableness. Or so I like to think.

I have the Physician's Formula Happy Booster™ Glow & Mood Boosting Blush in Natural, and it gives me a great, just-ran-up-the-stairs-after-eating-a-box-of-Twinkies flush. If you are a reader of da blog, you know I have a hard-on for most things Physician's Formula. They came through again with a great product. I can't wait to try other products in the Happy Booster line. Lord knows I need it.

Mixing Medium

Mixing medium, a combination of distilled water and glycerin, is a great tool in getting your powder foundations and mineral makeup to go on smoothly and flawlessly, without a "powdery" look. It's easy to make and use your own. Check out this video:

I use mixing medium when applying my Everyday Minerals or Hello Flawless. It really cuts down on the amount of product you use, and the amount of product that you look like you are using. And it is super cheap to make, and you get a high end result. 

One of The Best Foundations (For Me)

I've found it. One of my favorite foundations (so far). Everyday Minerals is pretty rad. Drug store price, free sample packs,a huge color and formula selection, amazing brushes, and fast service have won this hardened make up bitch over. There are 4 different bases, ranging from the dewy, glittery "Original Glo" formula to the formula of my choice, "Intensive."

I also love the heck outta there marketing and branding. Adorable.

The Sample Base Kits are amazeballs. You get 5 free samples of the base formula of your choice, ranging in color from Ivory to Mocha. You can order one free kit each time you make an order, additional samples per order are around $5.00. You get quite a bit of product in each sample, and if you are a mineral makeup fan, this is the way to go.

The also carry some of the best (and cruelty-free) makeup brushes I have ever used. Ever. Soft, silky, and effortless application. No more itchy face, or "scrubbing" to apply your makeup. Truly Glorious.

In short, great price, great product, and worth throwing your hard earned cash on.

Cheap Thrill

wet n wild gets a bad rap, partly because they are cheap, partly because they do not believe in capitalization. Almost everyone I know has used wet n wild, particularly as a teen, or for cheap Halloween makeup. I have turned to the brand recently because it's so freakin' cheap, and they are cruelty-free, which is one of my musts. 

Their powder eyeshadows are amazing. Silky, long lasting, easily blendable, equal to expensive brands. My new fav is the Color Icon Eye Shadow Trio in "Sweet as Candy."

It doesn't look impressive in the pic above, but this stuff rocks. A subtle sheen of pearly color looks great on almost every skin tone (sorry olive ladies, this particular trio is not for you, but there are several others to choose from). All for around $3.00. Ridiculous. Go buy 2. 

Experiments in Broke Ass Beauty

I have been experimenting with several drugstore foundations that meet the Mandy Code:

1. Cruelty Free
2. On Sale
3. Come in Caucasian Corpse as one of the color options

I'm also interested in something that can last through the work day without many touch-ups, that stays put on the BP oil spill that calls itself my t-zone, and doesn't oxidize into a freakish orange color as the day wears on. I also don't want anything too mask-like, thick, or goopy looking. I hate that. One of the challenges I face is I am in and out of natural and artificial light.

Yes. I am concerned about how my makeup looks in various lighting. Let me tell you ladies, and the occasional gent, this can be the difference between fab and freakish. For example, in my videos, I wear more makeup, and a different kind, that I would wear in the real world, without the harsh glare of the artificial lights of my night time household. I would never wear this out of the house while sober. Unless I was walking into the same horror-show canned lighting fiesta that is my house. But, for the sake of this experiment, I wore different types of makeup into the real world: to my job, the grocery store, and over to a friend's.

Experiment 1: Almay's tlc truly lasting color makeup

The Claims (via the Almay website):

tlc truly lasting color^™makeup

tlc truly lasting color™ makeup with SPF 15 delivers up to 16 hours of flawless coverage that won't rub off—even in heat and humidity. Plus, it nourishes your skin with a blend of green tea to protect, vitamin E to help smooth, and lemon extract to brighten...for all day, natural radiance.

The Reality:

Can I just share that it really irks me that Almay doesn't use capitalization with their products? It makes me want to dislike the product immediately without just cause.


This is surprisingly good. I'm not a huge fan of Almay foundations. The color is usually way off, and oxidizes to the point where I look spray tanned. I'm a fan of Almay shadows and lippies. I'm now a fan of this as well. If I was a bit darker (of course) this would truly be a great, long(ish) wearing makeup that doesn't feel like a lot of makeup. It has good for you, gentle ingredients, no long wear smell. 

I applied with a foundation brush followed by a sponge for a smooth, even, flawless application. I liked this as a medium coverage option. It still looks like your skin and doesn't settle into fine lines or wrinkles. I don't use a powder over it, as I think that would be too "made up." This would be a great for someone with sensitive skin, who is trying to hide some redness. It does oxidize and get darker throughout the day, so watch out for that.


Oh, and 16 hour wear my fat, lily-white ass. It's long lasting, but not that long, particularly on my combo skin.

Experiment 2: Revlon's PhotoReady Makeup mixed with ColorStay

The Claims (via the Revlon website):

Revlon PhotoReady™ Makeup - for poreless, airbrushed skin in any light. Photochromatic pigments bend and reflect light to erase every flaw. Complete, yet undetectable coverage. Soft, luminous finish.

- Oil free
- Fragrance free
- SPF 20

ColorStay™ Makeup with SoftFlex™ provides lightweight comfort, so you feel like you’re not wearing makeup. Looks fresh for up to 16 hours.

Want makeup that is flawless and weightless for 16 perfect hours? Revlon has the solution - ColorStay™ Makeup with SoftFlex™.

Specially formulated for combination or oily skin, this oil-free formula helps control shine all day and gives you flawless looking skin.

Makeup looks fresh and feels great for up to 16 hours thanks to the lightweight, comfortable feel from the SoftFlex ColorStay™ formula.

Medium to full coverage, with SPF 6 protection*.

What I did:

Some other bloggers have mentioned their success at blending these 2 formulas together. Frequent readers of this blog know I have a deep hatred of PhotoReady, and a mild like of Colorstay. Sometimes two wrongs make a right (Michael Bay and Explosions, Britney Spears and Auto-Tune, Captain and Tennille) and I thought this might too.

The Reality:

I applied a 50/50 mixture with a foundation brush followed by a sponge for the smoothest coverage. No powder. This looks great in really bad, harsh artificial light. It looks like you belong in an open casket wake in soft light or natural light. It's just too mask-like. If you were going out for a night on the town and need something that lasts and you will be in dive bar lighting, this will work. If you are getting pictures taken and want to hide flaws with ultra-coverage, this will work. If you are working on your tuck game and need something to hide your stubble, I would recommend this. That's about it.

My experiment had mixed results. I think these products are going to make some people amazingly happy, I'm just not one of 'em. Go find a bogo sale somewhere and get yourself some warpaint to experiment with. You just might find your perfect match in your mad experiment.

Amanda