Murad Hybrids Skin Perfecting Primer and Eye Lift: Swatches and Launch

Murad, the brand most famed for its wide, all-encompassing range of skincare products, including everything from acne to anti-aging, has now branched out into makeup! The brand's maiden offerings are still small, consisting of tinted face primers, the Skin Perfecting Primers, and eye concealers and brighteners, the Eye Lift products. Murad's selling point is that these are a hybrid of makeup and skincare, and have have accordingly named the entire range Hybrids. The Hybrids range is supposed to not only cover your imperfections in the short run, but also contain ingredients that improve the skin with long-run usage.



The Murad Hybrids website lists three Skin Perfecting Primers (Dewy, Matte, Acne), but in Singapore we only seem to have the Dewy and Matte. The main difference between the two is that the Dewy Finish primer is meant for dry skin, and gives a more glowy finish, while the Matte Finish primer is more for oily skin, and is meant to mattify the skin.



Both the Skin Perfecting Primers come packaged in sleek, black, packaging. The one thing I liked about this range from the outset is the very practical, no-mess, no-fuss, hygenic packaging - it's something a doctor would have come up with, as opposed to a sales and marketing person. The primers all come in pump bottles, which are much more hygenic than jars. The pumps have a fine opening, so you can be sure that you only pump out as much or as little as you need, without wastage.



Murad claims that all of the Skin Perfecting Primers are the same colour, and that the primers will adjust to any skin tone. When I heard this, I was really skeptical about the claim - I mean, since when did colour pigments magically change properties upon contact with skin? So I decided to put the products to the test, by swatching them on the spot. The photo below shows both the Dewy Finish and the Matte Finish primers swatched.



When I first swatched them, it appeared that both shades were too dark for my skin (around NC20 in MAC). Also, although both shades were supposed to be the same colour, it appeared to my eye that the Dewy Finish Primer was a hair darker than the Matte Finish Primer. But of course, I had to blend them in to be sure.

Upon blending, I had to admit I was mistaken. Both primers blended into my skin, and they didn't seem too dark at all. It seems like the primers are quite sheer in terms of coverage, thus the natural skin colour beneath shows through, which is pretty cool if you ask me! I'll definitely be trying out the primers a bit more to see how they actually fare on my face!



As you can see from the swatches, both primers - even the Matte Finish one - actually have tiny specks of shimmer in them, but the shimmer fortunately is quite muted in appearance. I don't foresee any problems looking like a discoball with these on. Also, the Dewy Finish primer is slightly thinner and more watery in texture than the Matte Finish primer, but both of them blend and apply in a similar manner, and provide similar coverage. These, as primers, are meant to be used under the skin, but since they provide a small amount of coverage, I can imagine that these could be used alone if you have reasonably good skin.

The other stars of Murad's Hybrids line are the Eye Lift products, consisting of the Eye Lift Illuminator, and the Eye Lift Perfector. These also come packaged in slim, black tubes.



As with the packaging of the Skin Perfecting Primers, Murad chose a very hygenic, practical packaging for the Eye Lift products. These are dispensed in click-pen form, but instead of the more commonly-used brush at the end of the pen, the product actually is dispensed by a slanted plastic tube. I know a plastic tube looks odd, but I much prefer it to the brush - in my experience, brushes tend to get all gunky and gooey and clumped up with product after a while, which makes them very gross. Plastic applicators are so much cleaner.



The Eye Lift Illuminator is meant as a under eye brightener, and contains a purple-violet sheen to brighten undereye discolouration. The Eye Lift Perfector functions more like a concealer, with a yellow-beige shade.

As you can see in the swatches below, although both have some form of shimmer, the Eye Lift Illuminator has larger, denser shimmer, as well as the violet sheen, while the Eye Lift Perfector has shimmer that is smaller, and more similar to the shimmer found in the Skin Perfecting Primers. Both have a light, watery texture that blends in easily and is quite pleasant to apply.



I'm pretty excited everytime a skincare brand launches makeup products, as my experience tends to be that the brand pays more attention to the formulation and ingredients used in the products. I'm hoping that these products fare well on my uber-sensitive skin. I'll be trying out the Skin Perfecting Primer, and will be reporting back on how it fares on my skin!



And to end off, that's a photo of myself and some of the other bloggers at the event, including my friend Lynn (whose brother used to be my classmate in University, way back when), and fellow beauty blogger LunaLunaFace. I don't know why I put that photo up when we're all squished in a corner, you barely see half my body, and the lighting was so bad that noone in the photo looks good (including myself). But hey, we all love photos, don't we?

Benefit Finding Mr Bright Swatches and Quick Peek!

Benefit has released Finding Mr Bright, a boxed set comprising of some of the brand's bestselling products, including highlighters, a liquid cheek/lip stain, and a concealer. You know I have a thing for sets, and I was pretty darn excited to get my grubby little hands on this baby!

The product comes in the cutest little paper box ever, complete with girly flourescent orange and pink print. This would make a really great gift, because it's just so cute, pretty, and presentable!



Opening up the package and taking a peek got me all excited. It really did feel like opening a treasure trove of cute little mini items, all delightfully packed.



Inside, you have a 7.5ml tube of Girl Meets Pearl, a 4.0ml mini bottle of Posietint, a 2.5ml mini bottle of High Beam, and a 3.2g jar of Erase Paste, in No. 2 Medium.



I'll eventually be reviewing some of the products individually, but for now, I thought I'd give a quick look into the set by swatching the individual items.

First up, the two highlighters, Girl Meets Pearl, and High Beam.


L-R: High Beam (applied heavily and lightly), Girl Meets Pearl (applied heavily and lightly)

It might seem a bit redundant that Benefit included two highlighters in the set, but after playing around with these, I can see why. Girl Meets Pearl is meant more as a brightening primer, and the highlighting effect in this product is very subtle. In fact, if you blend it in, you'll barely get any shimmer at all. It's also a bit more skin-coloured, as opposed to High Beam's pale-pink shade.

High Beam, on the other hand, can definitely be a reflective highlighter, suitable for selective highlighting on areas you want to bring out, as opposed to all over the face. In fact, I wouldn't recommend you use High Beam all over the face, unless you blend it into moisturizer or foundation or some similar base, as indiscrete usage could make you look like a discoball!

Next up, we have the ever-popular Posie Tint. I have to say, although Posie Tint has been on the market for awhile, I was never drawn to it, until I tried it:



When Posietint first came out, my thoughts were, "Meh, pale pink? I don't do pale pinks on my cheeks or lips." But what do you know, this is one pretty darn gorgeous shade. While it's a pale pink, to be sure, it wasn't the sickly, pastel pale pink I envision. This shade is actually quite bright, and can be blended in for that barely-there flush, or used more intensely for a brighter effect. I'd call it a sheer pop of bright pink. I really like it. Very Spring/Summer.

And lastly, we have Erase Paste, one of Benefit's better-selling items.



Unfortunately, No. 2 Medium isn't quite my shade (I'm NC20 in MAC). This shade is a fair bit darker and pinker. I'd guesstimate the shade to be around NW25 or NW30-ish. The coverage is definitely impressive, which is why it sells so well, but the texture is that of a thick, tacky paste, which could be either good or bad, depending on user preferences. Personally, I do feel like it's a bit too tacky for my liking, but this product gets fantastic reviews everywhere, so it could just be me.

So, would I recommend this set? Well, assuming the Erase Paste shade is a decent match for your skin, why not? You do get a good range of products, and all of them are worth trying. In particular, if you love highlighters and brightening products, or products for the face and cheeks, this set will really appeal to you. And lastly, it's also a pretty good set to give away, because it just looks so cute.

(Product was sent for review. Review is my complete and honest opinion. I am not affiliated with/compensated by the company.)

MAC Select Cover-Up Concealer: Stuff I'm Using Up!

Just look at this, guys! Have you ever seen a concealer tube quite so empty? Well, this is exactly how my tube of MAC Select Cover-Up Concealer in NC20 looks right now, all 10ml of it! I can't believe it, but I'm actually using up some of my makeup! Well, okay, some is an oversstatement, because I have so much makeup I probably have enough for my daughters and my grand-daughters and their grand-daughters. But hey, I'm using up something! And it counts, right? Right?

My concealer shade in MAC is NC20, so this Select Cover-Up tube you're looking at is also in the NC20 shade.



I thought I'd do a couple of swatches of this concealer for anyone who might be wondering if they are NC20 too. NC20, from what I know, is one of the more "common" shades MAC sells, in that its one of the shades people seem to buy more.



I know what you're thinking: What's so special about this Select Cover-Up Concealer that led me to actually finish up a tube of it? Well, to be honest, I was just trying to use it up. I personally think it's good, although not that great, and it seemed to match and blend into my skin, so I just kept using it until the tube was all flattened out.

The good thing about this concealer is that it covers reasonably well for a liquid concealer. I'd call it light-to-medium coverage. And when it goes on your skin, it doesn't feel oily or heavy, and when it's dried and blended in, it doesn't look oily or shiny. It also blends pretty well without looking cakey. So it's good for anyone looking for a liquid concealer that doesn't feel too heavy.

The downside? MAC claims that this is a "moisturizing" concealer, but I don't really find that to be the case. In fact, if you have dry skin, this can really sink into fine lines and wrinkles, so it should be avoided. To be fair, though, I didn't find it drying, but I didn't feel like it moisturized, either.

Would I rebuy this? I'm still on the fence about it. On one hand, I don't mind using it, and the fact that I managed to use up a tube shows that I did quite like it while I had it. On the other hand, though, I'm itching to try out something new. I guess it'll just boil down to whether anything else catches my eye the next time I go concealer shopping, LOL!

Benefit Boi-ing Concealer/Shadow Base Swatches

Benefit's Boi-ing is one of the most popular products in their entire lineup. These are billed as concealers that double as shadow bases, but empirical anecdotes from users seems to provide the opinion that while these are great as concealers, their use as shadow bases is much more limited. Still, these are quite popular, so there is something to them.

As is usual in most parts of Europe and Asia, Benefit didn't bring in the darker shades, so 03 Deep is missing. But here are swatches of 01 Light and 02 Medium:



01 Light would probably be my shade if I had to pick a colour from the range, and I'm about NC20. 02 Medium looks to my eye to be around NC30-35, maybe.

One of the reasons why Boi-ing is so popular is because it's very pigmented. So it's probably useful for concealment of blemishes and undereye circles. These swatches were probably a couple of swipes, and you can see that the coverage is excellent. The consistency and texture of the concealers was also good - they strike a nice balance between pigmentation and a texture that glides.

So do you need this? Well, for one, 3 shades out of a gazillion human skintones means that not everyone will be able to find a match, which would make the question moot. But if you do have a match, and want something pigmented, then these are worth looking into. But of course, weartime would vary from person to person, so that may be the deciding factor in the end.

Benefit Lemonaid vs Benefit You're Bluffing Swatches

Benefit has a whole array of concealers. The enormously popular Lemonaid, and the lesser-known You're Bluffing, are just two out of the lineup they have, but these are the only ones (I think) that are yellow. So for anyone wondering why on earth does Benefit have not one but two yellow concealers, here are swatches to show you the differences between the two.



L-R: Lemonaid (applied heavily and lightly), You're Bluffing (applied heavily and lightly)

Lemonaid is a much more pale lemony yellow. You're Bluffing is what I'd call primary canary yellow. Lemonaid also has a much more solid texture, while You're Bluffing is not as tacky, and a bit more blendable due to it's smoother texture. Lastly, Lemonaid is more pigmented, partly because of it's tacky, thick texture, while You're Bluffing has less pigment.

Both have their uses. Lemonaid is probably better for people who wish for more coverage, and who don't mind working with the tacky texture of the concealer. On the other hand, if you prefer something easier to work with and don't need much coverage, You're Bluffing would do.

YSL Touche Eclat Swatches!

YSL Touche Eclat by now needs absolutely no introduction. It's one of the famous concealers of the world, and apparently works wonders on the undereyes, due to its luminous properties. Now I'm not sure if a simple click-pen of concealer is worth so much, but evidently tons of people do. So here are swatches! Unfortunately, my store didn't have the entire range, and they didn't stock the darkest colour. That makes me sad. But I hope this photo helps whoever might look at it!



01 Luminous Radiance is a light pink-toned beige.

02 Luminous Ivory is a light yellow-toned beige.

03 Light Peach is a warm orange-y tan shade.

If I'm not wrong, I've been told that pink counteracts brown eyebags, and yellow counteracts blue/purple undereye circles. I'm sure there are all sorts of theories, contradictory and otherwise, going on out there, but I believe that's the general rule of thumb if you're absolutely clueless and have no idea where to start. Of course it's not going to work 100% for everyone, but it's just a starting point, like all other makeup 'rules'.

To be fair, although I keep hearing complaints about how sheer Touche Eclat is, I didn't feel that they were really that sheer when swatching, although they definitely weren't as pigmented as some of the more pigmented products on the market. I guess if radiance is a main concern, and your undereye circles aren't too dark, and you don't mind the fiddly click-pen dispenser, this would be ideal.

Edward Bess Platinum Concealer Swatches

It's been awhile since I blogged about Edward Bess, but I found these in lying around in my computer, so I've dutifully uploaded them for all of you who were interested in seeing concealer swatches from the line. These come in stick form (with a metallic tube that clicks shut easily - nifty eh?), and are actually quite pigmented, and don't feel too cakey or oily going on. I'd be all over these, because I like the packaging, the pigmentation, and the texture, but the expensive price is a kicker. I guess Edward knows that beauty doesn't come cheap!

The only thing I can say about this is that the colour selection is pitiful. I guess that's to be expected with only four shades in the line. Please excuse the lousy indoor lighting in the swatches. It was the best I could do.



L - R: Ivory Nude, Soft Beige, Warm Amber, Natural Tan

Ivory Nude is your "light cool-toned pink beige". If you're fair and cooltoned (NW20 maybe?) you might want this.

Soft Beige is probably the shade I'd pick, and I'm NC20. It's your "pale yellow beige". Apparently this is their best-selling colour, and it's obvious why. This is probably the shade that would suit most of us, since I can imagine Ivory Nude might be too pink for some people.

Warm Amber is the generic "dark tan" kind of colour. It leans warm in undertone, but not too warm.

Natural Tan is also leans warm, but is a good few shades darker than Soft Beige. Probably a guesstimate match might be NC30 or so (I'm not that good with MAC shades, so this is just my rough estimate!)

Other than the colour selection, I think these are pretty good. These are actually quite well-pigmented. They're not 100% opaque on first swipe, but I think with a couple of swipes you could cover most flaws and blemishes. If you don't have anything major to cover, a little of this will go a long way.

theBalm Timebalm Concealer Swatches!

Today, I have swatched TheBalm's TimeBalm concealer. I didn't manage to swatch all the shades, because unfortunately the shop only had the lighter to medium shades available. I know, breaks your heart, doesn't it? Sometimes, it just seems that darker girls have it hard when it comes to beauty - first of all, many brands don't make colours with them in mind. And when they do, sometimes the retailers don't even want to carry them! But nevertheless, I swatch whatever I can, and whatever is available to me, and I hope it helps somebody.

So here you go, swatches. The names are really cutesy, ranging from Lighter than Light (which honestly isn't THAT light), to Light, and then it starts getting uncreative - Light-Medium, Medium, and the really inexplicably named Mid-Medium.

The texture of the Timebalm concealers is pretty smooth and decent, without being over-emollient. Pigmentation is also very decent, each of these swatches being 2 - 3 stripes - that's total opacity with 2 - 3 swipes of product. Overall, a not too shoddy product. Not bad at all. They also seem to be getting a lot of love in general, so I guess it's worth trying out, if you can find one in your colour.




Lighter than Light is a very pink-toned pale flesh colour, that I would guess is probably NW15 or NW10? I'm not too familiar with the NW colours.

Light is neutral-to-cool-toned pale flesh colour that, but not as pale as Lighter than Light.

Light-Medium is a hair darker than NC20 (that's my colouring), and is yellow-undertoned. It's definitely similar to NC20.

Medium is what I'm guesing NC25 would be, although I don't really know. Also slightly yellow-toned, athough I think it's neutral enough.

Mid-Medium is a neutral-undertoned flesh shade, although it might just veer towards yellow undertones.


The good thing about the TimeBalm concealers is that most of them, with the exception of Lighter than Light, have pretty more-or-less neutral undertones. Sure, each individual veers slightly towards warm or cool, but they're all close enough to neutral to be wearable for most people.