Hi Divas!

Recently everybody and their dog was doing the Ride or Die makeup tag on YouTube and I decided to be annoying and do it too, Hahaha. ;-D It was created by the very famous beauty Youtuber Jaclyn Hill. The tag is all about your holy grail products. Cosmetics that have never let you down and makeup that has been with you through thick and thin and will always be your number one. I have included Korean brands as well as Western brands because you know I am about that ''Cosmetics around the World'' Life! This is quite a long tag so hope you enjoy reading it and find some mini reviews helpful.

1. Ride or Die Primer: Clarins Beauty Flash Balm. This is a skincare and makeup product in one. I love that it brightens and lifts my face while creating a smooth and even canvas to apply my foundation.

2. Ride or Die Foundation: Peripera BB cream. This Korean product comes in the cutest packaging you will ever see. I am already on my second bottle. The BB cream gives me the coverage that I need while still looking natural on my face.

3.  Ride or Die Concealer: Rimmel Stay Matte Stick Concealer. This concealer is so creamy and blends like a dream! Unfortunately I have not seen it in stores for a while. Someone please tell me that this is not discontinued. *Crying face*.

4.  Ride or Die Powder: Innisfree No Sebum Powder. Another holy grail Korean product is this very famous Innisfree powder. It's similar to an HD powder which smooths the face and eliminates all traces of oil. It blends makeup well and has a super fine texture.

5.  Ride or Die Contour: NYX Contour Stick. I am not much of a contour girl, but I do enjoy a light application of it on special occasions. I use the nifty NYX contour stick as it is easy to travel with and to apply on the face. You can read my review on it here.

6.  Ride or Die Bronzer: Sephora Collection Shimmering Bronzer on Seychelles Cruise. I love that it contains three shades of colour and can be used as a bronzer or dark blush as well as an eyeshadow. Yay! ;-)

7.  Ride or Die Blush: Too Faced Sweethearts blush in Peach Beach. I feel like my cheeks were kissed by unicorns when I use this blush. Not only is the packaging gorgeous but the blush can be used as a eyeshadow and highlighter too. Read my full review here.

8.  Ride or Die Highlighter: The Balm Mary LouManizer. This is a great universal highlighter and perfect for travel. Read my review on it here.

9. Ride or Die Eyeshadow Primer: Urban Decay Primer Potion. I have used many eyeshadow primers but nothing has ever come close to Urban Decay. It is seriously holy grail material.

10.  Ride or Die Eyeshadow Palette: Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette. This palette has a lot of sentimental value to me as it is the first Sephora product and Too Faced product I ever bought. I love it so much and we will never ever part! Review here.

11. Ride or Die Single Eyeshadow: Essence Single Eyeshadows. I am not much of a single eyeshadow person, but I do enjoy the Essence single eyeshadows. They are super affordable and some of the shades can double up as a highlighter and bronzer.

12.  Ride or Die Eye Liner: Essence Super Fine Liner. No product can create a wing that can cut my worst enemies like this liner. Plus it  retails for under R50/ $5. Hello!!! Review here!

13.  Ride or Die Mascara: Lancome Hypnose Drama Mascara. I love this mascara as it gives bold dramatic lashes which stays put all day. I will buy this mascara over and over again.

14.  Ride or Die Lip Liner: NYX Lip Liner in Pinky. I only use on lip liner and this one by NYX is my holy grail product. It remains in my cosmetics purse and compliments all my lipsticks.

15.  Ride or Die Lipstick: Wet n' Wild Bare It All and Mauve Outta Here Lipsticks. I cheated and chose two lipsticks. These are my favourite as they are light on the wallet and give a beautiful semi matte finish on my lips. They also work with any makeup look. LOVE!!! Review on them here.

16. Ride or Die Lipgloss: NYX Butter Gloss in Peaches And Cream. I am not much of a lip gloss wearer but these glosses smell so good and give a beautiful sheen on my lips.



Thank you for reading!
Divalicious Kisses
Xxxx

Hi Divas,
Please bear with me. This is going to be a LONG post....


Cushion foundations have been all the rage lately. It started out in Korea and have finally made it's way to the Western World with brands such as Lancome, L'oreal and Physicians Formula all jumping on the bandwagon. As I said, cushion foundations were founded by Koreans. I really admire the Korean cosmetics world for being so innovative when it comes to their products. They created a foundation application that would make your face flawless, without looking like you have a ton of makeup on your skin. Basically that 'no makeup' makeup look. So what is a cushion foundation and how do I achieve this natural flawless 'no makeup' makeup look, you may ask? Let me explain! A cushion foundation is made up of a cushion case, a sponge inside the case that absorbs and carries the actual foundation and the cushion puff applicator. The secret to cushion foundations lies in this puff applicator. When applying the foundation you press the puff into the foundation soaked sponge and bounce the puff on your face in light tapping motions. This transfers the foundation on your face in a flawless air brushed way. Your face will look like you have been hit by an Instagram filter instead of foundation. Believe me, because it is true. Let's take a look at the cushion foundation I received.

I chose the Peripera Water cushion because the packaging was just too hard to resist. I loved that the actual cushion case and the box came in a pink design with a cute edgy cartoon girl on the cover with huge eyes. This girl reminded me of myself as I have big eyes too, so I had to get it ;-) The cushion on the box is described as a water cushion because it is meant for drier skin tones. It has a moist and dewy texture which would be perfect for me to use in winter. Most Koreans love a dewy makeup look. They are usually not a fan of a matte face. I do prefer a matte face as I am combination skin but I decided to try something different for a change. There are only two colours in this range and I got the darkest shade no.23. Let me tell you this shade is by no means dark at all. That is the only con I have with Korean foundations is that they don't cater to darker skin tones. But nevertheless, I digress. Just look at how cute is that cushion case below!!! Aaah, it is just one of my favourite makeup product packaging cases of life!!!!

So let's explore the actual cushion case. Inside the circular compact you will find a mirror and a cushion puff to apply your makeup. Underneath the puff is a lid that seals the foundation and keeps it from drying out. The cushion sponge is protected by a seal which you remove when opening it for the first time. Inside you will find the actual cushion sponge soaked in foundation. The sponge usually looks darker than your actual skin tone in the case. Please, don't let the colour of the sponge fool you, because once you press your puff into the foundation, the actual colour seeps through. Each press in the sponge with the puff is enough to cover half of your face. A little really goes a long way. You may be thinking how can that puff applicator cause flawless makeup. Doesn't it soak up all the product? Let me tell you that that puff is made of innovative technology that doesn't allow product to seep through. Instead it bounces softly like a cushion on your face transferring product in light tapping motions. It's like angels are kissing your face! Just look at my makeup below. FLAWLESS!!!


At first it was weird tapping foundation onto my skin. I seriously had the urge to rub it in but I had to resist the urges. The foundation is quite dewy so I set it with a setting powder. It is also a little light for my skin, so I used my Sephora bronzer to contour and balance everything out. This cushion has light to medium coverage. You will need a concealer for spots and under eye dark circles. It has a tendency to look cakey if you apply too much product on your skin. Two coats of this is more than enough to cover your face. It wore well throughout the day and did not flake or slide off. I obviously wore this during the warmer days which is great because the cushion has an SPF 50 but I am waiting for winter to hit so I can test the dewy look out then. There are cushion foundations available that have much higher coverage but I am happy to have a light natural looking foundation. I love the way it looks on my skin and it looks great in photos too. Did I mention that it smells amazing too? Well it smells like sweet flowers in the compact and on the sponge. The smell does not transfer to your face though in case you were worried.

You may be thinking that yes the puff causes flawless makeup but what about all that bacteria swimming around from your face into the cushion. Yes, I agree with you those are some concerns but unless you have really bad acne and sensitive skin, no one has complained about breakouts from using cushion foundations. Koreans have been using them for more than two years. You can wash the sponge as many times as you want with a brush cleaning solution or makeup removers and have a germ free application. Again, you might be thinking this is all a gimmick I would rather use a brush and a liquid bottle. True! I still love my trusty liquid bottle foundations with a brush. But think about this. These compacts are excellent for someone who travels as much as me. I can just pop this in my travel bag without it taking much space or worrying about bottles breaking in my bag. I too love the air brushed look this cushion compact gives me. Sometimes you don't want to look too overdone but you still want flawless skin.

To conclude I love my cushion foundation and when it is all used up I can keep the compact and add a refill or create my own foundation shade by mixing some of my trusty foundations and replacing the sponge with a new one. I cannot wait for the L'oreal and Physicians Formula cushion foundations to hit South Africa. I would love to compare a Asian cushion with a Western one. Until then I will enjoy my cute cushion compact. It's so KAWAII!!! ;-) <3 <3 <3

Thank you for reading, Beauties
Much love!!!
Xxxx