GlamGlow Powermud Mask

I've raved about the GlamGlow SuperMud Mask before and now comes their more recent addition to the face mask range- PowerMud. A mud to oil formula, this mask was something very different to anything I'd tried before and was very intriguing. I saw Nicole Guerriero mention this in one of her videos months ago and had been waiting for it to reach our shelves since. One fateful evening visit to MeccaCosmetica after work and it had arrived! It was on their 'New In' shelves and not long after, it was in my bathroom cabinet. I did want to wait to finish a few other masks I had on rotation because at the price point that this mask is, I didn't want it sitting unloved and unused in my cabinet.

PowerMud as I mentioned, is a mud to oil formula so because of its' description I didn't expect it would dry fully on my face but it does; I applied a thing layer all over my face and within 5-10 minutes it was almost fully dry. With a very pleasant pear scent, I left it to work its magic for 15-20 minutes then instead of removing it with a  face washer or cloth, you use warm water and circular motions to wash the mask off. When you do this you feel the mask turn to an oily feel which I think is meant to further penetrate the skin.

PowerMud is described as a dual cleanse treatment as it's meant to deep clean your skin from weekly buildup of makeup, dirt, pollution etc  that gets trapped in your pores. It's designed for all skin types and both men and women. For this reason I like to use this mask on Sunday evenings as my weekly prep to cleanse my skin from the week before and prepare it for the week ahead. I do generally apply at least one mask mid-week as well and I tend to go for something more clarifying.

In terms of comparison with the SuperMud mask, they are quite different; SuperMud is more of a traditional clay mask in my opinion, the way you can see it working on your pores and problem areas makes it more obvious that it's penetrating your skin. Whereas with PowerMud, I think the results are more subtle and long-term. It's meant to cleanse from weekly build up and my skin definitely feels soft and smooth afterwards but I'm not sure it does as much for treating any active breakouts and spots that I might have at the time.

Both are different and work on different issues, I don't prefer one or the other I would recommend either SuperMud or PowerMud depending on your skin concerns. Both are available from MeccaCosmetica and MeccaMaxima in Australia.

Contouring à la Moi!

It's not something that I really bother to do on the daily, but for evenings out and special occasions I can never turn away from a good contour! Generally I don't do the whole Kimmy K triangle highlight under the eyes shebang but a structured cheekbone on the other hand, I am quite a fan of. I have a few products and tools that I like to use to achieve this depending on the way I've done the rest of my face.

Day to day I do bronze the outer portions of my face- hairline, temples and cheekbones, the usual, using the MAC Matte Bronzer but I don't sculpt out my face at all. It's more to warm up my complexion and make things a shade less ghostly! However when contouring using this same bronzer, I'll use a smaller, more defining brush which creates more shadow. Often people say not to use bronzer for contouring as it's less natural looking, especially those with shimmer but I find this one works fine for me.

My go-to powder product for contouring is definitely MAC Harmony blush which I think I heard about from the Pixiwoo sisters, who most definitely know their stuff. As it's a blush it's very pigmented so a light hand is best but the shade of this looks really natural on the skin because of it's slight ashy/grey undertone. Paired with any of the brushes pictured it works a chiseled cheek dream!

Now that the weather's warming up, the cream products emerge. Cream blushes, eye products and as well- bronzers. The Bourjois Bronzing Primer, which is said to be an affordable alternative to Chanel's Soleil Tan de Chanel, is a cream product that can be used underneath or on top of makeup. I like to use this with a stippling brush (not pictured) but also works well with both the Real Techniques Duo Fibre Contour brush and original Contour brush. A little goes a long way with this product but it's easily buildable and provides a subtle bronze and can be more defined for a contoured look. This product is quite heavily scented just as an FYI.

Last but not least we have the gorgeous Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette which contains three powders all for different purposes but this post's focus will be on Radiant light (right hand shade). The high-tech and soft focus nature of these powders make them one of my absolute favourites! As a gal with uneven and far from perfect skin, anything that's going to mask this without looking or feeling cakey gets a thumbs up in my books. I prefer to use this powder in combination with a matte bronzer to add extra dimension and an all over bronze rather than a bold contour.

NARS Ita Brush, Real Techniques LE Duo Fibre Contour Brush, Real Techniques Contour Brush, Sigma F05 Small Contour Brush

In terms of tools, I have four current favourites however some newbies have been added to the mix but I will report on those with some more use. The NARS Ita brush appears all over the interwebs and beautysphere with many people bragging about how amazing it is so of course I succumbed to the hype and finally found one online. The narrow shape of the brush provides a very bold, sharp contour which you can then blend out to look slightly more soft. This is probably my number 1 tool because you just can't go wrong.

Two contour brushes from Real Techniques have been in my stash for quite a while now and work very well. As with the entire range of Real Techniques these brushes which are both synthetic work really well with both powder and cream products. The Duo Fibre Contour brush is slightly less dense so can work well for a softer look. Then we have an addition from Sigma, the F05 Small Contour brush; this is slightly rounded so fits well into the hollows of the cheeks and blends product out well.