If you were wondering if new Vanish Seamless Finish Liquid Foundation by Hourglass is just as good as their B.O.M.B. Vanish Stick Foundation…well, sorry to bum you out, babe, but the stick is so much better.
I know. I was also hoping for a new go-to liquid version of Vanish with the same “Oh, I forgot I’m wearing makeup!” super power.
I wanted the stick’s same medium-to-full coverage and satiny finish, but importantly, I wanted the eeeeease. With the stick, you just draw a few stripes and blend with whatever you can grab first — a buffing brush, a sponge, your fingers, a cat’s paw… It’s like a minute, tops.
The liquid version, though? Bah, so complicated! The liquid has intensely concentrated pigment, and it’s like an airtight alibi (it completely covers its tracks, ha ha), but the finish settles into pores and fine lines if you use more than a drop or two.
Not to say that you can’t get this foundation to work well. It just requires finesse and patience. Dab half a drop (no more) wherever you want coverage, press and spread it into a think layer with your fingers, then buff with a synthetic brush, but do that RIGHT AWAY because it dries fast. If you wait, you’ll end up with streaks.
If you go this route and exercise that finesse and patience, you’ll be rewarded with full coverage and a flat matte finish — flatter than the stick, so it still isn’t my favorite look, since I like a little sheen.
I mean, I can dig it…but I’ll stick to the stick. Pun intended. 😂
The shade I wear is called Beige, by the way, and I have combo skin (oily on my forehead and my nose, and dry everywhere else).
Lilac Girls
May I please draw your attention to the edges of this book? Because I love it when book pages are raw and textured.
Beautiful font on the front cover of this one, too. I like the slight curve at the top of the “A” and the curl of the “R.”
OK, side note over!
This is the book I just finished. It’s called Lilac Girls, and it’s a historical fiction novel about three women whose lives intersect before, during and after World War II.
And wow! — it’s one of those stories that simultaneously punches you in the gut while lifting you up at the same time.
The first woman, Caroline, is an American volunteer working at the French Consulate; the second, Kasia, is a Polish teenager who gets sent to a concentration camp; and the third, Herta, is a German doctor in the camp. Not gonna lie, the story is brutal at times (I cried more than once), but the sisterhood and the support between the women in the book is inspiring.
The author, Martha Hall Kelly, is a former journalist and copywriter turned novelist, and she’s got game. When I was reading this book, I felt like a balloon on a string reading her words, like I was tied to her wrist and had no choice but to follow her as she led me through this period in history. It’s the type of writing that’s so effortless that you never get tripped up on clunky phrases or odd patches of dialogue, and you kinda forget it’s there because it never feels like the author’s showing off. You just sail along on the story with the characters, all the way to the nail-biting end.
If you loved A Hundred Summers or The Secret Life of Violet Grant by Beatriz Williams, I think you’ll love Lilac Girls, too.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
