Physicians Formula

5 Things to Know About Physicians Formula The Healthy Foundation

January 30th, 2018 by Karen 10 Comments

physicians formula the healthy foundation swatches mn4 dn3 dw2 — MN4, DN3 and DW2 — three shades in the Physicians Formula The Healthy Foundation line

“Zee Helsee Foundation.”

You don’t have to say it like that, but I think it’s more fun. 🙂 And I’m a certified expert in ridiculous product pronunciations (an ERPP).

The Healthy Foundation is available in 20 shades at drugstores right meow. You can find it at CVS, Rite Aid, Target and Ulta, as well as the Physicians Formula website, and it’s pretty good for medium coverage.

1. The coverage is smack-dab in the middle on the foundation spectrum.

On one end, there are the full-on cake face foundations (been there, done that). On the other end, the lightly tinted moisturizers and BB and CC creams. This falls right around the middle.

When I dab, dab, dab a few dots on my face (it has a doe-foot applicator), it hides all of the freckle action on my cheeks and the red areas around my nose and mouth. Everything looks even. I also think my pores look a little less obvs.

Plus, it’s one of those liquid foundations that looks just as good in the evening after work as it looks first thing in the morning, so it wears well, too.

2. It’s strongly scented.

It’s supposed to be fragrance-free, but it isn’t. I detect strong notes of sugary butter and sunscreen.

physicians formula the healthy foundation mn4 dw2 — I’m wearing DW2 mixed with MN4 (it took me three tries to get a fairly close color match).

3. It’s tricky to find/create an exact color match.

There are 20 shades in cool, warm and neutral undertones, which is a decent selection, but it hasn’t been easy to find or make something that works for me. I’m an NC42 in MAC and have warm skin with strong yellow tones, and I tried three colors in the warm and neutral families in Medium and Dark, but nothing looked right straight out of the bottle. Every shade also darkens once it’s on my skin, and it happens within a couple of minutes, so I end up having to go a shade lighter and doing a lot of mixing. And the first few times I tried it, I actually ended up removing the foundation completely and starting all over again because my mixes were off.

Active Ingredients

Octinoxate 3% Inactive Ingredients: Water/Eau, Cyclopentasiloxane, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Isododecane, Butylene Glycol, Acrylates/Polytrimethylsiloxymethacrylate Copolymer, Propanediol, Cyclohexasiloxane, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Isodecyl Neopentanoate, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Magnesium Sulfate, Schinziophyton Rautanenii (Mongongo) Kernel Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylene Brassylate, Dimethicone/Bis-Isobutyl PPG-20 Crosspolymer, Silica, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Evodia Rutaecarpa (Wu-Zhu-Yu) Fruit Extract, Ethylhexylglycerin, Hexylene Glycol, Cellulose Gum, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Aluminum Hydroxide, Retinyl Palmitate, Rhodiola Rosea Root Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, BHT, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Tocopherol, Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891).

So it isn’t an “easy” foundation.

To go with that, even the warm and neutral shades contain a lot of peach and pink in them, so if I don’t get the mix exactly right, my skin looks a little off…and a little too pink.

physicians formula the healthy foundation mn4 dn3 — I mixed MN3 and DN3 here, and my skin looks pinker than usual. I tried to make it look more natural by adding some bronzer, but I don’t think it worked in the end…

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3 Things to Know About Physicians Formula Spotlight Illuminating Primer

January 30th, 2018 by Karen 7 Comments

Physicians Formula Spotlight Illuminating Primer ($14.95 and available at Rite Aid, CVS, Target and Ulta) is A-OK if you’re going for an extra dewy look…

1. Because I think it looks beautiful blended into foundation.

That’s when I really like this glittery champagne-colored liquid primer. Mixing it with foundation tones down the sparkle. A lot. Making it a little more wearable, and when I’m going for extra dewy, illuminated skin, like on rainy days when the muted light outside is more forgiving than it is on sunny days, it’s fun.

physicians formula spotlight closeup unblended — Unblended, it glistens in a borderline frosty way.

2. It is NOT a dupe for BECCA Backlight (sadly).

I hoped it would be. A drugstore version of $38 BECCA Backlight would have rocked, but Spotlight’s shimmer is bolder. Light softly beams off of my skin when I wear Backlight, but Spotlight has noticeably bigger glitter flecks and a harder, frostier pore-highlighting reflection, ESPECIALLY in full sunlight.

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Awesome for $8: Physicians Formula The Healthy Lip Velvet Liquid Lipstick

January 26th, 2018 by Karen 12 Comments

physicians formula bare with me — Bare With Me

Yeah, I’m still in my pajamas, but I’m in the comfort of my home, which leads me to two recent revelations…

1. Pajamas in public

It’s been ages since I’ve seen anyone, adult or teen, wearing pajamas in public, and to this I say HALLELUJAH.

2. I found a really lovely drugstore matte liquid lipstick

It’s an $8 one (technically, $7.95) by Physicians Formula called The Healthy Lip, and it’s… Honestly, I think it could rival the NARS liquid lipstick I love, love, LOVE to pieces.

physicians formula healthy lip — Bare With Me, Dose of Rose, Berry Health, Mangentle Formula, Tu-lip Treatment, Vitamin Beet

I mean, it isn’t an *exact* dupe, so don’t grab your car keys and run to the door yet. 🙂 But it’s very similar. The NARS one is, like, probably the smoothest, most comfortable liquid lipstick I’ve ever tried, and if you have vertical lip lines like I do, it’s also one of those rare liquid lipsticks that hugs your lips and just looks very, very smooth. Plus, it’s completely opaque. One layer does the trick, and it also doesn’t suck the moisture from your lips.

The Healthy Lip is all of that and more because it’s eight bucks!

physicians formula healthy lip dose of rose — Dose of Rose

physicians formula healthy lip vitamin beet — Vitamin Beet

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A Rainy Day Minimalist Makeup Tutorial: Cheerful Pink Cheeks, Rosy Lips and Doe Eyes

January 25th, 2018 by Karen 18 Comments

For the record, it’s hard to look cute in a raincoat. (In case you were wondering.)

It’s rainy and gloomy here in NorCal today, but I’m not complaining, because the rain makes me feel alive! The world around me is thirsty, and it’s taking a much-needed shower and a big gulp of refreshing H2O. And when it’s done, the oak trees and the grass on the hill and the sidewalks and my car (haha) are all going to look fresh and new. 🙂

Or…maybe that’s just California Karen romanticizing the rain, since we haven’t had much of it this winter. I’m sure that if I lived someplace where it’s been pouring 24/7, I’d be like FRICKIN’ RAIN RUINING EVERY MINUTE AND EVERY SECOND OF MAH LIFE!!!

Weather like this calls for a dose of cheerful pink cheeks and bright rosy lips (it couldn’t hurt). Thanks to an illuminating primer, the skin is ever-so-dewy, and the dark blue liner plays off the pink. It’s strategically placed on the middle of the lower lash line for a doe-eyed effect, so you can give strangers a come-hither stare while you sashay by them in your raincoat.

Side note: #teamraincoat ALL THE WAY. Raincoats are the way to go (even if they are hard to look cute in), because they let you keep your hands free, and if there’s a kitten huddling in an rainy alley and you need to save her, you can carry her and comfort her with both hands.

See? Always looking ahead. ?????

When it’s raining, I like to keep my makeup on the minimal side, because you never know if you and your raincoat will get caught in a downpour, and I figure that if my face gets drenched in the rain, better for it to happen while I’m wearing minimal makeup than a full face of war paint… You know, less to clean up when I get wherever I need to go. *shrugs shoulders*

Here’s a breakdown of this look…

TOOLS (products I used are in italic):

Whatever you like to blend your foundation and cream with — a blending brush, BeautyBlender or your fingers
Q-tips
A brow gel (I used Hourglass Arch Brow Gel in Warm Brunette)
A waterproof Mascara (L’Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Waterproof)
A long-wearing dark blue pencil liner (Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Sabbath)
An under-eye concealer (I used MAC Studio Waterweight Concealer in a mix of NC20 and NW45)
A liquid foundation (Physicians Formula The Healthy Foundation in DW2)
An illuminating liquid primer (I like Physicians Formula Spotlight Illuminating Primer)
A creamy pink blush (Kosas Cosmetics Creme Blush in 8th Muse)
A matte rosy pink liquid lipstick (Physicians Formula The Healthy Lip Velvet Finish in Dose of Rose) — I chose a liquid matte lipstick because I didn’t want to wear anything that would stick to my hair

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Drugstore Needs and Nopes, Vol. 3

June 2nd, 2017 by Karen 16 Comments

1. Yes To Liquid Hand Soap ($3.99 each)

I’m the weirdo who washes her hands about, oh, let’s see… 20 times a day? I’m so not kidding, either. And I’m REALLY picky about my hand soaps, but I thoroughly plan to love the dickens out of this bottle of Yes to Liquid Hand Soap because it doesn’t dry out my skin, even when I wash my hands hella times.

Also, the Marula Oil Mango var-eh-TAY smells like marvelous mangoes, but here’s the thing: it doesn’t smell fake, which is important if you wash your hands as much as I do, because, as you know, it’s nice to have a yummy fragrance waft up into yo’ nose.

It removes dirt, oils and all manner of baby goo, and it easily rinses off and doesn’t leave behind an annoying residue.

VERDICT: Need!

Yes To Liquid Hand Soap ingredients
Water (Aqua), Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Coco-Sulfate, Glycerin, Sclerocarya Birrea (Marula) Seed Oil, Mangivera Indica (Mango) Fruit Extract, Glyceryl Caprylate, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Sodium Chloride, Glyceryl Undecylenate, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance (Parfum), Benzyl Benzoate, Hexyl Cinnamal Linalool

2. E.L.F. Cosmetics Illuminating Palette ($6)

elf illuminating palette — E.L.F. Cosmetics Illuminating Palette ($6)

The four-pan E.L.F. Cosmetics Illuminating Palette is darned-near perfect for the price. The finely milled powders look really expensive and natural.

The highlighters are on the neutral- and cool-toned sides, which is a cool surprise (haha, bad pun) because of how many highlighter palettes skew warm.

The shimmer in these shades is also low-key — which again makes them seem higher end than they are.

Heck, I’d go so far as to call these drugstore Hourglass Ambient powders.

VERDICT: Need!

E.L.F. Cosmetics Illuminating Palette ingredients
Talc, Mica, Magnesium Stearate, Dimethicone, Silica, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Boron Nitride, Tridecyl Trimellitate, Tocopheryl Acetate (Ve), Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol. May Contain: Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Manganese Violet (CI 77742)

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Drugstore Needs and Nopes, Vol. 2

May 26th, 2017 by Karen 16 Comments

I like kickin’ it at the drugstore because I can “ooh” and “ah” over eye palettes and shampoo without my wallet raising hell.

Here are some drugstore gems that caught my fancy this week, along with a few misses.

1. Revlon Kiss Balm Lip Balms ($4.99 each)

If I were eight years old and spotted these Revlon Kiss Balms at CVS, I would BEG my mom to get me one or two or three. (“Pretty please, Mommy!”)

They’re so cute! These moderately moisturizing twist-up balms contain fab fruit oils and SPF 20, but they’re super sheer, so I can’t really tell the difference between them. Juicy Peach and Fresh Strawberry look pretty much the same, but that’s OK, because they’re just TOO CUTE.

They’re just basic balms, but oh, yeah — they taste and smell like gummy ? bears, too.

BOOM. 🙂

VERDICT: Need!

Revlon Kiss Balm Lip Balms ingredients
Avobenzone 2.0%, Octinoxate 7.5%, Oxybenzone 3.0%. Other Ingredients: Polybutene, Diisostearyl Malate, Isononyl Isononanoate, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Octyldodecyl Neopentanoate, Polyethylene, Ozokerite, Diisopropyl Dimer Dilinoleate, Cera Alba ((Beeswax) Cire D Abeille), Parfum (Fragrance), Flavor, Punica Granatum Seed Oil, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Seed Oil, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Cetyl Palmitate, Benzoic Acid, Oxidized Polyethylene, BHT, Silica, Sodium Saccharin, Benzyl Benzoate, Limonene, Benzyl Alcohol, Citral, Amyl Cinnamal, Hexyl Cinnamal, Hydroxycitronellal, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Linalool

2. Herbal Essences Bio:Renew Volume Arabica Coffee Fruit Shampoo and Conditioner ($5.99 each)

herbal essences volume arabica coffee fruit — Herbal Essences Bio:Renew Volume Arabica Coffee Fruit Shampoo and Conditioner ($5.99 each)

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Drugstore Needs and Nopes, Vol. 1

May 4th, 2017 by Karen 15 Comments

I don’t go to regular drugstores as much as I used to, mostly because of Ulta and Target, which is basically a drugstore, only a million times bigger, but ever since I was a kid cruising the makeup aisles at Thrifty (of course, I had to get a Thrifty ice cream cone while I did this), I’ve been a drugstore beauty addict.

And over the past few years, drugstore makeup has gotten MUCH better — like next level sh*t. You can be a woman of color now and find a foundation that actually matches your skin tone, and within those foundation families, you’ve got dewy finishes, matte finishes and satins. Nowadays you can also find good drugstore cream shadows, where once you could only get those at department stores.

As for drugstores colors, you aren’t just limited to a narrow neutral range anymore. Now you can find all sorts of drugstore color craziness. It’s an exciting time for affordable makeup! That’s for sure.

Here are five drugstore products I tried this week, and whether I think they’re “needs” or “nopes.”

1. Maybelline Great Lash Mascara in Royal Blue

maybelline great lash royal blue — Maybelline Great Lash in Royal Blue

If you were a fan of Maybelline Great Lash Mascara in Royal Blue back in the day, it’s back for a limited time exclusively at Walmart for $6.40. It had been discontinued some time ago.

Honestly, I’ve never quite understood the Great Lash Mascara love out there. For me…it’s just OK. Decent lift and separation, but with regard to Royal Blue, I can barely see the blue color on my lashes. I have to pile it on and look in a magnifying mirror.

If you have lighter lashes than I do, I’m sure the blue will pop more.

THE VERDICT: Nope! For me, this is a nope, but I know there are lots of Great Lash fans out there.

maybelline great lash royal blue ingredients — Maybelline Great Lash Royal Blue ingredients

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Can Physicians Formula Really Make You #InstaReady?

March 8th, 2016 by Jen Clark 25 Comments

When I first saw Physicians Formula’s new line, #InstaReady, I thought, “Genius marketing! But there’s no way makeup can really make you more Instagram ready.” After I tried the products, I realized that InstaReady doesn’t really mean anything, aside from having a really good makeup day, and that’s exactly what happened when I tried it.

There’s plenty behind these products that I think deserves mentioning, like how almost all of them contain SPF 30. They also have InstaFilter Technology, which is basically a clever way of saying that they’ll mattify your skin while leaving behind lots of valuable moisture. The InstaFilter Technology also uses high-tech, light-reflecting polymers to blur imperfections and re-texturize the skin.

Now, these are HUGE claims for a product to make, and while I did have a great skin day while using #InstaReady, I didn’t look like I had an Instagram filter over my face… Obviously. But let’s talk a little more about a few of my favorite products from the line, shall we?

To start, I applied the Super BB #InstaReady Beauty Balm BB Cream. Most of the BB creams I’ve used have been light to medium coverage and applied almost like tinted moisturizers, but not this one. This bad boy is full coverage.

In the pro column, and this one’s big, I didn’t need to use any concealer on my blemishes, because they were already covered so well! This has a beautiful semi-matte finish and lasts throughout the day; however, it’s not without a few cons. Like, it’s extremely thick and feels uncomfortable on my skin. You can definitely feel that it’s there, and while the uncomfortable, constricted feeling fades the longer I wear it, I wouldn’t wear this again unless I were wearing full-on makeup that day. It can also look a little cakey, so this isn’t something I’d want to wear if I were going for a no-makeup makeup look.

Overall, though, I really like it, and I’ll wear it the next time I want a flawless complexion! You can see the coverage is bomb here in these before and after pics…

The next stand-out InstaReady product for me is the Super BB #InstaReady Contour Trio BB Stick in Bronze Trio. This little deodorant stick o’ bronzer is truly a dream. Literally, I’ve dreamed of a product that could make contouring a breeze, and here it is in my hot little hand! This guy is definitely going in my everyday makeup drawer and will live there until I die.

It contains the same InstaFilter Technology as the BB cream, so again it’s going to help blur and perfect the skin. It’s also made to be super blendable, which I can attest to. It has a deep contouring shade on the far end, a slightly shimmery bronzing shade in the middle, and a nice highlight on top. All you need to do is paint a cute tiger stripe on each cheek with the deepest shade in the hollow of your cheek, then tap away with your fingers or Beauty Blender. My contour was blended and looking fly in 0.73 seconds.

I recommend it for anyone who loves a good contour, and it would also be stellar for anyone just starting out in the world of faking perfect bone structure, because it’s so fast and easy to use.

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