Product Review: Awake Invention Hydro Manage Makeup
Today's review is brought to you by Meg's Makeup. Go here to read a condensed version of the review, or to see what other gals thought of the product!
Anyone ever tried Bernard Callebaut's truffles? They are chocolate heaven... everything about them is perfection. From the delectable fillings raging from fluffy and whipped to creamy and rich, to the light dusting of cocoa on the outside... it's a world-class experience.
Trying on this foundation from Awake reminded me of the first time I tasted a Callebaut truffle. Behind the surprised delight, a little voice in my head whispered, "Daaamn. I am about to develop an expensive habit."
Upon first glance, I was wary of using this. The base looked like it was loaded with shimmer! Now I love sparkly things as much as the next product-obsessed girl, but an entire face covered in shimmer? Yikes.
Throwing caution to the wind, I grabbed my trusty foundation brush and went at it. Then came my next surprise... the foundation felt spongey in the pan. If you press on it lightly with your finger, it "gives" a bit, and then springs back. A shimmery, spongey, foundation? Those zany Japanese make up folks!
Due to the unique texture, in order to pick up the product, you kind of have to push the foundation brush lightly into the pan in a stippling motion. My third surprise came when I applied it to my face with firm, but short brushstrokes -- it feels cool! I can imagine how refreshing that'll feel during the summer months.
Regardless of all these bizarro properties, the best thing about this foundation is the coverage. It feels barely-there, but provides this amazing, natural looking coverage. For blemishes or redness, all you have to do is dab a bit more product on, and the imperfections fade away.
Even on my undereye circles, the coverage is impressive. I still use a concealer (because I: a) don't sleep, and b) am obsessive like that) but those with only light circles may find that they can ditch the concealer entirely. In fact, if I were in a rush, I wouldn't bother with concealer either -- and I wouldn't do that with any other foundation I've tried to date.
Meg, being the pro that she is, sent me this in Apricot, which is an almost perfect match for my light/med warm skintone. It's maybe a hair on the light side, but for winter, it's a great match. This base looks incredibly skin-like, but there IS the sparkle factor to account for. If you've powdered, from far away, it just looks like glowy perfection. But up close, you can see tiny shimmer particles here and there. It doesn't feel at all gritty and it's not super obvious, but it may be a concern for some.
I think I am in love with this, especially for night-time, when the shimmer thing won't matter as much. At $33 USD a pop, perhaps it's a good thing that I can't get it readily in Canada. It comes in 10 shades and can be had from Neiman Marcus. I think Bath & Bodyworks also carries some of the Awake line, but I'm not sure that they have this particular base.
Thanks again to Meg for this one; foundation is such a varied thing, so be sure to check out her site for other reviews to see how well it worked for others. But me? I am smitten.
Labels: face, foundation
9 Comments:
Oh bernard callebaut.... If you love his chocolates wait until you try cakes from the belgium pastry shop right next to his shop on 1st (they only use callebaut chocolate). They are seriously the best things I've ever eaten in my entire life. Not to mention that they also serve belgium waffles smothered in callebaut chocolate and covered with whiped cream. And they make a mean mochachino.... The boy introduced me to the place and I've never looked back. They are making our wedding cake (and they don't come cheap either!) But oh so worth it! Hmmmm, now I have a mad craving for some callebaut!
Oh GOD the pastry shop! Roomie has told me stories of its splendour, but I somehow managed to miss it on my last trip home. But I'm back for Christmas, and you'd better believe that I'll be hitting that up!
Your wedding cake is going to be "mad delicious"! I may well get married JUST so I can have Callebaut make some kind of take-home wedding favour for the guests. Mmmm!
HOLY CRAP the pastry shop! It is perhaps the most fantastic place ever. I've never actually been in it, but I've had 3 different kinds of cake from there. I think my favorite was the hazelnut one. Oh man, it's a good thing I don't live there still!
Damn, now I have a bernard craving too!!!
Props for the cake choice kat! I wouldn't have been able to do it, as I would have wanted to eat the entire thing myself!
nice blog!
welcome to tBBN!
what was the lasting power of the foundation? how did it hold up?
Asian makeup is truly different, isn't it?! I'm a fellow-newbie to The Beauty Blog Network, so welcome (to us both). I look forward to coming back regularly and reading your reviews...come see me at GirlPaint anytime!
Roomie: Yikes, maybe this post should've come with a warning. Now there's at least 3 of us wandering about with chocolate cravings...
yummy411: Thanks, I'm excited to be here! And thanks for visiting!
I've only used the foundation for about 3 days, but from what I can tell, it's quite long-lasting. It was still looking fresh after 12 hours the other day, although I did have to powder lightly a couple times. It still didn't cake though, so that's good. Will update on lasting power after I've used it a few more times...
GirlPaint: It's wacky and wonderful... there's a cosmetics store in Hong Kong that I used to go crazy at. The best part was perhaps the Engrish instructions and warnings: "If allergy become, please stop to use!"
You've got a nifty blog, btw, hurray for us newbies! :)
Can anyone tell me how the colors work. There isn't a place in my town that sells this, so I'd have to do it over the internet and I haven't a clue what color to get!
Anon, I'm sorry I never got back to you on this. If you're still reading, I don't have a Neiman's near by either, so I've only seen the Apricot shade. It's just a hair on the light side for me, but still do-able. For reference, I'm a MAC NC25, a Maybelline Nude, a Cinema Secrets 302-65A , and a Paul & Joe Shade 3.
Check out Meg's Makeup for others reviews of this. So far, 10 people have tried it, so one of the testers may have a similar skintone to you. You can leave them a msg on their profile page asking about the shades.
Hope that helps, and sorry again that I missed this comment!
I need to purchase this product in colour 304 Apricot
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