Reader's Spotlight - Anj shares a Few of Her Favorite Things!

Hey Pretties

This week's spotlight is on Anj, a fellow newbie blogger and a passionate makeup lover from Canada who writes at  http://www.akamakeup.com/. Anj is a healthcare professional who recently started her blog on product reviews and makeup tips with the encouragement of her sisters and husband. She loves the color pink (Same pinch Anj!) and when not working, can be found with her husband on a mini getaway in the mountains. Anj loves good food, trying out different cuisines, meeting people and enjoys having an honest to good time. She tries to live her life according to what Coco Chanel once said, "A girl should be two things, classy and fabulous"...

Anj shares with us the products that she has reached out to the most this summer of 2012.. 

1. Mac Matchmaster

I can't rave enough about this foundation.  I would always steer clear of MAC foundations, as they would be heavily oil-based and would cause break outs the same evening on my skin. With the Matchmaster formula, MAC claims " New foundation technology using translucent pigments to enable fully personalized finish influenced by the subtleties of your own skin's undertone." I decided to try it out, and to my surprise, absolutely loved it! Matchmaster is a semi matte finish, which is great for my combo- oily skin. It's water-based, gives me medium coverage which is buildable and evens out my skin tone without giving me a patchy look. I like the light feel of this foundation as I generally dont go for full coverage( it would be too cakey for me). It comes in 14 available shades, has SPF 15 which is fantastic (you can never have enough SPF in your moisturizer and foundation) and it comes with a build in pump that is similar to the Mac Pro longwear foundation line. All in all, my recent go-to foundation for this summer! 

2. Guerlain 'Terracotta' Light Sheer Bronzing Powder in 05 Sun Brunettes

I personally think every girl should own at least one Guerlain piece. Their packaging is always so gorgeous and can be a makeup enthusiast's prized possession. This powder is so finely milled, it feels like a dream on your cheeks, not to mention looks gorgeous! It has a variety of color ranges for Blondes and Brunettes. I got this particular one as it warmed and evened out my skin tone giving me a healthy illuminated glow. It's a mosaic of different shades varying from a mix of browns, coral, tan and peach, leaving me with a perfect harmony of a warm and subtle bronze. I usually wear it on its own during the day, of course a warm pink blush would really compliment and complete the look in the evenings. It does have a flowery scent to it which I happen to like but those who are sensitive to fragrance might not. I use a kabuki to buff the product on to my forehead, cheekbones, jawline and anywhere where the sun would hit my skin. This is one of my favorite purchases I can't seem to get enough of! 

3. CHANEL: Soleil Tan de CHANEL Bronzing Makeup Base 

After reading so many rave reviews about this baby, I decided to give it a shot earlier this year. I have to admit, it's really impressed me! It has a velvety cream base that glides on every application, melting beautifully into the skin. This is an incredibly flattering bronzer. It does not appear orange, yellow or red but instead has the perfect amalgamation of hues that would suit a variety of skin tones. I use it mostly with a densely compact blush style brush, but at times I've used my fingers as well. You can also use a stippling brush, a paddle style foundation brush or even a sponge brush like the Beauty Blender. (My personal fav is the dense brush where you can really buff the product into the skin). I love that it's creme based and has an impressive staying power as well! On days when I'm not up for the whole shabang of makeup on my face, I usually use the bronzer alone, buffing it in really well, with minimal eye-makeup, some mascara, pat on a few swipes of my fav corally pink lipgloss and I'm good to go with a well put-together look for a summery afternoon.

4. MAC Feline Kohl Power

I'm a sucker for black eyeliner, blame it on my desi roots if you must, but I think women of color look gorgeous with a trusty blackest of black eye kohl. My favourite for this summer is MAC's Feline.  It glides on effortlessly and is great for tight-lining.  It's a rich deep black, that will make the darkest of brown eyes pop! It's just one of those ultra black eyeliners that you should have in your purse, very similar to Urban Decays Perversion liner. I'm hoping it stays in the MAC permenant line else I'll need to go out and buy some backups soon! 

5. Mac Fix + 

My sister introduced me to this makeup wonder a couple of months ago and I've been hooked on to it ever since. MAC claims its " An aqua-spritz of vitamin and minerals, infused with a calm-the-skin blend of green tea, chamomile, cucumber, topped off with the fresh, natural, energizing scent of Sugi. Adds radiance, finishes makeup. Spray it on. Skin drinks it up!" While it does all that magic, a couple of spritz of Fix + also guarantees your makeup remaining in place throughout the day! I wouldn't have said this if I hadn't tried this on for myself. For my sisters graduation ceremony, I had my makeup done at noon and to my surprise and relief, my makeup did not budge, save for a few lipstick touch ups till later into the day. I've been hooked on to this product from then on. I use it to refresh my skin every now and then during these hot summer days as well. 

These are some amazing products Anj. Thank you so much for sharing with us. Wish you the very best with your blog and hoping to see more of you at Pout Pretty :)..Anj is also on twitter (https://twitter.com/AKAmakeup) so please follow her for all the latest news.

Do you have any common favorites with Anj? Do share in the comments below. 

Love

D