Friday, October 25, 2013

Birchbloggers Breakfast with Alison Raffaele


Last month I enjoyed a Birchbloggers beauty breakfast with celebrity makeup artist and entrepreneur Alison Raffaele at Birchbox HQ. During the breakfast, Alison helped us choose the right foundation and concealer shades and showed us how to properly apply them. Her makeup really works for all different skintones, as we watched her apply the perfect shade to each Birchblogger in attendance. 

Alison told me that I am a Skintone 4 in both the Reality Base Foundation and True Concealer (Skintone shades range from 1 to 7). I also learned that the the correct order in applying makeup should be foundation, concealer and then powder. 


Since the breakfast, I've improved on my makeup skills, using the Reality Base Foundation and True Concealer. The foundation is super lightweight and oil-free, with a natural look and satin finish. I like to apply my foundation with one of Alison's super-soft takelon (made of Japanese nylon) brushes and then blend it with a sponge. 

The concealer is lightweight with a velvet-smooth finish. Concealer is a must, for camouflaging those dark circles or blemishes. Even though I always feel like I have dark circles from lack of sleep, turns out I don't actually look like a zombie and don't need to apply a ton of concealer. I dab a little amount under each eye using the wand and blend it with my ringfinger. 

Both products contain Frutta di Vita antioxidant protection, which keeps skin rehydrated for up to 12 + hours and guards against premature aging. They are also both 100% Paraben, Talc, Mineral Oil, Fragrance and Gluten Free, Vegan. Another beauty tip I learned is that too much eye cream will make your concealer even more cakey, so don't put on more than you need to. I also learned the difference between a translucent powder and transparent powder. A translucent powder is completely sheer, and what you want to use to set your makeup. 

Alison Raffaele cosmetics is available at birchbox.com and at alisonraffaele.com for the full range of products, including tools and accessories. Her how-to videos are also a great resource so check them out!



- Kim Weling

No comments:

Post a Comment