Maskcara IID Foundation Review
If you follow beauty bloggers like I do, you've probably heard of Cara from Maskcara (she's a Pinterest queen and she's won the Allure's Best Beauty Blogger award). A few years ago, she created her own makeup line and I've followed it here and there- even trying to duplicate the look. LOL! At the beginning of the year, she took her cosmetics to the direct selling market. At first I thought this may be a bad idea, but then I started to see how she kept the integrity of the company and kept the "artist" signups very limited.... I am all about supporting small businesses/ women! So, I grew to have even more respect for her products and she seemed to be taking really good care of her promoters. I continued to follow her blog but had not actually tried her brand of makeup.
Fast forward a couple of months..... I've been a Bare Minerals girl for many years, but I was tired of the mess is was making in my bathroom and the time it took to apply (I also wanted a little more coverage). So, I tried a liquid foundation that seems to be very well liked and popular- I liked the company and their products, but I just wasn't getting the coverage I'd hoped for. After a few hours, it was gone. I even added all of the suggested: spray.. primer..etc... I stuck to it and decided to give it until the bottle ran out but by the end of my bottle, my routine was taking a lot longer and I was having some pretty bad breakouts (not sure what exactly from, but I was using a lot more products on my face.)
After running out, I used some left over Belk-y brand every day makeup for a while why I did some research. Around this time was when Cara went direct with her company. A local gal started promoting and I was really shocked at her results. It was nice to see someone local (not a famous blogger) use Cara's makeup and have the same beautiful results. So- as I ran out of my current products, I thought.. what the heck? give it a try!
So what is Maskcara Makeup?
"Maskcara makeup was designed to help women have a simple beauty routine while enhancing their natural features. Her focus is on "HAC"ing (highlighting and contouring) your face in the right way.
She offers a beautiful pallet with refillable singles that are far worth the price (only $12!) and will have you swearing you'll never use another makeup kit for as long as you live.
Here's what you can create in your pallet:
Highlight: Use as your foundation to highlight the key parts of your face
Contour: Use like a bronzer, on your cheek bones, and around the outer parts of your face
Blush: Use on the apples of your cheeks
Illuminator: Meant to make those gorgeous structural parts of your face shine"
The cute palette has a magnetic inside and holds 4 product tins. The little tins are so cute! The idea behind Maskcara HAC is to use a combination of highlight and contours to provide a natural glowing look. No need for 100 steps or tons of layers!
Here are the colors I picked:
Olive- Contour; Sunlit- Highlight; Nude- Lip+Blush; Pearl- Illuminator
I followed the instructions and the way that Cara shows in her blog videos. I'll admit, the first time I was very hesitant to actually contour and my look wasn't what I was looking for. After doing a little learning, I went for it again and literally looked like I had warpaint on my face with the dark contour. I used my blending sponge and it was AMAZING! I dabbed a little of the nude blush on my lips and eyelids, and I looked completely "made-up" in less than 3 min!
This was after my first application. I compared my old routine to my new. I feel like the Maskcara provides a more natural-glowing look compared to my old routine, but I'd love to hear what you all think.
This is after a day of work (8+ hours!) and with a little more of the contour look.
I'm still experimenting with my palette and all of the colors, but I can say that I am really enjoying the look. After a week of use, my face has not broken out and I feel like I look a lot more "natural".
What I like about Maskcara Makeup:
There are a few reasons why I feel Maskcara is the best makeup for me (and believe me I've tried just about every makeup line from drugstore to professional brand)...
1. Everything you need is combined into one simple pallet with refillable (magnetic) containers.
2. I haven't been able to find a perfect color like I've found with Maskcara - I kid you not, for years I've struggled to find a brand that carried the perfect shade of foundation for my pale skin, and the right kind of contour that doesn't make me look orange, or look like I'm dead. Cara herself has spent hours perfecting these colors to work for EVERY skin color!
3. Although highlighting and contouring like the movie stars sounds intimidating, it is far from complex. Anyone and everyone can learn these basic techniques to create a lasting, beautiful, quick, natural face.
4. It isn't heavy. It might sound like using a HAC kit will make you look overdone and heavy with makeup, but it simply does not. Again, Cara is all about enhancing natural beauty and NOT about slathering it on your face.
So.. overall, I am very happy with my new makeup routine. I got rid of a HUGE makeup bag worth of junk for my single pallet, my brush (which are the best!), and mascara (for the lashes).
Interested in building your own Maskcara pallet?
If you're wanting to dab into this new makeup line but you're not sure which colors to buy, hit me up on facebook or email daphnenicoledale@gmail.com with a straight on, makeup-less picture of your face and I will help you determine what colors will work best with your skin tone.
How do I HAC (highlight and contour)?
I hope to post more about this in the future, and so I've created a separate Instagram for all of you who are genuinely interested in learning more. Follow me here.
There's also an awesome video you can watch of Cara demonstrating how to apply the makeup - click the pic below to view it!
As always, I'd love to hear what you all think? Do you have a favorite makeup routine that you love? I am all about trying new things and supporting local, small businesses! I would never share or review something with my friends and family that I didn't truly love and trust!
If you're convinced, like I am-- Buy it HERE!