Great makeup starts with a great base. And here in Asia, where most people do not wear a lot of dramatic color makeup on a day-to-day basis, the skin itself is often the focus of the look, whether you like it or not. Your base can make or break your makeup look.
Gone are the days of flat, matte, powdery, mask-like foundation bases that look like plaster paint up-close. Even when you need to wear quite a lot of coverage, the emphasis is on creating that "expensive-looking" HD complexion that looks polished, touchable and natural.
Which can be a huge challenge in tropical, humid environments like ours when we need to deal with sweat, oil, and dry air-conditioned environments.
I always believe that for your base to go on smoothly, look light, and stay beautiful longer, you need to start thinking of your skincare as part of your makeup routine. Everything from your moisturizers, to your primers, to your base itself, needs to work well together for the best results.
And this is the philosophy behind VDL's Base Makeup Collection - Series 1.
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| VDL Base Makeup Collection |
The brand's developed a SKIN P+R=O Regenerative range of antioxidant skincare products which protect (P) your skin and help it to recover (R) from damage so you can get optimum (O) results from your skincare, but also complement their bestselling Lumilayer Primer and the newly-reformulated Perfecting Last Foundation SPF 30, PA++.
The basics for the routine are:
- SKIN P+R=O Almighty Ampoule Essence and SKIN P+R=O Almighty Cream to hydrate, protect, repair, AND seal the skin.
- Lumilayer Primer to brighten the skin, add a glow, and create that illusion of youthful transparency while priming the skin.
- Perfecting Last Foundation SPF 30 PA++ which gives flawless, long-lasting coverage without oxidation or a heavy, mask-like feel.
I was most curious about the 2 new skincare products because I've never tried them before.
I must say I was skeptical at first because the descriptions on the box only list proprietary complexes such as Medimin A, Oxytalan SF, and LG-AQ, which don't really tell the consumer anything useful, so I went down to the ingredients list to take a look, and was quite pleasantly surprised.
After spending all my teen years blotting and powdering my face and trying to get rid of all traces of oil, I'm now spending lots of money trying to add the glow back. I think there is nothing prettier than that polished gleam on someone's cheekbone when they turn their head.
I find most liquid primers either too subtle to apply under foundation, or too metallic and unnatural to wear all over the face, but VDL's Lumilayer Primer is one that I consider a staple because it really creates that sense of "translucency". VDL layered special red and blue light-reflecting pigments to help color correct, brighten, and create dimension on the face contours.
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| Skin P+R=O Almighty Ampoule Essence |
Skin P+R=O Almighty Ampoule Essence contains a jaw-dropping list of star ingredients, such as skin-repairing Centella Asiatica from Madagascar, collagen-boosting Cloudberry Fruit Oil, photo-damage preventing soy ferment, conditioning Panthenol, antibacterial Artemisia Annua and Lavender extracts, antioxidant Sandalwood, purifying Moringa Seed extract, anti-inflammatory and whitening agent Niacinamide, and more.
The Almighty Cream is no less interesting. This fresh-feeling salve leaves the skin cool when spread out, and contains the same plant extracts as the ampoule essence, but also has something else I want to talk about.
Quite high on the list is Acrylic Acid, a copolymer which is quite a powerful film-forming agent. You can sometimes find it in makeup setting sprays. This allows the product to set and act like a shield on the skin, which essentially reduces the chances of makeup melt-down.
Step 2: VDL Lumilayer Primer (SGD$36)
After spending all my teen years blotting and powdering my face and trying to get rid of all traces of oil, I'm now spending lots of money trying to add the glow back. I think there is nothing prettier than that polished gleam on someone's cheekbone when they turn their head.
I find most liquid primers either too subtle to apply under foundation, or too metallic and unnatural to wear all over the face, but VDL's Lumilayer Primer is one that I consider a staple because it really creates that sense of "translucency". VDL layered special red and blue light-reflecting pigments to help color correct, brighten, and create dimension on the face contours.
