Now you can help others by becoming even more gorgeous than you already are! For every beauty product listed below that you buy — a direct donation will be made to the Breast Cancer Research Fund, so spend, spend, spend!

The Estee Lauder Companies, Inc. is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of quality skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. The Company’s prouducts are sold in over 140 countries and territories under the following brand names: Estee Lauder, Aramis, Clinique, Prescriptives, Lab Series, Origins, M-A-C, Bobbi Brown, Tommy Hilfiger, Kiton, La Mer, Donna Karan, Aveda, Jo Malone, Bumble and bumple, Darphin, Michael Kors, American Beauty, Flirt!, Good Skin(TM), Grassroots Research Labs, Sean John, Missoni, Daisy Fuentes, Tom Ford, Mustang, Coach, Ojon and Eyes by Design. (Wow! I had no idea)

Something else you might not know, The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Pink Ribbon Campaign was founded by Evelyn H. Lauder. By October 2008, the Estée Lauder Companies estimated that the firm’s Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign had raised $35 million towards research and distributed 80 million pink ribbons. That’s impressive!

When I bought my Prescriptives Custom Blend, I also bought their All-Skins Powder to act as a finishing powder.  Here is my review (with a new rating scale - 1 to 5 – with 1 being pretty bad, 3 being average, and 5 being super duper excellent!)

Packaging 2/5

I’ve never found Prescriptives packing to be particularly sexy, and this product is no different.  The packaging does what it is supposed to do (ie contain the product),  but it’s not exactly mind blowing.  There is a powder puff that comes with the powder but I don’t use these unless absolutely necessary (I just find them a little hygenic).

Product Quality 2/5

The powder is very finely milled and doesn’t cast a veil over my face.  I find it works well to soak up extra oils but still gives my skin enough room to breathe and appear ‘dewy’.

Unfortunately, the powder isn’t long lasting.  When I do my usual blot at lunchtime, half the product comes off with my face, requiring me to re-apply.  I hate re-applying makeup in the middle of the day, so this aspect of the product definitely does not appeal.

Price 3/5

As is normal for Prescriptives, this is an expensive finishing powder.  But you do get ALOT of product for the price which is why I have upped the score in this category.

Would I buy again?

 Probably not.  I find some of my other finishing powders work better.  This is a nice powder, just not one of my favourites.

All Skins Powder

$26 – Prescriptives

I really should stay away from Prescriptives counters.  Everytime I venture near them, I end up with something.  This time, it was a Custom Blend Foundation.

Custom Blend is exactly what it sounds like – a liquid foundation that is made specifically for you.  Your skin tone.  Your skin condition.  And the type of finish you are after – from sheer to full coverage, from matte to shimmer.  You are in total control of the end product.

First off, the makeup artist asked me a few questions about my skin that were designed to identify what I needed in a foundation:

• Was my skin dry, oily or a combination (with oily skin, they will put in oil control ingredients.  With dry skin, they will put in extra moisturising ingredients – neat, huh?).
• Since we’re coming out of an Australian summer, she asked if my skin colour was the result of a summer tan or whether it was pretty close to my normal colour (I actually use alot of sunscreen so I rarely change colour with the seasons).
• Did I want sheer coverage or full coverage? (full coverage – I was buying this for those days that my skin just won’t behave and/or special occasions)
• Did I want a matte finish or shimmer? (somewhere in the middle)
• Did I want sunscreen (uh, hello, I live in Australia.  Of course I do).
• She then analysed my skin to see what tone I was (which is warm with yellow/gold undertones).

After taking into account my answers, she then went about making my foundation.  Five minutes, and a lot of ‘a pinch of this, and a teaspoon of that’, I had my custom blend.

WOW!

That’s the only word I can use to describe what it is like to put on a foundation that is basically a second skin.  The foundation just melted into my skin, evening out my blotchiness and giving me a flawless finish.  Even my husbad, who had been patiently waiting outside said ‘When are they going to put it on’, not realising they already had.

So the colour match is perfect, but what about longevity, feel etc.  Once this stuff goes on, it DOES NOT MOVE.  It stays put all day, even on hot days.

But as for feel?  I won’t lie – this feels like a liquid foundation.  It doesn’t feel light and airy like my mineral makeup (but that’s also because I opted for full coverage).  Some of that is negated by using a good finishing powder (I ended up buying the Prescriptives Finishing Powder as well, which I will review next week).

And it’s not cheap.  Here in Australia, I paid $100 for the blend.  However, you do get a full bottle of foundation, a travel size bottle and you get whatever the makeup artist had left over in the mixing bottle (see picture below, the red line indicates how full the leftovers bottle was).  Last time I had a custom blend done, it lasted me over two years so it’s excellent value for money.

So, I hear you ask, have you dumped mineral makeup?  Not at all.  I use this custom blend for days when I need an almost ‘pancake’ face (ie photos at work, weddings etc), and save my mineral makeup for days where my imperfections are ok to show through.

All up, this is a great idea from Prescriptives.  For people like me (of mixed heritage and problematic skin), it offers us the opportunity to create a foundation that suits us perfectly.

Pros: Ability to match your skin tone, takes into account your skin needs

Cons: Price – this is reasonably expensive for a foundation

Custom Blend

Prescriptives

From the awesome people at Prescriptives, comes the Colour Scope Lip Gloss.

With a huge range of colours, and the promise of Prescriptives to moisturise and glamourise your lips, how can you resist?

I think I might get one for every day of the week!

Colour Scope Lip Gloss

$17.50 – Prescriptives

In many ways, it doesn’t disappoint. The colours are just beautiful, and the texture is soft and supple. The colour glides on easily and is simple to blend.

However, the colour doesn’t last long before it starts sinking into creases. By midday, I found myself in the bathroom, wiping shadow out of the creases. Even using a primer beforehand did not help.

Having said that, if re-application is the worst about this product, then it’s nothing compared to the result. These colours are perfect for the upcoming summer. Cool pastels with just the right amount of shimmer will give you a casual look that will make you the envy of everyone.

Pros: Quality of colour, ease of application, price

Cons: Sinks into creases

Colour Scope

$14 – Prescriptives

Winter is a great time to experiment with new products, and we’ve scoured the beauty world to find the very best for our wonderful readers.

I love Prescriptives products. With the introduction of the Lip Strips line, however, that love has now turned to adoration.

If you’re like me, and your mood changes during the day, well now your lipstick can change with you.

With five rich and creamy gloss shades, you can quickly reapply or, if you’re feeling adventurous, blend the colours to create a hue that’s just for you.

And you don’t have to lug around five different lipsticks. The convenient and exquisitely packaged compact, which includes a mirror, is small enough to slip into your purse.

Lip Strips

$29 – Prescriptives