Max Factor Ageless Elixir

Oh I love this foundation! I picked up the Max Factor Ageless Elixir ages ago in some big discount offer at Priceline. I chose it because I'd been impressed with a combined moisturiser/serum product and I can find that foundation catches in any dehydrated patches on skin so I figured the serum aspect would help with that. The fact that it's also SPF 15 is just a plus.

The coverage is light to medium and I like that it's really easy to build up without looking like you've caked it on. The foundation has a lovely, subtle rose scent and my only criticism of the pump pack is that it's hard to tell how much you've used. I love the black lid (no dirty foundation smudges visible!).

I have found that, as usual on my skin, this doesn't work so well on top of dimethicone/silicone rich moisturisers but if I use a good standard moisturiser (and allow it to soak in) then this works a treat. 

Because I favour such a light foundation, this has lasted me for absolutely ages, making it also excellent value for money.

I have reasonably fair skin and bought it in 45 warm almond which has been perfect.  I did spend some time choosing the colour before purchase (it only comes in 5 shades) and I've subsequently bought another Max Factor foundation in the same colour which is also a good match - so it seems the shades are consistent.

I'm quite disappointed I bought a different Max Factor foundation (always have to try something new!) because this is unequivocally a product I would both recommend and use again.

This is widely available and RRP is $32.95 but you will most find it discounted somewhere along the way!

Elucent Whitening Moisturisers

Gah! For some reason, I thought I had a post all scheduled and ready to go for last Friday (Friday, kids, is when Aus Best Beauty Buys will be bringing you my latest thoughts this year, providing I don't get muddled again!) but it turns out I didn't ...

Which is a shame because I have a truckload of products waiting to be written up.

But here we go with these two moisturisers - day and night - part of the 'whitening' range from Elucent.  I received these sample sizes as part of a little package of samples from a beauty website.  I have definitely used an Elucent product before but I'm stuffed if I can remember what it was.  I remember I liked it though.

The Whitening range is supposed to brighten your skin and reduce uneven skin tone.  As someone who has a little bit of pigmentation (hey, I grew up in Australia ... these things can't be helped!) I'm always keen to try out products like this.  I used the day and night creams in sync for a good couple of weeks and definitely noticed lovely, smooth, well hydrated skin during that time.  Did the creams reduce pigmentation and uneven skin tone? I can't say because I didn't take before and after shots but because they worked at their core business of moisturising my skin looked good.

The day cream
The day cream is SPF 30 - yay! A moisturiser with something approaching serious sun protection.  The cream is quite light and goes on easily and is absorbed quickly.  It does have a little bit of a white cast to it but that disappears when the cream is absorbed.  The cream does have the slight feel of sun cream to it but it hydrates and provides a pretty good base for foundation too.

The sunblock side of this cream definitely does its job - I wore this on a ferry crossing when I stood on deck for almost the full 45 minutes and didn't get sunburnt.

The night cream
The night cream is a completely different texture to the day cream.  It's thicker and feels richer but it is quickly absorbed and I didn't wake up feeling like I had a greasy face.

These creams aren't cheap and they're not widely available. But you can pick them up at Chemist Warehouse.