And the winner is..

I think I may have found my HG foundation. On my quest to find theee perfect one I considered a few factors. Price (haha, cheapo), and ofcourse quality. With the hype of the new HD formulas, I found 2 brands that already had the HD creds way before the popular lines came out with theirs: RCMA and Cinema Secrets.

Cinema Secrets
I am quite obsessive with color picking because I just really hate poorly matched foundations. I was glad they had the palettes so I could try a bunch of colors or mix them to get a match. Of course color picking on line is terrible but I went with the one with the most colors from the 300 series which was made for people with yellow undertones. The last two colors from that kit made me doubt it though cause they seemed too dark but I ended up using the 2nd and 3 darkest colors from that kit the most.


What I like:

- I think that kit3 is very versatile. You can go from light or medium light to dark as long as the undertones match.
-Easy to blend. Texture is butter like! haha its a soft creme that goes on smoothly
-Very Pigmented. You wouldnt believe how little I have to use. Its mind blowing haha. I use about half a pea to about a pea size every time.
-So far, no break out related to its use haha despite being oil based.


What I dont like:

- Gives you more of a dewy finish which can be great if your skin isnt as funky as mine. But it tends to look a bit shiny on me after a few hours -though this can still be fixed with blotting paper and setting powder.


I also got the color corrector/concealer palette in kit#2. Okay now this stuff I have no complaints whatsoever. It works like a dream! Covers bluish tones under the eyes, red areas, blemishes, everything! And you need so little! It actually works better if you use just a tiny bit. I started with half a pea size and it looked like I had an-an (fungi) on my face because I could see the spots I was trying to conceal. But after getting a hang of it hayyy pure love! haha That is one thing though, if youre used to using regular makeup it might take some time before getting used to this one. Its very pigmented so I had no idea how much I needed to use when I first tried it.

At about 20 plus dollars this comes out cheaper even if you get both the foundation and concealer palette as opposed to say a m.a.c. foundation and concealer or MUFE's HD foundation and concealer. It will definately last longer since you only need to use a small amount.

Unfortunately, my Cinema Secrets Ultimate Foundation has been hanging out in the bottom of my train case because of......


RCMA!
RCMA boasts of its 50% pigment compared to other brands which have about 18%? i think. So you can just imagine how different this is from the regular ones you're used to. Color picking again was a pain since they have a very extensive line with all the undertones imagineable. I think they probably have hmm close to 40 or 50 im not even sure but they have a lot! So again, I just started choosing among the colors under the yellowish undertone. I tried out a few samples I think I got about 5 before I decided to just get two colors so I can mix them to match. I got Shinto 2 and 3. This is a good guide about RCMA colors. (click ME). Oh and a litle tip when choosing a color, the product looks quite dark in the pot due to it being very pigmented so I think its safer to choose one thats a shade darker.


What I like:

- Pea to half a pea sized amount every use! I still cant get over it haha. The sample product is said to be good for about 2 to 3 faces. Ive had mine for about a month already and its only half empty. (EDIT: lasted me 2 months!) Meaning I still have enough for another month from that tiny little jar ( its about the size of a bare mineral foundation starter thingy- about a 5 or 10 gram jar id say but its not even filled up all the way.)
- This is what I mainly use and Ive NEVER had an RCMA related break out even though its oil based.
- I love the finish. Its more of a matte
-Almost undectable when properly blended. It just looks like you have great skin!
- Looks super good in photographs. hehe
- No fuss packaging. It will totally deceive you! haha (id rather have something that looks plain but works)


What I dont like:
- The texture is not something I dont like but others may find it anoying that you have to smash it up and warm it up before using ( I actually enjoy doing that haha). Its a hard creme.
-Color matching is too confusing haha too many colors (but thats actually a good thing)
- I really have no complaints about RCMA


Oh and they have a colorless setting powder that comes in like a salt shaker container. its about 3oz? for $8. This thing is unbelievable. I would say that this is comparable to MUFE's HD ivisible powder and MAC's invisible setting powder, only way way cheaper! It doesnt clump so you can go crazy with it and not worry you'll end up looking like a clown, it doesnt change your foundations color. I also use this to set my concealer or after I color correct before applying my foundation so that colors wont mix and with regular powder im sure you can imagine how horrible that would end up looking.


Anyway, that is it! RCMA wins :)


EDIT: Even in Manila's hot and humid weather, RCMA works! I tried it on my friends and they all love it haha.