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I've had a recent bout of makeup splurging - I'll blame it on the silly season. I seemed to work on a 'one present bought, two presents bought for me' system this past Christmas. That being said, I needed an overhaul on the foundation front. I seemed to have slipped into using whatever retail brand I was trying out that week, or whatever I kept in my handbag makeup kit - which as you know is always the el cheapo stuff thanks to my smash and grab experience a few years back.

So over December I picked up three really amazing products that I have loved using. These just make you want use your expensive brushes, and let yourself fall in love with makeup all over again.

First up is one of two purchases from good 'ol Sephora. Which means these will be a little trickier to get your hands on here in SA, but if you have a friend travelling soon, I would suggest batting your eyelashes at them and baking them a cake. Make them be your mule.

Urban Decay's NAKED Skin Weightless Ultra Defining foundation is very runny, but once whipped up by your brush and applied to the skin it blends really well, and feels as light as a feather.
Once buffed in I found it left me with quite a glow - which if you like that look then you'll love it. I prefer a more matte look to my skin so I just used a very quick pat of blotting powder to finish and it was perfect. It lasts for ages - and this was put to the test on New Years Eve where I wobbled back into the apartment at around 3am. So it survived a lot of dancing, sweating and drunk-face. I think we can safely say its a hard worker. I find that its quite heavy coverage, so blend and buff well and I wouldn't try and build up on this one for fear of looking like an iced cake.

Benefit's BIG EASY Bigger than BB. This is my everyday favourite right now. A BB cream and powder all in one. The sales assistant at Sephora raved about it and its easy to see why once you wear it. Its a wonderfully easy to use BB cream that dries to a matte finish so there is no need for powder. And I do love a matte finish. The sales assistant also said to save time you could mix this with a primer and apply it together - but I think she must have been on her crack pipe because that ended up being a flaky mess and my cheek looking like a leper's. So no. If you're using primer, do that first. Let is absorb and then apply this afterward.
Its also worth nothing that you need to work fast, as it dries quickly. I also found a sponge worked better than a brush as the brush seemed to just move it around, whereas the sponge buffs it in nicely for a natural, matte look. Slap on some colour to your cheeks and mascara and you're done.

Last up is one you can go and pickup this afternoon on your way home from work. And I suggest you do. I think most of us are MAC fan-girls and we all have our list of cult favourites, and now I am adding this Prep&Prime BB to my list.
Its lightweight and I'd call the coverage light to medium. Some people call it a sheer coverage but I found it covered blemishes and pigmentation without needing to build it up. I buff it in with my MAC 130 short-fibre brush. After seeing results with this brush and beauty balm at the MAC counter, I am hooked. The finish is natural, with a subtle glow to the skin and I have never received so many compliments on the state of my skin. A quick dab of blotting powder and a spritz of everyone's favourite Fix+ finishing spray and you'll have a flawless face.
(FYI, I might be late to the party here, but MAC has the Fix+ spray in a travel size and now I can take it with me everywhere)