Both my foundation and my blusher ran out at the same time.
I bought my usual foundation, Chanel's Vitalumière Satin Smoothing Fluid Makeup, because I think it's wonderful. This is a light, moisturising foundation with SPF 15 sun protection. It gives a smooth, dewy, luminous, glowing look and really lifts tired skin. I find that if it is applied under the eyes in a couple of layers, it helps to reduce dark shadows and improve dryness. It also seems to soften and fill out fine lines.
Vitalumière comes in a pump bottle and is made in nine different shades, ranging from pale to dark. I wear 20 Clair, which is a light tone and I would describe it as a pale cream beige but not too beige, and not yellow or pink. It's the perfect shade for a light skin that isn't the palest of pale.
I had been wearing Yves Saint Laurent's Blush Variation but I found that they had replaced this product with a similar blusher, Blush Radiance. This comes in an elegant, shiny, gold compact with a mirror.
In the compact there are four squares of blusher, two are matte in texture and two are iridescent. Sweeping the little brush across the two textures and then applying the blusher to the face results in a gentle blush with a shimmer. There is a range of shades to suit different colourings. I bought No. 4, which is a light, pretty pink.
Whilst writing about basic makeup products, I would recommend inexpensive Rimmel for pencils. For eyes, their Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Liner Pencil and their Professional Eyebrow Pencil (complete with built-in little eyebrow brush) are really good. I also like their Lasting Finish 1000 Kisses Lip Liner pencils for lips.
February Fashion Footnote: February has been a month of Fashion Weeks for Autumn/Winter 2013 collections. First it was New York. Then came London, where rising stars J.W. Anderson, Simone Rocha and Meadham Kirchhoff received attention from the fashion world. Their collections were presented at the Topshop Showspace, The Tanks at Tate Modern, along with Topshop's own noteworthy Unique collection. I'm really excited about Simone Rocha. Now it's Milan with the luxury of Gucci, Fendi and Prada - the Dolce and Gabbana show is yet to come. Next week it will be Paris. The great thing now is that some of the collections are being streamed live on the internet and we can all be "front row"!