stick foundation
Westman Atelier Brand Overview/Initial Thoughts
Wednesday, June 12, 2019 • Barney's, Beauty, Clean, Clean Beauty, cream foundation, cream highlighter, Cruelty Free, Gucci Westman, Makeup, review, skincare, stick foundation, stick highlighter, WDDT?, Westman Atelier, what does dana think
Time for some more gratuitous makeup p0rn!
To start off with I just want to say that I definitely blame this purchase on Kackie Reviews Beauty and Michele Wang, with a helping hand from Ebates because their 6th anniversary celebration sent Barney's to 20% cash back and I am a weak woman. In case you aren't quite as much of an obsessive as I am, Westman Atelier is the makeup brand created and curated by makeup artist Gucci Westman, who is known for doing such fabulous faces as Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, Halley Berry and more.
Since I'm relatively new to the world of high-end clean beauty, here's a little info from the brand's website,
"We believe in consciously crafted beauty. That means luxurious, effortlessly beautiful makeup formulated with clean ingredients and no-compromises integrity. It means balancing perfect shades and buttery textures that melt into the skin with plant-based actives and cutting-edge science. And it means a passionate commitment to researching and reassessing our ingredients as new information comes to light.
Fast. Easy. Flawless. Safe. Makeup that makes life simpler. Skin that feels as good as it looks."
Sounds great right? And with Barney's free shipping and returns, purchasing the Vital Skin Foundation Stick for myself didn't seem quite so terrifying (though shade matching online always sucks). Shout out to Wondegondigo and her "Counter Intelligence" post - combined with Westman Atelier's shade descriptions I at least felt kind of ok going in.
After some careful thought and serious acceptance of what color my skin actual is vs what color I wanted it to be, I went with Shade IX (out of XII/12 total). It's described as "Beige Tan" and the model showcasing the color is of East Asian descent. And for the most part, between that and Shade X/Rich Butterscotch, I think I probably picked the best I could. It's not perfect, but it's certainly not bad either.
The other product I couldn't bring myself not to try was the Lit Up Highlighter Stick. One of the best examples of that "wet skin" look I've ever seen, the highlighter has no real pigment, only an blue-y purple iridescent sheen once its applied to the skin. It's not one of those highlighted-to-the-gods-see-me-from-space highlighters, which I only want to point out so you don't get your hopes up/dashed. So far I've only applied this with my fingers and even with that I see a little product transfer back to the tube, thus I suspect this might work best as a bare skin product - though check back because again, I'm not ready to give my final thoughts on this one yet. Pleasantly I don't find the blue/purple sheen obnoxious or too cool toned on me, and am looking forward to figuring out the best application.
Before I forget I want to also take a second to talk about the packaging, since that's part of what you're paying for here. Both the stick foundation and highlighter come in heavyweight metal tubes, engraved with Westman Atelier, and having strong magnetic closures. Products are dispensed via a simple twist up motion, and both can be fully twisted out to show the total amount of product before being twisted back in. It's one of those products where you can easily say it feels expensive, because as a consumer you can see/feel the time and attention that has gone into the outer packaging.
Not long before I picked up the Westman Atelier foundation, I went back to one of my old favorites, the Anastasia Beverly Hills Stick Foundation ($25), in a new to me shade, Golden. As you can see, in comparison Atelier IX is less yellow and more red, which will work better for me as I pick up a little summer color. Also, while I like the final effect of both, the ABH Stick Foundation is undoubtedly a little more work to buff in to the skin, and unlike the Westman Atelier, not a product that I would apply using a brush straight from the tube. The resulting finish is also (not surprisingly) different, but strangely I'm finding that I really like how dewy the Westman Atelier is, and as an oily skin girl I almost couldn't believe it. That's not to say I don't powder it down in the morning, or that I don't blot during the day, but it's just so damn pretty. I sadly don't see really any of the magical lifting or firming that Kackie talks about her video, but I chalk that up to the fact that our skin types are wildly different.
In the end though, even with a different finish, both products last all day on my skin, despite the heat, so I feel comfortable saying that depending on your budget and ability to find a color, I'd recommend either.
To start off with I just want to say that I definitely blame this purchase on Kackie Reviews Beauty and Michele Wang, with a helping hand from Ebates because their 6th anniversary celebration sent Barney's to 20% cash back and I am a weak woman. In case you aren't quite as much of an obsessive as I am, Westman Atelier is the makeup brand created and curated by makeup artist Gucci Westman, who is known for doing such fabulous faces as Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, Halley Berry and more.
Since I'm relatively new to the world of high-end clean beauty, here's a little info from the brand's website,
"We believe in consciously crafted beauty. That means luxurious, effortlessly beautiful makeup formulated with clean ingredients and no-compromises integrity. It means balancing perfect shades and buttery textures that melt into the skin with plant-based actives and cutting-edge science. And it means a passionate commitment to researching and reassessing our ingredients as new information comes to light.
Fast. Easy. Flawless. Safe. Makeup that makes life simpler. Skin that feels as good as it looks."
Sounds great right? And with Barney's free shipping and returns, purchasing the Vital Skin Foundation Stick for myself didn't seem quite so terrifying (though shade matching online always sucks). Shout out to Wondegondigo and her "Counter Intelligence" post - combined with Westman Atelier's shade descriptions I at least felt kind of ok going in.
Westman Atelier, Vital Skin Foundation Stick in IX, $68, and Lit Up Highlighter Stick, $48
After some careful thought and serious acceptance of what color my skin actual is vs what color I wanted it to be, I went with Shade IX (out of XII/12 total). It's described as "Beige Tan" and the model showcasing the color is of East Asian descent. And for the most part, between that and Shade X/Rich Butterscotch, I think I probably picked the best I could. It's not perfect, but it's certainly not bad either.
The other product I couldn't bring myself not to try was the Lit Up Highlighter Stick. One of the best examples of that "wet skin" look I've ever seen, the highlighter has no real pigment, only an blue-y purple iridescent sheen once its applied to the skin. It's not one of those highlighted-to-the-gods-see-me-from-space highlighters, which I only want to point out so you don't get your hopes up/dashed. So far I've only applied this with my fingers and even with that I see a little product transfer back to the tube, thus I suspect this might work best as a bare skin product - though check back because again, I'm not ready to give my final thoughts on this one yet. Pleasantly I don't find the blue/purple sheen obnoxious or too cool toned on me, and am looking forward to figuring out the best application.
Before I forget I want to also take a second to talk about the packaging, since that's part of what you're paying for here. Both the stick foundation and highlighter come in heavyweight metal tubes, engraved with Westman Atelier, and having strong magnetic closures. Products are dispensed via a simple twist up motion, and both can be fully twisted out to show the total amount of product before being twisted back in. It's one of those products where you can easily say it feels expensive, because as a consumer you can see/feel the time and attention that has gone into the outer packaging.
Not long before I picked up the Westman Atelier foundation, I went back to one of my old favorites, the Anastasia Beverly Hills Stick Foundation ($25), in a new to me shade, Golden. As you can see, in comparison Atelier IX is less yellow and more red, which will work better for me as I pick up a little summer color. Also, while I like the final effect of both, the ABH Stick Foundation is undoubtedly a little more work to buff in to the skin, and unlike the Westman Atelier, not a product that I would apply using a brush straight from the tube. The resulting finish is also (not surprisingly) different, but strangely I'm finding that I really like how dewy the Westman Atelier is, and as an oily skin girl I almost couldn't believe it. That's not to say I don't powder it down in the morning, or that I don't blot during the day, but it's just so damn pretty. I sadly don't see really any of the magical lifting or firming that Kackie talks about her video, but I chalk that up to the fact that our skin types are wildly different.
In the end though, even with a different finish, both products last all day on my skin, despite the heat, so I feel comfortable saying that depending on your budget and ability to find a color, I'd recommend either.
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