Review: Masarrat Misbah Makeup

As my fellow makeup junkies will agree, there's no makeup thrill quite as exciting as trying new stuff. Add new, international brands that aren't readily available to you, and the thrill increases quite substantially. 😁 Earlier this year (before all of this quarantine scariness began), I was visiting Pakistan. As with each of my trips, I was itching to explore some of the popular brands there, and to see if I could find some new favorites that fell beyond the scope of brands that I am already familiar with.

No matter whom I asked, Masarrat Misbah came up as a "must-try" brand, particularly, the Silk Foundation. Given Masarrat Misbah is one of the biggest names in the Pakistani beauty industry (with 70 (!) branches of her Depilex Salon open all over Pakistan), I knew her products would be high-performing. I will be honest, though -- I wasn't completely on board with trying a new foundation. This is because my sensitive skin keeps me on a very short leash when it comes to trying new complexion products. I generally tend to stick to one-two favorites, and re-purchase the same items that I know will work for years on end! Alas, I decided to take the leap, listen to all of the fantastic reviews I was hearing, and give the foundation a try.

When I got back to the States, I was eager to try the foundation out, but was not sure what to expect. You. Guys. I was NOT prepared to fall in love as hard as I did with the Masarrat Misbah Silk Foundation. 😍 I feel as though this foundation literally meets every single requirement I maintain for a "holy grail" foundation:

• Full Coverage without feeling like a mask (the fullest of full coverages)
• Matte without looking powdery (stunning satin matte finish that still looks like skin)
• Long-wearing (wore it for 10+ hours -- shocked to see it still looked fresh)
• Comfortable (yup, yup, and YUP)

Most importantly, the color match was excellent! I always have a hard time finding the perfect shade in foundations, and given Masarrat Misbah's brand caters primarily to Pakistani skin tones, I was thrilled to see how close my match was (more on that in a bit).

Shortly after falling hard in love with the Silk Foundation, I was thrilled to find out that her products are available to be purchased online from the States! I was so pumped to try other products from the brand. Here's what I got:

I was so impressed by the foundation, that I figured the rest of the complexion line would be equally impressive, and so I picked up the Silk Primer and Silk Pressed powder to go with the foundation. As for the foundation itself, I was originally matched with the shade Almond when I picked up the foundation live in Pakistan. After a few wear tests, I realized Almond is aaaalllmoooost my exact shade, but I felt the undertone was just a little cool for my NC40, yellow undertone skin. As such, I picked up the next two shades up, Natural Warmth and Warm Golden. Here are the swatches:

As you can see, Almond and Natural Warmth are definitely more neutral than Warm Golden, and Warm Golden (as to be inferred from the shade name) has a very warm undertone. One very important thing to note about the MMM foundations is that they tend to dry down approximately one shade darker when applied. As such, Warm Golden and Natural Warmth ended up being a bit too dark for me once dry, so Almond is definitely the winner for me (in the non-Summer months, anyway. I think Natural Warmth will be my jam in the summer when I'm more tan.).

My remedy for slight lightness I get with Almond on its own is the Silk Powder!! As with the foundation, I was super impressed by the powder. Silk is definitely the right title, because the powder is super silky soft -- so much so that I couldn't get a good swatch photo! Here are the powders in the pan.

The Silk Pressed Powder is a light as air powder that provides a very subtle level of coverage to the Silk Foundation, and helps to set it in place, and tie the look together. I am really impressed by how soft and subtle the powder is. I think it's the perfect partner to the Silk Foundaiton, and the two have been formulated to be the perfect partners. For me, the Almond foundation and Rich Nude powder have been the perfect, perfect match. (The powder adds the touch of warmth I need in Almond.)

I also picked up the Silk Primer:

This primer has a really unique texture. It feels very emollient at first, but once blended into the skin, it provides, again, a really silky, demi-matte finish. It provides a lovely blurring effect that comes with a subtle glow. I think this is a great partner to the very matte Silk Foundation, as the primer provides a nice boost of hydration under a very matte foundation that can last through your full day, and then some! The only downside for me is that my combination skin doesn't do well with hydrating primers. As such, the primer was great for me for the first 3-4 hours, but after that, my skin was looking more glowy than I'd like (I prefer a matte finish for foundation). The Silk Foundation stays totally matte with other primers (I've been loving pairing it with the Tatcha Silk Primer), so for me, while the MMM Silk primer is amazing for shorter wear-time, I'll need to use a different primer for long-day wear. 

Last in the complexion products is this beautiful Stay On Blusher in Satin Apricot!

I am SUCH a sucker for peachy blushes, and this guy is right up my alley. Perfect peachy flush in a satin matte formula that is super silky and easy to either keep soft, or build up intensity. Love this shade, and am pumped to use it in the upcoming spring/summer months. 

Lastly, and to top it all off, of course I had to grab some eyeshadow and lipstick. 😁 As for the lipstick, I actually had picked up Foxy Brown and Queen Bee from the Matte Luxe line in Pakistan. I loved the formula, and so grabbed Desire (also Matte Luxe) in this recent haul. Here are the swatches. 

What I love most about these Matte Luxe lipsticks is that, much like the foundation, even though the formula and finish is completely matte, they are SO comfortable. Soft and light on the lips, not drying at all, and yet they all impart a very modern matte finish on the lips. I especially fell in love with Foxy Brown, as on my lips, it's literally the lipstick form of one of my all time favorite lip liners -- Hover by Mac. The two together give me the perfect, not-to-deep, slightly 90s nude, which I lOVE. As for Queen Bee, as you'll see in the photo, it's an orange based peach which can be toned down or brightened up with various lip liners. As for Desire, I've always struggled to find my perfect hot pink because hot pinks end up looking too cool or too coral on my skin tone. Desire is the first hot pink I've fallen in LOVE with, and that gives me the perfectly balanced hot pink! Highly recommend all three of these shades.

Finally, last, but certainly not least, and ode to my eyeshadow obsessed heart, we have the Sunrise Palette, which houses a well-balanced array of neutral browns, golds, and champagnes.

The metallics in this palette are a treat -- super creamy, pigmented, and easy to apply. As with most metallics, using a wet brush elevates an already dazzling formula to  a celestial level. As for the mattes, there's one true mate, which I found to be very buttery and easy to work with. As for the darker brown with glitter, I was pleased to see that the glitter remains very visible on the eye. I find that often times, glittery shades like this tend to incorporate a very dense base, which essentially "eats" the glitter, making it difficult to get what you see in the pan to show up on the eyes. The glittery shade in this palette is a welcome exception, in that what you see is what you get on the eyes. Friendly tip, though, as with all glittery shadows like this, be sure to use a sticky base / glitter glue to make sure the glitter stays put. 

Overall, I am beyond impressed with the Masarrat Misbah Makeup brand!! While I have loved each of the items I purchased, the foundation is the undoubted standout star of this brand. It's such a workhorse that I anticipate will be a solid partner for all-season wear, with variations of primers/powders. I've quickly gone from a curious consumer to a dedicated fan of this foundation and brand, and I am so eager to see what else the brand comes up with!!

Masarrat Misbah Makeup is available at various retailers in Pakistan, and online on their site linked here.