It started for me, the same way I think it started for every girl. I was maybe 11 or 12 & the advert break came on between probably Neighbours, Top of the Pops, the Simpsons or another classic 00's TV show. I was presented with a vision, a vision that made me drop my knife and fork straight into my plate of fish fingers, chips & beans (I think I'm making this a lot more dramatic than it was, but go with it). The screen was filled with silky skinned Goddess', that I now realise were airbrushed within an inch of their life. At the time however, I wanted to be one of those "naturally" beautiful 20 year olds, swishing my hair about and touching my cheeks as if they're made of some kind of velveteen. Words like "air whipped", "matte perfection" & "Flawless" were fed into my little impressionable brain, I had to have one of those little pots of magic. Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse was the beginning of a very long journey.
Since that fateful day of discovering dream matte mousse, a can of worms was opened. I was very much bordering on obsessed in finding the perfect foundation & Jesus Christ have I tried & tested A LOT. I could probably put a very detailed spread sheet, pie chart & venn diagram together of the minefield that is the world of foundation. Now, I am in no way a beauty blogger (although I realise this blog is about beauty). I love make up & I have shit loads of the stuff floating about my room, bag and life but I'm not very clued up. The subject of foundation however, is something I feel I have to share with you. Especially because I really, genuinely feel like after 14 years I have found 'the one'. It's a journey that's much like trying to find a boyfriend. Some of the bottles look great but are just full of shit (NARS I'm looking at you), some are slimy & others really let you down on a night out. I don't have enough time in my life to review all the ones I've ever tried (foundation, that is) but it just so happens the last 2 I've brought have been the worst ever & the best ever.
After using my MAC Pro Longwear foundation for a while, I decided to try something new. I actually really liked the finish of the MAC one, but it didn't do my skin any favours. So after reading reviews & watching numerous Youtube videos I decided to try Urban Decay Naked Skin foundation, a massive plus for me was that they also don't test on animals. Now I wanted to try a sample, but was told they didn't do that, so I went straight in for the kill and brought a bottle. I actually ended up having 2 bottles because I went on holiday and when I came back the first one was too light for my skin. I also brought the powder as well, I always like to get the powder to go with the foundation. Now, I wont beat around the bush, this is the worst foundation I have ever tried. I would swap it for a bloody dream matte mousse at the drop of a hat. I realise it's different for everybody and some people probably love it, but on me it felt oily and slipped about after an hour or so of wear. The colour I was matched up with after my holiday was also way too red toned for my skin. Now the powder, I did like, but the other bee in my bonnet and something that tarnished my view of the brand even more is that their customer service was awful. It's not normally something I'd talk about, but it was bad. The first powder I had kind of disintegrated in its tray within a couple of weeks, but naturally I wondered whether I may have knocked it. So I brought another. The week after, I went to use powder number 2 and as I opened and tilted the palette the whole god damn square of powder slipped out the pan and smashed right in my lap. Which I now realise must have been the case with the first one to, it was like they weren't set in their pans properly. Obviously I was not happy, especially because they're about £28 each. So I went into the store and the staff were as much help as a chocolate tea pot. So I decided to email customer care, I explained the situation and that I wasn't very happy to have spent over £50 on two powders in the space of about a month, neither of which I could now use. I sent photos and the batch numbers, only to be told I had damaged them myself. That was it.
I. WAS. LIVID.
Not even a sorry.
So for this reason, I will never ever buy anything from them again.
Feeling a bit despondent, let down & with a foundation on my face that I hated I went into Bare Minerals, sat down in the chair and begged the poor girl on the counter to help me. She was ever so nice, I kind of wanted to befriend her and ask her to go on holiday, but I didn't. She took all my make up off & began from scratch. She took two cotton pads & some cleanser & wiped away the Urban Decay from my face & life. It was fabulous & felt like wiping away the memories of a nasty little ex (again, foundation & boyfriends have a surprising correlation.) She really listened to what I wanted and talked me through the products. We decided to try the newest foundation in their range, BarePro. She did half my face and got me to do that other half, so I could get a feel for it, which I thought was really good. It sounds ever so dramatic, but when she held the mirror up for me to have a look, I could have cried. It was 100 times better than what I had walked in with & the colour was so warm & golden. She wrote down the products she had used on a chart and I brought a few there & then. It just so happens it is opposite the Urban Decay counter as well, so it was ever so satisfying to skip out with my silky new face & products in hand.
I've been using it for 3 weeks now & hand on heart it is the best foundation I have ever ever used. Even my work colleagues, family & friends have commented how nice it looks. It's so lovely & really matte, but without being cakey. It's more like a silky, suede-esque feel. It also stays put all day at work, I don't even really have to touch it up at all. When payday comes next week I'm also going to invest in the rest of the products she used on me, which I will also share with you at some point. It's so nice to find a brand that I love & have faith in. It's made me feel so much more confident & I really, truly feel like I have found the one... I just need to find the boyfriend now.
(after pouring out my heart for Bare Minerals, I feel I should mention this is in no way a sponsored post & all views are completely my own).
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