Usually, I wouldn't look twice at a stick foundation as it conjures up images of a thick cakey looking make-up base but over the last year or two high-end brands have been releasing stick foundations such as the Make Up Forever Ultra HD Stick Foundation and the Hourglass Vanish Stick, after seeing how loved these products are by bloggers and YouTubers I became more interested in trying some out. The only thing holding me back was the £30 price tag that went along with these high-end foundations so when I went for a wander into my local Superdrug lying to myself that I wouldn't buy anything I was surprised to find a new release L'Oreal costing just £4.99!
L'Oreal is marketing this product as a 'shaping stick' as it can be used as a foundation, to conceal, contour and highlight, initially, I picked up one shade to try it out as a foundation but I definitely want to try out another shade for contouring.
Okay so I picked up the shade 140 Natural Rose which is probably a tiny bit darker than my skin tone but I can definitely make it work, sometimes I prefer this as it stops me looking too pale just make sure you take it down the neck and blend well. It contains 9g of product which seems to be about the standard amount and actually more than you get with the Hourglass and Iconic stick foundations. The claims say that this provides super-blendable and buildable coverage with a matte finish that lasts 24 hours.
Lets first talk about the packaging, it comes in a sleek black and silver tube with a twist-up bullet, the stick is pretty chunky which makes it quick and easy to apply and I think the packaging looks really nice and simple. The foundation itself is very creamy and applies smoothly without feeling like you are tugging or pulling at the skin, my favourite way to apply this is by 'striping' it on the face and blending out with a brush. I would say this gives you medium coverage but it is buildable and it blends very easily. The claims say this is a matte finish but I disagree with this, it leaves a nice dewy sheen on the skin which I like and even once you set this with powder it doesn't look dry or powdery. I have taken this under the eye area to check creasing and coverage and I'm pretty impressed, the creasing was minimal and even though I would still always go in with concealer the coverage wasn't bad. Another great thing is that this doesn't set too quickly, you can take your time applying and blending and nothing sticks or clings, my only complaint is that this foundation does show texture on the skin so any areas like my chin that gets spots and the sides of my nose where my pores are larger will be a little more obvious than with some of my other foundations. I do think this is a long-lasting foundation but I'm not convinced it would hold up for 24 hours but if I'm working I do wear this for roughly 12 hours and I will touch up once during the day and this still looks really pretty at night. I have used this every day since I purchased it and I'm really impressed, this foundation looks good, wears well and doesn't feel heavy or thick on the skin (I also need to mention that it's not completely transfer-proof but after being set with some powder you shouldn't have too much of an issue). I'm definitely going to repurchase this foundation and I also really want to try out a darker shade for contouring. I would say that even though this is marketed as a matte foundation I wouldn't recommend this to anyone with very oily skin as I feel it has quite a glow/dewiness. Overall, I'm impressed by this product from L'Oreal and have been really enjoying this foundation and how quickly and easily I can apply my base in the morning.
Have you tried out this foundation, what do you think? Have you tried other stick foundations? Let me know your favourites!
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