I'm on a bit of a foundation kick lately (you may have noticed...). SO many new ones to try!
I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with pressed powder foundations. I have oily skin, so if the formula is right, they can be a lifesaver for combatting shine and keeping my skin looking matte and fresh throughout the day. They're also super easy and convenient.
However, certain formulas can look a bit cakey, settle into lines, and dry out your skin like nobody's business.
Seriously, nobody has any business dealing with those types of problems when you're spending a lot on a makeup product.
So I decided to give this one a go after reading all of its seemingly miraculous claims of a "rose petal matte finish" (Who doesn't think that sounds good?), not settling into lines or drying out skin, medium-full buildable coverage, and probably my favorite part, the sweet cocoa powder scent.
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I use shade "light", which is a pretty perfect match for me. When I first opened the packaging and smelled the chocolate (exactly like that of the Chocolate Bar palette or their cocoa powder-infused bronzers if you're familiar), I got a little woozy... Good woozy.
But I'm a skeptic where powder foundations are concerned so I gave it a good go for a few weeks and tested it in a variety of conditions (applying it lightly vs. heavily, applying it on super humid and hot days, touching up vs. not touching up all day, using certain concealers with it, primers, CC creams, you name it...) and think I've found the application method that works perfectly for me at this point.
As I've mentioned, I do have some skin issues going on right now (nothing major, but a bit more hormonal breaking out than usual due to my pregnancy), so I feel like it's the perfect time to really put some of these foundations to the test.
We all know that anyone with perfect skin can pretty much make any foundation work for them, but sometimes it's best to really put the stuff to the test and see how it works with breakouts, discoloration, and even all of this southern heat and humidity we've been experiencing in my neck of the woods lately.
While I did a complete video review of this stuff (seriously, it's pretty thorough), and a demo showing you exactly how I've been using it lately in the way that works best for me (video at bottom of post), I'll go ahead and hit some of the high points and final thoughts...
First of all, it really lives up to all the claims it makes. It indeed does not settle into fine lines, look cakey, or dry out your skin, which is often my biggest complaint with pressed powder foundations. The finish IS beautiful. The whole "matte rose petal finish" description is pretty spot-on. I've also found that the coverage is above average for a powder foundation like this, and indeed can be built up (and built up quickly). To me, that is so important. While I like the actual results of the loose mineral foundations I've reviewed recently, I really get impatient working with the stuff for so long. All the building up of small amounts and blending and building and blending... It can suck up some serious time in your routine.
This stuff is great because with the right brush (I detail all of my favorites in the video/demo), you can seriously pile the stuff on (not the best description for makeup application...), blend, and you're good to go.
For me right now, with all the discoloration I've got going on, I do have to add some concealer (and I even like to start with a CC cream as my primer step beforehand just to start off with a bit of coverage, however, when all that goes away and my skin is back to normal, this foundation will be even easier, because I don't think I'll need to add so much concealer to it. I find that it covers typical unevenness and discoloration pretty well on it's own.
Whew. So those are some of my main thoughts on this stuff. To seriously get every little detail (and of course, the demo/tutorial), check out my complete video below!
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