Seriously affordable bronzer from Boots Natural Collection.
Like everything else in the Natural Collection range, this fantastic bronzer costs £1.99. (Yes, really!) I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned this on my blog before? I don't actually think I have, despite the fact I've used this for ages. The one in the photo is a re-purchase, because I'm pretty smitten with this gem as my daily bronzer.
Don't want to look tangoed? Here are my top three really pale foundations.
Lily Lolo Mineral Foundation - Porcelain
Type of Skin - Normal/Oily
This is the perfect pale foundation for you if you've got oilier or spot-prone skin. It's non-comedogenic, so it won't clog your pores; causing more spots and it's also got anti-bacterial properties. I wrote a full review of this foundation last year, which you can read here if you want to know more.
When applying this, I just pop a bit of Collection Lasting Perfection concealer on blemishes and red patches before buffing this over the top with a kabuki brush. It offers quite a light coverage, although you can build it up without it going too 'cakey'.
When applying this, I just pop a bit of Collection Lasting Perfection concealer on blemishes and red patches before buffing this over the top with a kabuki brush. It offers quite a light coverage, although you can build it up without it going too 'cakey'.
MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation - NC15
Type of Skin - Dry/Sensitive
This is the pricier of the three, costing a hefty £25 for a 40ml tube. Having said that, I've had this for months and there's still loads left. You only need a pea-sized amount to cover your face and the coverage that it gives is excellent.
Studio Sculpt is probably one of the only foundations that I've tried where my skin feels moisturised and soft after washing it off at the end of the day. I'm really impressed with it, the only thing that I'm not that keen on is the smell, but you soon get used to it.
You can buy this from any MAC Cosmetics shop or their website.
You can buy this from any MAC Cosmetics shop or their website.
Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation - Light Porcelain
Type of Skin - Normal/Dry.
This is the cheapest of the three at £8.99, but it's often on offer on ASOS for slightly less. I wrote a full review of this last year, where I was slightly harsh and you can read that here.
I've adopted this as my 'main' foundation; the one I go to when my skin's not really playing up in any way. It claims to have an 'anti-fatigue effect' and gives you a 'radiant glow'. I can vouch for the fact that it does give a radiant finish; which you might need to tone down with a bit of powder, especially if your skin tends to get oily patches.
Rimmel also brought out a concealer to accompany this foundation, although there isn't a shade light enough to match the foundation. That's a bit silly, isn't it?
I've adopted this as my 'main' foundation; the one I go to when my skin's not really playing up in any way. It claims to have an 'anti-fatigue effect' and gives you a 'radiant glow'. I can vouch for the fact that it does give a radiant finish; which you might need to tone down with a bit of powder, especially if your skin tends to get oily patches.
Rimmel also brought out a concealer to accompany this foundation, although there isn't a shade light enough to match the foundation. That's a bit silly, isn't it?
Have you tried any foundations that are great for really pale skin? If so, let me know!
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It's Foundation Friday again! So here are my thoughts on Loreal's True Match!
Loreal have brought this foundation out in loads of different shades. I've been using the lightest, N1 Ivory, which can you see pictured above!
It tends to give medium to heavy coverage. Although, it's still a tad too dark for my deathly pallor. As you can see from the picture, it is noticeably darker. Having said that, I am really pale, so this shouldn't be an issue for most people.
The staying power of this foundation is pretty impressive. I normally have to touch up my foundation during the day, but this stays put! It doesn't really get oily on my skin either. A lot of foundations do, so I normally carry blotting papers around with me just in case! I wouldn't recommend this to people with really dry skin though, as it can be a little drying.
True Match has a high SPF, which is good! But perhaps not if you're wearing it on a night out, as there's probably going to be a bit of flashback.
Loreal claims that this is 'Super-blendable'. It is quite easy to blend in. I've been using my trusty Real Techniques Face Sponge, but it also applies really well with a brush or your fingers too! It does seem to settle quickly on my skin though, so you do have to blend it quite quickly. It's also quite watery, but not so much that it'll run off the back of your hand when you're applying it.
Price-wise, it's not the cheapest of high street foundations, but I would definitely recommend this if you're looking for a good quality foundation on a budget.
If you fancy trying this, you can buy it from Boots for £9.99 by clicking here!
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I've heard so many great things about this foundation. I've seen loads of blogs lauding it and YouTubers raving about it. So, with all the hype about this product, I was keen to try it out for myself... But did it live up to my high expectations?
To answer the above question, 'Yes and no', but mainly no... I bought this quite a few months back, I tried it once. It made me look orange. I put it aside on the 'redundant makeup shelf' and left it well alone; for fear of being mistaken for a satsuma should I leave the house wearing it.
I have obviously used it a handful of times since, but every time I catch a glimpse of that orange mug of mine, I regret not using something more 'deathly-pale'. It looks orange straight away; not like it's oxidising on my skin after application. It's just way too dark, I'm not exaggerating. You only have to look at that picture above for proof.
I tried 'No. 51 Vanille Clair', which is the lightest shade on offer. I'll be honest, being exceptionally pale does not make it easy to buy any foundation or concealer products; but I swear some cosmetics companies take the mickey a bit. 'Ivory' and 'Porcelain' are still normally bright orange...
There are so many foundations out there that I would love to try that are just too dark for me. This, unfortunately, is one of those. I heard such great things about it and it didn't look too orange on my hand under the bright lights of Boots, so I thought I'd take a risk...
...It kind of backfired, because as I'm sat writing this whilst wearing the foundation, I look like I've just waltzed off the set of TOWIE: the irradiant orange hue to my face is quite hard to miss. (I took my dog for a walk like this too. The milkman saw me... Hopefully he didn't think I'm the lovechild of David Dickinson and Gemma Collins).
I do like this foundation. It's feels moisturising on my skin, without looking too oily or shiny. That's a hard balance to find and Bourjois have done it very well with this product. I just wish that they made it in lighter shades. I daren't use this foundation without having fake-tanned myself up to the eyeballs; or else I have the dreaded 'orange-face-white-everything-else' look going on, which really isn't good.
On the plus side, it looks quite natural (in texture) and it feels quite light and airy on my skin, despite it giving quite good coverage. It's easy to blend into skin with just your fingers, although I'm sure it'd work just as well with a brush or sponge. It's quite 'liquid-y', so you've got time to really work it into your skin before it dries, unlike some other thicker foundations.
Bourjois boast that this product has fruit in it and if fruit's good for you dietary needs, it's got to be good plastered all over your face too, right...?
I would recommend this product to anyone who isn't ghostly pale or has really dry or really oily skin. That narrows down the market a little, but I'm sure Bourjois still make shedloads of money from this otherwise great foundation.
Advantages:
- Skin-Loving ingredients,
- Readily available in high-street stores,
- Moisturising without being oily,
- Relatively cheap at £9.99
Disadvantages:
- Way too orange for me (which I'm honestly disappointed about),
- Too small a range of shades to cater for everyone,
- Scented - Which may irritate particularly sensitive skin,
- Potentially clings to dry skin patches.
I remarked upon the fact that it was a tad too dark for my very pale skin. I also remarked that it would be SO good if Max Factor created a lighter shade, and lo and behold, my prayers were soon answered.
I stumbled across a new lighter shade of this foundation on Fragrance Direct (a budget beauty and fragrance website, for those who aren't aware); which was 30 Porcelain. You'd think though, wouldn't you, that this would be ever so slightly lighter? However, to me, it doesn't really appear to be.
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| 30 Porcelain. I thought Porcelain was really white? Not... Orange? |
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| 40 Light Ivory. It doesn't look Ivory-coloured, does it? |
I'm gutted. I applied it yesterday and realised quite quickly that I looked like I'd been tangoed... Just the same as with the Light Ivory. If you compare the two pots, they look like the same shade, or at least, uncannily similar.
Boots and Superdrug don't sell the new Porcelain shade, which puzzles me. As I said before, I really like this foundation and I would seriously consider adopting it as my main foundation if Max Factor got their act together and created noticeably lighter shades.
 |
| Left: 40 Light Ivory, on the Right: 30 Porcelain. |
The foundation normally retails for £9.99 and when I bought it last week, Fragrance Direct were selling it for £5.99. I really like the texture and finish of this foundation, so I thought by finding a 'paler' shade which might actually match my almost deathly pallor, I'd struck lucky. Perhaps not, eh?
Have you bought this foundation? Have you found the two shades to be the same? If so, drop me a comment!
Thanks for reading!
Katie
x
Yes, it's yet another foundation review...
I was, up until quite recently, an avid user of Max Factor's Lasting Performance Foundation. Seriously, I'd wear it everyday. Come rain or shine. Even if I had a break out or eczema attack, that foundation would be stuck to my face all day long.
Now, the reason that I stopped using it was because I thought I looked a bit orange. The whole 'orange face/white neck' look is never one to strive for... And instead of just putting foundation on my neck and fake-tanning my entire body to match my darker face, I went on a quest for a paler foundation.
As you've probably already noticed, I'm an ardent tester of Rimmel Foundations. Mainly because they're one of the only high street cosmetics companies who bother to cater for super-pale people.
Anyway, back to Max Factor. I like the company. I know they're at the higher end of high street cosmetics in terms of price, but I feel that the quality outweighs cost with most of their products.
I bought this foundation quite a while ago but never really used it. It seemed to be a similar colour to the Lasting Performance and I didn't want to return to my orange-faced roots. So, I just left it, sitting in the bathroom, all alone; unused and gathering dust. But, last night, I had a change of heart and decided to try it out again. I was a little impressed, so I decided to use it again today.
Again, I was quite impressed. I bought this foundation in Light Ivory. Don't think that 'Ivory'; means 'pale' with this foundation. It doesn't. It's not pale-pale. Just lesser orange than most foundations available. I would say that, in terms of texture and finish, I would still favour Lasting Performance, but only just.
It's quite pricey at £9.99 for a pot. Luckily though, a little goes quite a long way.
I'd say that this foundation provides medium coverage. You could build it up, but I would guess that too much of this foundation could look potentially cakey.
I actually used this foundation without powder and it looked wonderfully radiant, for a while. Eventually, after a couple of hours, the dreaded shininess kicked in and I wished I'd used powder after all...
I would definitely recommend this to people who have combination skin, because this foundation seems to hydrate those dry patches (without clinging to them) whilst simultaneously making those oily bits look a bit less... Oily. It's great for evening out combination skin, but I'm sure it's great on most types of skin.
Advantages:
Now, the reason that I stopped using it was because I thought I looked a bit orange. The whole 'orange face/white neck' look is never one to strive for... And instead of just putting foundation on my neck and fake-tanning my entire body to match my darker face, I went on a quest for a paler foundation.
Anyway, back to Max Factor. I like the company. I know they're at the higher end of high street cosmetics in terms of price, but I feel that the quality outweighs cost with most of their products.
I bought this foundation quite a while ago but never really used it. It seemed to be a similar colour to the Lasting Performance and I didn't want to return to my orange-faced roots. So, I just left it, sitting in the bathroom, all alone; unused and gathering dust. But, last night, I had a change of heart and decided to try it out again. I was a little impressed, so I decided to use it again today.
 |
| Shade - 40 Light Ivory |
I'd say that this foundation provides medium coverage. You could build it up, but I would guess that too much of this foundation could look potentially cakey.
I actually used this foundation without powder and it looked wonderfully radiant, for a while. Eventually, after a couple of hours, the dreaded shininess kicked in and I wished I'd used powder after all...
I would definitely recommend this to people who have combination skin, because this foundation seems to hydrate those dry patches (without clinging to them) whilst simultaneously making those oily bits look a bit less... Oily. It's great for evening out combination skin, but I'm sure it's great on most types of skin.
Advantages:
- Lovely texture,
- Hydrating and moisturising element which doesn't make oily patches worse,
- A little goes a long way,
- Great for combination skin.
Disadvantages:
- A little too dark for me,
- Quite expensive for a high street foundation,
- Potentially oxidises (on my skin),
- 18ml pot for £9.99 isn't that much for your money.
Thanks for reading!
Katie
x
I'll be the first to admit that I'm quite picky about foundations. I flit from one to another, never truly happy about how well each one suits my skin.
I bought the product in 010 Light Porcelain, which is the lightest shade on offer. (Yes, I really am that pale...)
I really like the packaging of this foundation. The heavy glass bottle makes it feel like it's quite a high quality product to be using. The bottle has a pump dispenser, which makes it easier to control how much product comes out.
It's been my main foundation for the past couple of weeks now. I admit that I like it, but I still have some reservations about it that stop me from using it all the time. I prefer it to Rimmel's Stay Matte Foundation; mainly because I feel it nourishes the dryer patches of skin much more.
I really wouldn't recommend this foundation if you suffer from oily skin. I have oily patches, and it does tend to make them worse at times; even if I use primer, powder to set and blotting paper during the day too.
Regarding the longevity of the product, it doesn't actually tend to stay on my skin for that long. Even with primer, it still needs touching up after four or five hours. I use a setting spray with this foundation too; either Elf Studio Makeup Mist & Set or Anatomicals Stay Misty for Me.
As mentioned in my review of Stay Matte Foundation, I love the paler shades that Rimmel are now making foundations in. It means that paler people, like myself, don't have to look orange, mix loads of foundations together or fake tan ourselves up to the eyeballs just to have bodies and faces that match.
A lot of bloggers comment on the 'shimmering' effect of this foundation. I must admit that I haven't really seen much shimmer on my face whilst wearing this foundation. It does look radiant, yes, but I wouldn't go as far as to say I look glittery.
This foundation also boasts about its 'anti-fatigue' aspect. I'm not sure if it really has that much effect on how tired I look. If I look quite exhausted, this foundation doesn't really tend to hide it that well for me.
This foundation is great value at £8.99. It reminds me a little of Mac Studio Sculpt Foundation for its moisturising qualities and its finishing texture. (It's also much cheaper than the Mac Foundation).
Advantages:
 |
| Rimmel's Wake Me Up Foundation |
So... Does this much-hyped product meet my exacting foundation standards?
I really like the packaging of this foundation. The heavy glass bottle makes it feel like it's quite a high quality product to be using. The bottle has a pump dispenser, which makes it easier to control how much product comes out.
It's been my main foundation for the past couple of weeks now. I admit that I like it, but I still have some reservations about it that stop me from using it all the time. I prefer it to Rimmel's Stay Matte Foundation; mainly because I feel it nourishes the dryer patches of skin much more.
I really wouldn't recommend this foundation if you suffer from oily skin. I have oily patches, and it does tend to make them worse at times; even if I use primer, powder to set and blotting paper during the day too.
Regarding the longevity of the product, it doesn't actually tend to stay on my skin for that long. Even with primer, it still needs touching up after four or five hours. I use a setting spray with this foundation too; either Elf Studio Makeup Mist & Set or Anatomicals Stay Misty for Me.
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| Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in 010 Light Porcelain |
A lot of bloggers comment on the 'shimmering' effect of this foundation. I must admit that I haven't really seen much shimmer on my face whilst wearing this foundation. It does look radiant, yes, but I wouldn't go as far as to say I look glittery.
This foundation also boasts about its 'anti-fatigue' aspect. I'm not sure if it really has that much effect on how tired I look. If I look quite exhausted, this foundation doesn't really tend to hide it that well for me.
This foundation is great value at £8.99. It reminds me a little of Mac Studio Sculpt Foundation for its moisturising qualities and its finishing texture. (It's also much cheaper than the Mac Foundation).
Advantages:
- Large Range of Shades,
- Moisturising Effect,
- Great Value,
- Readily Available in high street stores.
Disadvantages:
- Doesn't last as long as some other foundations,
- Causes spots on oily patches of skin (despite using powder & primer),
- You have to use quite a lot to get really good coverage,
- Tendency to 'slide off' skin in certain conditions. (Especially when rushing about and busy or in hotter climes).
Thanks for reading!
Katie
x
Rimmel have replaced their older Stay Matte with this newer version. I was never really a fan of the previous version, because the colour range didn't stretch to paler shades. I've always been a huge fan of the Stay Matte Powder though, so I thought I'd give this newer foundation a try.
One great thing about the newer version of this foundation is that it's got a bigger colour range. I bought the foundation in 010 Light Porcelain, because my skin's really pale.
(I love that Rimmel is leading the way in high street beauty brands making foundations for super pale skin.)
My skin is combination: Mainly dry, but with an oily T-Zone and chin. I'm quite prone to breakouts in these areas, so I prefer foundations that let my skin breathe a bit.
I do have sensitive areas of skin too; and this foundation did affect those areas. By the time I washed it off, my skin felt quite tight and a bit sore too, which is definitely something that would deter me from wearing it often. I also have eczema on areas of my face, which are normally under control, but this foundation did dry those areas significantly enough to make them feel a little sore.
It's a long lasting foundation; that offers really good coverage. I'm not sure whether I used a little too much, but it offered my skin medium to full coverage.
You could definitely tell that I was wearing this foundation, which probably makes it one to avoid if you're looking for a much more natural look.
It's a foundation that applies really easily if you've moisturised well. It is worth bearing in mind, though, that it's very easy to apply too much of this foundation. If you do overdo it, it tends to look cakey.
The packaging is quite simplistic, with a white and purple colour scheme. It comes in a squeezy tube, which has the downside of being tricky to get the remnants out of.
At £5.99, this foundation is fantastic value. It's also readily available in high street stores and supermarkets too.
One great thing about the newer version of this foundation is that it's got a bigger colour range. I bought the foundation in 010 Light Porcelain, because my skin's really pale.
 |
| The New Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation |
(I love that Rimmel is leading the way in high street beauty brands making foundations for super pale skin.)
My skin is combination: Mainly dry, but with an oily T-Zone and chin. I'm quite prone to breakouts in these areas, so I prefer foundations that let my skin breathe a bit.
I do have sensitive areas of skin too; and this foundation did affect those areas. By the time I washed it off, my skin felt quite tight and a bit sore too, which is definitely something that would deter me from wearing it often. I also have eczema on areas of my face, which are normally under control, but this foundation did dry those areas significantly enough to make them feel a little sore.
It's a long lasting foundation; that offers really good coverage. I'm not sure whether I used a little too much, but it offered my skin medium to full coverage.
You could definitely tell that I was wearing this foundation, which probably makes it one to avoid if you're looking for a much more natural look.
The packaging is quite simplistic, with a white and purple colour scheme. It comes in a squeezy tube, which has the downside of being tricky to get the remnants out of.
At £5.99, this foundation is fantastic value. It's also readily available in high street stores and supermarkets too.
I would definitely recommend this foundation to people who've got normal or oily skin. Those with dry and sensitive skin would probably be better off using a much more moisturising foundation, such as Rimmel Wake Me Up.
Thanks for reading!
Katie
x
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