L'Oreal True Match Minerals

I’ve used many products from the L’Oreal range over the years, ranging from face make-up (i.e. lipstick, mascara, blusher, etc), to face and body moisturisers, self-tan products and hair-care products, and I have to say that the majority of the time I’ve been fairly pleased with my purchase. So, when I saw the very lovely Penelope Cruz advertising L’Oreal’s newest addition to its range – True Match Minerals Powdered Foundation – I thought I’d give ...
...advertised on TV a few times over the past six weeks or so. Most evenings, there was Penelope during the add breaks, with her flawless, wrinkle-free complexion, telling me that I too could have a face like her with one quick and easy application. What they didn’t say is that this stuff is incredibly difficult to find where I live, for some reason!

The following week during my lunch break at work I trundled into my local Boots store ... more

I’ve used many products from the L’Oreal range over the years, ranging from face make-up (i.e. lipstick, mascara, blusher, etc), to face and body moisturisers, self-tan products and hair-care products, and I have to say that the majority of the time I’ve been fairly pleased with my purchase. So, when I saw the very lovely Penelope Cruz advertising L’Oreal’s newest addition to its range – True Match Minerals Powdered Foundation – I thought I’d give it a try.

I’d seen this product advertised on TV a few times over the past six weeks or so. Most evenings, there was Penelope during the add breaks, with her flawless, wrinkle-free complexion, telling me that I too could have a face like her with one quick and easy application. What they didn’t say is that this stuff is incredibly difficult to find where I live, for some reason!

The following week during my lunch break at work I trundled into my local Boots store believing I’d be able to pick one of these up no bother at all. Not a chance! Yes, there was a large sign by the L’Oreal counter telling me all about the range, and what it would do for my complexion, but on the shelf where the product was meant to be, all there was, was a fairly bare shelf with the remnants of tester pots. I asked an assistant, and was told that stocks had run dry but they were ‘expecting a delivery ‘the following Monday’. Not much good to me, so, with about ten minutes left of my lunch break I wandered further up the high street to the nearest Superdrug. Once again, the same scene met my eyes. The large sign, the bare shelf and the powdered remains of half used tester bottles.

I scanned the shelf and had a look at the range of colours that were meant to be available. I have to say that the colour range was fairly disappointing. As a person with an extremely pale complexion, I could see from first looking that I was going to be hard pressed to find a colour that would match with such a pale face as mine. Most of them looked a kind of ‘American Tan’ tight colour, if you know what I mean. It wasn’t difficult to see that I’d look a fright in “Buff Beige”, “Classic Tan” (which was particularly awful), “Sun Beige” or “Golden Ivory”. I decided that (if one ever became available) I’d probably opt for the “Creamy Natural”. The only problem was, there wasn’t one there!

My hunt for the elusive True Match Mineral Powder Foundation went on for some time over the following weeks, and I was unable to locate any at all (I even checked my local Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury) all to no avail. Then FINALLY, back at my original haunt (my local Boots), I managed to find a pot in the colour I wanted. Apparently it normally retails for £13.99, but Boots had it on ‘offer’ for £9.99. I was informed by the Sales Assistant that the powder foundation has proved to be extremely popular, and due to it’s also being on offer, sales have surpassed all expectations. I hastily made my purchase, and feeling very please with myself I hurried off.

There was no way I was going to risk using this stuff for work the following day without trying it out the night before. (I’ve made this mistake with make-up before). So, the same evening, after removing all traces of my old make up, and moisturising my skin beforehand, I set about applying my new ‘wonder product’. I was impressed by the blurb on the pot, which states that it evens your skin tone just like a foundation but has the advantage that it is as light as a powder, long-lasting, and has the added benefit of containing SPF 15!

Before I tell you about how I found this product, perhaps I should explain what it looks like. The powder foundation comes in fairly small (10g) plastic pot, about two and a half inches high and an inch and a half wide. It has a transparent plastic lid, which you remove to reveal a small brush (which looks a lot like a shaving brush that my granddad used to use) with fairly soft bristles about half an inch in depth. Once you remove the plastic lid, you then have to screw off the bristle brush, which is attached to a silver coloured base. You are then left with the third part (i.e. the little pot of powder). Once you remove the sticky paper which prevents the powder from falling out, you then have to re-attach the bristle brush to its base and turn the pot upside down gently (without shaking, otherwise you are left with an awful mess), so that the powder falls into the brush. The idea is that you then have to (very gently) put the brush into the pot sifter and then shake off the excess powder before applying to your face with gentle circular motions.

I have to say that by the time I’d read the instructions I was exhausted. After applying the stuff I was even more exhausted and looked ridiculous! The instructions state that you have to apply this stuff working from the middle of your face (i.e. the nose area, I guess) to the outside of the face. I did just this, making sure I did not load my brush with too much of the powder. The immediate result was hideous, and that’s no exaggeration! I looked like a painted clown. The brush is incredibly difficult to manoeuvre and the powder just clung to my skin in great brown uneven patches. It looked like I’d applied fake tan and it had all gone horribly wrong. The only consolation was that (unlike fake tan), I was able to wash the stuff straight off afterwards. It clung to the sides of my nose, around my chin and all around the eye area. Once it’s on your face, that’s it, because it’s a powder foundation you are unable to blend it in with your fingertips (nor are you meant to).

The instructions for this stuff state that it is meant to be lightweight and allows the air to flow around my skin! I don’t know what they are talking about here, but it clearly isn’t this stuff. It looked like I was caked in stage make-up. I’d decided that if this was the lightest colour I could have applied, then goodness knows what I’d have looked like if I’d decided to buy a darker shade. My daughter came upstairs at this point, and once she saw me she was hysterical. The tears rolled down her face and she asked me what on earth was doing. I showed her the bottle and she agreed with me that the shade looked like the right one in the pot, but said I must have gone wrong somewhere with the application.

Just to prove a point, I asked if she’d mind if I applied some to her face to see if it had the same effect. She said this was okay, so I set to work. I loaded the brush with the powder and shook off the excess. At this point I’ have to mention that shaking the excess powder off the brush also isn’t as straightforward as it’s meant to be. I suggest that if you do buy this, that before you shake off any excess powder, you are extremely careful as it sprays all over everything and it is impossible to shake the whole lot off into the container, as it is so small. I suggest you put a small towel or handkerchief underneath to catch the bits.

Any way. I applied to powder to my daughter’s face as instructed, working my way from the inside to the outside. Once again, from the first touch of the brush, it was very clear that the make up was clinging for dear life to large patches of her skin, i.e. nose and chin and looked incredibly unnatural. Added to this, was the fact that while I was applying it to my daughter, I still had the stuff on my face, and it was making my eyes water like crazy. I know I do have eyes which can be sensitive to certain brands of make up, but as I was very careful before I bought this to check that it is meant to be “all natural, oil and fragrance-free and non-comedogenic”, I thought I’d be pretty much okay. No such luck! My eyes started to smart and then stream with tears very quickly.

My daughter had to finish applying her make-up herself as I rushed to the bathroom to wash mine off! For a good hour or so afterwards my eyes continued to be red and the lids were noticeable swollen. My daughter had no reaction whatsoever, but she looked as silly as I did. Like a child who has used her mum’s make up and applied it really badly for the first time.

I don’t really think I can say anything positive about this product at all. I genuinely bought it believing the hype – i.e. that it would give me a matt and flawless complexion. It didn’t! It was extremely disappointing and a big let down. I’m £9.99 worse off and it’s since been binned! I can’t think that I went wrong anywhere with the application and when I tried the tester bottle on the back of my hand in the shop beforehand it looked lovely and appeared to look as though it would be a good colour match for my skin tone.

My advice is to think very carefully before buying this. If you can comfortably afford the risk of losing £9.99 to £13.99, then go ahead and try it. As for myself, I shall be sticking to my good old traditional cream foundation from now on. As far as I'm concerned, Penelope can keep this ghastly stuff for herself!

For more information on this or any other L’Oreal product, visit their website on www.loreal.co.uk. 

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