It was my birthday last week and my darling hubby has had enough hints dropped in the past month that I have been feeling a bit of a minger and really wanted some nice make-up to cheer me up. Im currently on maternity leave having just had a baby recently and so Im too skint to just pop out and buy myself treats the way I used to before mortgages and babies but Im glad to say he caught on to my hint dropping and on my birthday among some nice pampering thingys I found a £50 voucher for Boots so I could go and chose what I wanted.
I have had the idea of trying a Mineral Foundation for a while. They have been getting good reports in magazines and morning TV programmes and although expensive a good foundation is always worth the cost. Im a typical Benefit User, I have always loved their stuff but they had no Mineral Foundation and so this time I was going to try something new so after going through all the testers in my local Boots I settled on Loreal True Match Minerals in Golden ivory. I wasn't 100% sure of it as I had been only testing the shade on the back of my hand as you will be aware that's not really the best way to chose a foundation. But I felt at £13.99 it wasn't a gigantic waste if I didn't get on with it. (Just for the record I did spend the rest of the gift card on cosmetics
too!)
In a way it's a good job I hadn't checked ciao for this particular product as looking at the reviews now I am really quite surprised that people have not gotten on with this foundation at all. I think Im in love with it! It is a little awkward to use but the effect is fantastic for me. I have had family and friends tell me that I look really healthy since I started wearing it. And even my mum keeps saying my skin has cleared up, after it broke out when I had my baby.
Im a sucker for good advertising. I always have been. Recently I watched a promo for a mineral foundation on one of those silly QVC type channels on free-view and was hooked. I watched as they took a fairly standard woman with dull skin, brushed some of this miracle powder over her face and wow didn't she look gorgeous when she was made-up. This was the first I had heard of a mineral powder and I found out more- the idea is that the coverage is very very light and long-lasting. It evens your skintone with just a swish of the brush. It all sounds too good to be true but I was sucked in. I had to get some.
I used the testers in Boots to try some different brands and the two I settled on liking were Maybelline and L'Oreal but the L'Oreal Golden Ivory shade seemed to have the edge with my skin tone. Admittedly I wasn't hugely thrilled with the consistency- it seemed a little powdery to me, but then that was the idea- a light but high-level coverage.
From the packaging I could see the basic idea of how to apply the powder. There is a brush screwed on to a little pot of powder,, but other than that I had to work it out from very vague instructions. I felt a bit silly the first couple of times that I tipped the whole unit upside down and tried to apply the powder that way; like you know the type of pre-powdered brush you sometimes get. When I finally caught on that there was nothing coming out I screwed the brush part off the tub of powder and found the instruction sticker. So I then worked out that the powder pot was like a minature salt shaker- under the sticker were little holes and turning the pot upside down on to the brush let little particles of the mineral powder slip out on to the brush to be applied in circular motions. Complicated? Ok… yes it is! But you get used to it.
On my first attempt I was a little sparse with the powder but when I did start to apply it to my face I did see an obvious difference which was at the same time a subtle shade and made my skin look like it was nice and healthy. I added a bit more and a bit more and eventually I ended up patchy but it didn't put me off. I just had to find exactly how much my skin needed.
It doesn't take much to cover the face as you work it in using the brush and I feel it illuminates slightly at the same time, Getting the coverage right is key, but after a few attempts you will have worked this out. As I mentioned before my skin has been blemished and uneven since the birth of my baby.. hormones, blooming nightmare! But I do not have to use very much concealor when I use the mineral foundation. Concealor is now for the big spots and the sleepless night bags I have.
What I like and don't like about the product
Because you remove the instruction sticker to get at the holes in the powder pot the powder will spill out underneath the brush so when you screw off the brush the powder falls out everywhere. The packaging design is fine if this product is going to always sit upright on your make-up table, but makes it impossible to take out in your handbag. And if the powder does fall out when you open the pot and it spills on to your clothes then it is impossible to get off as any rubbing embeds it into the top and you will have to go and change. The product is something I am very happy with, but the packaging design and application design does leave a lot to be desired.
However that is my only quibble. Price wise, for £13.99 I got 10g of powder which seems to really be sticking it out- I've used it every day for over a week and even wasted some in spillages and it doesn't look like it has been touched so I imagine with careful handling it should last a good few weeks for me. It has an SPF of 15 which is always good news with the ever-growing incidences of skin cancer we are alerted to.
The coverage is smooth and when you take your time to apply it it gives a flawless complexion just like the ads say. Im so pleased with how it makes my skin look even as it had really affected my confidence to have such bad blemishes post baby- some red patches and some spots. However I do not have any dry patches of skin and so I cannot give an opinion on how the powder would sit on dry skin. I think it may be slightly less effective over dry patches as it is a powder.
For the research of this review I have had a look at the ingredients list and it does seem to have some odd stuff in there such as titanium oxides and iron oxides, which Ive never seen on a make-up items list before but then I suppose they have something to do with the mineral side of the product. All I know is that I will be buying the product again and im very pleased. I have some images attached to the bottom of the review in case Ive made a bad job of describing the application! Ive given the product 4 stars, I had to take one off because of the fact the packaging makes the product really awkward to take out in your bag.
Pictures of L'Oreal True Match Minerals
With top lid removed
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Not really sure why more people haven't rated this E. It's a really helpful review for this kind of product...with exactly the things you need to know. Great review! I used tinted moisturiser myself but it's always good to know there are other options.
Advantages: Gives a light, natural looking finish and is easy to apply. Disadvantages: Packaging could be more user-friendly.
nina_in_the_bedroom 25.09.2007 (25.09.2007)
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Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of L'Oreal True Match Minerals
Advantages: Gives a light, natural looking finish and is easy to apply. Disadvantages: Packaging could be more user-friendly.
nina_in_the_bedroom 25.09.2007 (25.09.2007)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of L'Oreal True Match Minerals
Advantages: Great functional container, A litte goes a long way Disadvantages: Causes breakouts, Blotchy skin, Irritation, Cakes, Not for sensitive skin
Aug 6th, 2008
exceptional by (7%):
very helpful by (93%):
