Disclaimer: This will be a long post, if you just want the review, scroll down until you see the first batch of pictures! Also, this product was purchased by myself for use and review purposes, I am not being sponsored by this brand.
Hello everyone!
I have been looking for a foundation stick for quite some time now. I saw Lorelai from Birchbox apply the W3LL People Foundation Stick in a video and it looked so creamy and natural, but unfortunately, the lightest shade is continually out of stock…and it’s $38. I decided to opt out of that for now and instead decided to scour the drugstores for a slightly less expensive option. Now, before I go into the details, let me fill you in on what my panic for a new foundation was from: I had tried most of my foundations in natural light and was very unhappy with what I saw. Whether they were too yellow, too pink, too dark, too sheer, too heavy – they were just not right. Because I have redness in my face, anything too pink or dark made my face look like a cherry on top of my neck. It was BAD. I threw some of the foundations away and tossed the others in my drawer to mix together or to wear in summer. And then I stuck with tinted moisturizer, as I knew that worked. It didn’t cover anything, but at least it wasn’t too dark (I have a horrible fear of having too-dark foundation). Fast forward a few days to the store…I couldn’t find anything at Walmart, so I switched to Target. As I was looking through the aisles, I contemplated getting Maybelline’s foundation stick but I’ve seen plenty of reviews that say that it wears off in 3-5 hours. I had it in my hand, as well as some other drugstore makeup, when I passed by the Sonia Kashuk aisle. Now, Sonia Kashuk is slightly more expensive than other drugstore brands and I’ve never tried it before, because when you go to the drugstore, you want cheap makeup, right? Well, that all changed last week. I picked up the lightest shade, “Alabaster,” without being able to look at the shade (because it was packaged and sealed up tightly, which is good for sanitary reasons), and hoped that it would work. I got into the car and swatched it on my arm in the natural light, and it blended in beautifully. You can only imagine my excitement! I hurried home and experimented with it, finding out quickly that it was worth every single penny. Read on for the review!
As you can see, “Alabaster” is neutral to yellow toned, perfect for very fair skin like mine, as very light skin tones tend to have a bit of yellow in them. It’s not too yellow, though, and still looks very natural on me, as I am technically neutral to cool-toned. It glides on like a dream and, SHOCKER for a drugstore product, the packaging is plastic but modern looking – if it was made out of a different material, it could easily pass for a high-end product. Coverage is nicely buildable, you can squeeze sheer to medium coverage out of this one. It evens out skin tone pretty well, nothing miraculous, but it blends so well that I don’t care! It doesn’t look like a mask, even if you layer it a few times. As for size, it comes with an unfortunately tiny amount of product, 0.12 oz. or 3.4 grams, and is priced at approximately $11. However, when compared to the Bobbi Brown Foundation stick in “Alabaster,” which is 0.31 oz. or approximately 9 grams and priced at approximately $44, it’s reasonable. If you’ve been wanting to try the Bobbi Brown Foundation stick, give this one a try first! This is what I do to get a medium-ish coverage (I will explain quite a bit in between steps, so I’ll bold the steps themselves): I cleanse, moisturize, and prime (Smashbox just released a primer oil, it’s absolutely amazing! If you are ordering from Sephora, you can get a deluxe mini for free with a $25 purchase for a limited time, hurry up and get it now! It’s perfect to get a dewy look, apply it everywhere or where you would normally highlight! If you’re scared of an oil, check out Smashbox’s Primer Water, it’s amazing! I’ll be writing a review on it soon.) first. Then, I sweep this stick all over my face and blend it with my fingers. Remember, when you’re blending with your fingers, you must do it with clean hands! Otherwise, the oil on your fingers can make you break out. Once fully blended, I apply a bit more of the stick to especially red areas (cheeks and chin) and blend with a beautyblender®. (Yes, a beautyblender®! The stick formula is so soft and creamy that the beautyblender® blends it flawlessly!) I apply and blend my concealer and blush/bronzer, and finish by spraying a bit of Smashbox’s Primer Water to set with a natural finish. I love the finish of this foundation and, not only is it the perfect color, it doesn’t make me break out! I highly recommend this if:
- You’re willing to spend $11 or $12 for a drugstore foundation.
- You’re looking for a creamy stick foundation, not a liquid one.
- You’re looking for sheer to medium coverage.
- You fit into the shade range of very fair to somewhat deep.
- You want to try an inexpensive alternative to a lot of higher end products.
- You do not have extremely oily or extremely dry skin. This will stick to dry patches, and I can’t speak from experience, but it probably will not last long on VERY oily skin.
This picture was taken with flash to give you a better idea of what it looks like, there is a unblended swatch on top and a swatch blended in below. Though it looks slightly dark on my arm, it is perfect on my face, and considering my very fair winter skin, it’s pretty amazing.
Overall, a definite repurchase. I will be running to Target as soon as this gets low! I’ve heard that the next shade up is quite yellow, but it might be a good option in summer.
Have you tried any Sonia Kashuk products? How about this foundation stick? If so, how did you like it/them? What’s your favorite foundation (drugstore or high end)? Let me know in the comments!
Lipgloss & Trench Coats 