Review: Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation (Porcelain)

I feel like it's been too long since I posted a review. Now that I'm finally done with exams (for a few months at least), I can really get into working on my blog, trying to make it better :)

I bought the Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick a couple of months ago. I’d never bought a stick or cream foundation before, because I had always been under the impression that they were super full coverage, and I really prefer light natural coverage. So, when I was at the Bobbi Brown counter and the MUA suggested their foundation stick, even though I specifically asked for light to only slightly medium coverage, I was sceptical. Actually I thought he was just wasting my time and not listening to my needs. As it turns out the MUA actually knew what he was doing, fancy that!

I really loved the look of the foundation stick on my face. It seriously looked like he’d just erased all the things I didn’t like on my face, and left beautiful, natural skin. And the shade match was as close as I’d ever come (until I met my NARS Radiant Cream Compact Foundation, which is an even better match).

So I bought the foundation then and there, which is really rare for me as I usually prefer to get samples first. I took it home and used it for a good two months before allowing myself to form a solid enough opinion to write a review.

I really do like this foundation, it’s light, with nice coverage and blends easily. Its coverage is medium, but buildable, although I do think if you tried to build too much you might end up looking cakey.

I tried the liquid form of the Skin Foundation, and I have to say that the stick gives a much more natural and weightless finish. When I wear the stick foundation I barely even feel the need to set it with a powder. If I do, it’s only a very light dusting around my nose area. Once the foundation sets it doesn’t feel tacky, in fact it doesn’t feel like anything at all, which is possibly my favourite thing about it.

Now for the negatives. I have been experiencing some pretty dry skin lately. When I first bought the foundation the weather was still hot, so my skin was still pretty normal, but at the first sign of a chill in the air my skin started to feel like a desert. Once that happened I found the foundation harder and harder to apply. On my nose especially I started noticing that the foundation was clinging to my dry patches and it wasn’t sitting as nicely anymore. It didn’t matter what hydrating steps I took beforehand or whether I used a primer or not, it just wouldn’t work with me. Very disappointing.

Another I didn’t like is that, for a pretty expensive foundation, you don’t seem to get all that much product. It’s $65 for 9g and, because it’s a light to buildable coverage product, on days when you need that bit of extra coverage you obviously use more product. This means that the foundation stick wears down really quickly. The heaviest coverage I go for is medium, but on a daily basis I only built it up a bit where needed, usually on the top of my cheeks. I was surprised at how quickly it depleted. I got more than half way within about a month and a half, which kind of sucks.

So the big question: would I repurchase it? I’m not sure. Probably not. While it was a pretty close shade much, with room to move to a lighter shade, and it has a beautiful, weightless finish (in the hotter months), I just can’t seem to get past how badly it clung to dry patches on my skin. Yeah okay, for the high price tag, I wouldn’t repurchase it. It’s too much money to be spending on a product that runs out so fast. This might be good for people who have normal to oily skin, but for dry skin people I’d say look for something more moisturising. It’s such a shame, because I really love Bobbi Brown products, just not this one.