A few really good foundations and skin tints have hit the Irish market very recently and I reviewed them on Xpose the other day. Mac, Smashbox, Liz Earle and Garnier all featured. And Benefit's Watts Up sneaked in too!
Mac Matchmaster Foundation SPF 15, €36
A great shade range with ten shades. Pale Irish girls will be delighted to see that this range contains Mac's palest ever colour as well as its darkest. Best suited to those with combo-to-oily skins, this offers medium to full coverage that lasts all day. We have tons more information and swatches here.
Smashbox Studio Skin, €39
A brand new foundation line from Smashbox, even though this is oil free, so it'll be a good pick for combo types, we found this was good on dry skin too because it's got hydrating properties. It gives a satin finish which is flattering and there are some nice pale shades.
Liz Earle Sheer Skin Tint SPF15, €23.75
The sort of easy fuss free five minute face product so many of us want in the morning, this doesn't offer much coverage so beware if you're a heavy foundation fan. It's a little like a tinted moisturiser but a lot nicer as it's formulated as a standalone product, so you use it after cleansing and moisturising. It's dewy and light and gives a nice glow to skin. Doesn't settle into fine lines. Only 3 shades. Read the review and see the swatches here
Garnier BB Cream, €14.99
This is the big news from Garnier. Bbs come to us from Asia and they're blemish balms or beauty balms. In Korea and Japan they're a bit different: they tend to have whitening ingredients, more coverage and high spf but for the European market the formula has changed so this is not a 'true' BB, but it has BB properties. It's like a new generation tinted moisturiser, really. Light coverage, an SPF and hydrating capabilities make it a good pick for normal to dry girls but if you had a lot of oil production or a lot of blemishes to cover, it might not be such a great pick. Another really good 5 min face product.
Advertised
There's been tons of excitement about this product and we've given it a good road testing - read more about it here
Benefit Watt's Up, €34.50
The queens of highlighters, this will replace Moonbeam in the Benefit family and it's the same kind of champagne shimmer except instead of being liquid, it's in a stick. If you've ever used a Nars multiple you'll know how to use this. There's a little sponge down the end which you can use to blend it to perfection but fingers do the job just fine too. Well unless you're Lisa Canon and I apply a big stripe onto your face! Eeek sorry Lisa! Read more about Watt's Up here
Want to find out what rated in the top fives in the Beaut.ie Awards this year? And browse our foundation category here for loads of news and reviews.
