Hey y’all!
Lately I’ve been on a foundation kick. I’ve been searching my collection to rediscover old favorites and purchasing a few new ones to test out. Although I’ve seen an improvement in my acne, I am struggling with a few textured and dry areas on my cheeks and between my eyebrows. My lines on my forehead and around my eyes are more prominent than usual since I’m overdue for Botox (first world problem). All that being said, I need a foundation that addresses all of these “issues” and won’t cake or dry me out. I want to look in the mirror and still look like myself.
Cue: FACE atelier Ultra Foundation. I’ve heard about this foundation from a ton of glowing reviews on YouTube and it has had me curious for a while. It’s more of a pro makeup artists’ brand and is less known in mainstream beauty communities. You can definitely tell it is geared towards makeup professionals with the minimal packaging and availability to purchase all the shades for bulk pricing. I so appreciate the toned-down, sleek look of the packaging. You are paying for the QUALITY of the actual product, not the pretty plastic it comes in. FACE atelier is a cruelty-free, PETA approved Canadian brand and is exclusively sold on their website [linked below], QVC, and Amazon [check reviews to make sure product is authentic—I did purchase mine from Amazon with no quality issues and fast shipping].
A Few Things to Know……
- This foundation is oil and fragrance-free, non-comedogenic, and claims to not require the use of a primer (it is silicon based).
- It comes in 2 sizes; I purchased the smaller one– 0.68 oz. or 20mL for $36 USD that comes in a plastic bottle with a pump.
-
- A really cool feature that the FACE atelier website offers is that you can purchase a sample size in any shade for only $1.00.
- Comes in a range of 18 shades, with some of them being “adjusters”, where you can deepen/lighten or adjust the undertone of another shade.
***I think that this customization option will help most skin tones find a shade that works, the formula is also pretty forgiving and seems to adjust with your natural skin tone as you blend it in. I purchased the shade #5 sepia –“cool-medium skin tone with yellow undertones”. It is pretty spot on shade-wise for me, but I feel like going up/down a shade could work just as well.
One of the claims for this foundation is that it doesn’t require a primer. However, I always use some kind of primer and I had just received a new one from Sephora I was dying to test out. I started out with a full pump of the foundation and dotted it equally all over my face, then blended with a foundation brush. [Note: I think that a damp beauty sponge would work with this, but a brush will give more coverage using less product]. Once I got the first layer blended, (with minimal effort), I was seriously BLOWN away. It instantly looked like a second skin with an absolutely stunning natural finish. My deep-set lines weren’t emphasized and meshed with the foundation perfectly; the textured areas looked smoothed and blurred. I used another full pump to provide an additional layer of coverage. The overall effect for me is a solid medium coverage, with a very lightweight and breathable feel. I can’t emphasize enough how beautiful of a skin-like finish this foundation provides, y’all. The website describes the formula as flexible to your own skin, which is an absolute perfect description of it. It blended seamlessly with my bronzer/blush and looked like I was having an awesome skin day. It is probably most ideal for normal/dry skin, as it does give a natural glow. Oily skin might require the use of matte primer/powders and more maintenance touch-ups throughout the day.
***A few more details to note about my experience with this foundation: I wore it with a very hydrating primer that I was also trying out for the first time— the MILK MAKEUP Hydro Grip Primer. I can say that I would not recommend this combination of foundation + primer, I would reserve the primer for more matte, full coverage foundations. With the exception of my under eye concealer, I did not set my face with any powder or setting spray.
Here’s the Breakdown:
I applied the foundation at 9 AM–took the pic at 9:30AM — it looked beautiful!
- ?
By about 1 PM/1:30PM, I did notice that my face was getting shiny and my pores were more visible, but the foundation was intact and not broken up. Here is a pic about 2:30ish later that day, let the meltdown begin. Woof!
By 3:30PM (6.5 hours in), my face was way too shiny and I noticed the foundation broke up a little bit above my eyebrow and near parts of my hairline. I was genuinely horrified when I saw the amount of shine. EEEEK!! I really, really think that the primer was the culprit of the excessive “dew” here. My husband said he thought I had on some type of gel face mask! 😂😂😂
I did touch up at 3:30PM with a light dusting of Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder all over my face—this really eliminated the shine . Here is a photo after the touch up at 3:45PM. A little dry looking, but better!
Finally, here is the last photo of the day, at about 8:45PM. This was almost 12-hours of total wear. It was expectedly more broken down and the shine is definitely back; However, It did hold up really well most of the day after my one touch-up. As mentioned before, I think I might have over-applied the primer or the 2 products simply don’t play very nice together. Don’t mind my smeared eye-makeup– I’m having terrible allergies and issues with my contacts. There’s also flash here since the sun was gone for the day!
On to Day 2……
I wanted to give this foundation another go to see if I could increase the staying power and avoid the literal meltdown again from the day before. I knew I would have to change my application approach so I did a few things different this time:
-
-
-
- I did NOT use the MILK Hydro-Grip Primer (it was in time-out for bad behavior—I will bring it out another day).
-
-
-
-
-
- Instead, I used the Maybelline Facestudio Master Blur Stick in light/medium. I just applied this in my T-zone (still relatively new to this product but it has some very promising results so far).
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- I did not set my face with powder. However, I did use a setting spray—-I am absolutely LOVING the Wet N Wild Photofocus Cucumber Setting Spray. The sprayer is goooood.
-
-
-
Here are 2 photos of me, one in natural sunlight and the other a little darker light. This was about 5 hours after initial application. (That hairstyle, though 🤣🤣)
Lesson learned: Primers can make or break you, guys. (Sorry, another first world prob)
Final Conclusions:
I really, really like this foundation and I’m very pleased with the effect it has on the overall look of my skin. I think it looks beautiful and natural and I’ll definitely continue to reach for it. It is SO wearable for day-to-day and would look amazing on skin of all ages—it is very nice to fine lines/wrinkles. If you are in the market for a new foundation to play with, pick this one up or try a sample from Face atelier’s website. (I also love supporting less-known, cruelty-free brands.) If you have tried this before or plan to, let me know. I’m so excited to hear your thoughts.
*P.S.—– Let me know if y’all would like a more thorough review of the MILK Hydro-Grip primer. It has some interesting ingredients and warrants some further testing…
If you’re curious, take a look at the MILK primer here: Sephora.com
Product Links:
Face atelier Ultra Foundation: https://amzn.to/2Fk2sgI OR https://www.faceatelier.com/
Maybelline Master Blur Stick (I have light-medium shade): https://amzn.to/2FmaWnL
Wet N Wild Photofocus Setting Spray (Cucumber): https://amzn.to/2W
FTC: This post is not sponsored. Opinions are my own, honest reviews and experiences. Some links are affiliate links and product images are from Amazon.com
Jena J Beauty 
That’s awesome that they let you get a sample to try.
LikeLike