Tuesday 17 December 2013

Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation in Ivory review

Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation in Ivory

A long, long time ago I realised there's nothing that would keep my fairly oily skin matte for hours, nonetheless, I get easily tricked into buying products which not only promise to tackle my problem, but also receive enthusiastic reviews of other oily-skinned users, who vouchsafe their efficiency and lasting results.

Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation is one of such products.  
Just like all Hourglass products, this foundation is hard to lay hands on due to limited distribution channels, insanely expensive and truly outstanding as far as its packaging is concerned.
The product comes in a metal bottle, which looks like a pressurised container, but in fact it's dispensed with a more traditional pump, which you need to assemble yourself. 

Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation in Ivory

I have very mixed feelings about this foundation, so let me start with the good.

First of all, it needs to be said that this is a truly unique foundation. I've never used anything quite like this before. 
The foundation sets immediately and it really does turn into powder. There's absolutely no need set it with powder. It takes a bit of effort to blends but it's not that hard if you use a soft buffing brush like Real Techniques Expert Face Brush or Hakuro H54, and do a fragment of your face at a time.
The foundation is sheer as far as coverage is concerned, but this is fine by me as I don't suffer from breakouts or blemishes. It feels tight on my face initially, but it's generally quite lightweight, especially that you don't need to add any setting powder. 

Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation in Ivory


Now, on to the bad.
First of all, I found it very hard to find the righ colour match when picking the foundation online. Shade Ivory turned out to be too dark and too orange for my NW20 complexion. Luckily, the foundation is quite seer so I can get away with this slight colour mismatch, but the shade definitely isn't the one for me. 

The second thing I don't quite like is the fact that no matter how dry the foundatio feels in the first place, it does not prevent my oilies from breaking through within an hour or two. And my face looks exactly the same as if I used any other, much cheaper foundation.

I have oily skin all over, with no dry patches etc. so this problem does not concern me personally, but I can see this product accentuating any dry areas you might have, so you'll need to moisturise well prior to use.

What's more, apart from the fact that the packaging is classy and adorable, it also turns out to be impractical. This liquid product turns to solid powder and the pump regularly gets clogged with dried remains of the foundation. You need to press the pump a couple of times before the dispenser spits some foundation out under high pressure, staining everything around. Dry, gooey, caked foundation bits mix with the proper liquid foundation and make flawless application impossible unless you take your time and effort to separate them. I started cleaning the nozzle with a toothpick prior to every use, but this is not what I expect from a high-end and rather pricey product.

And finally I really don't like weird smell, like arabic gum glue we all used to have in my childhood. 

Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation in Ivory

To sum up, I'd like to say that although this isn't a bad foundation at all, the claims, the hype and the price tag made my expectations soar.   
There's also another conclusion related to this foundation. This is by far the most matifying foundation I've ever used, and if this doesn't work for me, nothing will.



Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.


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