Review: Bobbi Brown Oil-Free Even Finish Compact Foundation

Last year I bought this at Debenhams during a lunch break. It was a bit of an impulse buy, and since when have those ever been a good idea?

I bought this with the intention of using it as a touch up product for going out after work or during lunch if I looked dreadful. It is a nice enough sized compact, not that small, but it's ok for carrying around in your handbag. The mirror it comes with is pretty great though! It comes with a round sponge applicator in a compartment under the foundation. I still have it somewhere, but I have to say it's absolutely useless and should get around to throwing it away. I never use it.

Where the sponge applicator is supposed to be

Initially I did try this, at the office, with the sponge applicator it came with. I couldn't get it to cover a thing. It just slid right off my face. My goal was to do touch ups mostly on my nose area and forehead as this was where foundation would wear off during long days. This wouldn't cover anything, wouldn't stick, just slid straight off my face. It might seem like I've used a ton of this, but it was actually a desperate attempt for at least a bit of coverage. I literally dug my finger into the product and took out a substantial amount to get some results. And that did actually work somewhat. Though with that logic this would empty pretty fast. And that makes the hefty price tag even more unreasonable. Not that I would even recommend it then, it was by no means a nice finish, but it was at least there and I did look a bit better.

I have since tried this with different primers, without a primer, with fingers, with the sponge, with a different sponge, with a foundation brush, stipling brush, another foundation brush.. I can't get it to look even halfway decent. A lot of those different application methods have been used at the same time by the way, I have not used this more than a handful of times.

It's currently in my kit, thinking I could maybe try it on a friend of mine with dry skin to see if it's any different. If it's not this is going straight in the bin! What a waste of money! Sadly this was also my first attempt at a Bobbi Brown foundation. I'm sure other foundations from her line would be lovely, but with this first impression it will be a long time until I ever try my money on one of them again. This is why ALL products should be of good quality! I should add that a sales assistant did recommend this for me, so it's not like a picked up something entirely not suited for my skin! At least I hope not, maybe she was new..

Above a swatch of the shade warm sand 2.5, below the foundation blended out. Even here you can see it's patchy and settles into every fine line I have on my hand. Horrible horrible horrible.