little white truths

The below swatches have taken me all morning to do because the sun's been in and out, so I've been running outside and constantly missing the patches of sun, and I now can't wait to get this post done.

I did consider not doing it because I've only worn this foundation once and I didn't relish photographing sixteen shades, but in the end I've gone ahead with it because I thought it may be useful to anyone who's been interested in this foundation.

I received two cards (being eight each of the Light and Medium shades) when I went to pick up a Mecca Beauty Loop box earlier in the year, and the attendant gave me both because he felt I'd be in between Light and Medium. He's correct, although at the moment I'm on the lighter end of the spectrum so I wore a mix of Deauville Light 4 and Fiji Light 5 when I used this.

The foundation claims to offer weightless, long-lasting coverage. It's described as a full-coverage, oil-free foundation that provides 16 hours of fade-resistant wear for an all day radiant and smooth complexion, and it retails for $71 AUD for 30ml.

Let's get straight into swatches.

The first four Light shades, indirect sunlight:

 * L-R: Oslo Light 1, Mont Blanc Light 2, Yukon Light 2.5, Gobi Light 3

The second four Light shades, indirect sunlight:

 * L-R: Salzburg Light 3.5, Deauville Light 4, Vienna Light 4.5, Fiji Light 5

Next, the Medium shades, indirect sunlight:

* L-R: Punjab Medium 1, Patagonia Medium 1.2, Vallauris Medium 1.5, Santa Fe Medium 2

The second four Medium shades, indirect sunlight:

* L-R: Vanuatu Medium 3.5, Barcelona Medium 4, Valencia Medium 5, Aruba Medium 6

Verdict

Let me reiterate that this is a first impressions post and I've only used this foundation once, so it's not a review and I would certainly check the reviews from those who've used this foundation more than I have if you're interested in it.

While there's enough product in these sample cards to have tested it a good few times, I didn't like it and that's why I only wanted to use it once.

It was harder to blend than I expected and it looked and felt a little paint-like on my skin. Yes it looked ok once I finally got it to blend and I think it looked reasonably natural, but I could still see it on my skin so it's not the right foundation for me.

Do note, though, that it has a tendency to separate and I found that some of the shades in particular separated badly when I swatched them. They also looked streaky and it took me some time to get an even coating with some of the shades. Note that quite a few people have mentioned these issues (see eg the reviews on Mecca's website) so that's something to keep in mind.

It does have a decent amount of coverage (too much for me, even when sheered out) so it's not the kind of product I would normally wear.  At least it wore well in the heat, although I've seen plenty of people say that it falls off their skin and separates in a weird, patchy way - so I would definitely test this prior to purchase because it ain't cheap.

As a final note, I found that it clung to dry patches around my mouth, and while my skin isn't very dry at the moment, I wouldn't reach for something like this in winter because I suspect it would look awful. Note that quite a few people with dry skin have said that it clings to their dry patches too, so it isn't just me.

Overall this foundation was ok but it wasn't for me and I wouldn't recommend it: it had too many issues with it, and it didn't look good enough to warrant the extra effort.