When
I strolled into my local Debenhams a few months back to see that my beloved Burberry counter had been replaced by Make Up Forever; I have to say I was a little disappointed. Though I’d heard a lot of good things about the brand, I had never really felt particularly drawn towards any of their products. However, after seeing a few of my favorite ladies online testing them out, I found myself in there browsing one lunch time, and before I knew it, had picked up these three.One of the things I was most impressed with in there was the customer service. The lady that served me was lovely and did a great job of matching me for both the foundation and the concealer. More often than not, I get told I am a much darker shade than I actually am thanks to my ruddy cheeks! But this time she got it spot on and I had no hesitation investing and knowing I had walked out of there with the correct shades. Since then, and I must admit, somewhat to my surprise, I have found myself reaching for all of these products on an almost daily basis with them becoming a permanent fixture in my make up bag. And so, I thought I would share my thoughts on them today.Ultra HD Invisible Cover FoundationDon’t let the name fool you with this one. It has decent coverage but isn’t nearly as thick or as full as I’d have imagined from the impression the name gives. I find it gives a very 'lit from within' look as opposed to the matte finish you might expect. The consistency is very smooth and quite thin in that it moves around easily when you pump it out on the back of your hand. It is also easy to apply with your fingers (in fact, this is my favorite way to apply it), and doesn’t leave your skin feeling suffocated like some foundations with a little more coverage can have a tendency to do. I wear the shade R210, and as I’ve said previously, it is a great match for me – probably the best of all the foundations I own and that’s no small feat. As with most Make Up Forever products as well, the color range available is quite vast and so I should imagine there would be something there to suit most skin tones. I can’t claim that this is of holy grail status yet, but it has certainly been my go to recently and has (for now) replaced my NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tint that I had been wearing non-stop previously.
Ultra HD Invisible Cover Concealer
At the time of purchase, I had managed to misplace my trusty Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer, and so I thought I would pick this up as I had seen it used both as a blemish cover up and under eye brightener and it seemed from what I could tell to be a good all-rounder. As per, I told the lady on the counter that I like to go a shade lighter with my concealer and she obliged matching me with the shade R20. Again, I have been using it on a daily basis – perhaps even more so than I had originally anticipated due to the fact that the foundation didn’t cover as much as I was expecting it to. Despite being of a relatively thick consistency though, is it still very creamy and I don’t find that it cakes. Neither does it crease under the eyes for me (though I do tend to always set my under eye concealer so maybe that has something to do with it). A little goes a long way with this and though I don’t find it quite as good for pinpoint concealing when compared with my Estee Lauder Double Wear, it still does a pretty decent job and definitely leaves a more natural finish when it comes to the general concealing of redness and slightly patchy skin that I tend to suffer with. I think if I was having a particularly good skin day and feeling the no make up make up look – some careful application of this minus any base, and a light dusting of one of the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders, would easily suffice. Definitely one to check out if you’re after a ‘does it all’ product that will serve as a useful make up bag staple throughout the day.
Smoky Lash Mascara
As this seems to be one of the most hyped products by the brand, I felt I had to give it a go. I’ve been really into trying out different mascaras lately, and have found a couple that I have really fallen in love with – namely the Dior Iconic Waterproof Overcurl and the Lancôme Hypnose Volume-a-porter which I have spoken about previously here. If I’m honest though, I don’t think this one quite compares. I have still been using it on a daily basis and it does a decent job of achieving a nice balance between voluminous and lengthened lashes – separating them just enough to avoid the clumpy look (something I am not necessarily against – but would prefer to avoid during the day). I can’t comment on its being able to hold a curl as, as I have mentioned in previous posts – my lashes havea natural curl to them anyway and I have never had any issues. I can however, say that it doesn’t transfer and is relatively easy to remove which is always a plus. I am keen now to try out the brown shade as I have heard good things and am yet to try any mascara that isn’t black during my long term make up love affair.
What are your best picks when it comes to Make Up Forever? I’d really love some more recommendations as from what I have tried so far they've really surpassed my expectations!
Sarah x
