The launch we've all been waiting for...
I am the beauty blender's #1 fan - ever since discovering the little gem a couple of years ago, I haven't used anything else to apply my foundation and concealer with. I don't get on with the cheaper alternatives of the sponge either, nothing has ever beaten the original version for me and I absolutely swear by it, so you can imagine how thrilled I was when I heard that beauty blender was releasing a foundation perfectly matched to my beloved little egg. Cult Beauty kindly sent this over to celebrate the release of this much awaited foundation so I could give you all my first impressions and show you the shade range. So ladies and gents, here is the lowdown on the new Beauty Blender Bounce...
The Big Egg
I was slightly overwhelmed when this ginormous box arrived on my doorstep. I'm currently living at my parents house temporarily so you can imagine my dad's reaction to answering the door to the delivery guy... I knew I was receiving a big package as I was pre-warned by Cult Beauty, but this definitely outdid my expectations! But how cool right?! A HUGE beauty blender, I'm not good with measurements but it's at least 50x the size of the actual beauty blender sponge itself. I just wish it was as soft as one as I would totally have it as a cushion or beanbag in my bedroom. No joke. I genuinely think this is the biggest parcel I have ever received in my life - minus furniture. Whilst I obviously won't use each and every foundation shade that was in there, I am so excited to be able to swatch all of the shades in the range for you guys so that it gives you a little indication of which one to order. I don't think I've ever swatched more than one shade of foundation before and I swear by google/blog swatches when I'm ordering a foundation online so it's fab that I can now create my own! I will admit that I re-did my swatches about three times before finally accepting that they won't be perfect... foundation swatches are a lot harder to do than you think. Anyway back to the big egg itself - how cool that there was a matching beauty blender in there for each and every foundation shade? There was even the original fuschia one too of course!
The Packaging
The packaging of Beauty Blender Bounce is unlike any other foundation I have used. It's such a creative idea, it's been designed so that the beauty blender sponge can dip perfectly into the egg shaped well on the front of the bottle, meaning there's no longer a need to mess about squeezing it onto the back of your hand. I actually bought a dish specifically to squeeze my foundation onto so I could avoid the hand palava but it's even more of a faff as I have to store it and clean it constantly. This actually requires very minimal cleaning as long as you only dispense as much product as you're using, it usually just takes a little wipe afterwards which is perfect! Another great thing about the design is that you can very easily mix things with your foundation, whether that be lightening/darkening drops or liquid highlight, whatever. You quite simply just dispense the foundation into the egg shaped well and do your thing, and then it's ready to apply with your lil beauty blender. I can't rave about it enough if you do your makeup everyday using the BB sponge, it's a game changer. I also love that rather than having a lid, it has a lock on the back for the pump. When travelling, a foundation lid can quite easily just pop off - meaning that you end up with foundation absolutely everywhere and it's an utter nightmare, but with a lock to solidly lock the pump in place, it's far more unlikely! It's also great for at home when you just leave your foundation lying in your dressing table drawer, you can leave it unlocked permanently and there's none of the faff with a lid. Unless you have a toddler like I do of course, best to keep it locked...
The Formula
I was pleasantly surprised by the formula of the foundation when I first used it. I'm not a huge fan of very watery consistencies when it comes to foundation and concealer, nor do I like anything that's too thick and hard to blend. This one has a lovely creamy, whipped formula. It's described as mousse-like and whilst it's definitely not as thick as a mousse formula, it is leaning more on that side of the spectrum. If you've used the NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tint, it's very similar to that in terms of consistency, just a little less thick. Watery formulas don't pair well with my oily t-zone anyway so I'm definitely a fan. It has a semi-matte finish, so whilst it's matte enough for us oily gals, it's not dehydrating in the slightest for drier skin types. It doesn't have that 'flat' finish that a lot of matte based foundations have, it leaves my skin looking exactly how it says on the tin, semi-matte, with a little bit of dewiness to it. It's described as a medium to full coverage foundation, two pumps for medium and three for full. I think I use a bit more than that but I do like a really good coverage, especially lately with the amount of breakouts I've had. The lasting power is amazing from what I've seen, I don't usually wear my foundation any longer than about 8 hours but it lasts very well throughout the day, I would probably give it a 9/10 for lasting power which is pretty good!
Final Thoughts
Overall I am definitely a huge fan of the Beauty Blender Bounce, I think the packaging is a fantastic idea, the foundation itself lasts really well throughout the day on me and it caters for my combination skin without being too drying nor too oily. I find it leans more on the matte side but for a semi-matte foundation that's what you would expect anyway. I can imagine this being a really great foundation all year round if you suffer with an oily t-zone like I do. I tend to use quite a few pumps worth when applying it but I wouldn't say that's down to needing to use too much product, I just find the pump doesn't dispense that much product. It's all down to preference on how much you use for the amount of coverage that you want, but the best part about this foundation is that it is buildable depending on whether you want a light, medium or full coverage. It's definitely going in my everyday makeup drawer, so that tells you how much I love it doesn't it?!
The Shades
I've done a swatch of every shade I received so hopefully that gives you a good indication of what your shade is. I have done very minimal editing, nothing other than a bit of brightness as it was a dull day so hopefully they are a good representation of the actual shade! I know there's been a lot of controversy surrounding the shade range and I will just put it out there that I don't agree with the limited shades for darker skinned girls at all, it's incredibly unfair and I really hope Beauty Blender follow other brands footsteps and rectify the situation by bringing out more shades sometime in the near future. However, as someone with yellow undertones I am very pleased to see that there is a good mix of pink and yellow toned shades as I find it so hard to get a good match with most foundations.
So those are my final thoughts on the Beauty Blender Bounce, if you have any more questions about the foundation then feel free to ask me in the comment section! You can purchase the foundation over at Cult Beauty for Β£32.
Do you think you'll be treating yourself?
This post contains PR samples.
