Aaaaaand here we go again! After one success with a Lottie London foundation, I went into Rossmann again and couldn't resist trying the other foundation as well.
All About That Base is a matte full coverage stick foundation, it's also enriched with vitamin E and C and the claims are once more pretty impressive.
Full coverage, lightweight feel, it's paraben free, cruelty free, gluten free and matte.
I used to be obsessed with stick foundations as I started my foundation journey many years ago and foundation sticks were the only type of foundation I liked to wear.
Creamy products freaked me out and stick was such a nice and compact thing, not messy, easy to put on...I just loved it.
The last foundation stick I've tried was the Revolution Fast Base stick and that one was just waaay too dewy for me and slipped from my face after a few hours. My skin is just not dry enough for that one. However, this one claims to be matte, so it may actually stay on my face!
I bought it at Rossmann for about 99 Crowns, which is a good deal, it's a bit more pricey when it's not on sale and you get 9g of product. To be honest I'm not quite sure, what is the average amount of stick foundation. The Revolution one I mentioned has 6,2g, Miss Sporty stick foundation I used to love had 7g, in Hourglass Vanish Stick Foundation you get 7,2g...so I guess this one it kinda up there in the amount you get, that's great.
The shade range is very similar to the Selfie Ready Foundation, it's a bit confusing and it's not easy to match yourself. I went with the shade Ivory which is the same one I picked up when I bought the liquid foundation. It's just the lightest shade, which is a strategy I apply with older launches and foundation with not as detailed shade range. Here are some swatches so you can see a comparison with different foundations.
Day 1
At first I wasn't sure how to apply the products, but I just smeared it on my face at places and decided to blend with a sponge. It's not the creamiest stick foundation I've ever tried, but again, it's matte so I wasn't expecting wonders in the creamy department.
It blended pretty well, I tried the brush on top when I was layering it and I wasn't very impressed by its work. I feel like it made it a bit more sheer.
The coverage is not really full. It's more medium to full and you can build it and it looks really nice but it's not that full coverage beat. I don't mind that, I'm just checking the claims. Other claim was that it's lightweight, which is totally true. It doesn't feel cakey or heavy on the skin at all, even after setting it with a powder.
Today, I will just put it in my usual routine to see how it performs. Just a note, it's really hot outside, we're talking 30 Degrees Celsius, so I'm melting even without makeup on. However I like to wear foundation in the summer, I hate being red and sweaty.
After the application it felt a little bit like the foundation didn't really sink into my skin. After a few hours it got better though.
I went for a basic mauve simple work look. I don't to too extra eyelooks when I'm in a hurry to go to work, because it just takes time and sometimes I just don't have that time.
List of used products
Gabriella Salvete Pore Minimizer Skin Primer
NYX Honey Dew Me Up
Lottie London All About That Base Foundation Stick, shade Ivory
Lottie London Ready. Set! Go. Setting Powder, shade True Translucent
Revolution Matte Base Powder, shade P0
H&M Superfine Browliner, shade Chocolate
Maybelline BROWdrama 12h sculpting brow mascara, shade Transparent
Essence I <3 Colour Intensifying Eyeshadow Base
Revolution One Milion Pallete
Revolution Pretty Incredible Pallete
Revolution Cut Crease Canvas, shade Halo
Flormar Satin Touch Stick Eyeshadow, shade Cashmere Dress
Maybelline Snapscara, shade 01 Pitch Black
183days Cushion Eyeliner, shade Smokey Nude
Physician's Formula Eye Booster, shade Ultra Black
Essence Melted Chrome Eyeliner, shade 04 zinc my way
RL de Young Chocolate Bronzer
Physician's Formula Butter Blush, shade Nude Silk
Lottie London Shimmer Squad, shade Good Girl
L'Oreal Infallible Setting Spray
NYX Liquid Suede Lipstick, shade Dessert First
A little checkpoint, it's currently 14:00, so it's been on for 5 hours now, not a lot. However, I went outside in the heat to go and get a pair of slippers, because I cannot be bothered to wear sneakers in this heat. The store was so hot, like 40 degrees kinda hot. I was away for like an hour, very close to noon and I came back and the face looked pretty damn good. I expected it to melt in the store, but it held up. I am impressed so far. No separation, no patches, a bit around my nose, but that's something like a sun allergy and I just have to blow my nose every once in a while. Other than that, it looks pretty fine.
Wear time 12 hours
This is the longest wear test this year in this kind of weather. The foundation doesn't look great. From a decent distance, you could say it's quite good but up close...oh no baby. It's getting cakey on my cheeks, which I've probably never seen, it's very oily on my forehead and marks from my glasses are really bad. Even when I touch my face, it feels more oily than usual.
There are several things to blame, first the weather, 30 degrees through the whole day is a lot. I was in the office, I was outside a several times, I went shoe shopping in the hottest shoe shop ever, I took a ride home in a gross overcrowded bus. There was a lot.
However, this doesn't look very good. I think I'll have to take a different primer path next time.
Day 2
OK, this time I decided to go in with a more oil controlling primer. There's nothing more oil controlling than my Fenty Pro Filt'r Primer. I powdered the whole face with loose powder today, I tried my best to set it in place.
Today was also extremly hot, the air was thick and it was before the storm kind of weather. Very sweaty and very uncomfortable. I also went shopping with a friend so it was another one of those days when you just don't stop and sit down until you're home at night.
List of used products
Catrice Instant Blurring Stick
Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Primer
Lottie London All About That Base Foundation Stick, shade Ivory
Lottie London Ready. Set! Go. Setting Powder, shade True Translucent
Jeffree Star Cosmetics Magic Star Concealer, shade C3
183days Ready to Brow Ink, shade 010 Ash
Catrice Brow Colorist Semi-permanent Mascara, shade 030
Essence I <3 Colour Intensifying Eyeshadow Base
Revolution Cut Crease Canvas, shade Halo
Makeup Obsession Dream with a Vision Pallete
Fenty Beauty Vivid Liquid Eyeliner, shade Hottie Alert
Physician's Formula Eye Booster, shade Ultra Black
NYX Worth the Hype Mascara, shade Black
Essence Extreme Lasting Eye Pencil, shade 08 rather be a unicorn
Catrice Rock Couture Liquid Liner, shade 040 These White Stripes
NYX 3 Steps to Sculpt, shade Fair
Physician's Formula Butter Bronzer, shade Bronzer
Essence Good Vibes Good Memories Blush Trio, shade 01 spring love (the pink shade)
NYX Born to Glow Liquid Iluminator, shade Sunbeam
Lottie London Shimmer Squad, shade Good Girl
L'Oreal Infallible Setting Spray
Revolution Jewel Collection Lip Topper, shade Exquisite
Wear time 10 hours
Not the longest time, but I was hot and sweaty the whole day. I was shopping, trying on clothes, carrying my heavy as hell backpack...a rough day once again. I really tried to prime better, set the face better, but it just didn't do much. Compared to the last day, the foundation didn't look as oily but it still separated on my cheeks, around my hairline and pretty much everywhere. From the distance it was quite OK, but up close, again, oh no.
Day 3
Today is the cream product day, I like this day a lot. I have this theory, that maybe using more creamy products will make my face less dry and less separating and more hydrated. Let's put it to the test. I used liquid blush, putty bronzer, cream contour and balm highlighter so I really gave it all I had.
List of used products
Gabriella Salvete Pore Minimizer Skin Primer
NYX Honey Dew Me Up
Lottie London All About That Base Foundation Stick, shade Ivory
Jeffree Star Cosmetics Magic Star Concealer, shade C3
Jeffree Star Cosmetics Magic Star Powder, shade Fair
Fenty Beauty Match Stix Matte Skinstick, shade Amber
Catrice Bouncy Bronzer, shade 002 Cuba Vibes
Essence Good Vibes Good Memories blush & highlighter drops, shade 01 bloom day by day
Trend It Up Brow Gel Filler Waterproof, shade 010
Essence I <3 Colour Intensifying Eyeshadow Base
H&M Eye Colour Pallete, shade Aubergine Dream
H&M Infinite Impact Eye colour, shade Supernova
Fenty Beauty Flyliner
H&M Best Curlfriend Mascara, shade Deep Black
Sephora Contour Eye Pencil 12HR Wear, shade 39 Don't Get Me Wrong
Maybelline Tattoo Liner, shade 900 Deep Onyx
Physician's Formula Butter Bronzer, shade Bronzer
Lottie London Strobe Stix, shade Starstruck
Rimmer #insta Fix and Go Setting Spray
NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream, shade Ibiza
Everything applied very well, the foundation seemed to work better with the NYX primer and all the cream products blended very well into it. I kind of look oily already in the photo but the cream highlight applied with a sponge just spreaded a bit too far.
Wear time 12 hours
It was so hot today and I had to spend plenty of time being outside and running around the city. It was insane, I didn't even have time to touch-up. I could almost feel myself melting but the foundation has looked the best it did the whole three testing days. It didn't separate on my cheeks, I was hella oily, but that's pretty much expected with this weather and it did feel a little gross on my face after about 7 hours.
The only issue I had today was the fact that I felt like the foundation is just sitting on my skin and not melting into it. Some other foundations I have are a little more "becoming one" with my skin at the hours pass and I feel like it gives a bit more natural finish.
Also after about 5 hours I felt like if I touch my face there's going to be a major disaster. The foundation felt like it will move just if you look at it wrong. It wasn't too bad but just that feeling made me quite nervous about how do I look. I don't really want to feel like I may or may not look gross all day.
I do look hella oily in the this photo, it's because I was but still the foundation did not separate and with a little touch-up it could go on without any problems.
Final thoughts...
I feel like this foundation is a little tricky to figure out in terms of primers. I have normal to combo skin and picking the best primer for this stick foundation wasn't easy. If you go too matte, it's going to separate and cake up and look dry and patchy. If you go too dewy and hydrating, it's going to slip and slide if it's too hot outside.
The best combo was probably a pore filling primer and a hydrating primer with a good grip. From that category I would recommend the NYX Honey Dew Me Up and the Maybelline FaceStudio prime Hydrating Primer or the Illuminating Primer, if you prefer a bit of sheen. Those are very hydrating on the skin but still have that grip which makes the foundation last well. In general, I think that NYX and Maybelline make some great primers.
If you're not that bothered about the primers, the foundation is pretty nice but I don't feel like it's going to be my go-to. It's a little tricky to blend, brush makes it quite sheer and sponge requires quite a lot of works. Once it's on it plays nice with all concealers I tried, cream products even improved the look of it at the end of the day. It doesn't feel too heavy, it layers well in needed areas and it looks quite natural.
I don't think it's full coverage, I don't think it's fully matte, but I still enjoy the formula of it.
I know these final thoughts may not be that useful but I feel like this is the type of foundation that isn't just a go-to for a whole category of people like with other foundations. I like that it's travel friendly and you get a lot of product. I like the finish but I wouldn't weat it if you need to stay looking super fresh for more than 9 hours. I also like the ingredients in it and it didn't irritate of break out my skin.
So yeah, overall I think I liked it, I just may wait for the autumn to try it again when it's not so hot.
Thank you for reading, I hope it helped at least some of you and see you at the next one!