Sampling Samples

Since it's Sunday and I have nothing better to do other than clean the house (and who wants to do that!), I thought I'd kill a bit of time testing out one of the many foundation samples I have. Today I am trying out Estee Lauder Individualist Natural Finish Makeup.

As usual the sample is slightly too dark for me (the colour is 01 Fresco*, so if that's the lightest then pale chicks won't be able to get much use out of this one), though once it's blended in I could probably get away with it if I had to nip down to the shops for milk or something. It's quite liquidy and applies lightly, but you can build it up to get a good coverage. It sets fairly quickly and is quite matte, so I didn't feel like I needed a powder of it. Which is good, because I'm not overly jazzed with powder in general and it's one of those things I use with slight resentment because I have a shiny T-zone.

As you can see it does a pretty decent job on the redness in my cheeks, though I did use a couple of layers in that area. On the other hand, I would normally have concealer under that and I don't here, so I'm pretty happy with the coverage.

Unfortunately, what I didn't like was the feel of it. It's one of those foundations that I am aware I am wearing. It feels a bit... 'masky'. I get about the same or more coverage from Chanel Mat Lumiere and Revlon ColorStay and neither of those feel like that on my skin.

On the whole, I don't think this is a foundation I would buy, though it did have its good points. It retails in Australia for $68AUD (!!), but you can probably get it cheaper on Strawberrynet.

*Regarding the colour, it would seem that Fresco is the second lightest as on the Australian website it's called 2C2 Fresco. But only three colours - really Estee Lauder? You think there are only three skin shades in this country?