Vichy Dermablend Foundation

Vichy Dermablend Foundation - Shade 15 Opal - £16.00 

I think we're off to a good start here in understanding each other - my first blog post was about eye cream and this one is about a high coverage foundation. They're both staples in my collection so I think it's a good base to gather what my beauty preferences are - good skincare and flawless finishes. 

In terms of flawless finishes, the Vichy Dermablend foundation delivers. With a coverage that seems to be enough to cover imperfections but light enough to let my freckles show through (you can see them on my forehead) this foundation is a real winner. I've been a huge fan of the Estee Lauder DoubleWear for many, many years now but I know for a lot of people they find it thick and difficult to work with as well as just being a little too much coverage - it pretty much blanks out everything on your face. Whilst I find that applying DoubleWear with a good buffing brush leaves a beautiful finish I do have days where I don't want such high coverage or thick foundation on my face - but without looking like I've slapped on tinted moisturiser - and that's where this one fits in. 

With the whole concept of Dermablend being about coverage I was expecting a really thick consistency, which this one doesn't have. Not to the extent of other high coverage foundations anyway, though it admittedly is thicker than the likes of L'Oreal True Match/Luminous Silk. Brush wise I've been swapping between the Real Techniques Buffing and Expert Face brushes and finding that both leave a really lovely finish. It doesn't feel heavy or thick on the face and I quite forget I'm wearing it, so points for how comfortable it is. 

Coverage is buildable so brilliant if you want something more natural on most of your face but want to build up to cover any areas of pigmentation or redness, I found it was more than able to cover the small scars I have on my cheeks from where I had spots when I was younger but I did still reach for a concealer for under the eyes. 

Wear time on this one is pretty good too, I found it lasted all day and - bonus - didn't need to paired with a smoothing primer such as the Clarin's Instant Smooth or the Benefit POREfessional to stop it from sinking in to pores the way DoubleWear does.

Packaging - well, it's pretty boring and nothing special but it's what's inside that counts, right? Just not exactly a bottle you'd want to display on your dressing table. Plus points are that it's not a hard bottle which makes it great for travelling and it houses 30ml of product, which is actually the exact same as DoubleWear  though the squeeze tube makes it seem like a much smaller product.

For the price point this is a brilliant alternative to a high end high coverage foundation such as DoubleWear (£28.50 for 30ml) or Laura Mercier Silk Creme (£34.00 for 35ml) that doesn't let it down on wear time or finish, though for me DoubleWear does last longer and cover more, so they're both something I want to have in my collection.

Swatches L - R

Laura Mercier Silk Creme in Soft Ivory - Estee Lauder DoubleWear in Shell  

Vichy Dermablend in 15 Opal - MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation in NC15

 L'Oreal True Match in N1 Ivory - L'Oreal True Match in C1 Rose Ivory

The only thing that let me down about this product, and part of the reason I was sure I wanted to review it, was that I couldn't actually test the colour before buying. I have, since buying it, seen some of the larger Boots stores become equipped with tester racks but they don't seem to be maintained very well and it seems as though this range is pretty much forgotten about, perhaps because it's located in the skincare aisle with the other Vichy products rather than with the make up. 

The shade I purchased - 15 Opal - is the lightest and I had to blind buy, hoping it would be light enough for me - I know all my fellow pale girls out there will feel my pain at this by how often the lightest shade in a foundation range is still not light enough (get on it please brands!)! As you can see from these swatches it is by far the darkest of my foundations and for me it means that I need to be light handed and use this with a good buffing brush. It also means that if I build up the coverage in certain areas then it becomes too dark. I'm lucky that what I want to cover is mainly the scarring on my cheeks and then I'll be placing blusher over the area so I can build it up without being too obvious but I think if I was trying to build this up elsewhere on my face the colour would be noticeably too dark. Having said all this though I'm a girl who can find MAC NC15 a bit too dark sometimes so I am super pale and the shade range is probably suitable for most skin tones, though the lack of testers is a problem. At £16.00, although this is a much more pocket friendly alternative to a high end foundation, it's still more expensive than the high street offerings that are about the £10 - meaning this is 160% of the price, you want to be able to test it and check the colour is right for you. 

If you can find a tester then I really do highly recommend this foundation if you're after something with a flawless finish, good coverage and good wear time. 

The Round Up... Eye Creams

If there's one thing I can call myself a bona fide expert on it's eye cream - I suffer from dark circles, extremely sensitive, often inflamed and very dry, delicate and dehydrated eyes. Yep, I get all the luck. I fully believe in having options within all types of skincare and listening to what your skin wants on a daily basis and the same goes for eyes - after years of experimenting I have a nice little wardrobe of eye creams to chose from to treat different issues.

Best For... Dark Circles 

StriVectin-EV Get Even Dark Circle Corrector - £38.00

Okay, so this is the one that's made the biggest difference to my life - I've had dark under eye circles since before I can remember - you can check my prep school picture if you don't believe me! I remember asking my classmates in junior school what time they went to bed at since I thought that under eye circles were all linked to sleeping and, well, it just doesn't matter how much I sleep - they don't go anywhere!  This is the only eye cream to significantly make any difference to my circles - I don't know how it does it but it delivers. Over time it's definitely reduced my dark circles quite noticeably - they're never going to disappear but this really has brought them down. 

It's quite a potent formula and not one I can reach for on days when my eyes are feeling sensitive. Although the Space NK product description says this can be used on the eye lids I find my eyelids are too sensitive for most eye creams so I can't personally recommend that - though clearly it is safe to do so if you're eyes aren't as sensitive as mine! 

This product isn't really designed to do anything other than reduce circles and brighten the area, both of which it does, so you need something else in your arsenal for lines, puffiness and hydration but if your dark circles mean Bobbi Brown Corrector is your best friend then this is one to check out. 

Best For... Puffy Eyes 

Arran Aromatics Green Tea Eye Gel - £3.50*

£3.50 and I can safely say this is the best de-puffing eye gel I've ever used! I was gifted this at an Arran Aromatics blogger event and the lady in the shop said they all swear by it and have various jars in the fridge in the staff room for the early morning starts when the eyes just need to be refreshed a little. I don't think puffiness is something that can really be tackled long term but for an immediate cooling and de-puffing of the eye area this baby is brilliant. 

I also have tried the Origins No Puffery Cooling Roll On which retails at £24.00 and is supposed to do the same job. In fact for my sensitive eyes the Origins product was far too potent and caused the skin to become really inflamed and I have to remove it immediately - though I was still left with visible red marks from where the product had made contact! There is a tingle to the Arran Aromatics version when you apply it but nothing my eyes couldn't handle.

Best For... Dry Eyes 

Eucerin AQUAporin Active Eye Cream - £13.50

When my eyes are dry and dehydrated this is what I reach for. This moisturises and nourishes the skin without being too heavy a formula for the thin skin around the eyes. I also find that no matter who inflamed my eyes are I can still go in with this one and it won't just cause further irritation.

I also love the design of this bottle - it comes with a pump dispenser which I much prefer. Although the other creams in this post have all made it in they've done so based on formulas rather than packaging design - I'm not a fan of the stick your finger in a pot method! The pump dispenser means there's less product waste and it's just all much more hygienic all round.

Make no mistake though, this one hasn't made it in here because of the packaging over formula - the pump is just an added bonus to a fantastic product for anyone with sensitive, dehydrated, dry eyes!

Best All Rounder

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye - £38.00

For those of you who don't have any of these problems in a massive way this is the eye cream that does it all - it delivers hydration, deals with lines and brightens and de-puffs the area. So why have I included all the others? Well, I think this ones main focus is in anti-aging and it deals with the other issues as a by product of revitalising the whole eye are apt make it look fresher and younger. I do see results for my dark circles and hydration levels with this eye cream, but not as much as I see them with the other creams that are specifically designed to target those issues. 

If anti-aging is your main concern or if you don't suffer from any of the above issues in depth then this is a fantastic eye cream to reach for that does it all. It also protects the eye area from UV damage, which as we all know is hugely important, especially now that it's coming to that time of year where we'll all be hoping to start spending some more time in the sun - whether that's through some BBQs in your own back yard or because you're jetting off to a tropical island.