There’s been so much hype surrounding the Too Faced Born This Way foundation since it’s initial US launch back in June 2015. Even after it became available in the UK and Ireland, I was faced with so many conflicting reviews and opinions , as interested as I was (especially with the foundation’s claims, the ingredients Too Faced had used and the fact that I’m always on the hunt for my perfect ‘holy grail’ foundation!), I had pretty much given up on the idea of trying it. I don’t know about you, but sometimes, hype equals ‘must get it, have to have it now!!’, but equally can completely put me off wanting to try things until the hype fades, it makes me lose interest. It’s hype and of course the outcome of reviews during this time that’s ultimately going to decide how I feel! It was virtually impossible to gauge this one without actually trying it myself. Even my trusty similar skin tone/ type to me YouTubers were not their usual helpful selves to me as reports were so divided!
Anyway…Too Faced Born this Way recently appeared back on my makeup lust list radar after complimenting someone’s (very beautiful) skin only to be told that is was exactly the foundation I had avoided for so long. I had to try it!
Ok…so the Too Faced tag lines for this foundation are, ‘ This oil free foundation masterfully diffuses the line between makeup and skin. Coverage so undetectable and skin so naturally radiant, they’ll think you were born this way!’ and ‘The skin you were born to have!’.
I’m pretty much sold at this point already, ha ha, but let’s have a look at the claims.
Too Faced says (relating to consumer study results):
100% said this foundation blurred their imperfections.
98% said this foundation made their skin look absolutely perfect.
97% said this foundation provided natural coverage.
Ingredients’ benefits include:
Coconut Water – replenishes skin’s moisture levels.
Alpine Rose – to brighten and promote elasticity.
Hyaluronic Acid – for a smoother, more youthful appearance.
I’m a fan of Hyaluronic Acid in skin care/ base products anyway, so the addition of other skin loving ingredients and the fact that it’s oil free were also big selling points for me.
Born This Way is now available in 18 shades altogether, which is great, however, only the 12 original shades are currently available in store and easy to get hold of in the UK and Ireland, which is disappointing. The 6 newer shades, 2 lighter and four darker are so far only available in the US, on the Sephora and Too Faced websites, both of which ship to the UK (only the Too Faced website provides shipping to Ireland at the moment).
Some larger Debenhams stores carry the Too Faced brand and it is also available via their website (affiliate link).
The colours available are (followed by the Too Faced colour description):
SNOW* – very fair w/ neutral to pink undertones
PEARL* – very fair w/ neutral to golden undertones
PORCELAIN – fair w/ neutral to pink undertones
IVORY – fair w/ neutral to golden undertones
VANILLA – fair/ light w/ neutral to pink undertones
NUDE – light w/ neutral to pink undertones
WARM NUDE – light w/ neutral to golden undertones
LIGHT BEIGE – light/ medium w/ neutral to golden undertones
NATURAL BEIGE – medium w/ neutral to pink undertones
WARM BEIGE – medium w/ neutral to golden undertones
SAND – medium/ tan w/ neutral to golden undertones
GOLDEN – tan w/ neutral to pink undertones
HONEY – tan w/ neutral to golden undertones
CARAMEL – deep tan w/ neutral to golden undertones
MOCHA* – deep tan w/ neutral to pink undertones
MAPLE* – DARK w/ neutral to pink undertones
CHESTNUT* – dark w/ neutral to golden undertones
MAHOGANY* – deep w/ neutral to pink undertones
(* currently US/ mail order only)
Born This Way retails at £29/€35 for 30ml of product, which is the standard amount of most foundations. I have to say, the packaging is gorgeous! Too Faced as a brand do generally have very pretty packaging, not the most innovative, but very cute none the less. The sleek frosted glass bottle, admittedly makes the colour inside a little harder to judge, but it does look great! The built in pump dispenser wins major points for ease of use, as well as from a hygiene point of view and dispenses the perfect amount of foundation for an even, full face application.
After checking all of the shades on the Too Faced website and watching countless YouTube tutorials and swatch videos, I figured out that I’d be most likely matched to either the shades Pearl or Ivory.
So my skin? I’m pretty fair normally (and although I do tan in the sun, it does tend to fade quickly) and have more of a neutral to golden undertone. I’d be a MAC NC15, probably closer to an NC17 if it existed (it should, have said this for years!). It’s combination and can boarder on the dehydrated side at times. My nose is my main problem area, it can get really oily throughout the day. Even though my skin’s like this, I don’t like to have a flat matte finish, especially as I’m getting older. I’m always looking for a good coverage, but with a radiant, healthy and real skin finish…I don’t ask for much, ha ha!
I’d been really busy and didn’t get the chance to swatch myself in store (the easiest store for me to get to that stock Too Faced are Debenhams in Liverpool or the one in the Ilac Centre in Dublin) so considering Pearl (the slightly lighter of the two) would be harder to get hold of, I decided to pick up Ivory to see how I got on.
First thoughts…way too yellow! Now I do struggle with foundations being to pink toned, but I’m also not very sallow, I would be on the more neutral to golden side as I’ve mentioned before. First impressions were (thankfully!) deceiving and once it was actually worked in to my skin, it was a good match for me. Anyone who has a fair skin with more neutral to pink undertones would be in need of the Porcelain shade, although I do believe it runs slightly darker as well as pinker, more similar to a MAC NW20 rather than NW13/15.
I’ve tried applying it with both a lightly dampened Beauty Blender (Available on Amazon (Affiliate link)) and my current favourite foundation brush (Zoeva 104 Buffer Brush – Available at Beauty Bay) and it blends smoothly and seamlessly in to the skin with both.
I wouldn’t say it’s undetectable in terms of appearance on the skin as it is a medium to full coverage foundation, but I will agree that it does have a naturally radiant and more real skin finish, it doesn’t look thick or cakey. The texture is beautiful and in my experience, it’s not often that a foundation with this high level of coverage feels as light and comfortable on the skin as the Born This Way does!
I’ve also worn it with and without primer. When I do wear primer, it usually tends to just be my nose area to control any oiliness. I have to admit, it didn’t make a huge deal of difference with this one, I did however need to set my oily areas with setting powder. It lasted well, a good 8 hours and stayed looking good (although not freshly applied) the whole time. I’m a face toucher too, ha ha and I did feel it lasted well regardless. Towards the end of the day, the area that had worn the most was my chin. With my nose being the normal problem area and my chin being the area I touch/ lean on the most, I was prepared to overlook a bit of end of day fade on my chin and I didn’t get the oil slick that a lot of others had reported which was good!
I did touch up with a bit of translucent powder following the use of a Blot film (link) about 3 times throughout the day, this however would be my normal touch up amount for most foundations.
I was impressed by the coverage from a minimal amount of product. One pump was enough for my full face and then about half a pump more in areas that need a little more coverage…for me, I do get a bit of redness around the nose and cheeks and that gave me a good medium to full coverage.
My main criticism of the Born This Way line is the range of colours. Yes they have a decent amount, but even though they have already launched shade extensions, they’re not yet widely available, meaning the very pale or people darker than a NC45 ish in MAC are not catered for. It’s unfortunate as I do think Born This Way is a beautiful foundation, but not everyone has mid tone skin. Some true neutral shades would also be a welcome addition as I can see how a lot of the shades would be too yellow/ pink for some.
To sum up…I really like this foundation. So much so, I have added it to my usual rotation of base products. It does blur perfections and it does perfect my skin without looking or feeling heavy. I wouldn’t describe it as a natural coverage, as to me, a natural coverage would mean just an evened out skin tone rather than covering imperfections to the level this does, but considering it’s level of coverage, it does it well and I would say instead that it has a natural finish, which it does…I’m impressed!
Who else has tried this and how did it work (or not) for you?
Lyd x
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