Worth the Hype? | Hourglass Vanish Liquid Foundation
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I know a lot of you were umm-ing and ahh-ing as to whether the new Hourglass foundation is worth trying out – particularly since it is a successor of the amazing original Vanish Stick foundation – which has pretty much set the bar sky high – and it comes with a hefty price tag!
Me being me, I decided that of course 51 of my hard-earned pounds were acceptable to handover in exchange for such a coveted (especially by me) product. I mean let’s be honest, when it comes to Hourglass, it doesn’t take much to twist my arm!!
So, I have now been using the liquid foundation for two weeks straight. My thoughts on the product are (shock horror) in summary, that it is pretty darn special!!
As always, I will break these thoughts down for you.....
As always, I will break these thoughts down for you.....
Packaging
Just as you would expect, the packaging is a beautifully sturdy, frosted glass bottle. The plastic lid is the signature Hourglass, espresso-brown shade. The shape is unusual in that it has a flat back, and the bottle is almost domed upwards from the back. Imagine the capital letter ‘D.’ That’s what the bottle would look like from above, if you were looking at the lid. Wow, why was that so hard to explain?! Anyway, thumbs up from me. Not suuuper-ideal for travel, when you compare it to the convenience of the stick version, but for the quality, I'll absolutely let that go....
Shade Range
32 shades of this foundation were released. Personally, I'm pretty impressed with that. My only little niggle is that, looking at the 32 shades, they do seem to be quite top-heavy when it comes to lighter complexions. There is a good range for darker skin tones too, but I think Hourglass could have added just a few more just to balance out the weighting.
Here is the actual swatch image from the Hourglass website...
Formula
There is absolutely no denying that the claim that this is a seamless, full-coverage foundation are true. In fact, there isn’t a single bad decision in my life that cannot be covered up with this foundation!! The claim is also that no primer is needed - I would agree. I always moisturise before applying foundation anyway, but if like me you use a primer either to smooth your skin or increase your make-up's longevity, in my opinion you definitely won’t need a primer with this.
The formula is so pigmented that literally half a pump will cover your entire face. Even for me – and I like a FULL coverage foundation most of the time – half a pump is enough. I know it sounds hard to believe but it really is enough.
When I first bought the stick foundation, the lady in the store told me that the formula is ‘double-pigmented’ so only half the amount is needed. I’m not sure if that is also true of the liquid version, but it definitely applies that way.
The finish is very (VERY) matte. If you have oily skin, you’re likely to never see a glimmer of oil on your face all day if you’re wearing this. But similarly, I don’t think if you have dry skin, that you’ll see any dry patches or flaking.
I have combination skin, and normally I find that foundation breaks up from the oil on my forehead, and sticks to dry patches on my chin and lower cheeks – not ideal!! But this literally sits in the same place on my face all day – without primer, just a spritz of setting spray (I always use setting spray) – with no breaking up, no patchiness, and no dry spots. This has honestly been a dream to work with. I just love that I come home looking the same as I did when I left for work!!
There is a claim that this foundation will act as a ‘second skin.’ I’m not entirely sure about that as it definitely is a full-coverage foundation, it’s not at all sheer or undetectable in my opinion. Having said that, it has never caked up or looked heavy, so I guess in that sense it does look like a second skin 🙂
Value for Money
So then, what are we thinking? Is £51 for less than 1floz good value for money? I guess until you try it out, no probably not...
However, to me, having used this for 14 days non-stop, it’s already worth it.
Think about all the other brands you’ve ever tried a foundation from before... Were they ANYWHERE NEAR as good quality as this one? I guess you won’t know until you try it – oh dear, wakey wakey Hannah!!! – but, I mean for a high-end brand anyway, I don’t think the price is extortionate. Yes, it’s on the pricier side, but when you work out how long it will last you (I mean, half a pump per full-face....) along with the insane quality of the product, personally I can get past it. I already know when this runs out, I'll be repurchasing it – although that will probably be in about 2 years’ time!!
So, in summary...
- Coverage/Finish: Full coverage, matte finish
- Shade range: 32 shades
- Product volume: 25ml (or 0.84floz)
- Price/value-for-money: £51. Expensive but a high-end product, super-pigmented and super-full coverage so only half a pump needed for a full-face
So, I guess it’s up to you! If you asked me whether or not I think you should give it a go, I'd absolutely say yes. But then I just love Hourglass.
** By the way, this post is in no way affiliated with Hourglass, they did not gift me the product, nor have they asked me or paid me to write this post. I just love them and love their products so chances are I was always going to love this...!! Hehehe **
Hugs, kisses and flawless skin wishes,
Hannah xx
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