As I told you a while ago, I've been on the look out for a an autumn/winter foundation that would suit all of my skin's needs while the weather was cold. My skin can sometimes react quite badly to changes in temperature so I was ideally looking for a foundation that wasn't too drying, has decent coverage, lasts all day and didn't affect the condition of my skin. While perusing the Marks and Spencer website I came across the Smooth Matte Mousse foundation and decided to give it a go.
The foundation comes beautifully packaged; the first thing you see is the standard glossy black box that the entire Autograph range is presented in with the shade name on a sticker sealing the box closed. Once open there's a gorgeous heavy glass jar with a screw off black lid with the name 'Autograph' etched in white.
The shade I chose is 'Ivory', which is very pale, even a little too pale for me, but with a bit of bronzer it looks like a perfect match. It's quite possibly the lightest shade of foundation I've ever seen, which is a great thing as I know so many people struggle to find high street foundations that are light enough.
I have combination skin with occasional dry patches, at the moment I have more dry patches than usual, but this foundation doesn't highlight them at all, even though it is completely matte. If the dry areas are very bad a little exfoliation is all that's needed to smooth them out, then they're barely noticeable.
I don't even need to powder over the top of the foundation to make it last all day, and 8 hours after application I can just about see a slight shine in my t-zone. If I do have an 'oily day' the foundation still works brilliantly, if not better, so I think this could be a really good option for those with combination oily skin. After 12 hours of wear it starts to separate a little around my nose, but other than that still looks great, in fact I don't touch up at all throughout the day and it pretty much stays put until I take it off at night. The only problem I have with it is that it does transfer quite badly. I went to the opticians whilst wearing it and was really embarrassed by the mark it left on the little head rest.
So many products are advertised as 'a little will go a long way', and that's always been a slight pet peeve of mine, but it honestly is true with this. I've never used any other base that spreads and blends as easily as this foundation, meaning that your 20ml jar will last you ages. The best application method I've found is using a dense, round-top kabuki brush, it blends the foundation seamlessly and quickly, and looks very natural whilst also giving decent coverage. The coverage I get this way is medium, but it's slightly buildable if you need to cover more than I do.
Over all I really like the Autograph Smooth Matte Mousse Foundation; it applies effortlessly, gives a lovely finish, has no scent, wears really well, doesn't need powdering, the shade is amazingly pale and one jar will last months. I continue to be very impressed with Marks and Spencer make-up and am so pleased that so much of it is vegan.
Autograph Smooth Matte Mousse Foundation is available in 6 shades from Marks and Spencer's online and in stores nation wide for £9.50.
Have you tried this or any other foundation from Marks and Spencer? What did you think of it?
