Foundation is one of the few make-up products that I'm always a little sceptical of trying from new brands. I have dry to combination skin and am very fair with very slight pink undertones, so finding a great shade match for me that also doesn't cling to dry patches or make me look oily is quite a task. After browsing the 100% Pure website, I thought I'd give their Air Cushion Foundation* a try, the shade that I'm reviewing here is Alpine Rose, their lightest cool-toned shade.
The first thing that really impressed me about this foundation was the packaging, just look how pretty it is. The metallic rose gold compact is so beautiful that I rarely put it away in a drawer, I'd rather have it out on display on my dressing table. Not only is it lovely to look at though, it's very practical too. Rather than just opening the lid and having the sponge sat on top of the product like I've had with similar foundations in the past, everything here has its own little compartment, meaning that it stays as bacteria free as it possibly can, which considering the foundation is dispersed through a sponge, is important.
Open the lid and you're greeted with a decent sized mirror, and it's a pretty good one. There's no distortion around the edges, I actually keep this in my bag sometimes just for the mirror when I'm out and about. Under the mirror is a latex-free sponge that you use to apply the foundation to your skin. I couldn't find anything online to say whether it was latex-free or not so I asked them (because I have an allergy), within hours they got back to me with information from the manufacturer that it was safe for me to use. I always appreciate it when a brand goes out of their way to help me like that. The sponge is the perfect size, and my fingers fit perfectly under the little ribbon that's marked with the brand's logo. I do have rather large sausage fingers, though, so if you're petite you may find that you're better off gripping the sponge at the edge instead.
Beneath the applicator sponge is another lid, flip that up and it reveals a bouncy sponge which covers the foundation. Gently push the applicator sponge into it and you'll see the foundation start to seep throught. Even on first use it didn't take much to saturate the sponge with product, but it doesn't release too much either so there's no need to be super careful with it.
I found that the applicator sponge does a really great job of applying the foundation, which I wasn't expecting. I'm a brush girl at heart, and always throw sponges away when they come with a product, but I've tried applying this with a few different brushes and, while the finish was ok, it was easily the most flawless and natural with the sponge provided.
As for the consistency of the foundation, it took me a while to warm up to it to be honest. I like my face products to be almost undetectable, to feel nice and smooth on the skin, but this feels sticky for a fair while after application, so if that's something that bothers you it may not be for you. The plus side to that is, of course, if you want to powder your make-up, it will really grip onto the powder which makes it last longer meaning fewer touch up's throughout the day. As it's maracuja oil based, I wouldn't recommend this for anyone with oily or spot prone skin, but if you have dry skin it would be great for you. The oil will help to moisturise your skin and it won't cling to dry patches, or at least it didn't on mine.
The shade Alpine Rose is ideal for me, it's cool-toned but not too much, very fair and just seems to sink into my skin leaving zero evidence at first, or second, glance that I'm wearing anything at all. That is partly due to the foundation being incredibly sheer, though, and when I say "sheer" I don't mean that it would allow the odd freckle to show through, I mean that if this is all you plan on wearing your skin had better be in good shape. I have a number of marks and blemishes on my skin and this didn't cover any of them, no matter how much I tried to build it up. Because of how sheer the formula is I found it impossible to tell how it wore throughout the day, my skin looked the same after eight hours wear, but then it only slightly evens things out anyway, there's not a huge difference there.
If you like the no-make-up-make-up look the chances are you will really like this foundation, but if you're like me and feel the need to cover most blemishes this won't be your cup of tea. 100% Pure do a few other types of foundation so I look forward to trying out a higher coverage one and hopefully I'll like that more. I was so desperate to love this product as it's quite expensive at £32 and is so unique as with all of their make-up, it's coloured with fruit dye, which fascinates me. However, I just can't say that I do, it's just not the right formula or coverage for my taste.
I have a couple of other products from 100% Pure coming up, and I'm delighted to say that one is a rave review, so be sure to come back for that. I'm sorry that there aren't any swatches in this post, I'm having a slight issue uploading them but will add them in as soon as I can.
100% Pure Maracuja Oil Air Cushion Foundation is available from their UK website for £32 and refills are £26.
Have you tried anything from this brand? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Open the lid and you're greeted with a decent sized mirror, and it's a pretty good one. There's no distortion around the edges, I actually keep this in my bag sometimes just for the mirror when I'm out and about. Under the mirror is a latex-free sponge that you use to apply the foundation to your skin. I couldn't find anything online to say whether it was latex-free or not so I asked them (because I have an allergy), within hours they got back to me with information from the manufacturer that it was safe for me to use. I always appreciate it when a brand goes out of their way to help me like that. The sponge is the perfect size, and my fingers fit perfectly under the little ribbon that's marked with the brand's logo. I do have rather large sausage fingers, though, so if you're petite you may find that you're better off gripping the sponge at the edge instead.
Beneath the applicator sponge is another lid, flip that up and it reveals a bouncy sponge which covers the foundation. Gently push the applicator sponge into it and you'll see the foundation start to seep throught. Even on first use it didn't take much to saturate the sponge with product, but it doesn't release too much either so there's no need to be super careful with it.
I found that the applicator sponge does a really great job of applying the foundation, which I wasn't expecting. I'm a brush girl at heart, and always throw sponges away when they come with a product, but I've tried applying this with a few different brushes and, while the finish was ok, it was easily the most flawless and natural with the sponge provided.
As for the consistency of the foundation, it took me a while to warm up to it to be honest. I like my face products to be almost undetectable, to feel nice and smooth on the skin, but this feels sticky for a fair while after application, so if that's something that bothers you it may not be for you. The plus side to that is, of course, if you want to powder your make-up, it will really grip onto the powder which makes it last longer meaning fewer touch up's throughout the day. As it's maracuja oil based, I wouldn't recommend this for anyone with oily or spot prone skin, but if you have dry skin it would be great for you. The oil will help to moisturise your skin and it won't cling to dry patches, or at least it didn't on mine.
The shade Alpine Rose is ideal for me, it's cool-toned but not too much, very fair and just seems to sink into my skin leaving zero evidence at first, or second, glance that I'm wearing anything at all. That is partly due to the foundation being incredibly sheer, though, and when I say "sheer" I don't mean that it would allow the odd freckle to show through, I mean that if this is all you plan on wearing your skin had better be in good shape. I have a number of marks and blemishes on my skin and this didn't cover any of them, no matter how much I tried to build it up. Because of how sheer the formula is I found it impossible to tell how it wore throughout the day, my skin looked the same after eight hours wear, but then it only slightly evens things out anyway, there's not a huge difference there.
If you like the no-make-up-make-up look the chances are you will really like this foundation, but if you're like me and feel the need to cover most blemishes this won't be your cup of tea. 100% Pure do a few other types of foundation so I look forward to trying out a higher coverage one and hopefully I'll like that more. I was so desperate to love this product as it's quite expensive at £32 and is so unique as with all of their make-up, it's coloured with fruit dye, which fascinates me. However, I just can't say that I do, it's just not the right formula or coverage for my taste.
I have a couple of other products from 100% Pure coming up, and I'm delighted to say that one is a rave review, so be sure to come back for that. I'm sorry that there aren't any swatches in this post, I'm having a slight issue uploading them but will add them in as soon as I can.
100% Pure Maracuja Oil Air Cushion Foundation is available from their UK website for £32 and refills are £26.
Have you tried anything from this brand? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
*PR sample, you can read my full disclosure policy here.
