Strangely for a self confessed make up addict this is my first stick foundation. Mainly based on the recommendation of celebrated make up artist Sam Fine, (now at Fashion Fair) and a variety of blog and You Tube reviews where women consistently spoke positively about this product.
Black Opal is a range for women of colour (hurrah) that is not readily stocked in the UK (booooo) which is a real shame. I got mine from Amazon.co.uk, based on very little information about the shade. I figured that if the product was too light I would use it as a highlighter or give it to a friend and if it was too dark, it would be a my contouring product.
Beautiful Bronze is EXACTLY the right colour for the my cheeks. Like many women, my face is not just one colour – the perimeter of my face is darker than the centre of my face, and my chin is darker still. There is never going to be just one colour that works for my whole face… but wait, the best is yet to come. The absolutely without a shadow of doubt best thing about this colour though is that it is not too yellow and it is not too red. The undertone is EXACTLY right for my skin which is not easy to find. I often find the right colour but because it is too red or too yellow it looks slightly off key on my skin. This means that even though the perimeter of my face is darker, a sheerer application in this area does not make me look like I am wearing a mask.
The other thing that I have discovered about stick foundations is their versatility:-
- I have used it as a concealer. As Black Opal say ‘ sometimes you do have something to hide’. My reality is that when I get a spot, I get a scar that is significantly darker than my skin. With good skincare the scar will fade between three and six months after is appears but I need a concealer. This stick foundation is a great concealer, either applied with the fingers after a liquid moisturiser, or but building this product up in the required areas as part of my foundation application.
- I have used it as a light to medium foundation with a damp beauty blender type sponge for a sheer application. Great for those days when your skin is looking good and you just want to even out the skintone
- I have used it as medium to full coverage foundation by drawing stripes directly onto my face and working it into the skin with my fingers. Great for those days when you have not had enough sleep and it shows in your face.
- I have applied it to the back of my hand and then onto my face with my favourite Louise Young foundation brush (LY34)- this foundation is REALLY blendable and when applied with this brush it gives the most flawless finish.
I found that I did not get significantly oiler during the course of the day with this foundation, but the weather is still cool – I dont know how it will perform in the warmer months, but you will definitely need to use powder to set it as it does transfer but it will last all day. This is a paraben free, mineral oil free and fragrance free product but it does contain titanium dioxide as the SPF when can sometimes cause your foundation to ‘flash’ a lighter shade in photos.
I am really impressed – not only with my ability to buy a foundation online that is my colour(!) but with the colour, texture and finish of this product. I will be investigating other stick foundations.
Have you used Black Opal? Do you have a favourite stick foundation?