In lieu of my little rant about a lack of feedback or blogger response I've had a request for some swatches of No7's Stay Perfect Foundation, so here we go!
No7 Stay Perfect Foundation in Mocha and Walnut, L-R.
I don't think I'm extremely picky when it comes to foundation. As long as it is the right shade, I'm down for anything; matte, semi-matte, demi-matte, dewy, satin, bb cream, cc cream; any of the above. Liquid, cream, gel, powder; it really doesn't matter because I can make any consistency and formula work for my skin, because I know what my skin likes and how to work with product. My only issue is shade matching. Most high street brands either don't cater to darker skin, or if they do then the shades are far to red, or warm, in tone. So imagine my elation when I discovered No7's Stay Perfect Foundation. And for only £14.50 a bottle; can I get a hell yes?!
Packaging: The foundation is bottled in sleek, frosted glass with a black plastic pump (not pictured. I need to get it together, I know) and a black plastic lid that is very secure.
Coverage & Finish: The foundation is medium to full coverage and dries down to a beautiful semi-matte, skin-like finish, which is great for those with oily skin, or even just an oily t-zone. And I find that because it's not 100% matte, it doesn't emphasise any dry patches that I may have which makes it a great all-year-round foundation as it controls shine yet doesn't cling to dry patches.
Longevity: If I wear this in the winter I don't have to set my t-zone. I can literally but this on at 9am and get home at 6pm and my foundation is still as gorgeous as it was when I left the house, with absolutely zero touch-ups. In the warmer months, I do have to set my t-zone with a translucent powder but it's definitely not a big deal.
Scent: The foundation does have that paint-like scent, it reminds me of a much milder version of the Mac Studio Fix Fluid, which stinks to high heaven by the way, but it's nothing unbearable.
Shade Match: And with such potential, everything goes downhill from here. The two shades closest to my skin tone - Mocha and Walnut - do absolutely nothing for me, which is so disappointing! Both the shades far too ashy for my skin tone, which means they're too cool in tone. I do have cooler undertones, but they're more golden, than the strange grey-ish colour that these two shades are. For example, in Mac foundations I'm an NC50-NC55, depending on the foundation. Which means dark but still yellow, ya dig?
Mocha & Walnut (L-R)
Mocha & Walnut (L-R)
Using natural light is not doing me any favours at the moment, so I'll just explain what I'm trying to show you:
Mocha: This shade is obviously too light for me, it's a lot more yellow and pale than I am. With a light hand and some dark powder, Sleek Luminous Pressed Powder for example, I can just about get away with it, but I feel that adding powder makes everything too matte and cakey for my preference.
Walnut: The shade I was matched to in store, which is pretty laughable because this shade is clearly too dark. On the face, this shade makes my skin look sallow and I almost look ill, which is exactly the look I'm going for. Obviously not. The only saving grace this shade has is that I might be able to use it to contour, even though I never contour. Whatever.
All in all this is an amazing foundation in terms of formula but for me personally the shades just don't work. So it'll be back to the drawing board with my hunt for the perfect foundation. Obviously, I'll keep you all updated.
This was a really long review and if you're still with me, you're amazing.
Thank you so much for reading, xo.
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