Last week I purchased the new foundation by Bourjois as part of my ongoing quest for the perfect foundation. I've been using it religiously since and I'm still not entirely sure what to make of it!

The bottle says it will give you a "fresh and even complexion; detoxified skin; brings oxygen and filters pollution". It also says (in tiny print, on the side) that 98% of the ingredients are of natural origin and 21.9% are from organic farming. Sounds all good and healthy right? After having a nosy at the ingredient list it does have some things in there that sound good, all seed oils and soybeans (soybeans??) and the second most important ingredient is "camellia sinensis leaf water" which is basically tea. Yes, tea. 

Swatch:

What I like about this foundation:

* The coverage is EXCELLENT. I will enclose a (rather horrific) picture of me with my face only half made-up so you can appreciate how good this coverage is. For those of you wondering why my face is bright pink on one side, I had applied a good deal of cheek stain underneath the foundation (for reasons why keep reading). I am also quite spotty at the moment (as you can see), yet on my right cheek the blemishes are completely covered up and my under-eye-bag looks much better, no? You can layer this as well, although I'd advise against caking it on.

* The colour, like Healthy Mix, is spot on. I bought this in the same shade as my Healthy Mix one, in shade 53 (Light Beige) and it really blends in with my skin tone.

* The consistency is good, and it dries to a matte finish, which for shiny people like me, is a good thing!

* I also really like the smell; again, like Healthy Mix, it smells...well, healthy. Fruity. But it doesn't linger, which is good!

* I really loved this upon first application. Honestly, I told my sister it was my HG foundation. But over the last five days of using it, I have encountered problems of the blending variety. Do NOT put this on with a brush. It dries super quickly and leaves nice little tidemarks. I've found the best way to use it is to put some on my hand then rub it into my skin. Also, because it is matte, it can make your skin look TOO matte and thus even my oily skin looks really dry (as evidenced in this also rather horrific photo)

* It does need a powder over the top as it is very easily transferable. It also tends to settle into fine lines around the eyes, into fine hairs, and in the corners of the mouth, so requires constant attention so as to not look weird.

* For some reason it just will not take to my cheek stain! The only way I can apply my cheek stain is by loading a massive amount onto my cheeks before putting this foundation on, because putting it on over the top just makes a mess, the foundation becomes liquid again and moves all round my face, so I end up having to put more on... I imagine it would be fine with powder blushes though.

To conclude, I have on and off days with this product. Sometimes I'm ecstatic with the way it looks on my skin, others, not so much. I find it needs constant attention and when I'm out and about I just cannot be bothered to keep checking my reflection. However, when it's good, it's very very good, and it does even out my skintone nicely. I haven't yet had a reaction to it (despite all the spots, they're from another product, grrr) so it's a good product for sensitive, easily irritated skin. I really wanted to love this, though, and it's not quite done enough to make it my HG foundation.

8/10 (How I would have loved to have given it a 10)