Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation and Powder

While reorganizing my makeup drawers the other day I realized I have never talked about the foundation I am currently using. I've talked about the BB Cream I love and adore, but not the actual foundation I've been using. Or even the powder I currently love. Which is a problem I had to rectify as soon as possible. I feel like personal likes count more than some of the other reviews I do, at least from the reader point of view. And while the fun and fancy (aka expensive) foundations and BB creams I get from Birchbox are fun to use and review, this blog is about the best beauty products out there that don't cost a fortune.

Like most people, I have oily skin so I typically actively do things to keep my face from looking like I smeared Vaseline on it. That means I like matte products, and I think the most well known matte products (of the drugstore price range) are the Rimmel Stay Matte foundations and powders. These are a highly affordable set, each costing just $4.99 at Ulta. That's the cost of a large coffee at Starbucks, so well withing my preferred budget. The foundation comes in 6 colors, though they are all on the lighter side. Sorry to my dark complexion readers, hopefully Rimmel will come out with more colors in the future. The powder comes in 8 colors, one of which is transparent so a little more color options there, though again nothing that would be suited for a dark skinned individual.

The powder is a favorite of mine, as you can tell by the decent amount of pan showing. The shade I'm using is 020 Nude Beige, and I think it suits me pretty well. I wear this powder with whatever foundation or BB cream I'm wearing, and I love how it mattifies me right up. It also helps lock my makeup in place, I notice a huge difference in how much my foundation slips around when I don't use this. If applied to heavily it will leave you looking a bit cakey, I've found a stiff but fluffy brush to be my favorite to apply it with. I think my biggest complaint is the cheap packaging, my lid is pretty cracked up around the edges. While I understand that better packaging will drive the price up I don't want to buy a new one because my whole case shattered and my makeup is unusable. And yes, I could depot it into a palette but I think a company should think about the types of wear and tear their product will face when picking out packaging.

The Stay Matte foundation (in the shade 100 Ivory) is actually my Fall/Winter/taking pictures foundation, it is just a bit to heavy for warmer/humid weather. While it says lightweight on the tube, this is a heavier foundation with full coverage. Even without a powder topper it does a really good job of mattifying my skin, and because of the full coverage I rarely have to use concealer. But as I said, it is pretty heavy. You need to apply is carefully and evenly to avoid that cakey look we all try to avoid. I actually prefer to use a stippling brush to apply it, but I imagine a Beauty Blender would apply it wonderfully.

Straight out of the tube you can see how thick it is, I never worry about it pouring off my hand while I apply it. I recommend using a primer with this foundation as well, it can be a little difficult to apply smoothly without it.

As you can see, even without powder it mattes my hand and does a fantastic job evening out my skin tone and hiding things like small scars and my veins.

And here is foundation topped with the powder. Super matte. Enough so that is you over apply it can make you look quite dry, as again I recommend a soft hand while applying these. While I have my complaints about the two, I do like them. I adore the powder and will for sure buy another when this is empty. And while I like the foundation I feel like I can find a better fit for my skin so I'll try something different once this is empty. I do recommend them though and for $4.99 each you can risk trying them out.