First Look| Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation

Like any dramatic K-drama star, I'm unsure of my feelings and thoughts regarding Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation (~ $10 at CVS.) I love him, I don't love him, I tolerate him, I want him to work. I believe this has been around in the U.K. for some time and just recently introduced to the U.S. market.

You see, he's a little too....beige for me. When I first saw him on display, I knew him and his brothers were going to be too pink, cool toned, orange, or beige for my taste. I took home 300 True Beige which, is already a giveaway to his true colors. Perhaps if I was NC25-30, my tanner skin would work better with his tone and depth. 

There is he on the very right. It's... orange!!! I can get away with the MUFE F&B because it's very sheer on the skin, but the opacity of the Lasting Finish is ultra obvious on me, resulting in an orange and dark face compared to a light and olive neck.

From left to right: Benefit Hello Flawless in Petal. MUFE F&B in #34, Bourjois HM Serum #53, and Rimmel Lasting Finish In True Beige.

Other than this fault (and the fact that he's rather thick and doesn't have a pump)  he's really a sweet guy. He sticks around all day on my skin and lives up to the claim giving me at least 10 hours worth of wear. He also provides a medium coverage and satin finish that doesn't transfer or break down halfway through the day. It's also transfer- resistant and very hard to remove with just water and a cloth. 

The formulation is not the nicest to my laugh line or fine lines under the eyes, but at least he doesn't make fun of my pores. If I had to be a nitpicky woman, I'd say that this foundation doesn't hold up around the sides of my nose which has been freakishly oily while the rest of my face is dehydrated and full of sads.

These photos are really deceptive since you can't pick up the orange tones even in indirect natural sunlight. That, or I've blended it down my neck. Either way, I was rather self conscious whenever I wore this foundation in public to test it out for your sake. 

If you have the patience to find a color match in the drugstore, I still think there are better options with a wider shade range. This formulation is nothing special: it feels a tad heavier and doesn't do wonders for oil control or textured/dry skin. In other words, you could do better. 

xo Be

Review| Rimmel Stay Matte foundation

My favorite product from Rimmel has always been and always will be their Stay Matte setting powder in Sandstorm. The color match is great and the pressed form, while rather tacky in its plastic packaging, is super convenient and non-messy. For every day, it has never failed to keep my face relatively oil free without looking too matte. And the best part? It's under 3 dollars everywhere I've checked.

Now with the release of a Stay Matte primer as well as foundation, there's hope for people on a budget but still want a base product that will keep them ultra matte. Today I'll be reviewing the foundation, which comes in eight shades. Its sanitary squeeze tube can be found taking over drugstore displays everywhere and retails for under 5 dollars.

For the price of a latte you can't ask for fancy glass and smoke and mirrors.Simple and portable, if only you didn't need a damp sponge for the best effect.

Also, are you pink and pale, pinker, orange, super pink, or beige? There are 8 available shades, but I often only see two or three stragglers left on displays.  To be honest with ya, I wasn't intrigued at first because I could tell that the limited shade range wouldn't have olive tones for me.


Though their intentions are well and the foundation performs beautifully, my biggest gripe with this product is the abysmal shade range. I still purchased it to see how this performs and write a review based outside of color match issues. I chose 203 True Beige which believe me, is a true beige. It seems to be at the same tone as NW25 or NW30, perhaps NC37.

See what I mean? Beige. Under very bad lighting it blends somewhat well, but in broad daylight you can see that my neck is much lighter and more yellow. Here's the problem, it looks amazing on the skin and performs like Revlon Colorstay and Covergirl 3-in-1 without feeling as heavy. And....I have no match. Okay then. I did see a Youtuber around my shade and she tried out 200 Soft Beige, which still seemed very neutral but closer to my tone.

The consistency of the product is a thick mousse that isn't too heavy and applies nicely with a Beauty Blender. I wouldn't use a brush with this unless it was a stippling or buffing brush. It doesn't set too quickly, but it's still best to work in sections. The overall finish is semi-matte and medium to full coverage. I didn't need a concealer for any red spots or patches on my skin.

Look at how thick that is though, like a loaf of doodoo. Blech.

I found that it didn't exactly "control my oil" but kept my skin looking semi-matte all the way to satin by the end of the day. Yeah, I wore it around the house and probably looked like an oompa loompa to the husband. And while he noticed that the color was off, he also said that if I really wanted to make it work, I could just blend all the way down my neck to match my tan chest.
...He knows too much.

I didn't notice any caking, creasing, or fading with this foundation until the 8 hour mark. To be honest with you, it looks like Tarte 12 Hour Full Coverage Foundation ($38 retail) for an extremely low budget production! It really is light-weight for how much coverage it offers. While I wasn't sweating buckets on the times I tried it out, it still kept that semi-matte finish for the entire time I wore it. With a matte setting powder the foundation can go for ever.

The only other problem I see with Stay Matte is that it definitely "looks" heavy on the skin, simply because it is very full coverage for me. While it didn't emphasize pores, it made my laugh lines stand out a bit. Primer isn't crucial, but something that eradicates lines may help. It's also best to use much less than you think you need and keep sheering it out with a damp BB.

While I like it and think that those who are combo to oily with neutral/pink undertones will be over the moon, I can't stand a foundation that doesn't match. If Rimmel introduces just a few more yellow-toned shades to round it out, Stay Matte would be in my arsenal for summer.

Did you try this one out?

xo Be