Barry M Fresh Face Liquid Foundation & Cheek and Lip Tint - Review
I like full coverage foundation; I like how it covers all my red patches and old scars from spots, but I don’t always like the way it feels. This past year the trend seems to be moving away from thick full coverage bases and onto a more tinted moisturiser like finish. While I think this looks great on many people, I do still feel like I need the coverage - they’ve also so far been either not Cruelty Free or too expensive! That’s why I was super excited when I saw Barry M was releasing a new Fresh Face Collection.
A lightweight, medium coverage foundation that they claim to be flawless and dewy with an effortless finish, add in a beautiful looking cream blusher, and I had to pick them up!
Packaging:
Barry M has recently been focusing on more sustainable packaging for their products - removing the mirrors from their eyeshadow palettes for easier recycling being the first I can remember. So, while these are in plastic tubes, it was nice to see clearly written on the back that they are made with 30% recycled plastic.
While it would have been nice to have easily recyclable packaging, I get that this isn’t always possible - especially at a low drugstore price tag!
Swatching:
Not a great picture- but how do you make a foundation swatch look nice? The foundation’s consistency was a lot thicker than I thought, more traditional feeling than a tinted moisturiser, which is what I had expected. This does have a slight fragrance, although it’s nothing too noticeable and is probably there to hide any chemical smell - it also faded pretty quickly after applying.
I applied the foundation to my hand with a dense buffing brush and found the results streak-free and pretty seamless. While this is in no way full coverage, it does a great job of evening out the skin tone and neutralising the redness in my skin.
The blusher and cheek tint also has that faint fragrance, slightly more of an issue for me with this one as it’s meant to go on the lips, and it’s just too strong - so I can only review this as a blusher!
This blusher is quite sheer but very buildable. At first, I was worried that I’d chosen the wrong shade or that it would look too orange on my skin - but as long as you use less than I did in my swatches and build it up slowly, it’s perfect.
Testing:
Before applying the foundation, I used The Body Shop Instablur™ Primer. It’s pore blurring and slightly mattifies the skin - my go-to choice for under a glowy foundation. I applied it with my usual Bh Cosmetics Flat Top Brush, and it was super easy. This foundation applies like a dream, blending in seamlessly with zero streaking. I would say I used more product than I would with a full coverage foundation, although this is fairly typical with a tinted moisturiser, and the tube is a pretty generous 35ml.
The best thing about it has got to be how natural it looks on the skin, not settling into pores or making dry patches look worse. It dries down fast enough, and even on my oily skin didn’t feel too greasy - I did set my t-zone with powder but left the rest as it was.
As for the blusher, I was pretty apprehensive when first squeezing it onto the brush. My experience applying cream products over foundation has been mixed, with a good amount being complete duds. I’m thinking completely removing the foundation, making it look streaky, that sort of thing. I am so happy to say that it wasn’t the case here!
This blusher is super easy to apply, doesn’t move the foundation underneath and looks flawlessly natural. It’s buildable but not particularly pigmented, so if you’re someone who likes a lot of blush, it may be worth going for a deeper tone.
Wear Test
This is my skin after five hours of wear. No filters or editing; it’s probably the most accurate image I can give you of how my skin looked in real life. While covering up most of the redness in my skin, you can still obviously see some minor marks and old scars from breakouts; this is more of an issue close up, but it does add to the skin looking more natural. I did add some concealer on other parts of my face, and that worked perfectly well. The blusher also looked great on; it did fade pretty quickly, but that is something I find happens a lot.
Verdict:
This foundation overall is a winner. It’s not for everyone, and most people will need to use a higher coverage concealer with it - myself included, but it really has filled a gap in my makeup collection. Probably not ideal for a full glam look, but I can see this being perfect for long days at a theme park or just out shopping (hopefully we get to do those things again soon!). It also gets extra points from me as a glasses wearer for not splitting or rubbing off on the bridge of my nose - that was impressive.
The blusher is nice, hasn’t blown all others out the water, but I will gladly use it up and have already bought another one in the shade, “Summer Rose”. Slightly deeper than “Peach Glow”, I think I might like this one more.
Have you tried anything from the Barry M Fresh Face range? What did you think?