I had first heard of this from our favourite youtube guru Wayne Goss, this was apparently newly formulated, he spoke about how impressed he was with the quality, how skin like it was and that Bobbi Brown makeup was very yellow based as she preferred more yellow undertones to use on complexions. To tell you the truth, what enticed me the most was the fact that it was a gigantic cream stick of colour that I could simply swipe/paint/draw on my face and magically cover my imperfections :D :D :D. All that aside I done my fair share of research and read only good things about it and desperately wanted to try a cream foundation, as a part of me felt like I would like the feel and texture of a cream base on my skin.

I went into Bobbi Brown a few times to browse their product range and perhaps try some out, they recommended the Moisture Rich Foundation when I told them I had dehydrated combo skin, (at that time I wasn't sure if I wanted the stick version). I did like the Moisture Rich, it was very emollient and dewy, even though I really like/need emollient and dewy, I knew on my combination skin it would be way too much and wouldn't last at all. They matched me up to the shade 4.5 Warm Natural. I felt the shade was a tad too orange on me. I also ran a few searches online and checked shade matches and swatches and Warm Natural came up as the most common possible shade for me. I was very hopeful because of the fact that Bobbi Brown products were mainly yellow under toned, and you know me and yellow...

The next time I went to Bobbi Brown I had the intention to check out the Stick Foundation, I scanned the shades and funnily enough picked up 4.5 Warm Natural not knowing it was actually 4.5 Warm Natural (it looked the yellowest and closest to my skin tone, I've become quite savvy at picking shades that come close to my skin tone just by scanning). I tried it on and blended it in with my fingers, I liked the creamy feel and it blended easily into my skin and was quite skin like. My friend commented that it was a really good match but I didn't buy it that day as I wanted to see how it looked in normal lighting, I would never choose and buy something in store lighting, it's so inaccurate and deceiving! When I got home I inspected whatever was left on my face and actually liked it, it was a decent match. So I decided to buy it!

The product comes in a black plastic tube (I'm pretty sure it's plastic, it might be metal :/) and you have to twist the product up just like a lipstick. The packaging is sleek, neat and compact, so easy to pop into your handbag and travel with for touchups. You get 9g / 0.31oz of product for 29 GBP, which isn't cheap. I would say Bobbi Brown prices are much more higher than MAC (I would place MAC at the more cheaper end of high end). But I think the quality of Bobbi Brown is that extra bit better too.

This is what Bobbi Brown say:

The ultimate nude foundation—Bobbi’s iconic Foundation Stick gets an update with a unique transparent base plus skin tone correct pigments for an incredibly natural look. Its creamy yet weightless texture applies effortlessly and blends seamlessly so all you see is fresh, smooth, even skin. In 24 skin tone correct shades (our broadest shade range). All skin types—this stick formula is our most versatile foundation yet. An innovative blend of emollients—like olive extracts and shea butter—help to moisturise skin (and lock it in), so skin stays looking soft and smooth all day. Light diffusing powders and oil-controlling minerals help perfect the appearance of skin while reducing shine (even in sweat, water and humidity).After moisturising skin, lightly apply across forehead, cheeks, nose, and chin. Blend with fingertips, sponge, or the Foundation Brush (sold separately). Build coverage as desired.
I've used this a good few times, and I must admit, I'm very very impressed with this product. Bobbi Brown are bang on with their product description. I can't also help but notice that whenever Wayne Goss speaks his opinion about a certain product, it almost always happens to be my judgement too (once I've tried it myself). Which is incredibly helpful for when I want an honest and accurate opinion of something. This happened with Nars Sheer Glow, Maybelline Fit me, some other products and just his general stance and technique with makeup is very much like mine. Also the shades are most definitely yellow based, this makes me a very very happy girl :D ! Olive, yellow, Indian, tanned girls will love BB's skin makeup range! 

It bought me MUCH joy when I got to paint tiger stripes all over my face with the stick the first time. It felt so right and so good haha! I used my fingers to blend it in, and I just noticed how easily it blended in and exactly how skin like it was yet providing me with exceptionally good coverage at the same time. I could tell this was quality. The second time I used it I decided to use my Beauty Blender and it worked even better!!!!!! I painted my stripes on and bounced away.....Pores were reduced, acne marks camouflaged, skin was impeccably even toned and smooth, not a single cake or flake in sight whilst still emitting an uber natural finish! It was like a massive magic marker! I was thoroughly impressed.

I could tell my skin texture was slightly visible on my problem areas, such as my forehead, under eyes, around my mouth but I won't argue with that since I was being very generous with the amount I was using. It can feel an itty bitty bit thick since it is a cream foundation, but with the natural satin finish and ample amount of coverage, you really can't complain. I have also noticed that my moderately sized pores tend to gape open after a little while (that sounded weird, but I'm sure you know what I mean), but powder fixes that and I use a little powder to set anyway. Coverage is definitely buildable. Going heavy with this will give you full coverage and can look slightly obvious but still very very good. But if you need light to medium coverage this can pass as undetectable, it will look like you have very healthy even skin and I say this from experience of trying both ways.

I noticed I need to be well exfoliated and moisturised or else it will cling on dry patches and look a bit dry. Though it's actually creamy enough to let me set it with a light dusting of powder on my oily parts (and I avoid powder when I can-just doesn't look right on me). It can last very long on me once set, a good 5-6 hours. Sometimes I also use my Avon Makeup Setting Spray (review coming) before application, (I use it like the Smashbox Primer Water) and I feel like it acts almost like an adhesive making my foundation stay put and last longer. The Stick Foundation is a good in between formula since I'm a bit of everything, so I feel it's suitable for normal to dry skin types. Oily skinned people might find this too emollient and oils may seep out after wearing for a couple of hours if worn on it's own. But I think this can be versatile if you take appropriate steps. You can use extra moisturiser or MAC Fix+ underneath for more lubrication and emollience if you have dry skin or just want a dewy finish. Equally use a mattifying primer before and mattifying powder after if you have oily skin. Both methods will still keep the natural finish intact.

Bobbi Brown Skin Stick Foundation Warm Natural 4.5

Bobbi Brown Skin Stick Foundation Warm Natural 4.5 (Flash)

The shade Warm Natural 4.5 is very very very close to my skin tone, if it was half a shade lighter it would have been PERFECT. I do look a little tanned and orange when I have this on but I'm not going to complain since the formula works so well with my difficult and fussy skin. It is a slight put off for me as it's a shade too dark for my cheeks but it's a good halfway shade for the lightest parts of my face and my hyperpigmentation, just like my Bare Minerals Matte Foundation in Golden Medium. Speaking of hyperpigmentation, my mouth area does turn a bit grey with this on it's own, so I do have to do my colour correcting step beforehand. They actually have a new shade called Golden Natural 4.75, which I'm wondering if it's less orange? Maybe 4.5 Warm Natural is actually light for me? Maybe I'm a shade lower at 4 Natural? I dunno, I'm a tiny tiny bit confused, I'll have to swatch and see. Though I absolutely adore the yellow undertones! 

Bobbi Brown Skin Stick Foundation Natural 4.5

Bobbi Brown Skin Stick Foundation Natural 4.5 (Flash)

Overall I am uber impressed with the Skin Foundation Stick, it is most accurately named "Skin Foundation" and can easily be labelled as "Second Skin". I also read Onika Khatun's review on the Bobbi Brown Liquid Skin Foundation, which I want to try, she also shares my love for the YSL Touche Eclat Foundation and equally shares my disappointment at how the French brand hasn't provided a shade for us South Asian yellow golden girls and she named the Bobbi Brown Liquid Skin Foundation as the Touche Eclat dupe for golden girls! I am interested in trying more Bobbi Brown products, specifically their yellow powders, peach correctors and eye cream. I definitely recommend this foundation to anyone, it's excellent. Peace out!

Note: What works for me necessarily won't work for everyone else, since everyone's skin is different, do test and trial as high end products can be steep. I have dehydrated combination skin, with hyperpigmentation and uneven skin texture. My skin and skin tone is incredibly fussy and this happened to work very well for me.

Extra Note: I know I ramble, I just need to get all my opinions and information out there. Sorry for those who get bored. xxx

Extra Extra Note: I forgot to mention a few of my foundation shades for comparison, I am Stromboli in Nars, between NC35 - NC40 -NC42 in MAC (but I'm starting to believe I don't have an EXACT match in MAC anymore) and Golden Medium in Bare Minerals.

Toodles!

So I've been testing this baby out for the past couple of weeks and I think I'm ready to share my thoughts. FYI I have hyperpigmentation around my mouth which is prone to turning grey when I have foundation on and I have some mild under eye darkness. My skin tone is around an NC35 - NC40 and my discolouration is around NC42 - NC43 (I think). So it's a fairly big difference. It's not obvious when I'm bare faced but once I have any foundation on there, it's like : HELLO UGLY ! I've noticed not all WOC have this problem, I'm a light brown South Asian with strong golden yellow undertones, and have seen people my skintone and darker that don't have this issue.

Well first off the corrector is orange in colour :D ! Orange is used to colour correct dark discolouration under the eyes and for some WOC, around the mouth. The idea is to use this colour corrector under your usual concealer or foundation to counteract the grey shadow that would occur if only an ordinary concealer was to be used. Some people can get away with using only an ordinary concealer to disguise dark circles, whilst others need the extra colour correcting step to mask any discolourations.

I first do my usual skin prep for pre makeup application i.e. a well cleansed/exfoliated and moisturised face and if I need to, a primer. Then gently squeezing the tube I brush on a little orange around my mouth and under my eyes, just a little since it's quite pigmented, and lightly pat/blend it out with my fingers or a sponge. Then I apply my foundation/concealer with my beauty blender and blend that over the corrected areas without moving the orange around. Then I set if I have to. I have only tested this corrector with foundation, as I prefer the lighter coverage and feel of foundation than a concealer. And I technically haven't found a concealer that I like yet :/.

I am impressed with the quality of this corrector. Compared to the Sleek Hide It Concealer in 02 I used before (shade 02 is proper orange), L.A. Girl is tons better, this one is a LOT more pigmented and a tiny bit goes very far. Whereas the Sleek one is a bit more slidey and not as pigmented and kinda cheap (though it does a fairly good job and I can get away with it easily). This one is thicker but is still very creamy and stays put very well! I use this more for my mouth than under eyes, but it works well for there too, when I do use it under my eyes I find that once I've corrected, concealed and set with powder, it doesn't crease too bad. But under eyes isn't a major issue for me, it's more so around the mouth. For just under a fiver the quality is very impressive !

I think it does a reasonably good job at colour correcting my hyperpigmentation. BUT I do find that my hyperpigmentation still fights to peek out from underneath, which is okay I guess, since the corrector manages to disguise the discolouration better than without any colour corrector. I obviously would want it to banish the grey look completely but I know my discolouration is difficult so I won't push my expectancy out to far and I'm not going to expect miracles! If your discolouration ain't too bad it might work better for you. But I still think this product is excellent and wouldn't do a full face of makeup without it! 

A little issue I have is that I have skin texture, specifically around my mouth as well, I do believe it's linked to the discolouration somehow, oddly enough. So layering product is an issue for me, the more layers I have on my face the more obvious it is that I have makeup on. And I'm not too fond of that finish, it's just my personal preference, I would want it to look as natural and seamless as possible. It may be because the texture of the corrector is fairly thick, but since it does a decent job at disguising the grey, I'm not going to argue with that. Plus I admit my general expectations are quite high, I'm just fussy like that unfortunately.

It is because of this specific skin texture that I don't like wearing concealers. I find them too thick and obvious on my skin. I'm not really savvy or experienced with concealers, so if anyone has any tips or suggestions please let me know!! I do have the Nars Creamy Concealer (which I find thick) so I will test it out with the orange corrector. I will also continue to test and try this out in other ways to see if I have better results and will let you know! 

Another little gripe is that I don't like the brush end, the corrector is in a plastic squeezable tube, when it's squeezed, the product goes through a nozzle (which we can't see) and then comes out through the bristles, I would have preferred just a nozzle because I don't like it when product stays in the brush and dries up, it's unhygienic and very annoying to control, since you can't see the amount of product that comes out the nozzle and then through the bristles. What I do is brush my skin with whatever product there was still left on/in the brush and then incredibly gently squeeze the tube to let out a little product and then monitor if product is building up on my skin, then stop squeezing when I have enough. It's tedious because you don't need a lot of this stuff and I don't want to waste it, that's why I would have preferred a clear plastic little nozzle instead. Plus I can't be bothered to clean the brush every time I use it. 

I think colour correcting is a must for those that have colour issues on their skin. I do recommend this corrector, it'll definitely help if not fully counteract the darkness. I do want to try a few more, like the Kiko one, the MAC double ended one, the Armani one too. I also want to try an orange eyeshadow that I saw Arshia of HappyTreasures use. I know many of you were waiting for me to put this up so I hope this review was somewhat helpful. Peace ! Xxx

Note: I bought this off eBay UK from an American seller for under a fiver and it came to the UK in a week! 

Update: I recently got hold of a sample of NC40 and I don't really like it, it's rather neutral and looks orange on me. I think I've tried so many foundations and foundation shades that have a more truer yellow / olive in them that compliment my skin better, that I find NC40 doesn't have enough now. MAC NC40 was my first foundation that I tried after the constant let downs from pink drugstore foundations so whatever yellow / olive it does have in it was a lot better than the drugstore foundations which is why I thought it was really yellow. But it's actually more on the neutral side.

I thought I'd pick up a sample of the Studio Fix Fluid in NC40. I went home and tried it and was pleasantly surprised at how yellow it was, I looked more golden than usual but I thought it actually looked good! It did make me look a little too yellow but I could deal with that. I used it for the following Eid and mixed it with a lighter foundation to tone down the yellow a bit. It went well, I was commented at how flawless my skin looked and just as I had hoped, it lasted longer than the Studio Sculpt did. I actually didn't find it too cakey or drying on my prone-to-dry combo skin. I obviously moisturised well and I mixed some liquid highlighter into it which I think helped. 

Since I liked the foundation I decided to buy the full size bottle but decided to go down a shade to NC37, thinking that the yellow would go down a notch and be a better match to my skin than the overly yellow NC40. Unfortunately the NC37 wasn't yellow enough and was too peachy undertoned for my yellow skin. I should have stuck to the NC40. I can easily get away with it, since I wear a hijab the face neck difference is concealed, but I prefer to wear foundations that are as close as possible to my skintone. 

Also I noticed that the NC37 oxidises, so it becomes more orange! I'm not sure if the NC40 will do the same, it probably will because I've heard MAC SFF oxidises. I also once mixed in some oil to make it more dewy and moisturising and boy did it turn super orange! You'll see it in the next few swatches!! It's rather difficult taking pictures of swatches and making it resemble the real life swatch. 

I heard that NC37 was a newer shade compared to the rest and also found out that the newer inbetween shades are made more neutral than yellow or pink. I'm not sure if NC35 is more yellow but I do want to try it and see how that compares to NC40. If it isn't I may just have to stick to NC40. I also want to compare NC40 to Nars Stromboli, since Nars Stromboli is the most yellowest liquid foundation I've ever come across and is the closest match to my skintone yet. In comparison to Nars, NC37 is very close to Nars Barcelona. 

Here's what MAC have to say about Studio Fix Fluid:

I guess I was probably devastated enough to decide to make my own version. I was just experimenting, a casual pass time experiment, I wasn't going to blog about it or upload it on to my Instagram, but I think it's turned out quite well! So I decided to put it out there for anyone interested. I think you'll need a bit of patience to do this if you're interested, I am quite patient when it comes to these things and am always mixing my own lipstick colours and pouring into empty lip balm tubes. I love a bit of experimental DIY-ing, so pass me the finickety tools and spanners any day! 

Keep wet wipes/oil based MU remover and dry tissues on hand, you'll need them! 

Lolita is a dusty rose, mauvey pink ish colour. I've never really come across a colour like this so I guess that's why people love it so much.

For this DIY I examined Lolita and looked closely at the colour and tone, I used Sleek Matte Me in Birthday Suit for the base colour, I found this colour had the right dusty pink undertone to work with and it was obviously a matte liquid lipstick. I compared it to Birthday Suit, I saw it was darker than Birthday Suit and had a bit more reddish pink mauve brown in it. So I looked through my makeup stash and picked out a couple of colours that I thought would make this transformation work. 

I chose Sleek lipliner in Chestnut, it had that brickish red tone in it which would add more colour to the dull and flat Birthday Suit and I chose Rimmel Lipliner in Cuppuccino to darken it as it was a browny mauve colour.

To take out the contents of Sleek Birthday Suit, I took off (with an old pair of tweezers) the little plastic ring that is attached to the mouth of lipglosses so that the hole was bigger, I scooped out as much of the lipstick with the doe applicator and scraped it into a little metal scoop/deep spoon. Use clean fingers to get as much product off the applicator.

I then cut off however much of Sleeks Chestnut that I thought was necessary and added that to the spoon. Because it's a twist up liner it was easy to cut off.

Taking out the crayon from the Rimmel pencil took a little longer, you basically have to snap the pencil with a nut cracker or sharp knife to get the crayon/lipliner out. I added that to the spoon too. Since it's cheap and widely available I wasn't worried about ruining the pencil. 

I placed the mix over a candle and stirred until the mixture was melted, it's best to keep it on a low heat and let it melt gradually or you might risk changing the formula or burning it. I tested the colour and compared it to Lolita, observed and analysed and tweeked it here and there by adding more of a certain colour till I got something that came very close to Lolita! 

Once that was done, using the doe applicator I scraped and pushed it down back into the matte me tube and put the little plastic ring back on. You do waste a itty bitty bit of the mix but nothing drastic. I think this colour is amazingly close to Lolita! I added a good few swatches and think they look pretty identical, my DIY version takes a little longer than KVD to dry fully but it actually stays put longer than KVD!