In my last post I mentioned I was desperate to own a Bourjois foundation... but owning just the one obviously was not enough for me :D.... I had heard good things about the Air Mat and the most enticing thing about it was that it was yellow undertoned!! So of course I had to get my hands on it as soon as. The packaging is identical to the City Radiance (review here) but is a peachy yellow colour instead. This also has a scent to it but I don't think it's as pleasant as the City Radiance and it has an SPF of 10.
AIR MAT FOUNDATION
MATTIFYING HIGH COVERAGE FOUNDATION FOR AN UNDETECTABLE FINISH THAT LASTS FOR UP TO 24 HOURS.
Bourjois' Air Mat foundation has been specially developed to give skin a smooth, matte finish that lasts for up to 24 hours. Its non drying, lightweight formula lets skin breathe throughout the day and provides high coverage for a flawless finish.
Enriched with mattifying micronized powders, it elimates shine with no mask effect for an undetectable result.
Starting at the centre of your face blend the formula outwards and upwards for a flawless finish whilst erasing any imperfections.
Shade
Bourjois released 8 shades: 01 Rose Ivory, 02 Vanilla, 03 Light Beige, 04 Beige, 05 Golden Beige, 06 Golden Sun, 07 Toast, 08 Caramel, though there are only around 5 shades available on the Boots and Superdrug website. I've seen the other shades on various places on the internet so I'm sure if you look around you can find them.
I bought the shade 04 Beige after watching a few videos on YouTube of similar complected people (one being Vilma Marie, I enjoy watching her recommendations as she also struggles with finding yellow undertoned bases). It's DEFINITELY yellow undertoned which I was super duper pleased about, I've also seen swatches and all the shades look really yellow so all my yellow toned girls definitely have a look at this range! Shade 04 at first seems like it's going to be light for me but this foundation oxidises quite a bit and it then matches me quite well, I'm really pleased! I just wish they had this shade range in the City Radiance formula, that would've been perfect! I'd also be interested to try shade 05 as the shade transitions are very close to each other as you can see in this swatch pic from www.Beautyalmanac.com. I found this swatch pic really helpful in picking a shade.
Texture
This has an interesting texture, it's a bit thick yet quite fluid and creamy and it won't run down the back of your hand. I was a little weary of this foundation because of it being labelled as a matte foundation since I usually prefer hydrating foundations because of my dehydrated skin but considering it's described as a medium to full coverage, this actually has quite a creamy lightweight texture. I've applied with both sponges and brushes and I would say it's fine with both but better with the brush because it helps buff and push the product quickly into the skin.
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| The liquidy texture didn't allow me to make a perfect squiggle unlike the City Radiance formula! |
Feel
This does feel rather lightweight on the skin as it claims, it's very soft on the skin and you literally can't feel it at all which is very impressive, even when you touch your face with your hand. This sets quite quickly to a soft powdery finish and it seems to mesh with the skin giving a skin like feel and look but I advise to blend this in one area at a time before it sets. This doesn't feel like a drying matte on me at all, in fact I think it's good for those with combination / normal / slightly oily and even slightly dry skin as it feels quite comfortable on myself and not taut like some oil controlling foundations can feel. It seems to have a nice balance of moisture and matte inside it which is probably why it works well for me. Even though I have combination / dehydrated skin I moisturise well before wearing this and this foundation seems to work perfectly fine for me. I think anyone with really dry, dehrydrated, flaky and textured skin might want to avoid this.
Finish
This has a soft velvety matte finish on the skin, it's not a flat matte and the skin still has nice dimension to it but if you are quite dry and dull to begin with this can look a bit flat. Because it's summer now (well...) and my skin gets a teeny bit oily in warm weather conditions I find this looks soft and skin like on me. It fills in my pores and smoothens my skin nicely giving a soft focus blurred effect which I really really like.
I have worn this when my skin was very dry, dehydrated and flaky and this foundation was a big no no! It looked absolutely horrendous on me, picking up on every bit of texture/bump and sitting and highlighting every line, extra moisturiser nor the beauty blender was making it work, after trying and trying I was ready to give it away but now that my skins in better condition and not so dry I do like how it looks on me.
Coverage
I'm really impressed with the coverage you get with the Air Mat foundation. I'd say this is a medium to buildable full coverage foundation. I use a small pea sized amount and get medium coverage which is more than enough for me. It evens my skin out really nicely and naturally and conceals any redness and mild marks on my face whilst still looking skin like. I really like how skin smoothing it is and the soft focus effect this gives to my skin.
Like I mentioned earlier this can look cakey on me if my skin is more on the dehydrated side and has more texture which is why I'd avoid building too much coverage with this foundation, it can be unforgiving if I wanted to get this to full coverage as my skin isn't 100% smooth even on its good days, I do have a little texture at the moment in certain areas of my face and I am also slightly dry in these areas too so building coverage can look cakey in those specific places.
Build-ability
The Air Mat sets so I suggest you blend it in quickly. When I try to build layers with this foundation I find it can sometimes get a bit cakey if I'm not adequately moisturised, reason being since it's a powder finish, the powder dissolves into the moisture on your skin giving it an invisible finish, so if there isn't enough moisture on the skin to take more product the foundation can sort of sit on top of the skin instead of melting in to it. So if you have my skin type, use extra moisturiser if you want more coverage and no cakiness. And since this sets I recommend building layers one area at a time before moving on to the next area.
Longevity
I actually don't set the Air Mat foundation with any powder, I don't feel the need to and I find it lasts a decent amount of time on me. Because it's matte and it sets I feel like it really meshes into the skin and becomes one with it. Nor does it really transfer much. Also as it's a matte finish my skin doesn't get too oily by the end of the day and the foundation is still holding pretty well. Some people with oily skin have complained that they get really shiny with this, which is probably why it works well for me as on me it's a comfortable matte and isn't overly drying for my dehydrated combination skin. I also find that this looks better on me as the day goes by and sometimes by the end of the day I will have a radiant sheen to my skin which I quite like as it looks pretty with the soft focus smoothing effect on the skin.
I have worn this when my skin was very dry, dehydrated and flaky and this foundation was a big no no! It looked absolutely horrendous on me, picking up on every bit of texture/bump and sitting and highlighting every line, extra moisturiser nor the beauty blender was making it work, after trying and trying I was ready to give it away but now that my skins in better condition and not so dry I do like how it looks on me.
Coverage
I'm really impressed with the coverage you get with the Air Mat foundation. I'd say this is a medium to buildable full coverage foundation. I use a small pea sized amount and get medium coverage which is more than enough for me. It evens my skin out really nicely and naturally and conceals any redness and mild marks on my face whilst still looking skin like. I really like how skin smoothing it is and the soft focus effect this gives to my skin.
Like I mentioned earlier this can look cakey on me if my skin is more on the dehydrated side and has more texture which is why I'd avoid building too much coverage with this foundation, it can be unforgiving if I wanted to get this to full coverage as my skin isn't 100% smooth even on its good days, I do have a little texture at the moment in certain areas of my face and I am also slightly dry in these areas too so building coverage can look cakey in those specific places.
Build-ability
The Air Mat sets so I suggest you blend it in quickly. When I try to build layers with this foundation I find it can sometimes get a bit cakey if I'm not adequately moisturised, reason being since it's a powder finish, the powder dissolves into the moisture on your skin giving it an invisible finish, so if there isn't enough moisture on the skin to take more product the foundation can sort of sit on top of the skin instead of melting in to it. So if you have my skin type, use extra moisturiser if you want more coverage and no cakiness. And since this sets I recommend building layers one area at a time before moving on to the next area.
Longevity
I actually don't set the Air Mat foundation with any powder, I don't feel the need to and I find it lasts a decent amount of time on me. Because it's matte and it sets I feel like it really meshes into the skin and becomes one with it. Nor does it really transfer much. Also as it's a matte finish my skin doesn't get too oily by the end of the day and the foundation is still holding pretty well. Some people with oily skin have complained that they get really shiny with this, which is probably why it works well for me as on me it's a comfortable matte and isn't overly drying for my dehydrated combination skin. I also find that this looks better on me as the day goes by and sometimes by the end of the day I will have a radiant sheen to my skin which I quite like as it looks pretty with the soft focus smoothing effect on the skin.
Oxidisation
This foundation oxidises a lot, like I mentioned in my last post on the review of the City Radiance foundation, I've noticed this with a lot of Bourjois Foundations, I recall the Happy Light also used to oxidise a lot. Because this foundation is yellow undertoned and light for me the oxidation colour of this is very flattering on my complexion. Again a lot of people were complaining about the oxidation as well, especially the paler girls as the lightest shade 01 Rose Ivory used to turn orange on them, one person actually commented that no human being was as yellow as the oxidation colour, they obviously haven't met me :D :D :D. If you are interested in this foundation I suggest getting a shade lighter than what you match to.
Overall my experiences with this foundation have been a little hit and miss and I've realised it works really well for me when my skin is at its least driest and is relatively smooth. I like the blurring effect it has, how comfortable and long lasting it is as well as how skin like it feels and obviously the definite yellow undertones. If you've tried this foundation I'd love to hear what you thought of it as well. I hope this review was helpful as always. Peace!
Great detailed review Zahra. I quite like the shade range but the texture may not be for my dry dehydrated sensitive skin. I wish they had similar yellow toned shades in city Radiance. And omg you captured oxidisation of this foundation.. Loved your post.
ReplyDeleteAsh | www.mstantrum.com
Hahah! Thanks sweetie! Glad you enjoyed 😊. Yes I agree they should've have these yellow tones in the city radiance range too! Xxx
DeleteLovely review!! I stay away from matte but I might just try this one ��
ReplyDeleteThank you sweetie! Glad you enjoyed, I did ramble quite a bit with this review as I did find it a bit hit and miss. Xxx
DeleteThank you your post was such a help
ReplyDeleteHi, Zahra. What shade are you in MAC? NC30?
ReplyDelete