First Impressions: Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation

Hello Lovelies! You may have seen a blog post a few weeks back on a beauty haul I did while on vacation in Southern California. Included in that mini haul was the Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation. This is marketed as a matiffying liquid-to-powder foundation, ideal for combination or oilier skin types. At the time I was so excited to find this foundation in a San Diego Sephora, as it had proved incredibly difficult to find in Northern California after Hourglass pulled it off the shelves to redo the packaging. I had high hopes that this would be my new HG face product, but as you will see, the Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation fell short for me.

Getting off on a positive note, I will start with the pros of this product. This foundation comes in a luxurious hefty metal tube that is very sleek and sexy looking. The newly improved pump is great for dispensing the correct amount of product, thereby reducing waste, and is also more sanitary than non-pump packaging. As for the formula itself, I did find that it lived up to it's claims and helped cut down on the shine through my t-zone over the course of the day. I would say I noticed about a 50% decrease in the oiliness of my skin throughout the day vs. my normal routine of tinted moisturizer. I think it is important to mention that although Hourglass says you can skip setting powder all together when using this foundation that I did still powder my face in the morning.

Now for the cons: The main fail for me was the color range (or lack thereof I should say). I picked up the lightest color offered, Porcelain. A little background info, I am fair with neutral skin tones. I generally go for NW20 products in MAC cosmetics. The problem that I came across with the shade Porcelain is although the shade was light enough for my complexion, it was much too yellow-toned for me. As you can see in the photos, the color in no way blends seamlessly into my skin. As a result, I found this foundation very hard to blend and make look natural. I also found that it made my face look more sallow and unhealthy. Never a good thing!

My other complaint with the formula is that it was not the most user friendly. It sets very quickly, so you have to blend fast! Because it sets to a powder finish, it is very hard to even things out once it dries. I found the best application method for me was with my fingertips. I don't feel that a traditional foundation brush would work well with the Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation. Hourglass recommends using their synthetic foundation brush, which reminds me of a less dense Real Techniques Buffing Brush.

Also, I can't say if this foundation is what definitely caused the issues, as I only wore this foundation for two days, but I did notice some breakouts on my skin the nights after wearing this. My skin is very reactive and often times even makeup that is touted to be noncomedogenic causes my skin to break out.

So, overall I am not completely dismissing this product. Unfortunately, I just couldn't make it work for me. If you are willing to work around the poor shade range and can find an application technique that works for you, this may be the ideal product to combat slick skin. Just make sure you are color matched before purchasing! 

Have you tried any Hourglass products? What were your experiences with them?

Thanks for reading!

Lots of Love,

Louise