~~ Introduction ~~

I choose to purchase this product after getting sucked in by the advertising which I have to say doesn't often happen. It looked almost revolutionary in the glitzy TV ad and with such a reasonable price tag it was certainly worth a shot.

~~ The claim ~~

Our first foundation to perfectly match the colour and texture of your skin.
Following research into the skin-tones of women from around the world, the L'Oréal Laboratories have developed a unique palette of 12 skin-true shades.The result: natural looking, skin-true colour without tide-marks and outstanding coverage without caking.

~~ Packaging and product ~~

L'oreals True Match super- blendable perfecting foundation comes in a fairly robust 30ml glass bottle with silver/grey pump dispenser lid and see-through plastic top.

I wouldnt say that the packaging is especailly glamorous though it is fairly attractive. I like the fact that it doesnt have a cardboard box like other foundations, making it a little more eco friendly and saving me a few pence on packaging that just isnt needed.

~~ Cost and availability ~~

L'oreals True match foundation is widely available and can be found in a number of supermarkets as well as Boots, Superdrug and several online stores.

You should expect to pay around £10 for this product, (£8.99 from feelunique online) which is exceptionally reasonable when compared to some other brands.

~~ Opinion ~~

Color:

With such a vast array of colors to choose from there should be one for everyone. I picked the C2 Vanilla Rose color which isn't the palest shade available but certainly one of them. The product claims to match the color and texture of your skin and lives up to the expectation for the most part.

When I first applied the foundation I was a little concerned that it appeared a little too light but after a few minutes it does strangely and ever so curiously start to change a little to match the color of your skin more accurately. I would say that whilst it pretty much matched the color of my skin I did end up feeling a little pale and drawn and would recommend anyone with pale skin like mine to use a blusher in conjunction with the product to get a brighter and more vibrant complexion.

The paleness of the color is one of my only major complaint about this product; it does tend to wipe out the pinker pigmentation of the cheeks whilst matching the rest of the skin tone perfectly. I have never really used blusher prior to buying this product but I did feel that I needed that extra bit of color to prevent my complexion from looking overly pale or dull. I could have perhaps bought the next shade up but I felt that there was quite a big leap from the color that I choose to the one above which was way too dark. The fact that it appears to wipe out any pinkness in favor of one overall tone is a bit of a disappointment. Another thing worth mentioning is that it can make your skin a little bit greasy and towards the end of the day i do tend to find myself sporting a not so attractive sheen.

Coverage:

Amount needed: I usually find that I only need to use two tiny beads worth to cover my entire face with an extra bead to touch up any blemishes. This means that the product should last for several months.

Pores: I seem to go through phases where my pores become enlarged and then go back to normal again, this can be a nightmare when trying to apply foundation. I often find that foundation either sits inside of the pores creating the appearance of tiny specks of foundation that hasn't been rubbed into the skin properly or it gathers around the pores highlighting them further and making them appear deeper than they are. I really love the fact that this foundation just glides over the top without highlighting them at all. I would go as far as to suggest that it helps disguise them if anything.

Red marks, blemishes etc: I do have the odd little red/pink mark on my face and find a lot of foundations don't seem to cover blemishes to well but although this product is a bit of a pain when it comes to covering up those rosy cheeks this does mean on a brighter note that it is really effective at covering up those annoying little marks you don't want anyone to see plus, It only takes a small amount to cover any marks effectively.

Lasting power:

I would say that this product lasts on the skin for a reasonable amount of time, though may need touching up over the course of the day.

Texture:

The foundation is the consistency of a fairly thin moisturizer and because it so light it glides smoothly across the skin. Similarly to matching the color of your skin tone the foundation also does appears to match the texture of your skin type fairly accurately to.

Sensitivity:

Over time I did notice an odd breakout whilst using this product, I cannot be sure if that has been down to the oilyness of the product of just coinsidence, but it's worth baring in mind. Having said that, the product does moisturise well and is therefore perhaps better suited to those with normal/dry skin than oily skin like mine.

Value for money:

When you consider how expensive a lot of foundations have become over recent years, £10 doesn't seem an awful lot. I have shelled out over £30 for foundations that haven't been anywhere near as effective as this one and whilst True Match isn't quite a five star product it is however a fairly addequate product compared with a lot of equivelntfoundations I have tried. Taking this into consideration as well as the fact that very little is needed to provide good coverage and is fairly inexpensive product I think it deserves a 3 out of 5

~~ Additional information ~~

To find out more about this product or any of L'oreal's other products you can visit their website at the following address:

http://www.loreal-paris.co.uk/_en/_gb/home/index. aspx

Thank you for reading!