Enriched with last nights chip fat perhaps? (Rimmel Lasting Finish Mineral Enriched Foundation)

Member Name: fruityzo

Product:	Rimmel Lasting Finish Mineral Enriched Foundation
Date:	20/07/09 (180 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Not a great deal.

Disadvantages: See review!

So its the usual story with me... my shopping addiction gets the better of me, thus rendering me unable to leave Boots until I had picked up a new foundation.

I actually picked this up as it was on the cheaper end of the scale, and I wanted a darker foundation to blend into my usual one (as I have a somewhat pitiful suntan, and need my foundation to match it).

**Product**

This foundation is from Rimmel's 'Lasting Finish' range, and is a 'Mineral Enriched' version (not to be confused with another kind of Lasting Finish foundation that they have previously marketed).

The product currently comes in 10 different shades (with the particular shade I picked being '200 - soft beige').

The 30ml tube is a fairly flat, squeezable affair. I can't really claim anything special on the packaging, it is somewhat dull compared to some of their current attempts at fruity packaging.

The point of this mineral (I'll tackle this part later!) foundation is that according to Rimmel, it gives a 16 hour lasting finish: "Transfer resistant, anti-trace". Hmm. We'll see...

**Usage**

So initially the first thing that I liked about this product was that it didn't appear to have a 'self-squeezing tube'. By this I mean that due to the squeeze-bottle design of foundations I've previously owned; you can often find that due to the initial pressure exerted, the product will continue dispensing itself after you've finished squeezing.
I hate this as its messy and wasteful, so I'm glad to say that this foundation does not do this.

I'm sad to say that my initial glee with this was short lived once I had the product in my hands.

* * * * * *

Although not overly runny on first appearances, I was somewhat concerned by how oily and thin the coverage seemed once I started applying to my face.

Having used a generous amount of product, I found that the colour coverage was somewhat lacking. Although after adding a little more the colour tone became more apparent, I could not get past the horrible oily residue the product had left on my skin.

This left my skin not looking far short of me having spent a dreadful night, with my face nuzzling the remnants of a greasy kebab.

However, I gave the product a chance, and used a sponge to blend it in a bit more. This in itself was a task, as instead of blending easily, you will quite likely end up with obvious markings and lines where your fingers/make up sponge have been.

**The Outcome**

If you are patient enough to give this some time to dry and settle onto your skin, it doesn't look quite as depressing as first impressions.

Pros (ish):

* Length of 'coverage' [loosely applied term]
Although did not last 16 hours (I never expected it to), it will nearly survive me a whole day at work (well, certain areas did, not an even coverage).

* Use with other products.
Because of its oily nature, it works as a great base to hold powders, blushers, bronzers etc. Although it is dreadful at blending by itself, if added to another foundation, this works OK as a kind of toner.

Cons:

* Coverage is exceptionally poor.
I am lucky enough to have a fairly even skin tone, with not too many spots. This foundation struggled to give me an even base, so I would absolutely not recommend it to anyone that needs any form of real coverage.

* It broke me out in spots!
The last thing I want from a foundation is for it to add to any spot collection I might be harbouring!
After a couple of days of using this I broke out, thus I stopped using the foundation... spots cleared up; started using it again... broke out again. I can only put this down to how greasy this product is.

* Price.
I paid £5.86 for this, which I normally would not begrudge for a foundation. However the biggest triumph that this foundation achieved for me was making me a Spotty Dotty for the entire time I was using it!
Thus I cannot profess it as good value for money.

**To Conclude**

I'm sure it's fairly clear that I'm unlikely to buy this again, which is a shame, as the colour itself was exactly what I was looking for (and I initially thought the price was quite fair).

If you were to consider trying this, I really wouldn't recommend everyday use, as I believe it will just block the pores very quickly (breakout within 24 hours in my case).

With regards to the Rimmel website blurb about the product:
"MINERAL BOOST Breathable, skin-friendly formula enriched with minerals for healthy, smooth complexion. Skin looks fresher and more vibrant, never dull or cakey. Lightweight, oil free texture feels comfortable all day long."

I feel that the aforementioned claims for this product are unfounded; why exactly is an "oil free texture" so, well... oily?!
My skin obviously couldn't "breathe", hence the spots, and there was no vibrancy to my skin... it constantly looked more akin to me having had a particularly nasty & sweaty workout. NOT a good look.

As for the minerals mentioned, a cursory scan of the ingredients list leads me to believe that I may have just smeared half of the Periodic Table on my face... but as to what benefit, I'm still unsure.

Summary: Don't bother... No, really, don't.