L'Oréal Paris - True Match made in heaven!

First of all, I have a confession to make. Until recently I was a complete and utter make-up snob. It was 'premium' beauty all the way (since I was a beauty consultant in fact!) and the only 'self-selection' make-up I would even consider was No7.

But, since my blogging venture began 6 months ago, I have seen the error of my ways and am now finding myself trawling the self selection make-up aisles far more frequently than the premium beauty counters. I have discovered some amazing make-up finds amongst the cheaper brands and one of those such finds, is the True Match range by L'Oréal Paris.

I really haven't been impressed by L'Oréal Paris products in the past but was willing to give it another try. So I took advantage of the latest Boots offer of 3for2 on selected L'Oréal Paris Cosmetics and picked up the True Match Foundation, Concealer, Powder and Blusher (as well as a couple of other things).

Normally I am a very fussy powder purchaser. I have been a long time fan of Clinique's Clarifying Powder (before they discontinued it!!!!) and have yet to find anything that truly matches up to it's quality. But on swatching this powder, it had a very similar feel and texture so I had to purchase, just to be sure!

The True Match powder comes in a flip compact with a mirror and sponge applicator under the powder layer. Yes, the packaging is cheap and will probably smash easily, should I drop it, but it has all the elements of a good carry around compact. Now, annoyingly, they only had shade Golden Beige in the shop so that is all I could purchase. I have since found Rose Ivory online which would be better for me, as I am quite fair, but with Summer on it's way and bronzer making more of an appearance, I don't mind a slightly darker shade - and it really is only slightly darker due to it's 'skin matching' qualities. So far it has stood up well to the likes of my old favourite Clarifying powder, when dusted over foundation, but I need to truly test it when it's worn alone. So only time will tell if we will see this becoming a regular repurchase or not in the future!

The True Match foundation itself, I fell instantly in love with. I have very oily skin and have used Estée Lauder Double Wear for a while now, but more recently I have found it to be just too heavy and have opted for foundations with a lighter consistency for a more natural, blended look - and this one definitely met that criteria. It comes in a sturdy glass pump bottle and one pump action is all you need to do your whole face (if you use fingers to apply, two pumps if you use a brush). Be careful, as it is very runny, but it does blend very well even with fingers and in fact I prefer this method to using a brush. Normally I only ever use my Clinique foundation brush to apply foundation but for some reason this works much better with digits! I went for one of the lightest shades, Rose Ivory and it is an excellent match for my skin tone. I would say it gave me medium coverage and really smoothed out my complexion without looking heavy at all. As with some other skin-tone matching foundations, this one too mattified as it dried on the skin, a quality which I quite liked, so if I didn't blot with any powder, it looked extremely natural and gave the impression that I wasn't wearing any make-up (but didn't last as long!). Once powder goes on top, it can become extremely matte, so take care not to dust on too much!

As I was partaking in the handy 3for2 offer, I decided to pick up the True Match concealer to go with the foundation and powder. I religiously use my YSL Touche Eclat but sometimes I need more cover than illuminator and this little baby does the trick perfectly! I use such a tiny amount that this little bottle is going to last me forever! I went for shade 2 Vanilla, the lightest they have, which is a bit too yellow for me - but will help to disguise those dark circles well - so as long as I blend I'm fine.
 

True Match Swatches from top to bottom - Powder, Concealer, Foundation

Now I couldn't complete my face with just the trio, so to top it off, I added a True Match blush to my basket as well! I picked out a soft pink with a hint of brown - 120 Sandalwood Pink. The packaging is much the same as the powder, but with a brush instead of a sponge. I really doubt I will ever use this little brush, it doesn't look to be of great quality and I much prefer my Clinique Blusher brush anyway, so maybe only for emergency touch ups, but I guess it's is handy nonetheless.

In all I am extremely pleased so far, with my dabble in L'Oréal Paris and cannot wait to try out my Lumi Magique that I bought at the same time (keep posted for a blog entry about it) but for now, my face is going True Match all the way.

The L'Oréal Paris True Match range is available at Boots and Superdrug. 

Have you tried any of the L'Oréal Paris True Match range? What is your favourite L'Oréal Paris foundation?