Seventeen Stay Time foundation

Seventeen Stay Time foundation in "Soft Ivory"

If you have read my previous post on the Gosh x-ceptional wear foundation, forget I ever posted it. This foundation has literally stolen my number 1 position for foundations! Don't be fooled by the simple packaging, this really does pack a punch and is worth the money.

 Last weekend my boyfriend took me shopping (as any other weekend...) and I needed some more foundation due to the Gosh I recently purchased finally running out! I was completely torn between two. Revlon Colorstay which is my absolute all time favourite foundation, or Seventeen Stay Time. I'd seen really good reviews of the Seventeen and obviously have previous experience of Colorstay. So me being me, I bought both and ended up spending £20 on foundation...the day I got paid. Whoops. Priorities all wrong! 

From the picture above, you can see this foundation promises a lot. Up to 25 hours wear time, SPF 25 and full coverage. I needed to try this out as it just really seemed too good to be true. I've never used a foundation from the Seventeen range before (exclusive to Boots) and I'm so happy I picked this up. 

I eagerly removed my makeup I was wearing and opened the packaging on this bottle. I love the fact it has a built in pump in the lid. It's very similar to a MAC lid (however, never used their foundation but have seen a LOT of videos on youtube using it!) which instantly had me drawn to this product. It's actually quite robust and deposits the product really nicely and doesn't feel like you're pumping nothing if you know what I mean! The packing as I've previously mentioned is actually quite simple and reminds me a little of Benefit makeup...a bit. The shade Soft Ivory matches my skin tone perfectly although I feel like if my hair was any darker, it really would wash my complexion out as it's quite a...dull? colour. Basically I'm trying to say it has no depth but don't know how to say it! 

As we can see from the photo above, I have quite red and patchy skin. Thank my teenage years for giving me horrific acne and hormonal skin (luckily I'm not left with too many scars..) with dry patches. I'm also covered in freckles although they're not showing up too much on this photo. Now I'm into my early 20's, my skin has taken a turn and is now more combination/oily. I really do have a hard time finding a foundation that I can build up to a high coverage without it feeling super cakey and having my face end up as an oil slick after a couple of hours. This claimed to be a full coverage and boy, it really is. I apply my foundation with the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge by stippling my face after I've dampened it slightly with water. (This sponge, may I add, is a newbie in my collection and I'm LOVING it. I'll do another review for this, I just haven't gotten round to it!) I love the finish this foundation gives me. It's not sticky, it's not dewy but not overly matte. I only need 1 to 2 pumps to cover my whole face and neck as it blends really easily but I'm not sure if this is due to how I apply it as the foundation itself is really quite thick in consistency. You could quite easily add another layer to make it super full coverage but I find that this amount is enough for me. I don't have to use concealer when using this foundation either as it's that good at covering blemishes! Once it's sat on my skin for a minute or two I then powder my face with my regular powder. 

Now the question you're all waiting for, how long does it actually last? Well put it this way, on a 10 hour shift at work where heavy lifting is included and so is working is a hotbox of a warehouse, it has actually lasted all day and even goes on to last all night. I'm yet to test if it's really going to last for 25 hours but I'm impressed at how long it lasts even now. I don't get a shiny nose either which is huge for me as I usually get to about 4-5 hours then find myself powdering my nose. It genuinely looks the same at the end of the day as it does first thing in the morning when I apply it.

This is after wearing it for around 7-8 hours and I took this photo in natural light. I'm so in looooove. I'm so impressed with this foundation and already want to go out and purchase another ready for when I finish this one, I'm scared Seventeen will discontinue it in the mean time! I really would like to try some more products from the Seventeen range as I haven't done since my early teenage years and it seems like they have more to give now judging by their makeup stands! 

If you're looking for a full coverage foundation for a really good price, I'd suggest this one to anyone. It retails for £6.49 and is only available from Boots as far as I'm aware. Go on, try it. You'll be surprised. 

♥

Gosh x-ceptional wear makeup (foundation)

Shade 11 Porcelain. 

Now, if you were to know me in person, you'll know I'm on a never ending mission to find a foundation that actually matches my skin tone. Being a natural redhead, I have extremely fair and freckly skin. Throughout the years of wearing makeup, I've tried endless brands of foundation hoping that they'll be "the one" for me. Up to now, I've only found one other that even comes close. Until I discovered this foundation. 

When I search for a new bottle of foundation, I'm not expecting to find much. I'm fed up of reading reviews on miracle products that claim to do everything under the sun, which in reality turn out to do...nothing. I've tried high end foundation, high street foundation, I've even tried makeup artist foundation. All of which have either been too orange, too low coverage or end up sliding off my face. So, after trawling the internet for what seemed like the thousandth time, I ended up looking at GOSH cosmetics. I found a product called "x-ceptional wear makeup" with mixed reviews, but the price instantly had drawn me in. £5.99 for a product that claims to give me a beautifully matte finish with exceptional coverage which lasts for hours.  I started to think well,how good could this actually be? I wanted to try it, and I wanted to try it NOW! So I decided to take a trip to my local Superdrug and find a shade that fit my skin. 

The shade selection isn't that vast in this range, so I imagine if you have an "inbetween" skin tone you might have to mix two together. In my case, shade 11 Porcelain ended up being a perfect match for my skin tone. I made my way to the checkout, handed over the product along with some others and made my way back to my car. 

I was SO excited to try this product out, so I immediately removed my makeup I was previously wearing and started the whole application process again. I applied my Liz Earle Skin Repair Moisturiser to my skin (which, may I add is now my holy grail moisturiser since my sister converted me..!) and let it sink in. I then began to apply the Gosh foundation. 

First impression? Well the packaging isn't that interesting and the dispensor isn't that great. You'd easily use more product than needed if you're not careful whilst squeezing it out. The product itself is very, very thick. I mean, I applied a tiny dot on my cheek, blended it in and it instantly covered my freckles. Wow. I was seriously impressed even at this stage. So, I continued to apply the foundation to my face, ensuring my jawline was fully blended and all areas were covered as I feel it'd be easy to spot any non covered areas. I let the foundation sit on my skin for a couple of minutes then set it with a powder. Hallelujah, a foundation that actually matches my pale redhead skin tone! My skin looks flawless, in a non-porcelain doll way. 

I decided to test drive this product for a couple of days before I was fully converted. One of these days included a very hot (and muggy!) day at work, which involves a lot of lifting and moving about. This foundation seriously lasts all day. Not even a tiny bit sliding off my face. The only thing I'd say is that the area around my nose became a bit...powderless? after about 6 hours but I would have expected that on that day as it was seriously humid. 

All in all, I am immensely impressed with this product. I'd recommend it to anyone to try. It's definitely proven what it's promised and for me, that's what's going to make me repurchase this when I run out. I'd even go as far as saying it's taken over my love for Revlon Colorstay and for one hell of a saving too!...so I'd just like to say a huge thank you to GOSH for finally making a product that is pale enough for us extra-pale girls and actually provides what the packaging says it does! (Well, for me anyway.)

♥