Make Up For Ever Ultra HD foundation stick

Long time readers of the blog will know that I am a massive Make Up For Ever fan. All you have to do it take a peak at some of my posts, to know that I have serious love for this brand and would be inclined to say that it is my favourite brand!! The Ultra HD stick is a firm favourite of many beauty lovers and Nikkie Tutorials sings serious praise for it, so when it arrived through the door to try out, I was only too delighted!!!

Shade Range: While there are 40 shades to choose from in the Ultra HD Liquid foundation, there are only 15 to pick from in the HD stick. I am currently wearing 125  and while it is a decent match, you can see from the pictures below that is isn’t the perfect match. I find I need to put a little bit of tan or bronzer on my neck when I wear this.

Packaging: The Ultra HD stick offers serious throwback to my pan stick days when it comes to the packing. The foundation comes in a roll up, plastic packaging making this the ideal foundation for travelling. I have found it hard to find the amount of product contained, but over all it comes in at 45g.

Texture: As this is different to most other foundations that I have tried, the texture is also completely different to what I am used to. I find it difficult to describe the texture when applied to the skin, but it feels very smooth and but can be feel a little heavy on the skin unless applied with a light hand.

Skin Type: Similar to the Ultra HD liquid foundation, if you’re either very oily or very dry I don’t think this is going to work for you. Again I am open to correction, but I believe it is better suited to normal to combination skin. The reason I have come to this conclusion, is I have a few dry patches around my mouth, which the foundation did cling to a little, while at the same time, my T zone is on the oily side and I do lose product here throughout the day.

Finish: The finish is a little different to the Ultra HD liquid foundation and I found it to be a little bit more on the matte side. I wouldn’t say this is a matte finish and would be inclined to say it is a satin finish, but it is a little more on the matte side. You do also really need to buff this into the skin, as it does have a tendency to sit on top if you don’t. You can apply it as you would any normal foundation and I love the Nima Round head Kabuki brush and the Buff and Blend BB03 for application. Also a primer is a must for me,as without a primer I found that it sat in every pore and fine line!

Coverage: This is where the HD stick really shines, as you can build to your desirable level of coverage from a light medium right up to a full on full coverage!!

Lasting Power: I found the lasting power varied from wear to wear and all depending on what I wore on my skin underneath. When worn without a primer, it didn’t last well on my skin at all and as I mentioned above, it had a tendency to sit in pores and lines. When worn with the Flormar illuminating primer, I got a good 6 to 8 hours wear out of it. I recently tried it with the Le Blanc De Chanel illuminating base and it didn’t wear well with this at all. I do put that down to the Chanel primer rather than the HD stick, but it is worth noting that I did need to find the right primer to get this to last well.

Price: At €39 it is on the expensive side and as it is a stick, you can’t get a sample, so I would suggest going into the Make Up For Ever store bare faced and asking them to apply it for you so you can see how it wears. You can buy it from the Make Up For Ever site. 

Difference between HD Liquid and HD stick: I have actually spent a good shot of time mulling this over, but in my opinion there is a difference between the two. Firstly you can achieve a much fuller coverage with the HD stick than with the Liquid. Don’t get me wrong, you get a really good level of coverage with the liquid, but you can achieve a serious full on coverage with the stick.

Secondly, I find the stick to be a little heavier on the skin than the liquid. When I wear the stick foundation, I can feel it on my skin, whereas the liquid is far more lightweight.

Finally I feel the finish is  more natural and flawless with the liquid than with the stick. While I do like the stick, I love the liquid.

Overall, I do like the Ultra HD foundation stick, but I don’t love it. I just find it a little too hit and miss when it comes to how it wears. The days it wears well, I just can’t get enough of it, but on the days it doesn’t agree with my skin, it can be a bit of a hot mess. I’m not saying this is a bad foundation, in fact it’s not, it really is beautiful and well worth trying out, but for me, it all depended on how my skin was acting.

*** Update*** Apply a little of this over any foundation is amazing!!! It honestly gives the skin a beautiful long lasting finish when applied this way!