We Put Beautyblender's New Bounce Liquid Foundation To The Test
In the world of beauty there are two known eras: BF and AF (that stands for before Fenty and after Fenty). In the year 2018 AF, foundations are held to a higher standard. Beauty brands need to formulate a minimum 40 shades, with an equal representation between light and deep options. And then, of course, the foundation itself has to be good-long-wearing, blendable, with shades that don't oxidize or develop weird undertones. Some brands get it right, while others only hit one or two marks.
So when Beautyblender announced that they were going beyond the Blender and launching a new foundation called Bounce-we reacted with equal parts skepticism and excitement. On one hand, it makes perfect sense: the Beautyblender was created to apply liquid foundation flawlessly, so why shouldn't they make their own? But on the other hand, so few brands actually get foundation right.
Beautyblender Bounce Liquid Whip Long Wear Foundation unfortunately doesn't get it totally right-but it's still one of the most promising new formulas on the market. We'll start with what we love about it: the unusual rectangular bottle is the most innovative design we've ever seen. On the front side of the bottle is a Blender-shaped well. After unlocking the pump, you squeeze the foundation out directly into the well, then dip your Blender in it. That means no more applying foundation on the back of your hands-it's pretty genius. Plus, you can mix liquid bronzer, primer, or highlighter directly into the well with your foundation. Two pumps is all you need for medium coverage, three for full.
"We went through so many different designs and concepts to contain the formulation," says makeup artist and Beautyblender creator Rea Ann Silva. "We went everywhere from the traditional cylindrical bottle to the airless pump to the tube. None of them really spoke to my heart. None of it felt different and innovative like Beautyblender. We needed to find Beautyblender a partner, it needs a friend." Silva began discussing the idea of her pro makeup palette with a friend-the place where she can mix and match shades as a makeup artist on set. That idea led to the creation of the well and play space on the front of the bottle. "The primary packaging is super functional, it's not something you just throw away. It tells a story to anyone who looks at it that these two go together," she says.
The formula itself is another game-changer, and it should be considering it took nearly two and a half years and a few trips around the world to get it right. The texture is light-as-air and has a whipped consistency. Bounced onto skin, it starts to look airbrushed. It dries down to a "velveteen," semi-matte finish that still has that natural radiance of bare skin. "There are so many foundations on the market that are thin and watery light makeup drops that didn't have anything to really help cover imperfections," says Silva. "Those super watery materials they were all about color-matching but not really texture-correcting. I knew I wanted the formula to be a little thicker and more plush and lush but on the other end I didn't want it to feel like more Heritage brand makeup that felt super creamy. We were missing that makeup in the middle that was light, spreadable, makeup that gives you coverage to create perfect texture and not look dry or super matte." If you hate the feeling of medium or full-coverage foundations, but you want their end result, this will be your new go-to formula. We had five women of different skin tones test, and all love the glowy-not-oily finish, long-wear, and texture.
But let's talk about those shades. Bounce is launching with 32 "blends"-with more than half catering to light and medium skin tones. That's not to say there aren't shades for deep and dark skin tones: there are about eight. Where Bounce falls short is in the diversity of undertones for people with darker skin. Though Silva did let us know that 40 shades were developed, but eight had to be pulled for the launch to fit retailer demands (they might be available online soon).
When testing the foundation on five women, we also found shade-matching to be quite difficult. A color that looked right in the bottle didn't always read that way on the skin, so it took a lot of arm-swatching, blending, and makeup wipes until we found the perfect match. Our word of advice: don't just swatch the foundation. Blend it out and see how the color sets before deciding on your exact shade.
For Silva, the attention to diversity in the medium shade range might have come from a place of personal preference as a Latina. "In my career as a makeup artist I was known as the makeup artist that knew how to make skin look good. Some people are good at crazy designs, eyes, my reputation was getting skin to be glowing and gorgeous. The colors that I chose are based on colors I had in my kit and how often I would use them. In my kit there were certain colors I had to buy over and over," Silva notes. "I think that most brands have the lighter shades really down and down really well...Where I felt I needed a little more diversity was in medium to dark. Being Latina myself, my skin is not in that light range, it's somewhere in the middle." Silva admits that finding the right shades and undertones was a lot of trial and error. And even though shades might look "so similar" in the packaging, they all look totally different once on your skin (which is what we noted above).
The Bounce Liquid Whip Long Wear Foundation costs $40 and will be available exclusively at Sephora and Sephora.com in August.
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