In Retrospect: Bourjois 123 Perfect Foundation

My review for Bourjois 123 Perfect Foundation:

I thought this could be the one. But alas.

I purchased this in Monoprix in the shade 57 Hale Clair. I had compared this colour to L'oreal True Match in W7 and they were close enough. Shade W7 isn't the perfect colour for me, but it's probably as close to my colour as i've ever seen in foundations. With Bourjois 123 Perfect, however, i had high hopes in its texture and coverage, two things that i found lacking in L'oreal True Match - and Bourjois definitely delivered. But i do not like this shade. At all.

I'm starting to think I don't even know my colour after all.

OK, let's start with my first time using it, in Paris. I love the consistency of it. Not too light, not too heavy. It definitely didn't look cakey and i had no problem buffing it into my skin. I thought i found a drugstore winner, which would be a first for me. The second and third time i used it in Paris, still A-OK.

But i probably should have stressed on how horrible the lighting is in our apartment in Paris.

Now that i'm back in Malaysia, i decided to wear this last weekend to my cousin's solemnization. I allocated one hour of my precious sleeping time to make up and was quite happy with the relatively natural result. That is, until i got into the car and looked up the back mirror. I looked like i got sunburned.

I was quite dismayed. I was so confident that the colour was alright, and i was terribly wrong. But to say the foundation itself is a disappointment wouldn't be accurate. As i mentioned earlier, i do love the coverage. And i've read that Bourjois foundations smell good, and this is no exception.

Oh but the colour! I'm starting to feel like i wouldn't care what the coverage a foundation has to offer. All a foundation has to do to slamdunk in my court is to BE THE RIGHT COLOUR.

The next day, i tried to mix it with a warm, much lighter shade of Revlon Colorstay foundation. I used to mix Toast and Warm Golden and would get a somewhat decent shade, so i thought the same trick would work with this Bourjois foundation. But it completely backfired. For some reason, i looked even more sunburned. And i was terribly dismayed because my big sister totally pointed it out when i asked "What do you think is wrong with my makeup?". She did it in the nicest, straight-to-the-point way possible, and i totally trust her opinion on makeup. My using a minty green shadow all over my lids could have contributed to the ashy look (i was trying out a J Lo look, which i actually really liked), but not by a lot, i'm sure. My sister wasn't convinced either, asking me what foundation did i use.

So i'm torn as to what to do with this foundation. I cannot believe i would find L'oreal True Match to be less of a disappointment than another foundation. Then again, like i mentioned very early on, True Match's coverage is very light, hence the colour sort of sheers out upon application; plus, as much as i coveted True Match before, my hopes for Bourjois 123 Perfect foundation were way higher.

Again, i have to stress on the shade and ONLY the shade as the only downfall of this foundation. I'm pretty sure that shade 56 is too light for me, but for the first time in a long time, i'm beginning to doubt that i know my colour. Maybe i really, really don't. And that is absolutely disconcerting. I've always realized i tend to lean towards the darker foundation if i have to choose between a lighter one and a darker one, but i had no idea i had totally overestimated the depth of my skin colour.

Let me just say this: if you find your perfect match in this range, lucky you! If this line carries my colour, it would be a total keeper. The finish is really nice, and it doesn't feel heavy on but covers pretty well too. It reminds me a little of Revlon Colorstay actually, which i really, really like (still have to mix two shades though - Malaysia and Paris don't offer shade 360 Golden Caramel, which i am almost positive is my perfect shade!). So really, the one bad thing i can say about this foundation is the colour match, and that is it.

So yes. Back to my foundation hunt! I'm back in Paris and my hands are itching to test out a bottle of Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation in shade 56. I can't stop thinking about NARS Sheer Glow either. But that's another head scratcher - what shade do i get?