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You may be wondering if $68 (Canadian) for a matte foundation is worth it. This review of the Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Liquid Foundation is going to break that down. Read this review and tell me what you think – buckle up, it’s a long one.
I picked up the new Hourglass Vanish Seamless Liquid Foundation for this very post in the shade ‘Porcelain’. I wanted to bring my favourite audience the very latest in beauty reviews. I tested this foundation out for about 2 weeks and 14 days to be exact.
In fact, I purchased this foundation on the evening of my sisters bachelorette as I figured a full night out of partying and dancing would prove if this foundation was really as good as everyone says. After that night, I couldn’t look back and decided to continue using it for the next 2 weeks or 14 days. Keep reading to find out if I continued to use this foundation!
What is the Hourglass Seamless Vanish Liquid Foundation?
The new foundation by Hourglass is a full coverage matte foundation based on the popular foundation stick by Hourglass.
This new foundation is a highly concentrated formula that doesn’t require a formula. However, I love primers and find that when I used a hydrating primer before I applied this foundation I got a great look. It’s also waterproof, sweat proof and transfer proof.
How to Apply the Seamless Vanish Liquid Foundation
There is a very specific way to apply the Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Liquid Foundation because of the way it’s formulated.
Since it dries down fast, you’ll have to be quick with this one. All you need is one pump for your entire face. Yes, ONE. I was skeptical with this promise but it was very true. One pump was all I needed for my entire face and I used a beauty blender to apply.
You do have to be careful when applying with the beauty blender because since it is a full coverage foundation, the beauty blender can soften it but I found if the beauty blender was too wet it went on too thin and started to seperate.
A lot of other beauty bloggers love to apply this foundation with a brush which is definitely great.
When you apply the Hourglass Seamless Vanish Liquid Foundation be sure to use a moisturizing primer if you’re going to use one at all (even though you shouldn’t according to the instructions). I used the Smashbox Primerizer as my moisturizing primer and I could see a bit of the dewy glow come through which is exactly what I was looking for.
The formulation of the foundation is a matte but it’s not too drying. It also comes in a pump that’s super sleek. I love the packaging and think it looks so pretty on the shelf.
How it Wears Throughout the Day
Since the Vanish Seamless Liquid Foundation is heavily concentrated, they say you do not need to wear it with a primer. I love primers though I ignored that tid bit.
Here’s a photo of me with half of my face with the foundation and half nothing! What do you think so far – is it a full coverage?
However, when I used the Tatcha Silk Canvas Primer (read the review here), the entire foundation separated by 10 a.m. I was pretty embarrassed too. It also begun to “pill” – think of it like your favourite pair of Lululemon pants creating these little pill balls but on your FACE!
That really annoyed me and I tried wiping my face in the bathroom as much as I could.
Going back to the Smashbox Primerizer, I continued to wear the foundation day in day out for 14 days. I also switched it up a bit with Becca’s First Light Priming Filter Face Primer which allowed me to see some radiant shine come through.
However, I still did notice a bit of cracking within the smile lines as well as around the nose. I think that’s to be expected with matte long wear foundations so it will affect this review slightly but not entirely.
It really is sweat proof because I did a full workout and my makeup did look pretty fresh and clean and that was after a full day of work.
Dupe of the Hourglass Vanish Liquid Foundation
I had a bit of an ah-ha moment within my mini foundation collection. I thought that my love of matte medium coverage foundations had to be close to the new Hourglass one.
I have Maybelline’s Fit Me foundation in “Natural Ivory” and figured why not put both of them to the test. I actually wore one half of my face to work with the Fit Me Foundation and one half with the Vanish Liquid Foundation.
I took a poll on my Instagram stories to see if anybody could tell the difference. 100% said that there was no difference between the two sides of my face. Aside from loving the packaging, the Vanish Liquid Foundation for was not very different than Maybelline’s Fit Me Foundation.
According to Temptalia, their is not a best dupe for the Hourglass Vanish Liquid Foundation at this point. In reading a lot of the reviews, I have established that this foundation is really unmatched. There aren’t any brands that are doing it well enough to be considered a dupe.
Final Verdict of the Hourglass Vanish Liquid Foundation
The question here is do I love this foundation enough to justify spending $68 Canadian on a foundation?
I definitely consider Hourglass a luxury makeup brand but I’m not sure I think of them up where Armani and Dior are considered.
After comparing the Hourglass with Maybelline’s fit me, I decided that I could get away by using the Maybelline foundation for $15 Canadian. I have also been wearing Maybelline Fit me a lot more than some of my other luxury foundation.
Also, since the summer is coming up, I know this foundation will be lasting a long time and I definitely do not prefer matte foundation in the summer. In fact, I can’t wait to go completely dewy!
Also, if you read the reviews on Sephora, a lot of people say that they have a hard time applying it because it dries so fast and doesn’t blend out well. It also oxidizes a lot for some people. This means that after some time, the air makes the foundation change colours which is not a good thing.
If you have oily skin – I would say that this foundation is perfect for you but after seeing even more reviews on Instagram from some beauty influencers with oily skin, I wouldn’t even recommend it for the oily skin type.
Read about my top foundation recommendations for oily skin here.
In short, I ended up taking back the foundation to Sephora and got a full refund. I can’t wait to start my next luxury foundation adventure! Which one should I try next?
