Anastasia Beverly Hills Stick Foundation | Review

This year I've made it one of my missions to experiment more with different foundation brands and formulas, having stuck pretty religiously to the Makeup Forever Ultra HD for quite some time now. (Don't worry, you'll always be bae.) And one of the most exciting and possibly different types of foundation for me to try, is the stick foundation. For me it was a toss up between trying the stick version of Ultra HD or this, the Anastasia Beverly Hills stick foundation, I actually had quite a lengthy chat with a lovely girl who worked in Sephora about which she would recommend before I made my purchase. I decided to go with ABH, mainly because it's slightly more difficult to get ahold of over here and it didn't work out any cheaper to buy the MUFE over in America, (boo you exchange rates). So now I've had a good month or so to trial this, I'm going to share my thoughts with you, all the pros and all the cons.

For reference, my skin type is pretty normal/combination. I get dry patches occasionally and a slightly oily t-zone from time to time or after a long day with spots msotly coming around the time of the month. The first place I lose foundation is around the mouth and nose but I think that's more to do with touching my face at work. So let's start with the good points. Packaging. I love how sleek this is, it's perfect for throwing in a handbag, light and small enough for travelling and ideal for touch ups throughout the day. It's also housed in that classic and beautiful Anastasia packaging that we all know and love. The shade range. This has a pretty impressive and extensive shade range, catering for a lot of lighter and darker skintones with a range of different undertones too. I personally picked up Warm Natural, a little too dark for when I'm fair but ideal for when I have a little fake tan on. I probably could have afforded to go a little darker as I tend to use a lot more than "a little" fake tan. But it's nothing a bit of bronzer can't fix. Another great thing about these foundation sticks, is that they double as contour and highlight. Personally, I probably wouldn't spend that much on something to just contour with (they're $25 a piece) but each to their own and it will last you a really long time. I'd just rather get a whole kit for a similar price. Formula wise, the finish and coverage are good. It leaves you with a really naturally matte skin-like finish but despite being highly pigmented, doesn't give a cakey full finish. I find it goes on pretty medium and can easily be built up. I'm still getting to grips with how much of this I need to use, I tend to just draw lines all over my face, blend those out and then touch up any bits that may not have the required coverage. The staying power is good too and the matte finish means I tend to stay pretty shine free for the entire working day.

Right, the negatives. Carrying on from my comments about the formula, this is a pretty dry foundation. When speaking to the girl who worked in Sephora and asking for a comparison to the MUFE stick, she did comment that this was a lot more dry. Though I do like the overall matte finish and how it still looks like skin, I find it clings to dry patches on my skin pretty badly or any old blemishes, I have to go in with more of a glowly concealer in these areas. You could combine this with a moisturising primer but really, I'd say that if your skin is dry, this probably isn't the foundation for you. I also find that because it's drier, it takes a bit more effort to blend out. Nothing totally off putting, it starts off well but tends to get a lot more difficult towards the edges of the face, nothing a touch up won't fix but something to remember. I have heard that a damp beauty blender makes this process a lot easier but personally I just ain't got time fo dat in the morning. I'm all about the quick application with a brush. If you're more combination or oily, this will definitely work a lot better for you.

Would I buy this foundation again? Probably not. Though the pros outweigh the cons, I just personally get on much better with liquid foundations. For me formula ultimately takes precedence over things like packaging and this just isn't my favourite, the dryness just isn't my cup of tea, really I want something that is going to cover any dry patches rather than cling to them. If I were to get another stick formula I think I'd opt for the Makeup Forever Ultra HD.

Have you tried the Anastasia Beverly Hills Foundation Stick? What did you think?