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?



11 comments

  1. I'm always put off of creme stick foundations as I fear they'll just be a greasy mess on my oily skin, so I'm surprised to hear how dry/matte this one is! Shame you didn't get on with it, I think I've heard too many negatives compared to positives to try it myself! xo

    Love, Catherine

    ReplyDelete
  2. so many brands are coming up with stick foundations and to be fair, i never thought of trying one. my skin is already dry so this one probably won't be one for me. the hourglass one seems to be amazing but its so pricey and i really don't want to spend as much at the moment.


    www.elenaisabelle.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. been toying with the idea of trying this but this is now one too many negative reviews, it's a shame because ABH usually do amazing with any product release and everyone loves it- this is totally the odd product out!

    Courtney | Lashes and Luxe

    ReplyDelete
  4. Stick foundations seem to be making a big appearance in the beauty world recently, this sounds great but like you I think I'd like to stick to liquid foundations!

    Lucy | Forever September

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yes, I love drawing the stripes all over my face too. For me, this is a little bit confusing as it clings to my dry patches too but also doesn't last very long on my oily t-zone. I still enjoy using it for when I need a little bit of coverage and it travels well xxx
    Sal | UmmBaby Beauty

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'd love to try this out but it's a shame that it clings to dry patches because my skin tends to be super dry and dehydrated, especially this time of the year x

    Beauty with charm

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you for the honest review of this - it's a shame as I was drawn to this for the wide shade range, reasonable price and overall convenience of stick formulas :( however definitely can't be doing with a foundation that clings to dry patches, especially not that this time of year!

    Jasmine xx

    Jasmine Talks Beauty

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have normal/combination skin, and have found that mixing a facial oil with a drying foundation seems to combat the foundation sticking to my dryer patches. Having said that, I get pretty nervous with stick foundations as I have only ever tried the Maybelline stick foundation and that made me greasy, caked and it moved around during the day so it was really refreshing to find out that this formula is nothing like that and has a great shade range (finding shades for dark skin is proving to slowly get easier!)

    Thank you for the review girl! I might actually consider trying out stick foundations once more!

    Maz | mazrawrs.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Stick foundations are undoubtedly a great addition to the beauty world and so many brands are emerging but as far as my oily skin is concerned, I think it will be quite messy and greasy for my type. Thank you very much for providing your insight.

    Love xoxo,
    Kate
    Skinade Discount

    ReplyDelete