The Lip Bar Fast Face Collection - Skin Serum Foundation (4:02) and Minute Finish Stuntin' 4in1 Face Palette
Hey, y'all~! We've got a foundation review today!
I was chomping at the bit to try the new Fast Face Collection from the Lip Bar, and after impatiently waiting for my face palette to go back in stock, I finally got my order!
For those unaware, the Lip Bar is a Black-owned beauty brand, that have built a name for themselves with -- you guessed it -- their lip products! Since their debut, they've expanded their offerings from lippies, to blush and bronzer, and now, the newest addition to the family: the Skin Serum Foundation!
My initial attraction to the collection was the portability of it all. The collection is described as "Makeup for people with shit to do" and let me tell ya; I'm a busy gal with LOTS of shit to do, including travel all over the place. My makeup goal for next year is to streamline my travel makeup process, and having these items will certainly help with that.
I also appreciate that the The Lip Bar is trying to simplify makeup with this collection. To me, this makes makeup as a whole more approachable and takes out a lot of the guesswork.
Each Fast Face Kit is separated by shade range, which is made up of between 3 to 6 foundation shades. I'm in the 4:00 color family, so I ordered the main items from the 4:00 Stuntin' Face Kit.
Since I barely use mascara or eyeliner, and I need another lip product like I need a hole in my head, I only ordered the Skin Serum Foundation and the Minute Finish Face Palette. I think the entire kit is a great deal, but personally, spending an additional $40 on items I don't need or use that often didn't make any sense.
The items arrived packaged beautifully, in bubblewrap! You can certainly tell what I ordered and who made it, lol.
The website swatches are a tad lighter than the actual item, which tells you that you might actually be a shade lighter than expected. The Lip Bar's foundation finder isn't great, but it's not too bad either. I used my Fenty Foundation shade (420) to find my first foundation match (4:05, Red Brown Cinnamon, but when I saw the color and swatches on the website, I realized 4:05 would be too red for me, which makes sense -- the Fenty Pro Fil'tr Foundation *also* pulls red on me.
The foundation comes in a tube with a brush attachment, which I wanted to love, but I'll talk more more on that later. The foundation is dispensed by pressing in the button at the bottom of the tube, which then disperses the foundation from the brush.
If you press the button for too long, or too hard, too much foundation comes out of the tube. My biggest concern for this product is that I'm going to go through much faster than my other foundations due to the packaging. In the three days I used the product, I used 1 pump the first time, 2 pumps the second day, and finally, 3 pumps on the third. It was only 6 pumps, but after each day, there was a noticeable dip in the amount of product in the tube.
Switching gears for a second, the Minute Finish 4in1 Face Palette is everything. Legit, EVERYTHING, I've ever wanted in a face palette. It comes with 4 shades: a face powder, a gorgeous blush, a highlighter and a velvety, richly pigmented contour. The Minute Finish palettes are also curated by shade range, so if you don't buy the entire collection, just make sure you're getting the face palette that corresponds with your Skin Serum Foundation shade range. The face palette for the 4:00 shade family, Stuntin', checks off every box I was looking for in a travel face palette except...
At my midday check-in, I was shocked at my oil production. I realized immediately that this is absolutely not a matte foundation. After taking this picture, I immediately went home and put some transluscent powder on my face. At this point, I had already powdered my face twice, and blotted a little when I went to the bathroom sometime between 2 and 4 pm. I wasn't sure if my skin was going crazy, or if I was just hot, since I had a Lolita meet that day, but I was so shiny. That being said, I didn't feel greasy, I just looked it, lol.
The foundation held up better this time, but I still got shiny. No where near as quickly as the first day though, so that means my methods worked. Still, I don't think I would recommend this foundation for people that are straight up oily.
I was chomping at the bit to try the new Fast Face Collection from the Lip Bar, and after impatiently waiting for my face palette to go back in stock, I finally got my order!
For those unaware, the Lip Bar is a Black-owned beauty brand, that have built a name for themselves with -- you guessed it -- their lip products! Since their debut, they've expanded their offerings from lippies, to blush and bronzer, and now, the newest addition to the family: the Skin Serum Foundation!
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| Stock photo, I do not own! |
I also appreciate that the The Lip Bar is trying to simplify makeup with this collection. To me, this makes makeup as a whole more approachable and takes out a lot of the guesswork.
Each Fast Face Kit is separated by shade range, which is made up of between 3 to 6 foundation shades. I'm in the 4:00 color family, so I ordered the main items from the 4:00 Stuntin' Face Kit.
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| Items included in the 4:00 Fast Face Kit. |
Since I barely use mascara or eyeliner, and I need another lip product like I need a hole in my head, I only ordered the Skin Serum Foundation and the Minute Finish Face Palette. I think the entire kit is a great deal, but personally, spending an additional $40 on items I don't need or use that often didn't make any sense.
I ordered my items and received my package in about a week. Throughout the entire process, The Lip Bar emailed me AND texted me to keep me up-to-date on where my items were at all times.
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| My stuff! |
The items arrived packaged beautifully, in bubblewrap! You can certainly tell what I ordered and who made it, lol.
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| The foundation and face palette! |
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| The amazing packaging! |
The website swatches are a tad lighter than the actual item, which tells you that you might actually be a shade lighter than expected. The Lip Bar's foundation finder isn't great, but it's not too bad either. I used my Fenty Foundation shade (420) to find my first foundation match (4:05, Red Brown Cinnamon, but when I saw the color and swatches on the website, I realized 4:05 would be too red for me, which makes sense -- the Fenty Pro Fil'tr Foundation *also* pulls red on me.
Shade 4:02, Neutral Cinnamon ended up being my pick, since it's described as a neutral undertone. Of the corresponding foundations in the shade finder, I am a match for Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless in the shade Latte (at least, according to Findation) so I figured 4:02 would be worth the risk.
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| The foundation! |
The foundation comes in a tube with a brush attachment, which I wanted to love, but I'll talk more more on that later. The foundation is dispensed by pressing in the button at the bottom of the tube, which then disperses the foundation from the brush.
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| Brush attachment. |
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| Dispenser button, marked with the foundation shade. |
The density of the attached brush is a problem, as is the size. I'm not the type to make tiny brush strokes when applying foundation, I typically use a combination of stippling and blending. With this brush, there's no way to make larger sweeping motions because you'll end up with streaks and gaps on your face.
The other downside to the brush is that, although it is removable for cleaning, there's really no way to dispense the foundation out of the tube without the brush attachment. I feel like a better execution of this would have been to make the foundation tube removable, as opposed to the brush. It would have been cool if there were different sized/shaped brush attachments with foundation cartridges that you can swap out for different purposes. It also would encourage customers to buy cartridge refills as opposed to tossing their removable brush every time they run out of foundation.
However, I understand that this is A. The Lip Bar's first foundation release, meaning they have room to make some improvements and changes, and B. Hella expensive, as well as risky, to try to anticipate the different type of brushes that makeup users want to use.
I did an initial swatch of the foundation on my face the moment I took it out of the package, just to make sure it was a shade match. The shade was perfect, so I put it aside to examine my face palette in more detail.
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| My face palette! |
Switching gears for a second, the Minute Finish 4in1 Face Palette is everything. Legit, EVERYTHING, I've ever wanted in a face palette. It comes with 4 shades: a face powder, a gorgeous blush, a highlighter and a velvety, richly pigmented contour. The Minute Finish palettes are also curated by shade range, so if you don't buy the entire collection, just make sure you're getting the face palette that corresponds with your Skin Serum Foundation shade range. The face palette for the 4:00 shade family, Stuntin', checks off every box I was looking for in a travel face palette except...
It doesn't have a mirror, T__T
Most people aren't bugged by that, but if the intent of this kit is to only use this collection to do my makeup, why is there no mirror? Granted, the outside of the package looks gorgeous, but I'd rather have a mirror. Imagine being stuck in an airport seat (or the train), trying to do your makeup, and now you have to dig further in the bag to find a mirror to hold up while also trying to balance this palette on your lap/tray. It just seems contradictory to me.
Besides the lack of mirror, OMG this face palette is PERFECT. I love it. I love that I didn't have to guess at which contour shade would look good on me, or pick the wrong blush. I love that the face powder actually looks good on my face, and doesn't make me casket ready. I looovveeeeeeeee the pigment in the blush, it's so beautiful. The highlight is subtle, but definitely there. Even if I don't reorder the foundation, I'm absolutely, 100% reordering this face palette until they stop making them. I might even order a backup soon, just in case, haha.
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| Top row, from left to right: Face powder, blush. Bottom row, from left to right: Highlighter, contour. |
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| Swatches of the face palette (I'm a terrible swatch-er). |
Besides the lack of mirror, OMG this face palette is PERFECT. I love it. I love that I didn't have to guess at which contour shade would look good on me, or pick the wrong blush. I love that the face powder actually looks good on my face, and doesn't make me casket ready. I looovveeeeeeeee the pigment in the blush, it's so beautiful. The highlight is subtle, but definitely there. Even if I don't reorder the foundation, I'm absolutely, 100% reordering this face palette until they stop making them. I might even order a backup soon, just in case, haha.
Foundation Review
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| First test! |
Since I had no idea how these products would act with my skin care, or with each other, I decided to do two wear tests. For the first test, I made sure to apply the foundation the exact same way that I normally do. I went through my entire morning skincare routine, primed my face with the Elf Poreless Putty Primer, and then went in with the foundation. I tried to use the brush attachment, but that didn't work, so I dotted the foundation on my face with the attached brush, then blended it out with my usual foundation brush.
The shade match was PERFECT. Wow, it looks so good on my skin, and very healthy. The foundation isn't as neutral as I expected, but it still looked great. It feels great as well, no oily or sticky. The foundation is a lower, but still medium coverage that can be built; I'm just not sure if I want to because one layer really was good enough.
It looks wonderful on my face. I look healthy, which I like. But, during the first test, I got oily wayyy too fast. We're talking by the time I finished my face, I was putting on powder again. I used a mattifying spray, but after about 2 hours, I was blotting again, an issue I haven't had in a while.
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| 5 pm check-in. |
At my midday check-in, I was shocked at my oil production. I realized immediately that this is absolutely not a matte foundation. After taking this picture, I immediately went home and put some transluscent powder on my face. At this point, I had already powdered my face twice, and blotted a little when I went to the bathroom sometime between 2 and 4 pm. I wasn't sure if my skin was going crazy, or if I was just hot, since I had a Lolita meet that day, but I was so shiny. That being said, I didn't feel greasy, I just looked it, lol.
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| Final check-in. |
At midnight, I was ready to pass out so it was time to end the first test. The foundation held up much better from 5 pm to midnight, but it was also cooler outside, and I had refreshed my face at that point. I was still shiny in some sections, so that tells me that in order to wear this product, I'd need to use more matte products. Since I have combo-oily skin, I have lots of methods to make my foundations more matte, but I haven't had to use those methods because my daily foundations are already matte enough.
For wear test #2, I used Wet n Wild's Matte Primer, Elf Poreless Primer in my problem areas, and followed that up with translucent powder over my problem areas. Since I knew the brush wasn't going to work for me, I went ahead and used the same method as the first test to apply the foundation. Already, I noticed a decided difference in how matte my face looked. On Day 2, it was coooold, and I was attending a concert, so I was prepared to run my foundation into the ground.
I finished up with a matte setting spray, which I think may be causing some of the problems, as it's not as matte as the Milani Make It Last Matte spray. Anyhwo, here's my look on the second day!
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| I'm prepared for the cold! |
The foundation held up better this time, but I still got shiny. No where near as quickly as the first day though, so that means my methods worked. Still, I don't think I would recommend this foundation for people that are straight up oily.
Final Thoughts
Since I went in detail between each section of the review, I'll offer a brief summary on my overall feelings of the foundation
The Good:
-Beautiful shade match. I was super skeptical about this foundation being too light, but it was perfect.
-Doesn't feel heavy or gross on the skin.
-Extremely portable
-Mid-tier affordability ($28 for the foundation)
-Sets well, works well with all my skin care and other products
-Skincare Benefits from the ingredients
-THE FACE PALETTE IS FREAKING AMAZING 😍😍😍 The contour is beautiful, the blush is pretty and pigmented, the highlight is subtle but lovely, and I even liked the face powder, though it clearly didn't mattify enough.
The Bad:
-I set my face with translucent powder and a setting spray at 9 am. I set my nose, chin and forehead again at noon, just before the meet. I set my face AGAIN at 5:30 pm. Each time I set it, the foundation went back to looking absolutely beautiful, but this is not oily skin friendly, :/
-After just 1 day of use, I can see how much product is missing from the tube, as I said earlier and that concerns me. I honestly don't know how long a full tube is going to last because there's a noticeable dip in the amount of product.
-NO SPF in the foundation (not a big deal since I have a separate sunscreen, but again, this is supposed to be all you need for a full face)
The Hot Mess:
-I wanted to love the brush attachment. I really, truly did, but it's too dense, and there's no way to dispense the foundation without the brush attachment, thus making it a fail for me.
-NO. MIRROR. On such an amazing face palette?!?!?
As I mentioned before, I bought these two products specifically as a travel makeup solution. I think these are PERFECT for travel, and will definitely help de-clutter my travel makeup bag, but I'm still wish there was a mirror on such an amazing face palette.
I'm not sure I would repurchase this foundation. Maybe once they figure out the brush attachment issues, I'd try it again, but given that Texas is hot most of the time, this is not the type of foundation for my skin type. That doesn't mean I hate it, just that it's not the best product for me. If they released a matte foundation, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
I give this collection a 6 out of 8. Not a perfect score, but I love the face palette so much that it helps me like the foundation a little more. If you have dry or normal skin, you'll love this collection. I also appreciate the thought, effort, and planning behind the collection, and we can't ignore the fantastic shade range either.
Grab your own Fast Face Collection here!
Foundation Rankings (for me!), so far:
1. NYX Can't Stop Won't Stop
2. Makeup Revolution Conceal and Define Full Coverage Foundation
4. Urban Decay Stay Naked
5. The Lip Bar Foundation Serum
6.Maybelline Dream Urban Cover
7. Urban Decay One and Done
8. Maybelline Super Stay
9. ELF Flawless Finish
10. Sephora Collection Bright Future Skin Tint
Thanks for reading my blog, and I'll be back soon with a dress review, and perhaps a skincare haul? Let me know if there's any content you'd like to see from me in the comment box below!
See you soon, my fantastic readers!
Stay beautiful, stay true,
~J
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