REVIEW - Autograph (M&S) Smooth Matte Mousse in shade Ivory

I found this foundation by pure accident as I was walking through Marks and Spencer to get to the shop on the other side. I noticed this new makeup section as I walked through and this caught my eye. A super pale foundation, from M&S? indeed. This is one of the palest “drugstore” foundations that I have come across. I have to admit, the colour is a little more pink than I normally get because I tend to go for yellow based foundations, but it does actually blend in well with my skin tone.

I had a look at their whole range of foundations because this one, the one that had caught my eye for being so pale, is a matte foundation aimed at people with oily skin. So I looked at the other foundations aimed more at dry/combination skin types in the same shade “Ivory” but to my disappointment, they were all much darker than the ivory shade of matte mousse. How annoying is it when companies call their foundations the same shade but they don’t match?! Anyway, it was £9.50 so I decided to take a gamble and by the matte mousse foundation. I’m glad I did. To make this foundation work with my dry skin, there’s a few steps I take. Firstly, I will exfoliate my skin, taking care in particularly dry areas of my face, and then moisturise really really well. Then I will put a small amount of Vaseline on areas that dry out the most, such as around the nose and along my hairline. Then I apply a good primer followed by buffing in this foundation with a stippling brush.  I find this works well for the majority of the day and only after about 6 hours or so I will I start to see my skin drying out on my forehead /nose/hairline. This was my everyday foundation for a good few months until very recently and I still use it from time to time. 

I love this mousse foundation. The coverage is claimed to be medium, but I would say more medium to full. It covers my red cheeks almost completely and the finish, although matte, is velvety soft and as long as I use the primer, doesn’t dry out my skin too much but there are some noticeable dry patches at the end of a long day and  I do notice that it oxidies a little. Having said that, if I am going out in the evening I would usually re-apply my foundation from scratch so this isn't usually a big problem for me, but if you don't have the opportunity to do that then it can be a bit annoying. 

However, another great thing about this foundation is it does last one pot will last you a long time as you only need a very small amount to get great coverage. I usually just slightly dip my stippling brush into the pot once or twice and after using it probably around the 50+ times mark I’m only half way through the pot. You can see from the photos below.  I do like the packaging, it's quite plain but the glass pot makes it feel more high-end, and the fact the top opens big enough so you can just dip your brush in is a definite plus for me. 

So to sum up, it is a great colour, if a little pink, and it is suited to more oily skin types. For pale girls with more oily/combination skin, this is definitely one to try. If you have more drier skin, it is a bit more hassle but doable. It might be worth having a look at other M&S foundations because the ivory shades are still pale and might be more suitable for you.I do like this foundation, but is not ideal because I have dry skin and so takes a bit of time to get right. However, if I do run out I will definitely re-purchase this as a great everyday foundation.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to post a comment :)

xx