Base to Full Face Week – Urban Decay All Nighter Foundation + Giveaway

I’ve had the Urban Decay All Nighter foundation since it’s launch late last year. I’ve tried it out a handful of times but had really been trying to keep my hands off it whilst I was trying to clear out and finish up others from my collection.

Every launch from Urban Decay is hotly anticipated I think last years most excitable launch for many was this foundation. The All Nighter setting sprays have garnered their huge following of loyal fans, so an extension to the line was no doubt going to please many. Unfortunately it’s one that’s had me puzzled.

urban-decay-all-nighter-foundation-lid

The shade selection from this line is lacking, I’m someone who is in the middle of the road for shades and I’m one of the lightest shades, with hearing advise before buying that they oxidize on the skin from Molly @ Rose Beauty Files. She was right and I’m glad I bought 2.0, if you consider there’s three shades lighter than this which all oxidize you’re probably in trouble if you’re pale. There’s currently 24 shades within the range and they seem to mostly sit in the tanned caucasian spectrum.

I have a bit of a love hate relationship with the packaging, It looks quite cool with a cut out chrome pewter outer casing with the inner being the type of packaging that squeezes up every drop of foundation as you go leaving you with no waste. The packaging style does make it chunky and takes up valuable makeup bag space equity, the lid matched up perfectly but it doesn’t click on solidly and on more than one occasion I’ve taken this away for the night and noticed that the cap has come off when I got to the other end.

urban-decay-all-nighter-foundation-packaging

The Foundation is priced at £29, so it needs to perform well for the cost. Urban Decay describe this as a full coverage foundation with a ‘modern’ matte finish that promises to not look overdone and wear all night. This sounded like an oily girls dream, which is why I was really eager to give it a try.

I’ve tried multiple different ways of applying this, I don’t enjoy this with a buffing brush as I thought I might do when I first acquired it, I don’t mind applied with fingers or with a damp(ish) makeup sponge.  I’ve found that I need two to three pumps of this foundation to apply to my whole face. I feel like I haven’t used this that much and I’m already about a third of the way through the bottle. It doesn’t spread very far so as soon as you’re beginning dabbing it into your face or smearing it out, it dries and sets pretty quickly.

urban-decay-all-nighter-foundation-pump

Sometimes I love this foundation, sometimes I hate it. If my beauty blender is slightly too wet then it picks up the product from the top level of the skin, whilst pressing it into the pores and it looks like the worst foundation I’ve ever put on my skin. No primer I’ve tried so far has cured that this sometimes seems to be an unexplained issue and I’ve had to take it off more than once and start again because it was not salvageable. It doesn’t layer well at all as whilst it feels quite weightless, it does live up to it’s full coverage claims, but it doesn’t do a good job of blending together with what’s already there.

Other times I’ve worn this for nights out or special occasions and I’ve had so many compliments about my makeup and questions on foundation, for me it doesn’t look flawless all day for a full work day (KVD lock it still does a better job for me), but for a 4/5 hour time period it works really well, and stands up well against heat from nightclubs/dancing (in my one experience of that in the past 6 months!).

Primer + Foundation
Primer + Foundation
Primer + Foundation
Primer + Foundation
After powdering/blush etc
After powdering/blush etc

Whilst this can look really good, high coverage and a really nice matte finish that doesn’t look dry, I think when you look closer to the skin it has a tendency to look a little patchy and cakey – which is less noticeable from someone being a normal distance away from you, but when I look in the mirror sometimes I do have thought ‘yikes, don’t let anyone near you’. I’ve had a few dry patches on my cheeks where I’ve had a breakout clearing up, and it really clings to those dry areas, I don’t think people with normal skin, let alone dry skin would get on with foundation at all with one that’s purely better suited for oily gals. I still have to powder well using this, partially to make sure everything is as blended together as possible and it doesn’t keep oiliness away without it a that 4/5 hour mark is even shorter.

base-to-full-face-final-look

I will use this up, but it’s one that I need to use when I can afford the time to get ready slowly and with care, with the risk starting reapplying my foundation from scratch if it sits wrong. It’s a foundation that’s needy for attention, which is fine, but not great for everyday. However when I come to the end of this bottle, I don’t envisage me wanting to repurchase it – for £29 I need to love a foundation, not like it (sometimes), if it was cheaper it might be one that I’d repurchase, but when ever I have to take it off and reapply I feel can feel the £’s wasted with every swipe of a micellar water dosed cotton pad.


Competition

win-revolution-lip-kit

To celebrate the week I’ll be giving away the spare Grandee Lip Kit I hauled a few weeks and the gorgeous eye and highlighter Makeup Revolution Palette too. There are 2 Ways to enter:

1. Follow Me on Twitter & retweet the competition tweet (linked here!)

or

2. Be following my blog either via wordpress/email or bloglovin & comment on any of the posts in this series including this one (unless you tell me you’re not entering I’ll presume that you are!). Comments on each post are counted as multiple entries so come back all week to increase your chances of winning!

Entries close 11.59pm on the 20th February.
Open Internationally.
I’ll be announcing the winner week commencing Monday 20th February 2017!


Have you tried All Nighter Foundation yet?

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Helpless Whilst Drying

Email: helplesswhilstdrying@gmail.com

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45 Comments

  1. February 15, 2017 / 9:18 am

    I’m not a huge fan of full coverage foundations, but this one looks lovely on skin. Great giveaway, I never tried anything from Makeup Revolution, fingers crossed I will soon. xx

    https://simpleserenity.wordpress.com

    • February 15, 2017 / 9:36 am

      It looks great from a distance, up close it can look a little cakey, and it can be a terror to apply, I almost have to re-plan wearing it because if I use a beauty blender that’s just been dampened, then it picks all the product, I almost have to dampen it the night before and give it chance to try out!

      Good Luck Azra! x

  2. emma
    February 15, 2017 / 9:41 am

    I was going to try this foundation at some point, I’ll try the kat von d instead . Great review though, looking this week’s post idea xx

  3. February 15, 2017 / 9:51 am

    Such a well written review Rachael! I like the design of the bottle and think it’s really useful when the foundation pump moves up as not to waste product. It’s weird that the product can look different upon each application but then again our skin isn’t the same everyday, if you’ve had a breakout or have a dry patch it’s going to affect the look. I don’t blame you for not jumping at the chance to repurchase to be honest.

    • February 15, 2017 / 10:27 am

      Thanks Chanelle, No you’re right our skin is different everyday – I’ve not been able to pinpoint what’s different about my skin when it goes wrong! I’ve had a few small breakouts on my cheeks and I’ve noticed this does cling to the dry areas where they’ve been healing over. It’s an okay foundation, if it was cheaper I’d probably repurchase it to use occasionally, but I have others I prefer for the same price. x

      • February 15, 2017 / 10:37 am

        I have days where foundation doesn’t look the best and sometimes I think it’s down to diet and if I don’t drink enough water. Like you say if there’s a product you prefer it makes sense to stick with it x

  4. February 15, 2017 / 11:24 am

    So many people raved about this foundation and you are quite honest with this! I dont like these high coverage foundations for my skin because i dont have breakouts but i suffer from redness i always look for Something that makes me look fresh.
    I want to participate in the giveaway sure if it is international.
    I will be waiting for the next review
    😘
    kristynofisworld.wordpress.com

    • February 15, 2017 / 11:29 am

      It is open internationally. Because I’m oily I tend to need something that’s high coverage and pigment so it stays put for as long as possible – medium/low coverage ones tend to have pigments that fade quicker for me, but I agree, especially if people know you have a bit of rosiness to your skin it can look like you’re wearing a mask if all of a sudden you’re wearing such a high coverage foundation!
      Good luck in the giveaway! xxx

  5. sophieinwonderlandxo
    February 15, 2017 / 11:34 am

    Yes i totally agree with you! It does go so patchy and weird I’m so glad it isn’t just me! It definitely doesn’t live up to the hype. (Im not entering the giveaway btw as i already have both the prizes!) Xxx

  6. CaptainMeow
    February 15, 2017 / 11:40 am

    That’s a shame about it looking different at different times – it does look really good! A very nice matte effect. Probably a bit too much coverage for me anyway, but I was expecting it to have been better.

    • February 15, 2017 / 11:43 am

      It’s definitely more of an ‘occasion’ foundation for me rather than an everyday one, it’s a bit much for wearing to work! But for a night out for a shortish period it seems to last well & photograph well… providing it applies nicely in the first place! x

  7. February 15, 2017 / 12:19 pm

    I have been wanting to try this foundation since I heard it was going to launch and haven’t had chance to be colour matched at a counter (despite knowing I will inevitably be the lightest shade, however, like yourself I have heard this oxidises and that really puts me off. I am so pale that I worry about looking like I have the wrong colour foundation on! I might have a try of the original foundation and see if that one is a little better as I’m not sure this will be for me! Great review and very informative!

    • February 15, 2017 / 12:25 pm

      Thanks Sarah! I would definitely get colour matched, especially if you feel like you’d be the palest because it could well end up being too dark after a while! xxx

  8. February 15, 2017 / 12:50 pm

    I actually hated this foundation and after 3 uses I sold it on just to recoup some cash! It clung to all my baby hairs/dry patches/pores/spots! Like you said, I’ve found no primer that counteracts this! It’s a big no from me but I love the packaging haha! Xxx

    • February 15, 2017 / 12:59 pm

      I don’t think I hate it enough to get rid of it, but I do think I have to meet a lot of conditions to get this to work:
      1) Good Skin Day
      2) Not be worn for a full day
      3) Have enough time to redo it incase it goes on flipping weird
      4) Anticipated the evening before so I can dampen my beauty blender so it’s not too wet and it’s dried out enough!
      xx

  9. amt07
    February 15, 2017 / 3:22 pm

    I love the purple lips you have in the photo. I’m a sucker for purple lips. I haven’t heard many good things about this foundation. It’s just basically a weaker version of Kat Von D’s Lock it Foundation.

    Keep up the hard!

  10. February 15, 2017 / 4:17 pm

    Thanks for sharing your review! I like urban decay and I do have foundation I use if there’s sometimes (I bounce around). But being an oily skin makeup junkie it can be tough and hearing “matte” is enticing. I do get dry patches tho due to having light acne that I freak out over and dry my skin out trying to combat so this wouldn’t be a good match for me. But you look flawless in the pictures!

  11. February 15, 2017 / 4:19 pm

    I am a little bit of a cheapskate when it comes to everything haha I was only saying to one of my friends yesterday that I feel bad if I try something expensive and truly like it, but know that I would rather spend my money on a cheaper alternative

    • February 15, 2017 / 4:21 pm

      I much prefer budget products, but I can’t find a cheap foundation or mascara I like, I’d rather stick to ones I like (or at least in this case, thought I would love!) that are more expensive than end up trying 5 foundations that are £8 that don’t work for me and don’t look good if that makes sense. xx

  12. February 15, 2017 / 4:41 pm

    Hmm I think this is a pass for me. The finish you described and showed isn’t my favourite – I prefer a natural finish for my foundations. It’s also disappointing how it oxidizes! I do have to say though, the packaging is really sleek looking!

    • February 15, 2017 / 10:00 pm

      I thought it was going to be pretty controversial that I didn’t like it as the only bad review I’d seen of it was Molly’s, seems like no one likes it from my comments so definitely stay clear! I like the packaging, it’s just so chunky, and the lid falls off too, annoying!

  13. February 15, 2017 / 5:56 pm

    This has been on my wishlist for a while, but now I’m having second thoughts! Sounds like I’d be underwhelmed by this one. Thanks for sharing your thoughts 🙂

    Nicole | The Glam Surge

  14. February 15, 2017 / 7:25 pm

    I really did want to try this but hearing that it oxideises so badly put me off. I think I’ve probably done the right thing!

    You skin does look super flawless though and I’m living for that lipstick! xx

  15. February 15, 2017 / 8:23 pm

    I wanted to love this. I hated it so much. None of the 3 shades I tried worked for me. Freshly applied it looks great, but as soon as it oxidizes it looks like total crap on me. It looks cakey and patchy and just awful. Was so disappointed. I’ll just stick with my Estée Lauder Double Wear for high end full coverage. That one hasn’t let me down yet.

      • February 16, 2017 / 2:06 am

        Yet a ton of YouTubers raved about it. Either they found a shade that oxidized to match, or they got it for free/were paid to rave about it.

  16. February 16, 2017 / 8:15 am

    This looks incredible coverage! But I think it might be a bit too thick for me 🙁

    I’ve heard mixed reviews about this product, I think it’s bad that there isn’t a shade for everyone too! xxx

  17. February 16, 2017 / 6:07 pm

    I’ve never actually tried any Urban Decay stuff, but I admit the price would put me off, especially if it isn’t going to last me all that long.

  18. February 17, 2017 / 12:01 am

    This was really interesting to read because I’ve been deliberating buying the All Nighter, I’d heard great things but am really not so sure now. I do love their palettes though!

    Kara
    http://www.spreadthesparkle.co.uk
    💗

  19. February 18, 2017 / 4:44 am

    I have definitely had foundations like this, super tricky to get it to sit right. It’s so frustrating when it costs so much!

  20. Charlotte
    February 20, 2017 / 6:43 pm

    I’ve never tried anything from urban decay and I think I’ll stay away from this. Such a shame as the packaging looks great x

  21. March 4, 2017 / 2:29 am

    Great post – my review on this is up Sunday. Check it out!

  22. April 23, 2017 / 10:17 am

    I agree with you so much in this review. I was expecting this to be amazing and was so disappointed. Like you , I will use it up but won’t be repurchasing. Great review .

  23. areadingcat
    June 15, 2017 / 8:51 am

    thanks for the review on this! i really wanted to buy it, now im not so sure!
    also, i LOVE the name of your blog! haha so creative! xx

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