Jouer Essential High Coverage Foundation in Pebble – a Kat Von D Replacement?

Jouer Essential High Coverage Foundation in Pebble – a Kat Von D Replacement?

If you’ve been around my blog in the past few years you’ll know that the Kat Von D foundation has been my holy grail foundation for about 2 and a half years, but after more recent controversy around Kat herself, I decided it was a brand that I wanted to step away from and attempt to find a suitable replacement. Since it’s launch I heard great things about the Jouer Essential High Coverage Foundation and when I spotted it on sale around a month ago I decided it was time to swipe it up, give it a try and compare it against my fresh and last bottle of Kat Von D’s Lock It.

First off this foundation is expensive. It comes in narrowly cheaper than the likes of Chanel and the more high end brands that can be found at Boots, so when I saw it on sale for over £10 cheaper I took the opportunity to try it. Not only is the price for a unit expensive, but at 20ml you get less product for your money too and cost per ml this ends up being higher Chanel, and is a third less than the 30ml/1 fl oz that has become the standard size for the majority of foundations on the market.

The packaging of this is completely extra, and not in a good way as it’s so unnecessarily OTT. The foundation bottle arrives in an obnoxious large and wasteful cardboard box, which when you pull it out only makes the foundation feel even smaller. Quality wise it’s beautiful, the box itself reminds me of a slight-copycat of Stila with it’s sleek soft gold finish, and the bottle instead is a heavy glass frosted bottle with a gold cap which contains a pump. Overall the branding of this product feels very different to the liquid lipstick I have from this range which is a dark charcoal cap with clear plastic. It feels luxe but not like they are part of the same brand. Below is a lipstick for scale as to just how mini this bottle is.

My first difficulty with the Jouer Essential High Coverage Foundation was choosing a shade, I used every foundation matrix online pretty much and I got a different answer from all of them, most looked way too pale and whilst I thought  – maybe it would oxidise – I decided to go with the recommendation from Jouer’s website, Pebble as it looked a bit darker and give it was the middle of summer, with the biggest heatwave I can remember I thought going slightly darker would be the better choice.

When it arrived I thought – this is still paler than I could have done with, but with the right blush or bronzer I’ve been managing to make it all tie together. Just about fine, do bare in mind with my review that we have had a sweltering summer in the UK, it’s been hotter than average for longer than average – we hadn’t seen rain at home for 6+ weeks at one point (which is unheard of for a normal British summer!). First off I’ll review it on it’s own merits and then assess whether it’s a suitable replacement for my Kat Von D.


The consistency of this foundation is very fluid and I initially I thought that it was going to lack some pigment and be a medium buildable coverage, but boy I was wrong. This stuff is seriously good coverage and whilst the bottle is a bit on the small side I find I only need two pumps (which isn’t the hugest quantity when you see it on a sponge), I tend to put direct onto my beauty blender, loosely dot around my face to distribute the product and then start going back over to blend.

I’ve tried a few different ways of blending this foundation and my preferred way is definitely using a sponge. It doesn’t take away the high coverage pigment that this foundation has (and is a real draw for me) but it gives the skin a more natural finish. Within a minute or so the foundation dries down into the skin and stops being blendable, should there be any areas where you need to build up a bit more coverage – you can go in with a second layer without it looking cakey. For such a high coverage foundation I normally expect that it will feel heavier, but this took me surprise as it feels so weightless on the skin. As someone with oily skin I still need to powder it – especially in the heat we’ve been having, to make sure it’s set into place.

All products seem to go on top of this foundation well, bronzers, highlighters and blushes all blend in easily. In terms of this wear time It’s done a pretty good job and out of all the high coverage foundations I’ve found that this one lasts overall roughly the same amount of time as it’s competitors, however it does stay looking it the best state for the longest time. In the past few weeks this has battled 30 degree heat and lows of 20 and each time it’s lasted through a work day until I’ve gotten home with performance being better whilst it’s been at the cooler end of the scale so I believe this should hold up even better going into autumn and winter.

I’m impressed by it and it’s immediately in the top 5 foundations that I’ve ever tried.

Jouer Essential High Coverage Foundation vs Kat Von D Lock it Foundation

My Jouer Essential High Coverage Foundation wear test involved me half-and-halfing my face on three days. I did one hot day in the office and one cooler day, and a day at the weekend (as I always find my foundation lasts longer when I’m not in the office). Luckily the colours are bang on for one another so half and halfing worked well. I didn’t use additional concealer as I wanted to test the longevity and coverage of the foundation itself.

Texture: Jouer is a more liquidy comparison, Kat Von D is a thicker cream
Coverage:
Both are very similar but I think the Jouer has slightly better pigment
Settling: Because the pigment is much stronger I find that Jouer needs more work around my finer lines under my eyes as the pigment is so strong you can really see where it’s not sitting and attention is needed around the eyes. I find the Jouer over areas like the cheeks looks nicer and more natural as it doesn’t look as thick.
Mattifying effect: Again, both are very similar pre powder but Jouer is more matte overall.
Blendability: Jouer I find settles into the skin a little nicer with less work.
Longevity: Total wear time for both is very similar – I find at the 8-10 hour mark if I’ve done no repowdering etc. Jouer lasts in place longer as I notice the Kat Von D.
Price per ml: Jouer = £1.70 per ml | Kat Von D = £0.90

Side by Side Comparison


Whilst I’m trying to find a competitor for Kat Von D, the foundation this reminds me of most is the Fenty Pro Filtr Foundation which I had and absolutely loved last year, but it broke me out horribly when I used it more than three times a week. But comparatively this has a similar coverage and a very similar texture with it’s fluidity but the frequent wear of this one has shown that it’s much more suitable to my skin. For me the Jouer foundation wins out over Kat Von D but the cost is very off-putting to me.

I think if I saw the Jouer Essential High Coverage Foundation on offer again I would be inclined to stock up with a bottle or two but at full cost it’s very hard to justify with how quickly I seem to be going through it. I’m just over half way through the bottle after almost two months but baring in mind in that time I’ve very much chopped and changed with other products to compare – if I used this every day I could see this being finished in 6 weeks… making the cost of using this foundation over £5 in a week. UPDATE: I loved this foundation and it might be HG status for me – totally recommended.

You can find it on Beauty Bay here for £34.

Have you tried this foundation from Jouer?

Post contains affiliate links

FacebookInstagram | Twitter | Pinterest | Tumblr

Email: helplesswhilstdrying@gmail.com

Follow:
Share:

21 Comments

  1. August 16, 2018 / 8:00 am

    This foundation does look beautiful on your skin and it seems like a good dupe for your beloved Kat Von D. Hopefully you see this on sale again so you can pick up another bottle! What are your top 5 foundations? x

    • August 16, 2018 / 10:00 am

      Ooh, okay no particular order and they all have a ‘flaw’…
      Kat Von D Lock it Foundation – Good all rounder but don’t wish to support Kat Von D any more
      Jouer High Coverage – Great but flawed by it’s price tag and size
      Illamasqua Skin Base – nice finish but doesn’t wear all day
      Fenty Pro Filtr – Perfect wear but breakout when worn regularly
      EX1 Foundation – One the nicest finish I’ve ever had in a foundation but doesn’t last on oily skin

      • August 16, 2018 / 10:04 am

        Damn that flaw! Are there any others on your list to try that you think could be near perfect too? Sorry for asking the hard questions, I’m naturally curious lol!

        • August 16, 2018 / 10:28 am

          Not really at the moment, I think I’ve mostly worked my way through my “to try” list.
          I do a lot of research because I’m so oily into foundations before I buy as they take so long to finish I don’t want ones lingering round I don’t think I’ll get use out of. I always do a lot of homework on which are meant to be good for oily skin and I only really like medium buildable or full coverage foundations as I have scarring I want to cover and anything that I’ve tried from the high street I’ve never liked or found has longevity for me (I’d love to find a low cost one that just works!).
          I follow certain people on youtube who I know have a similar skintype and if they review a particular foundation I have a good inkling that it may or may not work for me. The Urban Decay all Nighter is one which was meant to be great for oily skin but it just didn’t work for me at all.
          I am just about to start wear testing the YSL All Hours Foundation which I bought in November but it was way too dark for me and has only just become a good colour, that one has mixed reactions from oily gals, some love some hate! And I have got two low end ones I’d like to give a go, Wet and Wild Photo Focus and the Maybelline Superstay – but don’t need another foundation in my drawer at the moment once I’ve cleared a few out or need one in a different tone that might be the ones I try next.

          • August 16, 2018 / 10:34 am

            I hope one or both of those drugstore foundations works for you. Foundation is the hardest makeup product to get right. Do you prefer satin, dry finishes or matte?

          • August 16, 2018 / 10:37 am

            I’d love to wear things that are more luminous but they just don’t last for me, has to me matte but don’t like things looking really dry, thinner formulas like this one had seem to be best for balancing having a skin like finish rather than a layer of beige cement! What about you?

          • August 16, 2018 / 10:43 am

            My skin is on the drier side but I don’t like foundations that are overly dewy. I like thinner consistency too, it’s easier to spread and blend xx

  2. August 16, 2018 / 9:31 am

    Oh wow, the coverage looks really stunning

    Candice

  3. August 16, 2018 / 5:00 pm

    Wow this foundation looks great on you, your skin looks so good! The price is very off putting, but at least you get a good quality product for the price xx

    Hannah | luxuryblush

  4. August 17, 2018 / 3:54 am

    Kat Von d is my holy grail too! Definitely gonna have to check this out! Also wanna check out huda beauty

    • August 18, 2018 / 10:04 pm

      Huda was on my list until all their recent drama and now I don’t want to support that brand either! This is an interesting one to try as a Lock It fan, let me know if you try it and what you thought!

  5. August 18, 2018 / 9:52 pm

    Such a shame it’s so expensive!! It sounds fab and perfect for my skin too! Xxx

  6. August 19, 2018 / 8:12 pm

    Your shots are gorgeous! What kind of camera do you use???

  7. August 22, 2018 / 8:41 pm

    You brave girl! Shade match buying blind online~~ I can’t do it. I am the when it comes to foundation.

    You’re so right! 20ml is tiny!!!! Well done on that lipstick size comparison pic. Such a good reference.

    • August 23, 2018 / 9:00 am

      With some brands you’re just forced to take the gamble – feel very lucky that it actually panned out exactly, but it was no thanks to most of the websites I looked at! Yeah you couldn’t really tell how small it was in photos so grabbed a normal sized lipstick which I hoped would highlight it better!

  8. Leanna Watts
    November 4, 2018 / 11:04 pm

    What shade do you use in Kat Von D? I use neutral 49. Im trying to find my shade. I ordered the Joer samples in the medium shade and pebble seemed to be a good match. I’m going to have to order the light shade samples to see if there is a better match.

Leave a Reply and Let's Have a Chat