Review: L'Oreal True Match Roller Foundation

I am sure that many peoples' interests were peaked by the debut of the new L'Oreal True Match Roller foundation, much like mine was. Because of the amount of praise I hear for other True Match products, I decided to give this compact a try. But, is it worth the money or is the L'Oreal True Match Roller just a gimmick?

It is no secret that cosmetic companies will rehash old products in new packaging every few years. When I first opened the compact I was met with the product and the small rolling sponge, which is definitely something I have never seen before. However, this foundation is advertised as a cream to powder, which is the same way that they advertised the original L'Oreal True Match foundation that came in a pump bottle. This product however is a solid cream to powder, whereas the old one was a liquid. Just upon wiping my finger across the product I could tell that "cream to powder" was not going to be the case, or at least not to the extent that the advertisements would like you to believe - when I swatched it on the back of my hand, the product didn't blend well at all and just sat on the surface of my skin. It also wiped off easily, so I wasn't immediately impressed with the staying power but I decided to give it a chance.

The roller was the most cumbersome and unsanitary thing I have ever used in my life. What they tell you to do, is to roll the sponge-roller back and forth over the product until it is thoroughly coated with the foundation and then smooth it onto your face in the same way that you would if you were rolling paint onto a wall. Sounds easy, right? Wrong! I have no idea what genius at L'Oreal thought that this would be a great idea, but a person's face has too many curves, dips, high and lows to be painted the same way one would paint a flat surface! I also found myself rolling the sponge back through the product many times, which is disgusting enough on its own - you are essentially rubbing the bacteria from your face all over the sponge and back into the product, so that the next time you use it on your clean face you'll be covering yourself in bacteria again. What does this mean in simple terms? It means that your skin will be more susceptible to breakouts. When using brushes to apply your foundation, you are supposed to wash them every week to prevent bacteria buildup. With this stupid roller, that's not even possible. This little sponge-roller is definitely not a sanitary or logical way to apply makeup.

The product itself left a lot to be desired as well. After I rolled it on, it felt as if there was a light mask sitting on my face - the product was not blended in by the rolling motion at all, and in order to make it feel less gross I had to quickly buff over it with a brush. However, even once it was blended in I was not surprised to find that the "cream to powder" promise was once again, a joke. Unless you set this product with a real powder to make it stay, it will wipe right off of your face.

In conclusion and to be quite honest, I found this product to be disgusting and would not recommend it to anyone. It is a complete waste of $15, when you can find much better drug store brand foundation for less money. Ladies, do not be sucked in by the gimmick - I will be tossing this in the trash the next time I clean out my makeup bag.