It's Halloween weekend, the favourite holiday of makeup lovers everywhere - happy Halloween everyone! It seems only logical that I'd pick today to share a review of one of the most anticipated recent foundation releases with you guys. Let's talk about the Urban Decay All-Nighter Foundation.
You all know I'm a huge Urban Decay fan. In fact, I don't know a beauty lover who isn't. Urban Decay offers high quality cosmetics that dare to push the envelope when it comes to colours, finishes and textures. However, up until recently, Urban Decay only had one true foundation in their collection, Urban Decay Naked Skin. Naked Skin focuses on a natural finish and offers medium coverage, which might explain why people were so excited when Urban Decay announced their All-Nighter foundation. The All-Nighter foundation contains three times as much pigment as their Naked Skin foundation and offers a full coverage, longwear, matte formula, which is the perfect base to the heavier type of makeup that is so on trend right now.
I was super excited to give it a try (I generally swear by longwear, full coverage formulas), so I dropped by the UD counter at Ici Paris XL and brought home three little plastic pots with two pumps of product of the three lightest shades available at the time - 1.5, 2.5 and 3.25. I definitely advise anyone who is thinking about buying this foundation to do the same, so you can try it out a couple of times with different application techniques, and see how the colours look on you in natural light, because these are hard to colour match for reasons I will explain later.
Anyway, at first sight I figured 3.25 would be my best match, as it has a neutral undertone (.0 is warm, .25 is neutral and .5 is cool) and I still had a bit of tan from my days spent in the sun. I applied it with a damp beautyblender, working in sections like I usually do with heavy coverage, quick drying foundations: one cheek, then the other, then my forehead. Let's look at the before and after.
Anyway, at first sight I figured 3.25 would be my best match, as it has a neutral undertone (.0 is warm, .25 is neutral and .5 is cool) and I still had a bit of tan from my days spent in the sun. I applied it with a damp beautyblender, working in sections like I usually do with heavy coverage, quick drying foundations: one cheek, then the other, then my forehead. Let's look at the before and after.
The All-Nighter foundation does NOT mess around, it is definitely full coverage although I've found that you can sheer it out to a medium coverage by applying it sparingly with a damp beautyblender. That does pose the risk of making the foundation go on a bit patchy, however, so if I were you I'd stick with full coverage, or dilute the foundation with a drop of oil or a moisturizer. I have also tried applying it with a buffing brush, which gives an even fuller coverage, but it also tends to get a bit cakier that way. Beautyblender is the way to go! Let's zoom in to see what it does for my skin texture.
I am in love. I have literally never used a foundation that so flawlessly combines amazing coverage with such a beautiful, demi-matte skinlike finish. Not fully matte, which makes it look more natural, and not cakey either. I also feel like it minimizes my pores. In short: love it!
There is a bit of an issue with the dried down product being darker than it seems on first application, which is why I'd suggest anyone to do a test run with a sample of the product first. You can see it in my swatch of the 2.5 shade, which is still quite light in the middle where the product is thickly applied, while the dried down edges are much darker. I also think all the shades are quite yellow based, not neutral or pink, so not everyone is going to find their perfect match here. Another illustration of the darker dry down of the foundation:
On the left, I've just applied 3.25, on the right, a couple of minutes later. Obviously darker. After about five minutes, the product has reached its final colour. It does not oxidize (which is something else than drying down darker). Zooming in along my jawline shows that 3.25 is too dark for me upon drying down.
1.5 and 2.5 just about work when I take care to blend them down along my jaw. I think I'll need 0.5 at my palest, but that means that this foundation won't work for the very palest ladies. For reference, Revlon Colorstay in 110 Ivory is always a bit too light for me, at my palest I'm somewhere between 110 Ivory and 150 Buff Chamois.
wearing: ABH Dipbrow in Ash Brown - UD Moondust palette - UD Vice Backtalk lipstick - H&M Blush in Taupe Brown - L'Oreal Push Up Drama mascara
And this is what All-Nighter looks like with a full face of makeup! I think it looks amazing, definitely a flawless finish that does not appear too heavy or too mask-like, although I might be lucky because I don't have a lot of texture in my skin, no blemishes or dry patches.
All-Nighter does become a bit shinier after a couple of hours, but that just makes it look a bit more natural, and there's always blotting papers or powder. Only issue I've come across with this one is that when it starts breaking down, it starts breaking down fast. After about 8-10 hours of wear, the foundation starts breaking down and wearing off in patches, while my Revlon Colorstay remains practically perfect until I take it off at the end of the day. For this reason, I'd still pick my Colorstay for long days at the office, while All-Nighter is a perfect foundation for a night out when you want to look flawless.
So that's that! If you have any questions, hit me up!
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