Those three words that simultaneously bring fear and nostalgia to our hearts - Dream Matte Mousse. A true ghost of make-up past. I started 2018 by brainstorming social posts and perusing make-up counters for new products. But then I found myself thinking - what about the old classics?
I used Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse longer than I'd care to admit. It was one of the first "proper" foundations that I had and I think it was still in my rotation of foundations up until the age of 20. I'm a lazy gal; I like products that are quick to apply.
And so, all these years later, I decided to give it another shot. Enjoy a selection of close up shots of my face, in all its peach-fuzz glory!
What first took me by surprise was the shade selection on offer. It's by no means extensive, but the lighter end of the spectrum has opened up a bit more since my last purchase. I used to buy light porcelain which was often a tricky one to track down. This time I went for fair, which is even paler. No more "maybe she's born with it, maybe she's a tangerine", we're talking about proper colour matching here. They didn't have the full selection in my local Boots but I'd like to think that the shade selection is much more inclusive these days, which is great to see.
I applied it with my fingers because how else are you supposed to apply it? As it apparently contains primer (teenage Laura would have had no idea what you were on about) I didn't do any prep other than moisturising my face. That's the USP of this product: it's so easy to apply. As long as you don't mind it getting down your nails a bit.
It was an absolute pain in the arse to blend. I felt like I was just moving it around my face rather than creating a flawless base. And I had a lot of problems with it getting stuck in my pores and fine lines - I thought it was meant to have good coverage, not draw attention to my flaws and make me look like I had load of white spots! But the colour wasn't bad to be honest. I was torn between going for my original shade and this one. I did feel a bit like I was putting white face paint on at first but I think I'm so used to buying foundations that are a touch too dark for me.
Luckily/unluckily I happened to have quite a few spots when I tested this out. Coverage was pretty thin, meaning it reduced my skin's redness but didn't actually cover anything. I had a fair bit of redness around my nose after exfoliating my face and it did sweet FA to cover it. I ended up using a dab of concealer to sort that out. It's meant to be a buildable foundation but I couldn't seem to get a thick layer on my face. Maybe I needed to pile it on with a trowel, like the "oompa loompa" girls did back in the day...
As I applied the rest of my make-up I started to look less like a ghost but still quite dry and patchy. Applying powder seemed to even out my skin tone and hide any of the remaining red patches.
Products used: MAC Cork (for brows), Body Shop Eye Colour Stick in Bronze, Maybelline Total Temptation Mascara, Rimmel Stay Matte Powder, Max Factor Creme Puff Blusher in Nude Mauve, MAC Brave (and one annoying rogue eyebrow hair)
As the day progressed, my face ate up my foundation. It quickly started to vanish; first my nose then my chin. And yet it still clung to the dry patches on my face!
I mean, it doesn't look terrible in these pictures, but it's not exactly a great foundation. It feels nice on the skin but it looks mottled. It only looks flawless if you stand a few metres away from me and take your glasses off.
Will I use it again? Only because I have the rest of the tub to use up! I do have combination skin but right now it's winter (and pretty damn cold up here in North Yorkshire) so it's leaning more dry. Perhaps it'll suit me better in the summer.
I think foundation has moved on a lot over the past ten years. Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse will always hold a special place in my heart, but perhaps it's best reserved for oily-faced teenagers...
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