Tarte Rainforest of the Sea foundation

In terms of foundation, I am not too adventurous. I usually just stick to my drugstore favorites and it has taken some time for me to expand and become interested into some more high end foundations. I definitely have a few higher end options on my wishlist right now and there are a few more that I already acquired. One such foundation was the Tarte Rainforest of the Sea foundation. 

Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Water Foundation Broad Spectrum SPF 15 Fair Beige

I am not even sure anymore why I was intrigued by this particular foundation. I just knew I wanted to try it. So when I was in the US last year, I had an MUA at Sephora shade match me and then nearly 6 months later I finally placed an order to buy it. Just goes to show that some makeup wishes can take some time to get around to. At $39 this is also not a cheap foundation, so it was definitely worth researching first.

The Packaging

What is different about the Tarte Rainforest of the Sea foundation is the dropper that you use to get the foundation out of the bottle. It is quite unusual as not many foundation have this kind of packaging. The matte glass bottle feels really nice and the system works really well.

I was afraid that the dropper system would make for a messy application but luckily I have had no issues with it. What I tend to do with this is press the button at the top which sucks the product into the dropper and then I drop the foundation immediately onto a brush and dot that around my face and then blend it in. Easy, peasy.

The Swatch

This is a very watery foundation and therefore it runs easily. The consistency is very thin and this makes this a deceiving foundation. Despite the watery consistency, this doesn’t go on streaky and isn’t overly dewy. Once you blend it in, it actually dries down quickly and turns into more of a satin matte finish. Because of the thin formula, this has a lightweight texture that you can barely feel on the skin and it gives enough coverage but still looks natural.

The Coverage

On the left is my face without any product on it. On the right is my face after applying the foundation to half my face. As you can see this has a light to buildable medium coverage, but I just love how this evens out my skin tone. It is not overly cakey and looks like skin once it it on and that is something that I love about this foundation.

I do feel you have to work quite quickly to get this on and I feel this is therefore best applied with a brush. With a sponge it would simply take too long and you would have to put it on the back of your hand. Considering how runny this is, this could potentially not only make a mess, but it also means the foundation sets down even more quickly.

The Shade Match

I got this foundation in the shade Fair Beige and I was matched by an MUA over a year ago. I feel that this is a great shade match for me though. The undertone is very neutral and therefore this foundation isn’t overly yellow or overly pink, which is a rare thing to find. I like how this blends into my skin and it looks pretty much flawless around my neckline.

Another great plus of this foundation is the lasting power. Because this settles to a satin matte finish, this means the foundation lasts all day. Above is my face after a full day of wear where the foundation had been on for 10+ hours. It has faded in some areas, but for the most part this looks great, even around my nose where foundation disappears first.

The Conclusion

I think you can tell that I absolutely love the Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Foundation. This foundation just works well for me and the great shade match is another benefit to this. It is a little hard to get a hold of though as Tarte isn’t sold in many places in Europe and this product is fairly expensive. However, if you are looking for a lightweight, natural looking foundation that wear well, then this is one to look into.

What high end foundation do you like to wear?