Hourglass Vanish Stick foundation

The foundation currently in my Shop My Stash? Alongside the It Cosmetics CC cream I decided to finally put the Hourglass Vanish Stick foundation to the test. This is a foundation I have owned for some months, but I knew it would not be great for the summer time. Now that it is the winter time and my skin can handle thicker, fuller coverage base products I knew it would be the best time to try it out. Hourglass is one of my favorite brands for cheek products. I love their blushes, highlighters, powders and bronzers. Will I love their foundation as much?

Hourglass Vanish Stick Foundation Alabaster // Review, Swatch, Makeup Look

When you say Hourglass, you say luxury makeup. It will therefore be no surprise to you that this foundation is a pricey one. The Vanish Stick foundation retails for a whopping €47.50 and you only get 7 grams of product. Not sure what that would translate to in liquid measurement, but most foundations come with 30 mls of product and just judging by the packaging I feel you get a lot less. It does come in 32 different shades of which I have one of the lightest shades available. There are different undertones and the deep shades also go truly deep.

Why did I buy this foundation?

So why on earth would I like to try a €50 foundation that comes with half the product of a regular liquid foundation? Because it’s Hourglass. They are one of my favorite makeup brands. I have been loving their blushes, bronzers, powders and highlighters for some time, but I hadn’t tried any of their other products yet. For a while the brand was harder to get in The Netherlands, so I was only ever able to pick up a product when I was traveling. So my collection of Hourglass products grew slowly over the years. Which is a good thing at that price point, but I have found out that Hourglass is now available from Bijenkorf in The Netherlands. That said, I did buy this last spring when I was in London.

How does this foundation stick work?

Hourglass has two Vanish foundations. After getting the opinion of the sales associate in Space NK, I went with the stick foundation rather than the liquid version. This felt richer and creamier and I have heard many people say that the liquid version isn’t great if you have dry skin. When a product is this expensive, I’d rather be safe than sorry and go with a product that is marketed as being for my skin type. What makes this foundation unique is that it doubles as a concealer and can therefore be used all over the face and still provide good coverage. In the end I went with Alabaster as a shade as it was more pink toned than most shades in the lighter spectrum.

What are the benefits of the Hourglass Vanish stick?

I am not super experienced when it comes to stick foundations. When I think of stick foundations I think of a greasy, cakey mess. This foundation is anything but. Because of the thicker texture, I feel indeed I no longer need a concealer after I apply it. So that’s a plus. I don’t use this one my under eye area though as I feel this product has a very thick texture and in order to apply it you definitely have to give it a good buff to make it blend into the skin. The wear time is great and on my dry/ dehydrated skin this stays looking flawless all day. I have worn this to work, left it on during dance classes and wore it to a swing evening and it still looked fine towards the end of the day.

How does the Hourglass Vanish Stick swatch?

As this product has a thick texture I feel that you definitely notice that when swatching it. While that might have you expect that this will be difficult to blend, the reverse is true. This foundation is a great one as it is easy to blend and once blended in it is barely noticeable on the skin. The packaging is easy to use and I feel that the shade of this foundation is spot on for my foundation needs. It doesn’t oxidize and is therefore true to color.

How does the foundation apply?

I have tried several methods for applying this foundation. My most used technique is usually with a makeup sponge but I felt that didn’t really blend this in well enough. I have found that a flat top kabuki brush is the best one as it allows you to spread out the foundation and really buff it into the skin. It makes for a quick foundation application and I find it also give you the best coverage. As we all know, makeup sponges are great tools for makeup application, but they also sheer out your foundation in the process. With a brush you get a fuller coverage and with this foundation that means you no longer even need to apply foundation. Despite this feeling thick and cakey when you swatch it and feel it between your fingers, I think it still looks very natural on the skin.

My Final Thoughts

The Hourglass Vanish Stick foundation in Alabaster is a great one. It is pricey, but I have also never tried a stick foundation like this. I have tried some stick products and they usually didn’t work for me, were too cakey looking or just had far too much coverage for my liking. I think this will make for a great travel foundation: it is lightweight to carry around, small enough to pack and the packaging won’t just break and cause leakage in your bag. It is also quick and easy to use and since this doubles as a concealer it can be your one stop shop. The only downside I see here is that it is quite a steep price for little product.

Would I recommend the Hourglass Vanish Stick foundation?

If you are looking for a quick and easy foundation and don’t mind spending this amount of cash on a foundation, then I can definitely recommend it. It is a lovely product, with good coverage, great blendability, splendid wear time and still a natural look. In short, I feel that you do get what you pay for with this. However, spending this much money for a single product that with daily use I feel will run out very quickly you do have to take that into the equation. I will keep this around for those lazy days or to chuck into a bag when I travel for sure. That said, I don’t think I’ll repurchase once this runs out or goes bad. It is a good, but it is not that mindblowingly great that I would splurge on this again.

What stick foundation is your favorite?