Review: Gabriel Moisturizing Liquid Foundation

I feel like I've been hunting forever for a natural foundation that offers a good colour match AND provides the coverage I want.  If you've been reading my blog for a while, you probably already know that I'm a big fan of both of Gabriel's makeup lines, but I'd never tried either of their foundations.  When I read the Glamorganic Goddess's rave review of Gabriel's Moisturizing Liquid Foundation, I knew I had to give it a try.  She even compared it to her old MAC foundation - high praise indeed!  

I put it to the back of my mind, but remembered just as I was placing my most recent order from White Rabbit Beauty and ordered a sample in the second lightest colour, Soft Beige.  There was a slight mixup with my order that delayed shipping an extra day and Jean from White Rabbit ended up throwing in two extra samples in Rose Beige and Natural Beige to make up for it.  (Talk about great customer service!)

The good news is that Soft Beige is a fantastic match for my skintone - probably the best I've found in any foundation.   In terms of application, I experimented with applying this a few different ways.  I find it's prone to going on a little cakey, even with just the thinnest layer.  What I look for in a foundation is something that makes my skin to look nice, but also not like I'm wearing tons of makeup.  The best way I found to apply this was just with my fingers and then stippling over it with a damp sponge.  This gives a nice, natural, slightly glowy finish.  It also got rid of most of the cakeyness, but up close, I still felt like you could tell I was wearing foundation, as it clung to any hint of dryness on my face.  My skin is normal to oily, so I definitely wasn't expecting that, especially from a foundation that claims to be formulated for dry complexions.

For all that this doesn't make it sound amazing, I probably would have purchased a full size and kept using it, at least until I found something better, if this was my only complaint.  I used this for about a week, and unfortunately, I started breaking out on my cheeks a few days in.  Of course, I can't absolutely say it was the foundation, but I'm definitely leaning that way.  I still have some left from my sample, so I may give it another try in a few weeks, just to be sure, and if I'm wrong (I really hope I am!), I'll update this.  Also keep in mind that I do have sensitive skin - sensitive to the point where I don't wear much face makeup on a day to day basis just because a lot of products make my skin itch so much that I have to wash them off.  So, even though this bothered my skin, if yours tends to be less sensitive, it probably would be fine for you.

The Bottom Line
This foundation was not a good fit for my sensitive skin.   In terms of coverage, because of the cakeyness I experienced, I don't think it's very buildable, but it does give medium coverage.  It also lasts well - on my skin, it lasted all day, even without a powder on top, though you might want to use one if you have oilier skin.  Despite Gabriel's marketing, I'm not sure this is the best foundation for dry skin, but I think it'd be worth at least ordering a sample to try.

Annnnnd I'm still on the lookout for my perfect foundation - if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!


        

11 comments

  1. thanks so much for the awesome review!

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  2. Have you tried mineral makeup? I used to mix my own powder with corn starch and a little mineral color (you can buy it as a loose power from places like Coastal Scents http://www.coastalscents.com/) It might work really well for you as a foundation since it would have just two or three ingredients, and you could tinker with it until it's just the way you like it.

    I'm kinda surprised you had trouble with it looking cakey. One of the reasons I use Gabriel liquid is because powder foundations look cakey on me. Though my skin is oily all over and I suspect powder foundations soak up the oils and start to clump, which makes it look heavy and cakey. Gabriel just doesn't do that to my skin, I barely know it's there. I've also had no problems with breakouts and my skin is a little sensitive.

    I'm very sorry it didn't work out for you. At least you got a sample size, the bottles of this stuff are a bit pricey to have to just leave in your makeup kit!

    Good luck and thanks for the wonderful review!

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  3. Thanks for the suggestion :) I've actually been using a mineral foundation the last couple weeks and I've been really happy with it :D

    I've had really great luck with other Gabriel products and I know their foundation works for lots of people, so I was surprised too! I think liquid foundations just might not be for me. I'm glad to hear it works so well for you though :)

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  4. I bought Gabriel Moisturizing Liquid Foundation at PCC, a market on the northwest coast that is very careful to only sell safe products. What a disappointment! This product is matte, is not moisturizing at all, doesn't spread well and made me look like a cadaver. It also magnified all my pores, I wouldn't leave the house with it on. I threw it away. This is the worst foundation I've ever used. It may be safe as far as the ingredients, but they should say somewhere on their display it is a matte finish. In either case, I hated it.

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    1. It's definitely mostly matte, but I actually found it had a slightly glowy/dewy finish on me. It's funny how foundations work so differently on different people! Anyways, I'm sorry it didn't work for you! :(

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  5. Oh,I missed this post back then.I've checked white rabbit,they don't ship outside US.I will really LOVE samples before doing full size purchase.I mean,hell..I don't want to literally throw away money when the product doesn't suit me :( Any idea where else I can get samples of Gabriel's foundation?

    So I'm confused now,is this one good for dry skin people?My skin is dry,but I live in tropical country full of sweats makes it more complicating..

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    1. Oh no! They ship to Canada, so I would have though internationally as well. I don't know of anywhere else online that offers samples unfortunately :(

      It's actually recommended for dry skin, I just found it not the best if you have any dry/flaky patches, like I did when I was testing it out. I guess it depends how dry your skin is...

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  6. This review is pretty much a godsend, I've been looking into buying this but without sampling it first cause I couldn't find anywhere where I could get some so thanks for the link to White Rabbit Beauty and the review! You're awesome :)

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  7. Thanks...I'm glad it was helpful! White Rabbit Beauty is one of my favorite stores to order from :)

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  8. Glad I found this review!! Totally going to try and get a sample from Big Carrot. Foundation just hasn't been looking right on me lately, no clue what's up with my face/skin.

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    1. Awesome! I didn't even realize the Big Carrot carried it. I hope it works for you :)

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