Makeup Review: Marc Jacobs Shameless Foundation

Hello, beautiful soul! Natural and effortless – that’s what Marc Jacobs’ new Shameless Foundation is all about. Before it launched, I was very much interested and intrigued because of its campaign from teasers on the Marc Jacobs social media accounts. One of the highlights of this foundation is its self-setting finish, which means that the look on the face after it’s applied would look the same as that when it’s set by powder. In short, there’s no need to set it. Pop it on and you’re good to go!

The foundation has invisible SPF innovation, specifically SPF 25, which is a plus points because our skin is getting TLC while looking good. In addition to that, the foundation also claims it to be “(You)thful, Only Better” which means more likely your skin but better, or the ever-famous “no makeup makeup look”. The skincare benefits aims to hydrate and plump the skin to achieve that youthful glow. One of which is snow mushroom which is so good in maintaining moisture, thus the youthful look. It is compared to hyaluronic acid which does the same but snow mushroom have smaller particles that easily penetrates the skin. Another one is blue daisy extract which brightens the appearance of dull skin.

All in all, the foundation seems to be promising, and personally, I prefer natural finish over full and heavy. I want my skin to still peek through amidst all the makeup products so my preference plays between light to medium coverage. So, I gave it a go. I got my Shameless Foundation through a sample from Sephora (which is free), and I think that was the most economical and best way to try it on. Specially so that the full-size costs P2,851.00 on Sephora or $46. Yup, that’s expensive! So if ever you’re thinking of buying this one, my review could help you!

Makeup Breakdown

Packaging:

The Shameless Foundation comes in a squeezy plastic container that’s flat and travel-friendly. It’s easy to control the amount of product you dispense.

Shade:

There are 29 Shameless Shades – three (3) shades for fair, four (4) shades for light, ten (10) shades for medium, seven (7) shades for tan, and five (5) shades for deep. The shades have corresponding labels which are either Y or R. The Y label is for gold, warm and yellow undertones, while the R label is for cool, rosy, and red undertones. Check your wrist, and if the green color is prominent, choose the Y label. If violet is prominent then go for the R label. The shades claim to be forgiving; its medium coverage means that the shades could be flexible to suit your skin tone if in case you chose the wrong shade. Just make sure that you choose the shade that’s, of course, on your range.

Smell:

I don’t like the smell at all. It smells like chlorine.

Application:

It feels lightweight on the skin. It can be easily blended and it doesn’t set fast.

Performance:

Before application, I moisturized my skin. I used damp sponge on the left side of my face, while foundation brush on the other.

• Upon application (9AM):

The foundation says that it has medium-buildable coverage. I beg to disagree. It only has light coverage. My facial veins and pimple marks were not at all covered. Straight off the bat, I don’t like any of the finishes either of the two makeup tools I used gave me.

The left side of my face where I used my sponge, the forehead was okay but the cheek and chin area, specially my nose (oh my golly, my nose) were very patchy! The foundation seems like it’s sitting on my skin and it refuses to be absorbed – it’s as if there’s a film on my nose area that prevents the foundation to sink in… I have no words. This foundation and my nose are nowhere near friends.

For the right side of my face where I used my brush was 10x worse. However, coverage-wise, the brush gave me a tad bit more coverage than the sponge – on my forehead and cheek area. But oh my golly, my nose area; again. The foundation was streaky and looked uneven. It’s a disaster.

This foundation also accentuated all of my face’s texture. I think it even triggered all of the textures to say hi, because honestly, I had no idea up until I applied this foundation that I have textures on some areas.

• 5 hours after application (2PM)

The foundation has worn off on my nose area. No surprise because it was streaky and was just sitting there funny-looking. 5 hours in and I just want to remove this foundation. I’m not happy at all.

I did not retouch. I plan not to so I can test its claim that it’s able to hold up until the 24th hour mark.

• 8 hours after application (5PM)

The foundation has gotten worse. This foundation is currently the worst I’ve ever tried.

You can already tell that my skin is kind of agreeing with my thoughts. My skin doesn’t look happy at all; so do I. I don’t see any coverage anymore, but a white-ish to gray-ish cast that mimics the look of a sunscreen.

Verdict:

Its first claim: medium buildable foundation. It’s not. It has a light coverage, and if you attempt to build it up to increase the coverage, you’ll be a cakey-streaky mess.

Its second claim: 24-hour wear. The foundation started to wear off on my face on the 5th hour mark.

Its third claim: self-setting. Yes, there was no tacky feeling after I applied it on the face, but I’m pretty sure that powder will help extend this foundation’s wear time.

Its fourth claim: youthful look. Yes! I agree on this, but it doesn’t look that way after hours of wearing. The foundation looks more white-ish and gray-ish, like a sunscreen, after 5 hours.

Its fifth claim: flashback-free. I disagree.

Do I feel Shameless?

Am I going to use it, repurchase, or purchase the original size?

Do i recommend it?

I hope you enjoyed reading this review. Most importantly, I hope it was helpful! Thank you for taking your time to read it! See you again after 5 days!