Dr Perricone No Foundation Foundation

A little while ago I had a very important breakfast shindig to go to. To make it there in time I’d have to leave my house at 6.15am, yawning and grumbling, ready to make the 6.40am train to London.

This breakfast was with actual people working in the actual fashion industry: and not only that but we were to be joined by actual icons. Lorraine Candy! Marne Levine! The entire staff of Elle! Plus I knew I’d be in a room with some of the most influential bloggers around.

So I made myself up to perfection, something I really don’t have the chance to do anymore. I slicked on my favourite lip colour – bright magenta – for a pop of pink to boost my confidence.

Everything was gravy until the train pulled into Euston. I got my compact out to powder my nose, pre-empting a sticky tube journey, and I had magenta all over my chin. Having eaten an apple, I’d cleverly managed to smear my lip colour from my mouth to everywhere it didn’t belong. And then I’d sat in a train carriage with lipstick all over my face for 30 minutes happily grinning back at anyone I made eye contact with.

The shame. I can never get the 6.40am from Milton Keynes to London Euston again.

This is not the first time I’ve had a lipstick mishap. On a girls night out recently a handsome barman beckoned me with a smile and said “I don’t normally say this but…”. I leaned in, eager to hear the end of that sentence, which turned out to be “you’ve got lipstick on your teeth”.

The moral of the (horror) story is, if I’m wearing make-up, it has to be low-maintenance. Heavy lipsticks are out. I don’t like heavy foundations either, because who knows when I’ll need to take an impromptu nap on the sofa? If you’ve ever tried to get MAC StudioFix out of your sofa covers you’ll know what I mean.

I also struggle with a big smokey eye because the crap always ends up underneath my contact lenses, and will someone please tell me the secret to painting my lower eye lashes without getting mascara on my cheeks 3 hours later?

Enter Dr Perricone and his No Foundation Foundation Serum. “Not foundation?” I thought. “This sounds perfect!”.

Dr Perricone is a board-certified (you’ll know what that means if, like me, you’re a Grey’s Anatomy fan) clinical and research dermatologist with a multi-patented skincare range. His selection of make-up promises to not only look good but works hard for your skin. His No Foundation Foundation Serum is an anti-ageing treatment product with an SPF30, designed to perfect your complexion and restore the colour and radiance of youthful skin. it promises to instantly soften imperfections, minimize the appearance of wrinkles and pores with neuropeptides and won’t settle in to fine lines.

The first time I tried it was before a date. I popped some on the side of my hand and immediately freaked out at how sheer it was. Craving my amour of proper foundation I wiped it off and replaced with my usual Clinique Even Better base.

What an idiot. The stuff is amazing! Let me show you, but first please sit tight… my ‘before’ photo is on its way…

Eye bags c/o my children. Zzzz.

Here I am mid-blend: my skin is particularly pink in its undertone but don’t be fooled, the product blends beautifully.

By the way, I’ve recently discovered towelling headbands for make-up application. Life-changing.

And fully blended. Not bad!

I popped the rest of my make-up on – and tadaaaa… the finished face. All-in the time this took was about five minutes. Totally school-run compatible:

Let’s compare to the ‘before’ photo again, shall we?

Pretty good!

Dr Perricone’s No Foundation Foundation definitely delivers on its promises of a dewy, healthy complexion. Pores and wrinkles are minimized, blemishes are covered and skin tone is evened. I was thoroughly impressed.

I snapped a photo later that day so you could see how it looked after 10 hours of running around at various pancake day activities.

Pretty good, no?!

You can get the Dr Perricone No Foundation Foundation* from Debenhams.com – it’s £45 and a little goes a long way. The colour is adaptive and this will suit anyone apart from the very darkest of skin tones. It hides a multitude of sleep deprivation-related sins and therefore I highly recommend it!

*PR sample