L'Oreal Roller Foundation = FAIL

Make-up artists can often be overheard telling women, “Treat your face like a canvas” and even though that phrase is merely just a figure of speech, L’Oreal apparently missed the memo because the U.S. launch of the True Match Roller hit stores earlier this month. When it comes to cosmetics, treating your “face like a canvas” means to think of your skin as a blank palette, one that you can create into anything your little heart desires by using make-up artist tips and tricks….it doesn’t mean literally thinking of your face as a canvas that you can paint with a roller brush.

As a former beauty counter manager for Benefit Cosmetics, I can personally tell you that the best way to apply foundation is to apply it with your fingers and blend with a sponge if needed. Using a roller brush to apply foundation results in uneven application and the need to blend with your fingers anyway….so why bother using the roller brush in the first place? Plus, over time the roller brush will become caked with foundation from previous uses making the application process even worse.

Foundation is literally the base of your face and if you want to look stunning instead of scary you really need to use proper methods of applying it to your face. L'Oreal's True Match Roller Foundation was launched in the UK last fall and received a mixed bag of reviews by British beauty addicts.

Here are some of my favorite reviews pulled from various sites. Apparently I am not the only one who thinks this product is a major fail...

“I pissed myself laughing when I saw the advert for this. It really is the ultimate laziness rolling foundation on your skin like you would roll paint onto a wall. Use your fingers. It's not difficult. I can't abide anyone who thinks this is even a sensible/non piss take of an idea for a cosmetic product.” -Ilora

“It looks ridiculous. Also surely the roll on sponge would just get all manky. Fingers are best.” –Peet

“I saw the advert and couldn't help but laugh - me and my mother decided we were going to be seeing girls with a stripy effect going on down their faces any time soon. How are you supposed to get it on like, round your nose? And it's not going to go on evenly I would imagine.”- Suzy

“So after using this foundation, I found out that it makes my face look like a greaseball even after I use powder to set it... AND the application of it doesn't work as well as I thought. There is a lot of finger usage for blending the straight edges that form when you roll it over your face - just like when you paint a wall... the more you roll that thing over your face, the thicker it becomes and obviously, no one wants the cakey look.”- Kailey

“(L’Oreal) Who in your product design division thought that this would be an attractive and appealing delivery mechanism? Have you ever — ever — heard a woman say, “You know, I would enjoy putting on foundation so much more if I could do it with a miniature paint roller…” ??? Does it make that nasty little sucking sound that paint rollers make when you pull them off the wall or out of the pan? Do you have to tape off your lips and nostrils so as not to get any foundation on there? (And let’s not even talk about the hygiene aspect of it. For your peace of mind, don’t even think about it.)” - Voxy

The people have spoken...but, if you decide to take the plunge and try this new foundation, feel free to drop me a line and let me know how it works out for you!