I’ve been using Jemma Kidd Make Up School Light as Air foundation for several weeks now, but held off sharing my thoughts with you as it’s been one of those products that I’ve hummed and haa-ed over…
I’ve heard a lot of praise for Jemma Kidd makeup products in recent months and in particular, this Light As Air foundation. It comes in a lightweight matt black tube, not particularly stylish but both easy and hygienic to use. It gets a bit fingerprint-y after a while, but I can live with that. To me, the name, ‘Light As Air’ implied a light texture and light coverage and I was right on the first count, but wrong on the second.
Tonnes of swatch pics and lengthy descriptions to follow. NB This is shade #02, Light and my skin type is currently quite dry.
You can see just how liquid the consistency is here. I was very torn between the light #02 and ultralight #01 shades, as in my opinion, this is pretty dark for a shade called light! I based my decision through googling swatches online and in the end settled for the light #02. It’s a fraction dark for me and more yellow toned than I’d normally wear, especially in winter, but not drastically so. It only comes in 7 shades, so not a great deal of choice, particularly for pale and/or pink toned skins.
The texture is lovely and it spreads very easily, either with fingers or (my preference) the Real Techniques Stippling Brush.
“The formulation is ideal for unbalanced, overactive and shine-prone skin with added benefits such as Salicylic Acid, which works to purify and exfoliate the skin by regulating sebum production. Starch Esters and Laricyl also provide balancing, astringent and mattifying action.”
I’ve tried to include quite substantial swatch pics in the hope that it will help you decide if this is right for you, as I struggled to find many myself. By the way my face is lighter than my arm!
A few points about the swatches… clearly I used a lot more product than was actually needed to try and give you a good idea of what it looks like - enough to cover my entire arm in fact!
In Pic 2 you can see some radiance from the just blended product, taken in direct sunlight at window. (Pic 3 was taken in the shade, just for reference.) Notice how much the freckles on the uncovered skin in Pic 1 have been concealed to give an idea of coverage.
In Pic 4, the colour looks much darker: it wasn’t, so apologies for any confusion - only the light had changed. But can you see the difference in texture now? In such a short time the finish looks more matt and the coverage more opaque.
To be honest, the first time I used this on my face I was quite disappointed, probably because I had such high expectations after reading so many amazing reviews. What I hadn’t noted (and yes I’m ashamed to admit) was the difference in my skin type compared to the people doing those reviews! My skin is normal to dry, but leaning much more towards dryness in winter. I felt the finish of this product on my skin wasn’t as ‘light’ as others claimed, but in fact quite dry in both look and feel. It didn’t look caked, but I could see it on my skin and felt it magnified any dry patches. This might not be an issue on a younger, more flawless skin, even one that does tend towards dryness, but personally I would recommend it for those with oily or normal to oily skin. I’d also say that it might be more flattering to younger faces… I think those of us from late 30s+ suit a more radiance, light reflective finish and natural coverage, regardless of skin type.
The coverage is excellent - actually quite remarkable for a product with such light consistency… I really didn’t expect it at all. And it doesn’t look thick on your skin… it looks quite fine, but (on my skin) it was visible (to my, admittedly very critical, eye!). I wouldn’t use powder over this… if you really must, use it only on the T-zone. I found it looked best with a cream blusher - it works well with both Topshop and Daniel Sandler Watercolour. Less is more… you really do need less product than you’d think to cover your entire face.
So despite all that I said earlier, I can make it work for me if I take all of these steps - plenty of moisturiser, small amount of product, cream blush, no powder, lipgloss & a little highlighter to add some sheen and radiance to the face. I’ll still use it, it’s just not my holy grail, but from what many others are saying, it may well be yours!
In summary:
- Medium to full coverage
- No noticeable fragrance
- Long lasting (full day with no touch ups)
- Best suited to normal-oily skin types
- spf 18
- £25
Full Ingredients list: AQUA, CYCLOMETHICONE, ISODODECANE, PROPYLENE GLYCOL, ETHYLHEXYL METHOXYCINNAMATE, DIMETHICONE, ALUMINIUM STARCH OCTENYLSUCCINATE, ZINC OXIDE, POLYGLYCERYL-4 ISOSTEARATE, SILICA, SODIUM CHLORIDE, PHENOXYETHANOL, DISODIUM COCOYL GLUTAMATE, DIMETHICONE COPOLYOL, SYNTHETIC BEESWAX, SODIUM DEHYDROACETATE, METHYLPARABEN, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, PARFUM, SALICYLIC ACID, TETRASODIUM EDTA, FOMES OFFICINALIS, BUTYLPARABEN, ETHYLPARABEN, SODIUM COCOYL GLUTAMATE, MICA, ISOBUTYLPARABEN, PROPYLPARABEN, HYDROXYISOHEXYL 3-CYCLOHEXENE CARBOXALDEHYDE. MAY CONTAIN: CI 77891, CI 77491, CI77492, CI77499, CI77007
Jemma Kidd Light as Air Foundation costs £25 at BeautyBay, which currently has free worldwide delivery!
sample
