Ex1 Invisiwear Liquid Foundation Reviewed!

Hi beautiful peeps!

Hope everyone's well and learning how to swim! 
It seems that we in the UK are getting more rain then the monsoon season in India and it doesn't look like it's going to be letting up anytime soon :(

Now that we've made a bit of chit chat lets get on with the review of this EX1 Invisiwear Liquid Foundation which has been manufactured by Farah Naz.

I purchased this foundation from Top Shop in central London for £10.50 you can purchase this here

The size is 30ml and Top Shop has the whole range available to test and sample.

This is what it say's on the EX1 Website about the foundation..

EX1 INVISIWEAR LIQUID FOUNDATIONS

 A lightweight and luminous liquid base, formulated with light diffusers which unify skin tone and cover imperfections effortlessley. Specially designed 'true colour' pigments work perfectly with your skins natural tones in a velvety smooth ultra-blended formula. Cleverly designed light diffusing particles detract attention away from lines, wrinkles and blemishes. The Result? The perfect skin-on-skin effect, flaws concealed with make-up that looks barely there, even in natural daylight.

~ Clinically and Demotologically tested
~ 100% Oil & Fragrance free
~ Non pore clogging 

Farah Naz is a biochemist who turned her frustration in regards to her inability to find affordable foundations that matched her South Asian skin tones and developed her very own cosmetic line Ex1 which are exclusively targeted at the Asian/exotic skin tones.

I really want to applaud Farah for taking the bull by the horn and actually doing something about this huge hole in the market. 

Finding a match for us brown skinned ladies is no easy feat as there's no simple 1 universal tone or shade as with every race and we all have our unique tones and pigmentation and the search lol is never ending...

I was really excited about this range and hoping that as a brown girl that this foundation would really revolutionise the world of foundation matching nightmare for us ladies from the Indian subcontinent ie India, Pakistan, Bangladesh. 

This range has definitely addressed the lack of what's needed and that is a makeup range addressing our skin colouring but alas is still lacking in the number of different shades that's required but it is a great start and I'm hopeful that more and more shades will be added and more companies will emerge to fill this void.

The pricing on the foundation is great at £10.50 and in that respect I believe that the foundation is a success what with an average bottle of foundation from drug store brands such as Rimmel, Revlon or Bodyshop costing in the region of between £8.00 to £13.00.

The packaging is very simple and elegant with a clear bottle with a rusty gold lid making it look more expensive and appealing. 

Its also a simple lightweight bottle with a pump which for me is always a winner :)

On the down side unfortunately the pump can work a bit erratically and can sometimes just spurt out the foundation rather then coming out smoothly as you would expect. 

Also there is no guarantee that the pump will dispense the same size of product due to the above mentioned glitch. 

I also wanted to note that its not only this bottle which was doing this but also the few that I tested in store at Top Shop which also had the same issue's. (hoping it's a glitch which can be quickly resolved)

Now onto the formulation and colour match of the product and the range as mentioned already has only 5 shades which are F100 F200 F300 F400 F500.

I purchased the shade F300 and was colour matched by the sales girl at Top Shop. 

I felt at the time that I was probably between the shades F300 and F400 and having used this foundation on and off for the past few weeks I still firmly believe that I am very likely to be a better match of between F300 and the F400.

I tried used this foundation on the 1st instance without any primer using a flat foundation brush as that's what I prefer to do on a daily basis and just to see how we got on. 

Unfortunately it's definitely not 1 to use without a primer..  

The shade as I knew was a little lighter then what I like but it didn't leave me looking green around the chin which is always a great advantage as it means you can always warm it up with a little bronzer or as I did by mixing another product. 

The liquid foundation is smooth and has no fragrance as mentioned in the website and so far has caused no unwanted side effects to my skin which is always a blessing!

This to me can sit on your skin rather then blend into your skin thus falling short of creating a invisible skin effect as I had hoped and does cling to any dry skin or patches you may have and does settle into any fine lines you may have! (like moi)

I really don't feel that it's 'luminous' which I usually associated with a foundation which gives me a glow but it does even out your skin tone which is great. 

A thorough moisturising is advised as well as a primer to combat some of the above. 

I know that there are some girls/ladies who like the "I'm wearing foundation" look but sorry I'm not 1 of those and I really look for foundations which blend into my skin and enhance the look of my skin rather then provide a mask like effect. 

This foundation on the plus side does provide coverage, has longevity and did not slide off my combination skin. 

It is from my opinion suited for younger age group with normal skin and not for anyone really over the age of 35!

The other issue I had was that it made my face look flat as a full coverage foundation would do and that's really not what I had expected after being told and having read that it should have a 'barely there, perfect skin-on skin effect.

Having learnt from my above mistake of not wearing any primer I have learn't through some trail and error that this works best mixed in with a little of my 'Too Faced Tinted Beauty Balm' in 'Beach Glow' (you can read the review here ) which addressed my need for a primer and also balanced the shade more towards what I needed (the beauty balm has more yellow in it) and the BB has the must spf that I cannot go without! 

To finish this off what I would say is that on the negative side, this foundation is comperable to an average drug store foundation and the lack of shade choice has really put this at a disadvantage. 

This needs some tweaking in regards to the smoothness of formulations for different skin types as I don't think this is suited to all skin types and the nozzle on the pump needs some work. 

On the positive side of things this is definitely a great addition to the foundations out there. 

It's nice to have a range targeted at the South Asian demographic and with some tweaking and by expanding the range this can become something really special! 

I will still go and try the next shade up which is the F400 and I know that I will still be using the bottle that I have albeit by mixing with the BB cream but it means that it's still a success as I haven't binned it. 

I will make a future purchase and will keep my eye's peeled for new developments when it comes to this brand! 

I wish that more cosmetic companies who've got the capability would look at this huge gap in the market and would do what Farah has done.

I congratulate her for a product which is attractive, affordable and a success! 

Hope you guys have enjoyed the post and I know it's a bit long winded but I do like to do a thorough review and provide as much info as I can! 

Please do let me know what you think and if you've tried this already and have a completely opinion of the product? 

All feedback is very much appreciated! 

All the best for now!

Ciao Bella's 

Easmin xx