Review: Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation

As a Rimmel VIP I was sent their newest foundation to try (I was tres excited), 'Lasting Finish-25 Hour'. It claims to give a smooth lightweight coverage, leaving skin hydrated all day (and night) as it lasts up to a whopping 25 hours! It's also transfer proof and fade proof. First off, I am so impressed with foundations in general of late. Seriously, I have a lot of needs when it comes to this and I do ask a lot from my base-I want a perfect colour match, long lasting, matte, full coverage or at least a flawless finish but not a heavy foundation, no caking/creasing, easy to apply and one that doesn't irritate my skin. For years I've struggled to find a product that met all that, but now there's several all at once! So how does Rimmel compare?
I chose the palest shade 100 Ivory and this was my biggest (and actually only) gripe-it was too dark. There are 6 shades available and after quickly checking them out instore, I realised they are all pretty much the same tone (just gradually getting darker), not at all like the online swatches. In my opinion they need a pale, porcelain shade and at least a couple more darker shades, the deepest you're going to get is a bronzy tan and this isn't going to match black complexions. I was looking for images of me wearing this foundation and I found these from last week-I could tell because my skin looked so much darker than usual. The lighting is a factor in these images too of course, but the comparison pic shows the staggering difference (I can't remember which fdnt I was wearing in the lighter half). That said, I did manage to blend it somewhat and to the untrained eye you probably wouldn't notice it was 2 shades darker than my ordinary look (although it was much lighter than my chest so I needed bronzer for that).
No, I'm not sure why I'm making that strange face either!
Super pale with definite pink tones v much more tan and no pink undertones.

So onto the good points and there are a lot. The packaging is a sleek glass bottle (unusual for a drugstore brand) and the pump dispenser is really easy to use and hygienic, bonus points there. I found one pump was just slightly more than enough for a full face application, so I usually have a little wastage. It applies well, doesn't dry too quickly, doesn't stay tacky and like I said, it blends (I just used my fingers). The finish is matte, although I still opted for a little powder on top. I needed the smallest amount of concealer (I'm loving that these foundations are making my concealer redundant), just under the eyes. It covers blemishes, evens skintone and although I wouldn't say it gives an exact finish to the one I love from Estee Lauder (Double Wear), it comes pretty close. It does give you that perfect skin look, but I just didn't get that flawless buzz I got from EL, I think had the colour match been spot on, I would've raved about it though. My acne prone skin played up a little last week with a couple of blemishes and this foundation covered that no problem.
One full pump above and partially blended below. My hand is lighter than my face so the colour issue is exaggerated slightly.
As for the 25 hour fade-proof claim-I can't really back that up, in fact I'd struggle for half of that time (non party animal that I am!). Also in Scotland in winter, other than keeping your skin hydrated, you aren't really pushing it to the limits in terms of humidity and sweating. I would like to see how it performs in warmer conditions, but certainly at the end of each day I've looked in the mirror and my face looks pretty much the same as it did when I applied the foundation. There's maybe a little bit of shine (very minimal), but that's going without blotting all day and there's no flaking around my nose or settling into creases that I sometimes find with other foundations. The foundation does feel pretty light too, it's a light but creamy formula to touch and doesn't feel at all heavy on the skin.

I can't think of an occasion coming up when I would need 25 hour cover, even an all day wedding, I would probably only need 14 hours or so. Although it could've come in handy 10 years ago when my friends and I didn't sleep for 36 hours! I wouldn't recommend it as it resulted in me fainting in a shopping centre in the middle of Dublin-oh and did I mention I was walking down some stairs at the time? Not pretty! Anyhow, I'm intrigued as to how this would perform if I...can't believe I'm about to say this..if I wore it all night, in my sleep? Perhaps not the fun filled, action packed 25 hours Rimmel imagined, but it would certainly put the transfer and fade proof-ness to the test. So perhaps I will endeavour to do that, only this once for my readers, as I'm getting fidgety even thinking about it, haha! Would you be interested in me breaking my most precious beauty rule for the sake of a 'real' trial? I actually have faith in this foundation that it could work...

So to summarise, I would definitely recommend this. I'm incredibly impressed that you get this kind of lasting, flawless finish from a drugstore brand. It's most certainly a good replacement for Estee Lauder Double Wear which is priced over three times as much. I would like to see a more extensive shade selection though as I feel many people are excluded and this is the only factor that would prevent me from repurchasing. Available now in 6 shades priced £6.99 or visit the Rimmel website where you could win one of 5000 bottles in their giveaway!