Flashback Beauty Friday 91: Stila Pivotal Skin

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Sticking with foundation again this week after the genie bottled Urban Decay Surreal Skin last time. I've been rummaging again and discovered yet more great things for these posts. I really need time to photograph everything so I can then sort through and decide what can be thrown out and the things that regardless of age, I just couldn't part with (i.e. the covetable and collectable). Why I was still hanging onto this one, I don't know.

It's the Stila Sport Pivotal Skin. It comes in quite an unusual compact which you pivot (!) round to open. Inside is a mirror and fixed sponge-pad soaked in product. You just press on the sponge to release fluid onto your fingertips and apply.  The compact has little (smooth) sparkles in it which I like, but otherwise it does look a bit like a tester or early prototype!  

It's from the very early Noughties and whilst searching for info, I found a 17 year old review I'd written of it! At that point I'd had the foundation for a while, but never used it until one day when I fancied trying something new. I'd bought it online for £2.99, I hasten to add not the RRP back then (which was around £18 I believe), but it had likely been discontinued by that stage. I wasn't expecting much from it as it seemed like a sheer coverage type formula which wasn't my preference back then (I forever hated my freckles), but for that price I thought it was worth a try.

The shade I had was 'a', a near perfect match for my pale complexion, which was unheard of back then.  The glow is what I recall from this product, it just made my skin look so good that I actually wanted to show it off. I do see how some would say it was greasy...it did have that slip to it, but somehow worked for me. It's oil free with an SPF 8, which is more or less useless in my view, but I had no issues with this reacting badly with my skin. I would've swatched it, but because it's not a liquid product that I could shake up, given it's age, I don't think I'd get an accurate enough swatch. I think I remember it being quite yellow toned, which isn't something I usually look for in a foundation, but it meant it didn't turn orange on me, which was great.

I feel like this was one of those controversial love or hate products.  It worked for some, but was absolutely atrocious on others.  I never did get another one (I wrote in my review that I was hoping to), but when I saw it in my stash I did remember it fondly.  Do you remember this one?