But the base I’ve been using more than any other, at least for the last month or so, has been the L’Oreal Paris Infallible Shaping Stick Foundation. It’s excellent. I thought that I was totally sold on cushion foundations, that I would use them forever until death we do part and that they would have to be prised from my cold, lifeless grip. But then I realised the true brilliance and convenience of stick foundations and wondered where they had been all my life.
In fact stick foundations have been around for ages, but I’ve often found them to be too greasy. Quick to apply, easy to blend, but oily on the t-zone after just a few hours. Not so with L’Oreal’s Infallible Stick. The Stick. It’s creamy on application, slides and blends like an absolute dream but then sets into a velvety, non-greasy finish. (Sidenote: I was testing the Barry M stick before the L’Oreal – I still need to do some before and after pics and then I’ll post a review – and that one is bordering on matte, it’s so non-greasy. Worth looking into if you like the idea of a stick but have oily skin, though I do find the finish a little on the flat side.)

Because it’s the convenience factor that wins, for me: take the lid off the stick, draw it on (I do cat whiskers out from my nose, one dod on the end of my nose, one on my chin, one on my forehead and then blend with a chunky foundation brush*. It takes about fifteen seconds. If you w...