SORBET FACE FIRST SPF15 ANTI AGEING FOUNDATION +SERUM {REVIEW}

Since 2005 Sorbet beauty salons have popped up literally like "beauty mushrooms"

 all over South Africa and they now have over 170 salons countrywide 

and have even expanded their franchise to the UK.

Sorbet have, very recently, launched a range of make-up to add to their

stable of own affordable branded skincare, bath & body products, 

foot care and beauty accessories, they seem to brand it all...

So a make-up collection seemed the next obvious addition to the

 "Sorbet Empire".

This collection, especially the foundation range, has been created

with South African skin tones in mind and they have 

 Foundation Match Me activations in store to ensure 

that you get the perfect colour match.

I happened to pop into Clicks (Mount Edgecombe) on the day of their launch 

which wasn't intentional, but I caught sight of their rather impressive

back wall merchandising unit and did a detour 

 to take a quick look... 

First impressions of the new range, which includes face, lips and eyes

was aesthetically pleasing and they do have a good shade selection

across all 4 different foundation formats and that's what caught my eye.

The name of this foundation spoke to me, especially the +Serum part.

Face First SPF15 Anti-Ageing Foundation +Serum

Being launch day the unit and testers were all brand spanking new

 and despite a half hearted attempt by the consultant to help me 

select the correct shade, which I eventually did myself,(so much for

the Match Me service)

 I opted for the shade Honey and 
THEN 
it hit me I noticed the price...

R298 

Yes Sorbet, which is being sold in a national chain of drugstores is retailing

a foundation for nearly R300. At first I thought it was maybe due to the fact

that this foundation included a serum, but all 3 of their liquid foundations

retail for R260/R298/R299.95

My immediate reaction was to put the product back on the shelf and 

rather add another R150+ and buy a better know international

 high end foundation from a department store.

Slightly bewildered I checked out all the price points in the collection 

and it's not alone, as this range of make-up unfortunately does 

not fall into the "affordable" category.

With the pricing of this make-up collection 

Sorbet

 a well know "affordable" South African brand, appear 

to be dipping their pretty little toes into the "high end" waters,

which I don't have problem with, but I don't think I've encountered a brand 

where the pricing of their make-up is pitched higher than their 
own skincare range.

 I worked in beauty and retail for 35 years and this pricing

strategy slightly baffles me, but what baffles me even more is why

would someone spend a considerable amount of money to

 "self serve" in a drugstore?

We all enjoy that "buying experience" and many cosmetic brands feed into

 that and I for one.. love it. 

In-store consultants, especially those working for the high end brands

are trained to make the experience of parting with our money 

more enjoyable (in most cases anyway)

 I love to be made to feel special, I love the extra samples the consultant

 slips into my beautiful branded packet and I always enjoy receiving 

 those personal invites to their special events and launches.

Now...

 call me old fashioned but that's what I like to get, in return for my

"spend", not a rummage through a badly merchandised unit,

with either missing or dirty testers and unfortunately that's what 

merchandising units

become like over time, in a self serve environment.

After saying all of the above I did buy the foundation and paid for it with my

Clicks rewards, which made it for me, justifiable.

The reason for the purchase was a simple one

Curiosity 

Why would a local home grown brand market and retail 

a foundation for R300, could it be that this serum foundation is simply

Amazing?

Below are some of the features and benefits Sorbet give on their website

 and I've added my own findings and comments.

Medium coverage & easily blendable foundation

 It gives a medium, leaning towards high coverage,easy to blend 

with fingers (I'm not a big user of brushes or blending sponges)

It is buildable, but only to a point

 and in my opinion it looks and performs better when you opt for

the buildable coverage rather than a lighter more natural look

More on this point below.

 Anti-ageing benefits and soft focus for flawless skin

I love the fact that it contains that extra serum element, 

as not too many foundations focus on that. As for flawless skin, that's 

a big ask at my age, but it did give a smooth soft dewy finish, 

which I enjoyed.

High volatile content gives it a serum-like and non-oily feel

High Volatile is a strange term to use for the content, as it conjures up,

a negative view of the product.

Here's what the google search came up with:

Volatile (of a substance) easily evaporated at normal temperatures

I found the runny, liquid consistency on application

to have an oily feel enabling you to work and blend 

the foundation well, unlike some where you have to work 

really quickly before the foundation dries.

If you don't build the foundation,once dry and set, it left no

trace of oiliness on the skin whatsoever.

However if you build the foundation like I preferred to do,

the surface oils became noticeable.

Contains SPF 15 with sun protection

SPF is a "must have" inclusion in any anti ageing foundation, as the sun is

responsible for most of the ageing within our skins. I would personally like to see 

an even higher SPF to give even more protection from

the suns harmful rays.

Fragranced with natural Essential Oils

I can't say the foundation has a particularly pleasant smell, but it wasn't 

an issue.

Squalane – natural moisturiser from olive oil

Possible the reason for the oiliness when you build with the foundation.

Q10 & Peptides – anti-ageing

Vitamins A, C & E to fight harmful free radicals

All of these beneficial treating ingredients form the serum aspect

 of this anti ageing foundation and with daily continued use

there should be some cumulative effect on the skin, 

I like many women though tend to "chop n change" foundations

 depending on mood, the occasion and even the weather,

 which poses the question is a serum inclusion vital

in a foundation or is it a "nice to have" extra.
Maybe that's a post for another day.

Just to finish off this lengthy post I personally liked and enjoyed the foundation,

I found it easy to blend, it felt lightweight and comfortable

on my skin. The serum was noticeable within its texture and my normal to dry,

mature skin felt well moisturised throughout the day.

However I'm not sure an oily or even a normal, slightly combination would 
enjoy this serum foundation.

It worked well with the rest of my make-up application and seemed to last 

fairly well throughout the day, considering the Durban 

heat and humidity.

I found the overall simple packaging appealing, the bottle felt heavy 

and it does have a quality and a more high end feel to it.

As for the unique dropper applicator, it's a waste of time and frankly annoying 

when you're in a hurry to do your make-up in the morning.

The product also needs to be shaken very well before use.

 I'm also finding that the neck of the

bottle is becoming quite "gungy" and is constantly needing to be wiped. 

For this and several other reasons a sealed pump dispenser would have been

 far more practical and befitting for the price.

Did the + Serum render it 

AMAZING 

and worthy of its R300 pricing? 

Sadly No 

and despite reading on the box that this particular product is made

in Thailand (I'm not sure where the other products are made) 

I personally would still prefer to either stick to my tried and tested

R200 drugstore foundations,and use my specialised serum underneath,

or add another R150+ and purchase from a higher end cosmetic brand.

Whilst I enjoyed wearing, I found

it to be only on par with other more affordable foundations, 

there was nothing that wowed me, hence I can't say it's a 

"must have" "go buy" "can't live without" type of product
unless you have an issue with shade matching.

If you constantly struggle to find that perfect match, 
in terms of skin tone,then it's worth checking out this extensive collection
of shades and if you find your match then "go for it" it's worth the spend.

It's never easy choosing the correct foundation and none more so than

when you are pushing the limits of your budget.

My advice to you on this foundation, would be to definitely pop into a 

Clicks and test the product as normal.

However I would then advise you to walk around and continue shopping

for quite some time and just keep checking on 

the coverage, the texture and the overall finish to see if it

 warrants you parting with R300

I hope you were able to stick with me till the end of this lengthy post

and please let me know, in the comments below, if you have tried this

or any of the products from the Sorbet range.

I would love to hear your thoughts.