| Review | Surratt Dew Drop Foundation

| Review | Surratt Dew Drop Foundation 

If you put "dew" in the name of your foundation, I'm going to be the first to line up for it and with all the hype this foundation has gotten since it released, I knew I had to try it. However, this pricey luxury foundation isn't exactly what I was expecting and I have a lot of thoughts about it. Read on to learn more.

The Surratt Dew Drop Foundation retails for $74.00 USD and is available at Nordstrom, Beautylish, and other retailers. The packaging is black with a beautiful iridescent rainbow shimmer. It has the Surratt name written on it but you can't really see it very well because of the dark packaging. The packaging of this foundation is unlike anything I have ever seen in the beauty industry! It is truly unique and innovative! The packaging is almost pen-like, with a cylindrical tube that appears to look like a bottle but the actual tip of the bottle is tapered and there is a pump on the bottom of the bottle/tube! The pump is a rubbery button that pushes the product out! It's a very cool concept, very sanitary, and great for traveling but it has its downfalls. 

The biggest downfall is that when put under pressure, like air travel, the foundation is likely to leak out when the cap is removed. There is a little sticker with a warning about this on the bottle itself when you first receive it and when I first opened it, it did leak foundation. This makes it a bit annoying to travel with because you may run across this issue. The other problem I have with the packaging is that it can be difficult to pump the product out. This bottle must be stored upside down and even then, it can take several pumps to get enough product. It isn't a flawless design but it is very cool and it works well enough. 

SHADES 

This foundation comes in 20 shades with a variety of undertones. I'm not sure how they determined the undertones to correlate with each shade number but it feels quite arbitrary. For reference, I am a NC30-35 in MAC foundations. Let me describe the shades I own and I will go into the shade range more: 

Shade 5: This shade is a light yellow-toned beige. Very much suited for someone with a fair skin tone. approximately an NC 20-25.


Shade 7: This shade is a very warm tan shade with a slight amber or orange undertone. It isn't actually an orange undertone but it suited for a tan skin tone, approximately someone with an NC40-45 skin tone. 

The biggest issue with this foundation is the shade range. Despite having 20 shades, it is a pretty terrible shade range with very strange gaps. I even went to a counter and swatched the shades but when I ended up purchasing the shade that suited me best, Shade 7,  it was a little dark. So I decided to go a shade lighter but I couldn't go up to 6.5 or 6 because they're too pink and peach toned, so I went to Shade 5, which is too light. 

The shade range really doesn't make any sense, there should be a warm toned or yellow toned shade in between Shade 5 and Shade 7 but unfortunately, there isn't. Mixing the shades, I can get the closest match to my skin tone but it isn't what I would ideally want to do! Considering the high price tag for this foundation, the last thing I wanted was to purchase two shades! Also, because the shades vary so widely and teh formula is so pigmented it isn't a 50/50 ratio and van be difficult to achieve my perfect shade every time I mix it. 

Swatches from left to right: Shade 5, Shade 7, Mixture of 5 and 7

I also found that the websites that sell this foundation have a decent description of the shades but to me, they're not accurate. For example, Shade 7 is described as Deep Medium with a Pink Undertone. To me, Shade 7 clearly has a warm amber undertone, suited for tan skin tones.

What I will applaud Surratt for is that they did include some really deep skin tone shades but because there are so many gaps in the range, it feels like only a handful of people in each people can really find an appropriate shade for them. This is very disappointing considering Surratt is a world-famous makeup artist who has worked on a variety of people and skin tones. I feel that not only should the shade range reflect skin tones more accurately but he should have a wider range of shades.

FORMULA & FINISH

This foundation is extremely misleading by using the term "dew" to lure dewy-skin-loving-people into buying it. I will tell you now, it is NOT DEWY! I was so excited to hear about this foundation when it first came out and when everyone was raving about the formula, it thought that it was going to be incredible. However, it is not at all what I expected. 

I would describe the finish as a natural or satin finish foundation. I reminds me a bit of Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk but even this foundation is actually luminous. I find the Surratt foundation to barely luminous, it leans much more satin in my opinion. This honestly breaks my heart because I was so determined to love this foundation after all the rave reviews. I thought it was going to give me this fresh and dewy complexion but while the finish is nice and natural, it was not what I was expecting or what I wanted.

While the finish isn't what I wanted, the formula is quite nice for what it is. The foundation is very pigmented with a medium to full coverage. It doesn't take much product to get from medium to full coverage, so this is a very perfecting formula. It covers up redness, imperfections, and even smooths out some texture. As a natural finish foundation goes, this one is very beautiful and I love the super flawless finish. It really sits very well on the skin and it lasts all day long without needing to set it. I find that it lasts beyond 8 hours and it looks pretty much the same all day.

I think this foundation is ideal for someone with a normal to oily skin type and is looking for a very high coverage foundation. While it works on my skin, which is more normal to dry, it's not my preferred finish. I was under the impression that this foundation was going to be glowing and dewy, which it didn't deliver at all. I will still be using it on occasion when I want a very flawless base. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

I'm honestly very disappointed in this foundation for two main reasons, the shade range and the finish, which when you think about it, is all a foundation comes down to. So I feel very let down and mislead by the hype and the name of this foundation. I had such high hopes for this foundation but it really doesn't suit my skin tone or style of makeup. It is a good foundation if you can find a match for you and if you enjoy a more satin finish. It's without a doubt a very flawless foundation and it looks beautiful in photos and real life.

I just wish the shade range was better and the finish was at least a little bit dewy. I think I would have enjoyed the foundation more if I had found a true match but the hassle of having to mix my foundations is making me bitter. Overall, for the high price, I can't recommend it. For those who are looking for a dewy finish foundation, there are so many luxury brands out there who are offering more expansive shade ranges with a dewy finish! One of the ones I really enjoyed this year is Guerlain L'Essentiel (full review here), which comes in 30 shades and it's actually really dewy!

I honestly think I would enjoy this foundation more fi had an exact match but the shade range is a real let down. I think there will be people who will really love this foundation but before buying, I highly recommend getting a sample first to see if the shades and formula suits you.

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