Autograph Fluid Touch Foundation Review

I am usually dubious when high street retailers bring out their own makeup, so it's little surprise that Autograph makeup is something that I had always walked straight past in M&S. However, having made a commitment to cruelty free beauty I recently learnt that Autograph makeup is Leaping Bunny certified. My previous non-cruelty free foundation had just run out and after reading some reviews suggesting that Autograph foundations are great for pale skin I thought I'd give one a try...

Autograph offers several different foundations with different consistencies and levels of coverage, but I opted for the Fluid Touch Foundation as it promised to be long lasting. Long wear is my number one priority in a foundation - I might be out the house for 10-12 hours when I'm working and I am not one to touch up my makeup throughout the day. So, with these high expectations, I've been road testing this foundation and, spoiler alert, I'm really quite impressed.

Below is the product information from the M&S website:

• Fluid touch gives a natural buildable coverage for luminous and flawless complexion that feels silky soft
• Hydrating foundation with an invisible feel
• Made with integrity. Neither this product nor its ingredients have been tested on animals
• Not tested on animals BUAV approved

It also lists the foundation to be suitable for vegetarians and vegans, all ages and skin types, hypoallergenic, and free of parabens and fragrances. Sounds pretty damn good, right?

Well, let's look at the negatives first: initially I hated applying this foundation because it's incredibly liquid and I'm just not used to that! It comes with a dropper/pipette style lid so you press a button to suck the liquid in, and again to release (I used the back of my hand to mix it). There was a lot of hype online that the shade would be excellent for pale skin, but despite picking up the lightest available colour in store at the time (Ivory) it was still too dark for my ghostly self so I mix it with some lightening foundation drops (my favourite are from The Body Shop) to achieve a truer colour. To be fair to Autograph, however, I really struggle with most brands to find foundation and concealer light enough for my fair skin.

So now we come to performance: in terms of coverage this foundation is quite natural but is very buildable and can cope with layering well. I really like the full coverage appearance but I'm starting to think this is an unachievable goal for long wear as I tend to find most of these formulas cake far more easily and wear much less comfortably. As a result I have definitely been leaning more towards lighter, buildable foundations for day to day use. I apply one thin layer all over using a beauty blender, and add extra coverage where I want it which tends to even out my skin tone really nicely. I then finish with concealer under my eyes and over any blemishes the foundation is too sheer to cover. This formula is quite hydrating, meaning that towards the end of the day it can become a bit shiny around the T-zone but it's not extreme and can be powdered over. I personally have combination skin so I'm far more keen on opting for a hydrating foundation that I can powder, rather than choosing a matte finish formula which are again prone to caking. Another big bonus of this foundation is that the formula contains SPF 20 which is one less thing to think about when protecting your skin from aging (yes, even though it's now almost autumn!)

Overall I would recommend this as a solid performing foundation for everyday wear, and I believe this would work well on most skin types apart from those who are particularly oily. More than anything, however, I'm so incredibly impressed with how comfortable and well this foundation wears. I will be repurchasing!