MARC JACOB GENUIS GEL FOUNDATION REVIEW

Within the last year or so, I have taken an extreme liking to growing my makeup collection. Prior to that I would just play around with any old product and hoped for the best. Obviously not the best approach to makeup but ehh… you live and you learn. It took me a long time to realize that my skin is hyper-sensitive and there needs to be careful decision making on my end when it comes to my beauty and skin care routine. Anyone who has ever shopped for makeup knows that the hardest part is trying to find your “PERFECT” foundation shade. For women of color (WOC) that task is a smidgeee more difficult. If you’re anything like me and your melanin runs in the deepest shade of brown I have some good news for you!

I know I’m a little late to jump on that bandwagon when it comes to the Marc Jacobs Genuis Gel (MJGG) Foundation, but hear me out! For the longest while my HOLY GRAIL foundation was the Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation SPF 15. You couldn’t tell me I wasn’t BEAT HUNTI! The finish and color was perfect for me. Though after a while (and I’m taking 2+ years) it just wasn’t hittin’ like it used too. I went from 100 to 0 real quick. So I was back on the hunt for a new foundation and as fate had it, I ended up at the MJGG party. And I showed up just in time to sing Happy Birthday (the black version) and twerk it out to Juvenile’s “Back That Ass Up.” HA!

Girl let me let you know about this foundation right here! I am speechless. I first went to Sephora to sample MJGG in 84 Cocoa Medium and 86 Cocoa Deep. The coverage and the finish was DYN-O-MITE! I tried both colors on 4 different occasions so I had a better idea of which will work best for my skin tone. The 84 Cocoa Medium, I found, works better for the center of my face and the 86 Cocoa Dark for the perimeter. One month later, I still could not get this foundation out of my mind. So, I went back to Sephora and purchased the MJGG in 86 Cocoa Dark (I don’t have $50 to be spending left and right. I went with the darker foundation since I can brighten the middle of my face by highlighting).

On to the Foundation itself: It isn’t luminous and incredibly dewy, but it isn’t matte either; possibly demi-matte?  Very natural. Light to medium coverage at first, but is definitely buildable. I noticed it has a tendency to cling to dry patches. Exfoliating prior to using this foundation helps out tremendously. It does have a fragrance (I don’t particularly care for that) and it applies like a DREAM with my Beauty Blender and e.l.f. Powder Brush. I enjoy the light buildable coverage I get with this foundation as I prefer a more natural look to my skin and would rather not have full coverage. But that’s my preference.

Great investment if you aren’t looking for a super-heavy full coverage foundation. In my opinion the MJGG is almost like a heavily tinted moisturizer. I’ve tried a ton of different foundations in my day and this is by far one of the best finishes, color payoff, WOC friendly foundation on the market today.