This Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick Makes Me Look Poreless

Any foundation—cream or otherwise—has to be truly special for me to take note because of how rarely I feel like wearing it. See that photo above? That's how my skin looks without a single drop of base makeup, in the middle of a particularly sweaty day running to and from appointments in New York City. I have a very mild case of rosacea and periodic hormonal breakouts, but my multistep skin care routine means I can usually skip this particular product altogether. On occasions when I do reach for foundation, it means I'm looking for something that will either photograph flawlessly, perform the Herculean task of rendering my Asian glow invisible, or both.

My ideal formula combines a semi-matte finish (you know, the kind that's equal parts velvety smooth and gently dewy), enough coverage to cancel out vibrant alcohol-induced redness, and long wear time (as I said, I have an aversion to flesh-color icebergs). Oh, and rather than a suffocating coat on my face, I'd like something that feels so featherweight I forget I'm wearing it in the first place. Shoot your shot, beauty brands.

In truth, I wasn't expecting Bobbi Brown's Skin Foundation Stick to fulfill all of these demands the night I grabbed it. I have vague recollections of once testing it on the back of my hand, but apparently I wasn't that impressed at the time because I promptly forgot it existed.

Cue the fateful eve of my party-crashing. I was running late and couldn't locate my trusty bottle of Armani Power Fabric, which I eventually realized I had forgotten to pack when moving to another country. I rooted around in my beauty heap until I unearthed this gold and black tube, let out a gusty sigh, and proceeded to scribble lines across my face, blending them in with my fingers. Without bothering to give the mirror more than a cursory glance, I was out the door.