Review | Bourjois Happy Light Foundation in 53 Golden Beige

Hello everyone, I hope you’re all doing well and enjoying the spring weather. Today I am going to be reviewing the Bourjois Happy Light Foundation in the shade 53. I have been using this for a good couple of months now and I feel like I’m ready to review ^_^ The ‘happy light’ foundation is designed to do exactly what the name states: make your skin look look happy and glowing without the need for shimmer and glitter. Bourjois state it ‘corrects imperfections without masking’. Now I have to warn you that this is a very long and rambly review, I’m sort of in two minds about it…

Price, Packaging and Shade Range
This foundation is housed in a glass bottle which feels pretty luxe however it’s probably not the most travel friendly. I do like that the pump is a pretty coral colour, it reminds me of summer – oh  and there’s a cute little smiley smile under the words ‘Happy Light’! The pump distributes the perfect amount, I find one pump is enough for my whole face. Price wise it is £11.99 and it’s available in 5 shades which is again, is my biggest issue with Bourjois as 5 shades will not cater for everyone! The happy light range is actually darker than their previous foundations, by at least one shades so it’s worth checking out swatches in store rather than purchasing online first.

Application, finish and longevity
My favourite way to apply this is using a buffing brush. It’s too thick for the fingers yet looks far too sheer with a sponge. It offers a light/medium coverage and has a luminous finish. Although this shade is a little darker than I’m used to it blends into the skin nicely and give the appearance of tanned, healthy skin which is lovely!  The foundation doesn’t sit on the skin, it really does blend in beautifully which helps to give that naturally glowing look. In terms of colour correcting I would say that is does an OKAY job, sometimes I can still see redness through the foundation which is annoying because I feel like a foundation should at the very least even out the skintone and cover light redness. So needless to say a concealer is essential if you have spots or darkness. It certainly doesn’t mask the skin (as it states) but I wouldn’t recommend it to those of you who have a lot of blemishes and don’t want to take the extra step of concealer.

Without powder this lasts perfectly on my skin for about 6 hours before it starts smudging a tiny bit in some places like around my nose. If I am wearing it for a long day (which I generally tend not to do) I will powder but I actually don’t own a powder shade to match this which is a shame because I feel like unless I VERY lightly dust some on my face it can look kinda obvious and ashy ._.  Anyways point is, there are longer lasting formulas out there, but for the luminosity it gives I can deal with it!

This photo is a little bit crazy, just to show you the exact colour of the shade 53. I think this is probably best suited for NC30-35 and Barcelona in NARS. Although it looks daunting on my hand, it does blend in much nicer on the face and as mentioned earlier, I like to wear it when my skin is looking a bit dull, I’m pale and in the spring time when I want my face to have a bit more colour and warmth. In the winter this looked a bit too dark for me so I’m going to be getting the most out of this bottle in the next few months! Sometimes 8 hours later I’ll see my face in the mirror and be surprised with how nicely the foundation is generally looking and other times, usually on a more hot day I’ll notice it’s melted off a pretty large amount of my face… although that is always after at least 6-8 hours of wear.

I’ve already stated that the Bourjois CC cream reviewed here is my favourite drugstore base and that still stands. I find when I try to layer this up over any areas I need more coverage it looks too dark and noticeable. So for me this base is great for a shift at work or a lunch out with the girls because it can look lovely and really gives your face a healthy glow, however it isn’t perfecting, you do need a concealer and a powder would certainly help (although I don’t own one that matches this shade, boo!)

Overall Rating
Rating: 7.5
Pros: It gives beautiful dewy looking skin, it actually does look natural and not cakey in the slightest. Makes me look more tanned and it does work very well with normal/dry skin types as it is very hydrating. It blends easily and you can still see the skin under the foundation. When you powder the face after it gets a little shiny it still doesn’t look cakey which is awesome. The packaging is sturdy and made of glass. It photographs very nicely and it feels comfortable to wear on the skin.
Cons: The formula is so moisturising that it got shiny on my face which never normally happens. A touchup powder is probably essential for all skintypes who use this, I don’t think it would get it well with Oily skintypes because you will probably be shiny in a few hours. The shade selection excludes those with very fair skin and deep skin. However if you normally can’t get your shade in other bourjois bases, try this because it does run darker.

Repurchase? I really am in two minds here. On the one hand I love how healthy and tanned I look when I’m wearing this and also how it almost looks like I’m not wearing any foundation at all! On the other hand I get more coverage from the CC cream and I do expect my skin to be totally evened out when I’m using a foundation, otherwise I’d turn to a BB cream ._. so it really depends on if I find something with all these pros but better! Actually I just realised it may be a brilliant idea to mix the CC cream into this…I shall report back if that is successful!

I apologise for how rambly this has been, I feel like I haven’t said everything I need to say but at the same time I can’t think of anything else worthwhile to add…this always happens when I’m on the fence about things, especially when it comes to base products because some days they can look outstanding and other days they just disappoint me y’know?


Have you tried the happy light foundation? What is your favourite Bourjois base?


Thank-you for reading ♥
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