Lush Slap Stick – (The Surprise Solid Foundation)

Well, hello everyone! 

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve been on here and I’ll probably write up a post about what I’ve been up to soon but for now, I really wanted to share what I think is a pretty amazing product with you!

I initially stumbled across the new Lush Slap Sticks by accident whilst on a YouTube scroll. I don’t know why but instead of watching the videos I went straight to the comments, which were all generally negative. Too negative in fact. There were A LOT viewers who didn’t like this new solid foundation Lush had created. Viewers commented about the packaging (or lack thereof), the hygiene aspect but more than anything the coconut oil element. This foundation is made from 45% extra virgin coconut oil and you know how the beauty community feels about coconut oil on the face – it’s a heinous thing to do!

I read the comments and found myself slightly annoyed at how ready everyone was to dismiss a vegan foundation that comes in 40 shades. I mean, I was impressed! So I decided to test it out to gauge my own thoughts.

The new Lush Slap Sticks – £16.95* are Lush’s latest makeup release. Described as a “breathable solid foundation” this odd looking foundation (my male friend likened it to a “special edition kinder surprise”) is available in 40 shades in different undertones and is 100% vegan.

Lush kindly gifted with the shade 32C. 

I had to colour match myself with a swatch photo and I’m afraid if you are interested in this foundation you will have to do the same as it is only available to buy in-store. Luckily, I have years under my belt of colour matching myself online so 32C was actually a pretty good fit for me. I do hope Lush make their swatch chart a little more accessible as it was hard for me to find a decent sized picture to allow me to choose my shade.

The foundation itself has minimal waste. It comes in a recycled box (that can also be recycled) and it’s lower half is wrapped in peelable wax. I love the idea that I’m doing my small part for the environment and I don’t hate the box, it’s actually pretty convenient.

So, onto the product itself.

On first swipe, I had instant pigment with no issues. There was no tugging or pulling of the skin, the foundation glided onto my skin smoothly. I was actually quite surprised that I didn’t need to warm it up with my hands, the warmth from my face was enough. It applied as I would with any typical cream stick foundation. There was no smell to it, not one that I noticed anyway and the consistency was also similar to a cream stick foundation so it didn’t feel icky or weird on my skin.

For the first few days, I applied the foundation directly onto my face and then blended in with a brush. A few days later I applied the foundation by picking up product with a brush and applying it to problem areas as a way of spot concealing but with a wider surface area. With both applications, I had no problem. As the Slap Sticks are oil based I had no issues with blending or stubborn setting but I did prefer the “apply straight to face” method more.

Coverage wise, I’d say sheer to medium. As you can see from my photos, some of my blemishes showed through a little but not too much. The Slap Stick has the perfect coverage you need for everyday wear.

The finish is also very skin-like, natural and almost glowy! I was honestly so surprised! My skin looked healthy and the compliments were rolling in at work. I’ve never had so many compliments about how good my makeup looked! The first face swatch was taken at around 6pm after a full day’s work whilst the second was taken right after I had finished my everyday makeup look. See what I mean by skin-like?  Note – none of the pictures above have been edited.

But lets talk about the coconut oil – was it an issue?

Not at all.

I wore the Slap Stick for 4 days and gave myself a few days with no makeup to see if my skin would react later and nothing. No outbreaks, no greasy skin, nothing out of the ordinary. My skin was fine! If you have oily/combination skin you will need to set your face with a powder of some sort but this should be something you already do. I normally set my face with Laura Mercier’s Translucent Powder. I also had to blot around 4 times each day but this is what I need to do with all my foundations so this wasn’t an issue for me.

The only issue I had, which was not really an issue, was my fear that the Slap Stick would melt in my room. I kept it in the fridge for a few days as Lush do state that during hot spells Slap Sticks may melt, but when I left it in my room I realised this was not actually something I needed to worry about but in the Summer you may want to keep it in your fridge if your room gets hot.

All in all, I LOVE Lush’s Slap Stick!

I think it’s received a bad rep for reasons unknown to me. I read comments from people saying it’s unsanitary but it works the same way as a stick foundation so that point was moot. I also read comments about the coconut oil along with the wax element but again, I never experienced any issues with this at all.

I do, however, have some cons, not so much with the product itself as I think it’s fantastic but about the following:

The Slap Stick is small, 30g worth of small and it retails for near £17 meaning you’re paying a lot for a small product, however, I do understand if the kind of ingredients Lush use call for such a price point.

You can only currently buy this online which is probably the biggest con for me. If you are not familiar with shade matching online this will be an issue, especially when choosing from 40 shades with different undertones, however, I did read that Lush may offer returns if you pick the wrong shade. 

This is more of a personal preference but the name doesn’t do much for such an amazing product. I know Lush have really fun and unique names for their products but when you hear the words “slap stick” what do you think of? You either have no clue what the product is about or it makes you (or at least me) think about the term “slap” which has a negative connotation in my opinion.

Besides, these two cons and a preference, I’m happy! Very happy with the Lush Slap Stick. I think if people had the opportunity to test out the Slap Sticks for themselves they would really enjoy them as a great everyday foundation. Maybe Lush should offer samples first? Either way, this solid foundation is a winner in my books!

Nat x