I’ve tried more foundation and makeup to cover my (now mostly healed) melasma than I can count! I try most new foundations that come on the market in the green, organic and clean beauty space. I had been wanting to try Gressa makeup for a long time and I finally got my chance to truly test the brand when Credo Beauty opened near me in La Jolla in 2018.
Gressa Minimalist Corrective Serum Foundation Review
This is one of my all-time favorite foundations – conventional, clean or green – of all time. Or I guess since I’ve been wearing makeup 🙂 . And most of the photos on my Instagram wear I’m getting compliments on my skin are thanks to this serum foundation.
I would agree that this is truly a serum in terms of benefit and not just its tactile serum feel. I started using this foundation, Kypris skincare and a new SPF in the fall of 2018 when one of the biggest melasma patches on my cheek broke up. All of the products I used during that quarter of the year are in my skincare hero collection 🙂
It’s important I note the coverage of this formula is high – higher than you might expect. Even when you use a few drops and buff and buff and blend. So this makes the foundation very different than the Kosas face oil or Ilia Super Serum Tint. I felt so confidant wearing this foundation when my dark spots and melasma weren’t as healed. And sometimes now honestly it can be more opaque than I planned 🙂
I’m pleasantly surprised with its staying power too. I will absolutely be re-buying this one day but for now I’m trying to be good and not overbuy when I’m already testing a new foundation :).
And finally from my limited perspective I believe the bring offers a nice range tones that could work well for any skin tone. I personally wear 1.5
Gressa Minimalist Contouring Serum Bronzer Review
The neutral golden brown sheen of this bronzing serum looks magical on my very pale skin. If you shake it regularly, the color is consistent (unlike the pigment separation I mention below). I love to apply and blend this with my Sephora pro featherweight complexion brush #90 (which seems to be discontinued? i’m shocked I love this brush). It’s so hard for me to find a contour or bronzer that’s not too warm or too cool and this shade is perfect for me. However, I haven’t found the staying power of this serum to be strong. So I love it but because I feel like it disappears from my face within an hour, I don’t believe I will repurchase it soon.
I will also say the consistency of the product is much oilier and more transparent than the swatch on Gressa’s site portrays. I thought maybe it was just my bottle but when I’ve sampled it at stores it affirms my experience. But maybe they are making it more concentrated and that’s wear these swatches came from on their updated site?
Gressa Lumiere Luminous Complexion Fluid in Elise
My dryer skin much prefers cream or liquid products over powder so I was eager to try Gressa’s complexion fluids. I sampled a few from The Detox Market and Credo Beauty before buying my first vial of the gorgeous pink color Elise. I love the color – when I can get it to come out of the vial well. I’ve found particularly with this product – in 2 different bottles and versions of packaging – that the pigment separates too much from the oil base (rosehip, castor and broccoli seed) . Sometimes a pump or squeeze of the product products the most perfectly pigmented application, but more often than it should it produces just the oil with occasional color flecks. I’ve even tried shaking vigorously but it doesn’t help. (and shame on me for not reporting this to the brand – I will soon and hopefully they can fix it for future purchasers). I would definitely repurchase in the future if they can make the color pigment more consistent in the product.
Gressa Eye Tint Review – Bronce
This is such an interesting eyeshadow – it’s somewhere in between a cream and a powder. It’s like a very hard cream? Maybe that is why they call it an eye tint! It does have a powder finish. I find it difficult to blend and apply. But this deep bronze brown Bronce color is gorgeous! It holds together much better than like an RMS beauty eye polish. And it doesn’t smudge too much. But ultimately, I don’t reach for it often. I would recommend the Victoria Beckham beauty lid lustres first although they are a bit messier than the Gressa eyeshadows.
As of June 2020, these eye tint eyeshadows are markdown on Gressa’s site – to me this signals discontinuance.
And here on my YouTube channel is my full Gressa routine! Did I mention their foundation brush is really great too?
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