Rimmel Wake Me Up Review

Like any true North American beauty obsessed gal, I have been lusting over Rimmel’s Wake Me Up line that was released in the UK in early 2012. After watching endless YouTube videos by the likes of Tanya Burr, Zoella and Gemsmaquillage all raving over the quality of the foundation, I jumped for joy when I finally found it in my local Shoppers Drugstore. Because I have no apparent sense of restraint I picked up the foundation in Ivory (200), the concealer in 'very light' and the Instant Radiance Shimmer Touch in 'flush of pearl'. After 3-4 uses I can say confidently that the foundation and concealer are in the running for my favourite drugstore face products.

While I am usually a high end foundation lover (Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua in B10 being my HG foundation) I can already tell that the Wake Me Up foundation will soon become a most reached for product in my makeup bag. Appearance-wise, the foundation comes in a glass bottle with an orange cap with a pump for easy dispersal of the product (NARS PLEASE TAKE NOTE!). 

The product on first glance is very sparkly which almost immediately turned me off. However, once applied, the sparkle almost disappeared on my skin and only enhanced the glow of the foundation. The consistency is relatively thick, I would give it a medium coverage label. For that reason I would not recommend this for my dry-skinned friends out there. The foundation clung a bit to dry skin but I found mixing a little moisturizer in helped this issue.

Despite looking ultra dark in this picture, for me, the colour worked. One issue I have had in the past with Rimmel (and that some may have with this product) is that the colour range is minimal at best. The lightest shade will probably work for anyone with NC 20 skin but if you are a true NC15 I would pass on this one.

With regard to staying power, this baby lasted all through the work day... without a primer! Most recently I have been using Nars Sheer Glow and finding that my face loses that flawless finish just after lunch. I would be good to go all day with Wake Me Up.

For those who know me, they know I am exceptionally picky about concealer. Being a victim of allergies, I have always had dark circles under my eyes and am constantly seeking out a concealer that does not crease, has maximum coverage and does not need constant retouching. 

Wake Me Up claims to be a “full coverage concealer” and frankly I think it comes pretty darn close. Again, while a little dark, the concealer barely creases, covers my circles for at least 4-5 hours and works well for blemishes as well.

The only product I had a bit of an issue with was the cream highlighter. I would really classify it as “adult body glitter”. The product has the same glitter as the foundation but doesn’t fade in as much as the foundation’s does. 

In my opinion, highlighters should just provide a nice sheen on one’s face as opposed to a fairy dust look so this might be falling to the bottom of my bag sometime soon. The only way I could get this product to work was to mix it with the foundation in a similar fashion to the way I would use Mac’s Strobe Cream. This way the foundation looks extra glowy for those days when you really need it.

All in all though, if you are looking for an inexpensive but quality foundation or concealer, definitely try Wake Me Up! We would love to hear your thoughts so please feel free to comment below about your experiences with the product!

xo,

Em