No 7 Stay Perfect Foundation In Cool Ivory: The Perfect Match?

When I heard the shade I was matched to at the launch of the new No 7 foundation service, I was dubious. I had a problem with Cool Ivory for two reasons: the cool bit... and then the ivory bit. I'm a bit paler right now than usual - thanks, Irish 'summer' - but even so, I reckon I'm a bit darker than the word ivory suggests, and more on the warmer side of things an' all.

When the bottle arrives, I scoff a little bit more. It looks too light and has a greyish cast in the bottle, and on the back of my hand. But when you're wrong, you're wrong, and I'm holding my hands up now. That clever little gadget got it right - the shade's bang on.

Now, I know a lot of you are still on the fence about No 7, and I understand your reservations about the brand. But this has really impressed me. The colour is, as promised, my perfect match - and the product itself is lovely. A great pick for daywear, it reminds me a little bit of Chanel's Perfection Lumiere but with lighter levels of coverage. It evens out my skintone and covers imperfections but gives quite a natural finish.

It's not the longest wearing long-wear product I've ever tried, but it does stay put till the end of the working day, and it's not remotely drying on my skin - which a lot of longwear formulations can be. And at €18.25, it's reasonably priced to boot.

So if you're looking for something for daily usage with medium coverage levels and good lasting power, give this a try. You could be very pleasantly surprised.

Have you been shade matched yet by No 7? I'd love to know you how you got on, and if you were as pleased as I was with the result.