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Your makeup routine provides endless opportunities to experiment. One day you may be feeling a dramatic cat eye, while the next, you may want something more au natural. But while you can swap out your eyeshadows and lipglosses with no abandon, the one product you don’t want to mess around with is your foundation. Once you’ve found your match in terms of shade, texture, and coverage, that single perfect product can help you create any and every look your heart desires without any need to ever mix things up — which is why actually finding a forever favorite is so important. One that’s recently come to the top of our list (and not just because of its viral TikTok status)? Blk/Opl’s True Color skin perfecting stick.
Stick foundations generally come with their fair share of benefits — they’re easy to apply, great for on-the-go touch-ups, and won’t ever get confiscated by TSA — but these types of formulas have a bad reputation for looking thick and cakey. That’s not the case with this product, which is a true cream that just happens to come in stick form. It goes on like butter (which is likely thanks to the beeswax and aloe leaf extract in the formula), and melts seamlessly into the skin whether you’re using a brush, your fingers, or a makeup sponge (the “best” way to apply it is really the one that works for you). We also love that the stick is nice and thick, meaning that it delivers a hefty dose of product with every swipe.
Speaking of those hefty swipes, a single one of them across your whole face will give you some pretty solid coverage — so much so that you may not even need to use a concealer. What we love most about this product, though, is that it’s easily buildable so that you’ll get a truly custom experience every time you use it. One layer may be all you need, but you can also dab a little extra product on top of blemishes, dark spots, or wherever else you need a little extra coverage — the stick makes it super easy to control exactly where (and how much) product you’re putting on your skin. What’s more, because the formula is so blendable, it will deliver a velvety, “your skin, but better” vibe no matter how much you apply.
As far as shades are concerned, this one comes in 22 of them — all of which are on the deeper end of the complexion spectrum and designed specifically with darker skin tones (and their unique undertones) in mind. With all of these colors to choose from — and the easy-to-use stick format — it’s worth noting that this complexion stick is truly a multi-purpose “skin perfecting” product. Of course, it can be used as a foundation/concealer combo to even out skin tone and texture, but you can also pick up a deeper shade to use as a contour and a lighter one to add some highlight to the high points of your face.
Reviewers love this product as an affordable alternative to other fan-favorite (and melanated-complexion friendly) foundation sticks, and have awarded it a 4.6-star rating across over 600 reviews on Walmart’s website. One reviewer who identified as a makeup artist went so far as to call it “exceptional.” It’s also got SPF 15, which isn’t quite enough to keep you protected throughout the day (dermatologists recommend wearing something with at least SPF 30 on your face every day of the year), but makes for a nice added bonus on top of whatever else you’re using.
No matter how often you’re mixing up the rest of your makeup, this beloved product deserves a staple spot in your everyday routine.