I often wonder why I bother to blog about makeup. Most of my audience are far too sensible to waste time on matters cosmetic and they tend to pass by these posts discreetly on the other side of the road, pretending they haven’t seen which is, after all, their right.

Besides which, you’ve only got to look on the Gram or YouTube or, well, anywhere to find women more adept, accomplished, beautiful, younger than me, all reviewing and promoting these products to their rapt audiences of millions and earning rather well from it too.

I suppose, though, not many of them are people with my background, heritage and skintone, and certainly not of my maturity, so I think I occupy a teeny tiny niche on the Internet. And for those interested in that niche I’d like to say ca existe!

I’m quite a big fan of Pat McGrath, a self-made black woman from Leicester, the Mother of makeup artists and, rarely among European make-up aficianadas, she seems to get it with regard to shades that will suit women of colour, who look for a luxurious, high end brand that tries to be an opinion-former at the apex of quality. I’ve had enough of Lancôme or Chanel or Dior: we’re not all pink, you know.

True, the brand is based in NYC, but I think it is a truism that you have to go Over There to find any suggestion of diversity. Sitting here in HK, stores seem to cater to the fairest, pinkest, most lightened of skin tones, and it’s often difficult to find darker tones, though there are plenty of darker-skinned Indians and Filipinas here. Draw your own conclusions.

Anyway, I’ve been a makeup lover as well as a feminist for as long as I can remember as is my daughter. It’s perfectly possible to be both, and surely feminism is about having the choice.

I have, however, decided that no-one has time to read wordy reviews so I’ll do it in quick points instead. I’m sticking my tongue out at all of you.

So, the Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection range was eagerly awaited and it hasn’t disappointed me. First is the Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection Primer.

It’s pink, vaguely moisturising and pore-blurring. It helps the foundation go on and stay on.

I like it but at HKD 485, I’d be unlikely to buy it on its own. I’m sure you could find just as good a primer for less.

Now, I did like this Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection Foundation and it comes in more than 30 different shades and undertones. Which is no doubt a good thing but can also be confusing. If you’re warm, like me, how do you tell online between olive, golden, neutral and yellow? I initially bought shade 15 Medium with Yellow undertones, but my my expat permatan has darkened my underlying shade and I looked too pale and a bit ashy (until I added the face powder.) Shade 17 Medium with Neutral Yellow undertones is a little darker, however and works well.

It stays on even through the 85% humidity of Hong Kong. Here is me when I’d first been assailed by sweat on the way to the ferry, then dried by air conditioning on the ferry, then walked up the hill from Central Pier to Goods of Desire.

It is a bit drying, I think, on my maturing dry/combination skin and does settle into pores on the nose and wrinkles on the forehead but most things do.

It’s very liquid and blendable with a brush but the coverage isn’t extensive. I’d describe it as light to medium..

The bottle comes with a pump – one to two pumps are enough for light coverage – but the bottle is glass and so not idea for travelling.

It’s wearable in the humid environment of HK but felt dry in London.

At HKD 550 it’s really pretty expensive. I’d buy it again if only for the range of different colours but at this coverage I’m sure there’s something better value.

Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection Setting Powder

This is the medium shade that came with the medium-toned foundation in the kit. I hated it. It was far too orange and made my face look like a Belisha beacon, and the open texture of the sieve dispenser meant that the fine powder went everywhere and made a mess.

It is also extremely expensive at HKD 445 for 5g, without any real justification so I’ll be sticking to my Hourglass powder thank you very much.

I liked the Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection Foundation Brush and Powder Brush. The foundation brush is perfect to use with liquid foundations, with just the right texture for a smooth finish. I liked the fluffy powder brush too but, at HKD 445 and HKD 470 respectively,  I’m sure other brushes are available that are as good but less expensive.

The verdict:

I liked the primer and foundation, that were easy to apply. I like the range of different shades but you’ll need to be prepared to experiment with a couple of shades to find the right one, and these are high end, expensive products that aren’t very easily available and sell out quickly.

Coverage is light to medium but probably not enough for a really polished look. Would I purchase again? Maybe.

NB: Please excuse the focusing of some of these photos. I used my portrait lens but its large aperture gave me too narrow a focus. It’s all experience.