Sneak Peek: Bobbi Brown EXTRA Repair Foundation SPF 25

I was dying to get my hands on Bobbi Brown's new EXTRA Repair Foundation SPF 25 ($55), and I did! Not only that, I love it. I wore it to work today, and I'm thrilled. I'm a Bobbi Brown EXTRA groupie anyhow, but you never know how you'll like a foundation until you try it.

This new foundation in a pot is a creamy, buildable foundation that leaves the skin smooth, even-toned, and lifted. Designed for dry skin, it contains EXTRA treatment benefits to nourish and hydrate the skin. An application adds instant moisture.

EXTRA Repair Foundation SPF 25 has these properties.

• Helps rebuild the skin's protective moisture barrier
• Contains peptides to help stimulate natural collagen production, which in turn helps firm and visibly lift the skin
• Reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
• Leaves the skin looking and feeling revitalized, dewy, and healthy
• Offers broad-spectrum UVA/UVB protection from the sun's damaging rays (SPF 25)

I am a Warm Ivory in other Bobbi Brown foundations, and Warm Ivory in this foundation works perfectly for me. You can see it in its pot in the photo at right. The consistency is a creamy solid. It's not too light, and it's not too heavy. I applied it this morning with my fingertips (can you see my paw marks?), but I think it would be ideal to use a foundation brush. It spread and blended on my skin with ease, even with my fingers.

It evened my skin tone and minimized my sun spots on the first application. I built the coverage over my sun spots to blur them. That worked nicely. When I was finished applying the foundation, I was very happy with the results. My skin was even-toned, the right color, and dewy without looking oily. Even more exciting, I didn't need to touch it up during the day! It stayed put and provided coverage on my nose and chin all day. That's pretty remarkable.

When I applied it, I smelled the distinctive scent of the EXTRA products, which include rosemary and other botanicals. The scent disappeared in a heartbeat. By the time I was in my car on the way to work, I could no longer smell the foundation. It does have retinyl palmitate in it, which makes me a little anxious. The retinyl palmitate is pretty far down on the ingredient list, so I am hoping my skin doesn't have a reaction over time. I want to keep using this foundation!

I'll give you a progress report at some point after I've had more time with it. You'll be able to find it at your Bobbi Brown counter soon.

Update April 2: This product is now available in stores. I saw it at Neiman Marcus.

Photos by BTiB