I received this product free from Influenster for the purpose of testing and review. The test requested was for the #betterskinchallenge, a test that would see if the foundation could actually improve the appearance of ones skin over the course of three weeks. I unfortunately was not able to complete that challenge because it appears I am allergic to it. I do not recall ever being allergic to a foundation before, though skin care can be a little more hit and miss so I am guessing it was the skin care part of the foundation that was a problem.
Since it did take a few days to realize what was causing the allergic reaction on my skin, because it built up slowly, I am able to talk about how the foundation looked as a foundation, so I will go over how it worked for me here.
Foundation is medium to full coverage
Longwearing foundation, gives all-day flawless coverage
My plans for the test were to try three different application methods: fingers, makeup sponge, and brush. From there I would use the method that worked best for application for the duration of the three week challenge and onward until I had used up the foundation. I applied the foundation directly on my skin, by-passing my usual moisturizer and primer so that the skin care ingredients would have no barrier to prevent them from working. I also did not use any setting powder, concealer, highlighter, blush, or bronzer so that I could monitor the foundation's appearance on the skin and length of wear with nothing to confuse the results.
Brief summation of my results:
Light coverage (redness/yellowness only)
Lasts three hours without primer and setting powder on normal skin
Clings to dry patches
Best applied with makeup sponge or brush
Not buildable
Detailed summation of my results:
The foundation applied best with the makeup sponge and with a brush, specifically one used in a buffing motion. I am including a link to the post on my tumblr showing which brush I found worked best for me. Third day of testing, applied with brush. Because the brush worked more quickly than the sponge, that was the method I opted to continue with for the remaindered of the foundation's use.
When I applied the foundation with my fingers, the foundation skunk into the larger pores on my nose and cheeks, which gave the appearance of tiny, almost white poka-dots on my face. It was also challenging to smooth out the foundation on the skin so as not to have any streaks in the foundation. It also made my skin look very dry as it seemed to develop a flaky appearance no matter how much I tried to smooth it out.
When applied with the makeup sponge, the foundation did not sink into the pores, though it did take a few minutes to blend out on the skin and give an even layer, it did still cling to the dry patch of skin on my chin. When applied with the brush, the foundation did not sink into the pores and it only took a minute or two to blend out over the face in an even layer, it did still cling to the dry patch of skin on my chin.
For all but one of the attempts at use with this foundation I used one pump of the foundation which easily covered the entire face. I would not consider it a medium coverage foundation when one pump is used, but since I sometimes think my definition of what constitutes light, medium, and full coverage, may be different from other's definition, I will explain exactly what it did and did not cover on my skin.
It did cover the redness of my cheeks and nose well, though the coverage only lasted for three hours before the redness of my nose was completely back and the redness of my cheeks was becoming more apparent. It did reduce the appearance of the yellow under eye circles I have, though it did have a tendency to crease within the first few minutes of application, though a light press of the finger over that part of the skin always seemed to sort that out. It did not cover, in anyway, my freckles, it did not even make them appear less noticeable. When someone describes a foundation as medium coverage, I expect my freckles to be less apparent from how they are without the foundation, this is also why I am usually disappointed by foundations I have tried that have been described as medium coverage. Lastly, it did not in any way cover the darkened spots on my face from healing blemishes.
I would consider this a light coverage foundation because it did conceal the redness in my skin. I would have almost considered it medium coverage for concealing the yellow under eye area, if it had also faded the appearance of the freckles, but as it did nothing to reduce their appearance, I could not call it medium coverage. I am not sure in what way Maybelline used the foundation to claim a possibility of full coverage, as when I did try to build the coverage by using a second layer, the foundation took on an unfortunate appearance, which I will go over shortly.
The appearance of the foundation on the skin with one pump was good, standing at the counter in front of the bathroom mirror under various light levels, I could not see the foundation itself, only the lack of red cheeks/nose and the lack of obvious under eye circles. When up very close to the mirror I could see the foundation, but its appearance was nearly skin like. There was one area of my face that there was an exception to the skin like appearance though, and that was where my skin was a bit dry. I do not normally get blemishes on my skin, unless in the crease between the nose and cheeks or on the jaw line. A couple of weeks prior I had a couple of blemishes around my chin that were still in the process of healing when I tried this foundation, and so the skin around the healing blemishes was dry. When the foundation was applied over the dry skin, no matter what method, it looked obvious, like it was clinging to the dry patch. Since my skin is very rarely dry, generally only when I have a healing blemish and possibly on my nose when I am having allergies, I didn't see this a problem for me, but someone with dry skin may find this foundation less appealing.
When I attempted using a second layer of the foundation to see if I could build coverage, the foundation looked caky on the skin and was apparent even from the distance of the edge of the bathroom counter to the mirror. It did fade the appearance of the freckles, but I could still see them in the mirror behind the bathroom counter as well, even without leaning forward. Because of this I would not recommend trying to build up the coverage of the foundation, because any improvement in coverage would come at the expensive of very obvious foundation on the skin. I think this occurred because while the foundation never seemed to set quickly, it does set on its own. By the time I would be finished blending it in with the brush, within a few seconds it was set. So when I put the second pump of foundation on the skin and started buffing it in with the brush it lifted the first layer off the skin and mixed it with the second. It took significantly longer to buff the second layer of foundation onto the skin, to get a smooth even layer, and even then it did not look that good. Even though I was able to build the coverage to an extent, given the caky nature of the appearance of the foundation once a second layer was used, I would not consider this foundation buildable.
If I had not been allergic to the foundation, I think this would have quickly become a favorite because of its ability to conceal the redness of my nose/cheeks and to conceal the yellow under eye circles, as I do not mind having my freckles be apparent on the skin. While it did only last three hours on the skin, that was without primer or setting powder, as I developed an allergy to the foundation before I could test it with a primer and setting powder to see how long it would last under normal circumstances.
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