little white truths

Every now and then you come across a cheaper, pharmacy product that blows your socks off. For me, this was one of those products.

I'd thought my HG pharmacy foundation was Revlon's Nearly Naked Liquid Foundation, but after having tried this one, I reckon this beats it.

While they're very similar in terms of coverage, lasting power and general look/feel, this one is a better colour match for me and it's also runnier, which means you can apply a thinner layer if you want to (or build coverage if you want to do that) and - since I prefer a natural my-skin-but-better look - this product wins the race because it looks even more natural than the Revlon version, or at least it does on me.

Maybelline claims/product details:

The bottle has a cheaper design (no applicator/pump - see above), but I'll live with that if it means I'm paying less! 

In any event, because this is a sheer product, you tend to use more each application - so the open mouth is less of an issue in terms of exposing the product to air over time because you'll finish it more quickly.

 * Outdoors, natural light

See above and below arm swatches (it's a better match for my face). You can see it leaves a dewy finish.

 * Outdoors, direct sunlight.

You can see that it evens out my skintone and provides a bit of coverage, without making me look like I'm wearing a mask. It also gives me a bit of a glow - yay to that.

There's my forehead below, direct sunlight. I've mentioned before that I often have issues with foundations sitting in the pores around my hairline (so you can see little white dots everywhere). I don't have that issue with this product.

Verdict

If you're after a budget foundation, I can't recommend this product enough.

Yes, it lives up to its claims - it gives you a fresh, dewy coverage but lets your skin shine through. It's definitely one of those my-skin-but-better products.

It applies and blends well - the thin consistency helps with this. That consistency also means you can apply as much or as little as you want, to get your desired level of cover. I've worn this with three layers before and even then it didn't look too much.

The sun protection makes me happy - particularly because you can apply enough of this to get the benefit of that protection.

One thing: the finish is dewy but it can lend towards greasy, depending on what your skin's doing that day (and I have dry skin, so it'd be worse for oily-skinned lasses). For that reason you may want to finish it with a powder, which I'd recommend doing anyway to improve the lasting power.

On lasting power, that's probably the only place where this product falls down a little. It doesn't last all day (and I've tried it with different primers and powders), and I need to apply it again mid-afternoon if I'm planning on going out. I don't mind this, but if this could be an issue for you then I'd recommend testing the product a couple of times before buying it to see how it lasts on you.

That's all from me! A great product.