Maybelline Matte & Poreless Foundation Review
Hey dolls! So last week I mentioned in my New Beauty Bits Post that I had finally got my hands on the Maybelline Matte & Poreless foundation and a lot of you on Instagram and Twitter asked me to do a review of this foundation. This post will be all about my experience with this foundation, what I like, what I don't like, coverage, lasting power and all that other good stuff so hope you enjoy it and find it informative.
So I have this foundation in two different shades; 330 Toffee Caramel which I use for highlighting and 355 Coconut which is my normal foundation shade. The 355 matches my skin tone perfectly and I especially love that even though it has a red/orange undertone it does not make my face look orange once it oxidises. It has what I'd call a medium coverage but is very buildable which I really like because I like that full coverage look when I got for matte foundations. The foundation's formula is quite runny/watery which makes it difficult to decant without making a mess or using too much as it does not have a pump like its Fit Me SPF18 predecessor. This formula however makes it very easy to apply with a multitude of tools such as a damp beauty blender sponge, a foundation brush or your hands if you prefer. I apply mine with the Real Techniques expert face brush which I love because it has dense bristles which blend out foundation seamlessly. I use patting motions to press the foundation into the skin rather than circular swivel motions; this is what I prefer personally and I find that this method seems to work best to get a more even application without any streaks. Does it live up to its 'Matte and Poreless' name? I'd say that this foundation definitely dries matte and surprisingly also does it's bit to fill in my large pores which I have mostly on my cheeks and bridge of my nose and I really do get a flawless finish with this foundation every single time!
This foundation is absolutely perfect if you have normal to oily skin and it has great staying power once it's set with a powder. I tend to be able to wear this foundation all day without the need for blotting or touching up and on a day of heavy activity or a night out I'd probably only touch up with some powder on my t-zone area once or twice which is great in my books because I normally have to touch up my other foundations a lot more throughout the day as oil starts to come through. I definitely wouldn't recommend this foundation if you have dry skin as it will stick to all your dry bits and make you look cakey which is just not a good look. On colder days when my skin feels a lot more dry I would mix this foundation with the Fit Me SPF18 foundation which is a lot more moisturising to get that perfect balance for my skin. The highlighting shade (330 Toffee Caramel) which is about 2 shades lighter than my skin tone has the same attributes as my normal shade but the only thing I'd say about this one is that when I'm using it to highlight it can get a little tricky because of the runny consistency and it's very easy to use too much which can give your under-eye area that cakey look which we just do not want. I tend to use a flat foundation brush to apply it for highlighting and I make sure to wipe off any excess product on the back of my hand before applying to the undereye; it's always best to start small then build as you can always add but not take away (my useful tip of the day lol).
All in all, I really love this foundation an I'd even go as far as to say that I like it just as much if not more than my holy grail foundation; Mac Matchmaster which mind you is a lot more expensive. What I don't like about this foundation is that even though it's so affordable it's not available in the UK and if I had to get it I'd have to do so online and probably pay a bomb for shipping from America so hint hint Maybelline please make this foundation available in the UK asap! I also don't like that it doesn't have a pump which is a pain in the rear end but I can live with this and honestly the good overrides the bad with this one. Would I recommend? Yes! I'd recommend this foundation a 1000 times over for all my normal to oily girls out there that want a foundation that is completely matte and that not only stays on for ages but helps with large pores! Maybelline really did the damn thing with this foundation. I hope you guys liked this review and if there's anything I didn't cover please feel free to ask in the comments section below. talk soon dolls. Toodles!