Pros: This is a drugstore foundation, although I bought mine at Ulta for $13.99 (it was my birthday, ok?). It's probably a few dollars cheaper at Wal-Mart and Target, etc. There are 12 shades (not a whole lot, but I was able to find one that matched my skin tone and when blended, looks natural). It is talc and paraben-free! It blends nicely into my skin and doesn't feel heavy or cakey; I would say it has a semi-matte finish, and my skin actually stays semi-matte almost all day (with a setting powder), unlike any other foundation/tinted moisturizer I've ever tried. I like to wear this foundation to work because I actually don't look like a shiny, hot mess when I get to my hotel room at night. When you swipe the foundation with your finger out of the container, it does have a cool, mousse-y feel, almost like pudding. (Is that weird?) It says it is buildable to full coverage; when I put one layer on it's definitely medium coverage, but you can still see my actual skin, so it still looks natural. Kind of like my skin but better. It comes with 0.8 fluid ounces, which is not a whole lot (most liquid foundations contain 1.0 fluid ounces), but if you only use a little bit each time (which I recommend) it should still last for quite a while.
Cons: I like the way this foundation looks on my skin, however, I hate the way it feels on my skin; kind of tacky, not quite sticky. I try not to touch my face as much as possible though, so unless I deliberately touch my face I don't notice it. It's also difficult to wash off at night; it totally kills any soap suds on your wash cloth or hands when you're washing your face; I have to wash my face twice when I use this. It does only come in 12 shades, and the range of darker shades is limited. As I said, the one I have (240 Natural Beige) doesn't match me exactly, but when I blend it in it looks fine. The packaging could use some work. It looks nice, but it's basically a big pot that you have to dip your finger or your brush into every time you go to use it, so it's not the most sanitary thing ever. The container is also HEAVY. The packaging is glass with a plastic lid, and it could seriously be used as a weapon. I would not look forward to traveling with this; it might put your suitcase over the baggage weight limit. It looks nice, but isn't exactly practical. One of the biggest no-no's for me, is it doesn't have SPF. My two big deciding factors in buying face products and face makeup are they have to be paraben-free and preferably with SPF. This product has one but not the other, so I made an exception.
Conclusion: I like this makeup because it's paraben-free and keeps my face semi-matte throughout the day, and I like the shade I chose, however I hate that it doesn't have SPF. Would I buy this product again? Yes, I'll just have to be careful about my sun exposure.
--Shine bright
