Drugstore Matte Foundation Testing | Maybelline, e.l.f., Wet n’ Wild, L.A. Girl

The last matte foundation I was able to wear was Estee Lauder’s Double Wear. This was my go-to matte, full coverage foundation when my skin was oilier and less textured.

However, since having two kids and improving upon my skin care routine, my skin is much less oily, but has decided to give me a really hard time when it comes to matte foundations. I haven’t been able to wear my Double Wear at all for the last couple years and some of the matte foundations below haven’t been working out for my mature skin either…

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L.A. Girl Pro Matte Foundation – “Ivory”

I had never tried anything from the L.A. Girl range, but as I’m always looking for great budget beauty finds, I added their Pro Matte foundation to my Orabel online order.

For $12.99CAD, this foundation promised me buildable, medium coverage with a smooth, soft finish that would minimize the appearance of fine lines and pores. It’s also made with vitamin E, B5 and sunflower oil and is cruelty-free. It comes in a glass bottle and a pump for easy dispensing.

Unfortunately, Pro Matte and I were never meant to be. While this foundation has great medium coverage that’s buildable, it never blended totally into my skin and left this chalky, heavy mask look on my face.

You could also see dots of it sitting in my pores, which is never an attractive look. It did last all day and it does provide a matte finish – albeit a little too flat and dead looking for my taste. The only way I could successfully wear this foundation was mixing a drop of it into my Maybelline Fit Me Hydrate + Smooth.

Another issue with Pro Matte? For some reason I could see the beige and white pigments separating whenever I pumped this stuff out – you can actually see a bit of this white separation in the picture below showing through the bottle. It didn’t matter how much I’d shake the bottle, the two pigments never wanted to mix.

If you have oily skin and find most foundations blend out well on your skin, this foundation might work for you, but it’s currently in my “makeup to throw out” box.

Buy It: Orabel |Ulta| Amazon

 

Maybelline Fit Me Matte+Poreless – Fair Porcelain

Matte+Poreless was the foundation every beauty blogger/vlogger had on their face last year, so I of course had to try it. This foundation promises to reduce the look of pores and shine with the help of micro-powders. It comes in a glass bottle and no pump (bad Maybelline, add a pump!).

Matte+Poreless has great medium, buildable coverage and definitely helps reduce the look of my pores.

However, while it blends out ok, I don’t feel like it really melts into my skin like the Fit Me Hydrate+Smooth version does and I find Fit Me Matte also doesn’t have the same skin-like finish as a result.

It lasts all day on me, although I don’t really notice a difference in my shine by the end of the day. Overall, Fit Me Matte is just “ok” for me.

Buy It: Target| Shoppers | Amazon

 

e.l.f. Flawless Finish Foundation – “Pearl”

e.lf. Cosmetics reformulated this foundation, which previously had SPF in it, but now does not. In addition, e.l.f. finally entered the 21^st century and added a whole bunch of shades to this foundation range, which originally only had 4 shades in it. While the original light shade was a touch dark for me, the newest pale shade called “Pearl” (neutral undertones) is a perfect match.

Flawless Finish boasts “…a lightweight, oil-free formula that blends naturally into the skin for a beautiful semi-matte finish that lasts all day long.” It comes with a pump in a glass bottle (take notes Maybelline and Estee Lauder) and is cruelty-free and vegan.

The formula of Flawless Finish is fairly thick – you can pump it onto the back of your hand, hold it upside down and it won’t budge! However, it surprisingly blends out like a dream and feels like a moisturizer on the skin instead of a foundation.

It does have an annoying scent, which disappears after application and the coverage is light, but buildable. I really wish it was at least medium coverage, but I usually apply a bit of Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation where I need more coverage over top of my lighter foundations anyways, so I can live with it.

I love the soft matte finish Flawless Finish gives me and the blendability means it has an amazing skin-like look that doesn’t bring out my pores or texture. I’m really enjoying this foundation, although I believe it was giving my skin a bit of a reaction in the beginning (I was getting pink blotches on my face). My skin seems to have calmed down now with regular use…but we’ll see.

Buy It: Target| Orabel | e.l.f Cosmetics

 

Wet N’ Wild Photo Focus Foundation – Porcelain

Uggh, where to start with this one? Another beauty blogger fave, I grabbed this high coverage foundation that promises zero flashback and a #nofilter perfect complexion.

Unfortunately, Photo Focus leaves a really heavy, dull, mask-like chalky finish on my skin and nothing I did to it would make it work for me and fully blend. I also have more neutral undertones and found that this shade, pulls more yellow on me.

I love Wet n’ Wild for having great products at super affordable prices, but this foundation was a fail for me. If you have very oily skin, Wet n’ Wild Photo Focus might work out better for you.

Buy It: Orabel|Forever21| Walgreens

 

What’s your current favourite drugstore matte foundation?