Makeup Forever - Duo Mat Powder Foundation

Price: $34

What you get: 10g, black compact with a sponge

Color Range: Not quite sure why Makeup Forever numbers their colors randomly in the hundreds, but they do. Moving on… Color matching with MUFE is never a problem. Their selection is HUGE. They’re not as extensive as NARS per se with their undertone selections, you pretty much are left with the option of either pink or yellow tones, but with that, they truly do capture every shade and every shade in between.

Coverage: The powder provides medium to full coverage, depending on how it is applied (sponge or brush).

Consistency: The consistency of this powder is a dream. I ran into this powder at a point when I was simply sick of hunting for a good powder foundation. Everything was starting to look thick and heavy, even the mineral stuff. This powder, I find, is very finely milled and has a silicone feel to the touch.

Finish: MUFE claims a matte finish on their website, I beg to differ. Most powders will help mattify the face. It’s part of a “powder’s” nature – kinda like their DNA makeup, if you will. But for a powder to leave a matte finish, I expect no shine, no glow, absolute live sucked off of the face. This is not the case with this powder. Even with medium-full coverage, the powder leaves a semi-matte finish, a soft satin look. Used over foundation it creates a beautiful sealed look. Used on its own, it evens out color differences leaving some skin still peering through. *Good Stuff*

 Endurance: The powder will last you a good 3 hours. After that, it starts fading like any other powder, regardless if you’ve used a primer/liquid foundation underneath or not.

The Verdict:  The product leaves me amazed every time I use it. It’s not chalky not heavy, and it leaves a velvety finish. I don’t need it to do much more than set a liquid foundation or bring down the shine on my nose, and it tends to be able to do just that.

*Aaahhh!! Receiving exactly what you ask me, it’s a good feeling*
It comes with price tag however. $34 might seem reasonable to someone like myself who was sick of being disappointed by powders, and was willing to pay for something to just deliver the basic functions of a powder. On the other hand, if you’re not as picky with your finishes, you might be able to be just as satisfied with something a lot cheaper, and might find $34 ridiculous. Apart from finish and consistency, there is nothing outstanding about this product. This product is a convenient answer with color and texture for those looking for a decent-performing powder.

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation

Price: $42

What you get: 1 Fl. Oz., square glass bottle, no pump

Color Range: Their colors are labeled with cities across the world – a different take with nothing to lose, A+ for grabbing my attention. *Moving on* They host a wide variety of undertones: pink, yellow, golden, peachy, olive, brown, red, caramel.) In theory, the plan seems fool proof. With so many different undertones to choose from and given a few selections between light, medium, dark, everyone should find something for themselves… Right? :-/ Unfortunately, that’s not quite how things panned out to be. While NARS has done a fine job of equally representing different undertones, the range of each undertone is quite limited. For example: If you have skin with pink undertones, and are looking for a medium shade, the closest you’ll get to is… Santa Fe – a medium with peachy undertones, as their website describes it. Most of their pink undertones are found in their lighter palette.

Coverage: M-E-D-I-U-M. Period. Ignore what their website says.

Consistency: The consistency of this foundation is a dream, a prayer answered, just absolutely beautiful. It’s thin and drippy, so a little covers a lot of surface area, and the bottles lasts you forever! YAY!

Finish: The title claims a “glowy” finish. Their website claims a “satin” finish. Experience with this foundation says, it leaves you with a semi-matte finish. Now, if your skin tends to lean towards the oily side, you might see that “lit-from-within-glow.” If your skin tends to lean towards the dryer side, you might see more of that satin to matte finish. But generally speaking, but prepared for a semi-matte finish.

Endurance: The foundation will last you a good 5 hours. After that, it starts fading, regardless if you’ve used a primer or set the foundation with powder.

Overall: The product initially might catch you off guard as you go to pour out some to start application. The stuff is pretty watery for a medium coverage foundation. You probably with need half the amount you use with any other foundation. A little goes a lonnggg way. The product is easy to apply, easy to blend, and easy to set.  However, when it dries, it dries a little darker and settles into dry patches on the face.

The Verdict:  My experience with this foundation hasn’t always been great. I started using this foundation during the winter time, getting over a cold, so I hated how it settled on my dry skin. I was almost convinced it was a matte finish foundation. Then, for the longest time I couldn’t use it because there wasn’t a shade that matched my skin. When I finally got dark enough to bridge over to the next relatively close shade, I started loving this baby. If you can find your shade & maintain the health of your skin, it’s a great weekend/going out/half day foundation. The product has not broken me out, nor irritated existing acne.