Literary and Lovely

Hello friends!!!

I can’t remember the last time I did a product review, which likely means it was quite awhile ago at a time when grad school didn’t feel quite so demanding. I definitely felt he pressure this term, balancing classes and a clinical externship, but they were good reminders of why I wanted to get into speech-language pathology. Another area of interest of mine is makeup, and today I wanted to review two Make Up For Ever foundation products.

Matte Velvet Skin Blurring Powder Foundation

I fell in love with the MUFE Pro Finish Multi-Use Powder Foundation shortly after its release (which I believe was in 2013), and it was my holy grail powder foundation until it vanished off the market earlier this year. I was devastated, and then stumbled upon the Matte Velvet Skin Blurring Powder Foundation. Hopeful that it was the replacement for the multi-use powder I was mourning, I gave it a go.

The packaging is nice, with the powder and applicator sponge housed in a sleek, rectangular, matte, black tin. My main concern at first glance was that only half of the tin contains product, unlike the multi-use powder, which filled an entire circular pan and had the applicator sponge beneath it in a separate compartment of the compact. However, a weight comparison indicated that the circular compact was 10g, with a net product amount of 0.35oz, while the rectangular tin was 11g, and housed 0.38oz of product. In short, the new blurring powder foundation actually contains 0.03oz more product, but the packaging is deceiving as to how much product is actually included. Product amounts aside, what I especially love about this product is that a mirror fills the entire lid of the tin. Another fun packaging feature is that the tin is lever-activated. In other words, there’s no way for it to pop open in a makeup bag if it gets jostled around in a purse or during travel; it will only open if the lever is pressed and the lid is lifted. The only downside of the packaging  I can foresee is that, because the exterior is a matte surface, fingerprints and makeup substances may cling to it, but should easily come off with makeup remover, or even simply warm water.

Phew, after that long preamble about the packaging, here are some features of the product itself:

1. Full coverage
2. Buildable coverage
3. Mate finish
4. Blurring effect (smoothes and mattifies, reducing pores and absorbing oil)
5. Amino acid- coated pigments offer water-resistant 12-hour wear
6. No fading, caking, or flaking
7. Suitable for all skin types, but especially good for use with combination to oily skin
8. Formulated with MUFE’s unique Flexi-fit puzzle complex that allows for flexible coverage and lightweight feel
9. Double-sided applicator sponge for sheer to full coverage
10. Available in 30 shades

Now, not that availability, or lack thereof, is indicative of a product’s quality, but I had a devil of a time getting my hands on my shade in this powder. It had been sold out on the Sephora website for months, but I lucked out and found it at the Pacific Centre Sephora in downtown Vancouver while shopping with my boyfriend. I settled on the shade R210 Pink Alabaster. While it is always better to see a product in person to confirm that the shade is right for you, I especially recommend doing that with this product. Online, R210 looked much darker than what I would imagine ‘Pink Alabaster’ to look like, but it was listed as the lightest shade, and it wasn’t until I saw it in Sephora that I realized it was indeed my perfect shade.

Now, I am not usually one for using applicators that come with products, but the sponge that comes with this product was actually specially designed to offer application flexibility. The black sponge side picks up more product, and is intended to provide a more full coverage look. In comparison, the white velvet side picks up less product, allowing for a more sheer coverage. Something to note is that the applicator sponge retains a lot of product, and it can be hard to get even product distribution on the sponge. If sponges really aren’t your thing, the powder can also be applied with a brush. Of course, MUFE recommends their branded 124 powder kabuki brush, but I’m sure any powder foundation brush would offer the same precise buildable coverage. (Side note, I do own the 124 kabuki brush and it is really great, but also really pricy at $42).

Matte Velvet Skin Full Coverage Foundation

Now this product I did not actually pick out myself. My mother has been on the hunt for a new foundation for several months now (R.I.P Almay TruBlend), and every time she buys a new foundation to try, I sneak in and try it too, and I wanted to share my thoughts.

Features of this foundation include:

1. Breathable and full-coverage
2. Matte finish
3. Up to 24 hours of wear
4. Suitable for normal, dry, oily, and combination skin
5. Reduces shine
6. No fading, caking, or flaking
7. Formulated with MUFE’s unique Flexi-fit puzzle complex that allows for flexible coverage and lightweight feel
8. Available in 40 shades

I purchased (or rather, my mother did) the shade R210 Pink Alabaster, which just so happened to be the same shade as the powder foundation I had been on the hunt for for months. The formula is on the watery side, and feels thin, but it applies and blends really well, either with a brush or a beauty blender. It does have a bit of a chemical-like smell to it, and I’m not sure what ingredient or ingredient combination creates that smell, but it’s a little off-putting. It’s nothing major though, and you might not even notice it if you aren’t super sensitive to smells like I am.

I did a wear test across a few days, and noticed that, while the foundation held up well for the most part, there was some drying around my nose, and my skin started to show through. This was easily fixable though with a quick touch up with the blurring powder, but I don’t like to pack makeup around in my purse to fix my makeup during the day. Who has time for that???

So those are my thoughts on the Make Up For Ever Make Velvet Skin Foundation collection. Let me know in the comments below if you have tried either of these products, and your thoughts on them!!!