Review: [Too Faced] Born This Way Foundation

I want to introduce my new favorite foundation: the Too Faced Born This Way Foundation which currently has 12 shades and my shade is Ivory. There are not a lot of shades for people who are too fair or too dark but I've heard there will be 2 shades lighter than Porcelain and 4 shades darker than Caramel coming this Fall.

Now, let's check out the claims ...

Reviews

Rating kisses (out of 5): 

I won't say so much about the packaging since you might already see it in the picture ... gorgeous, isn't it? I also love that it has a pump for easy control of product amount!

An important thing I need to say before getting into the review is that I use this foundation with silicone-based primers and I find that they work well together. The primers I'm using are Japonesque Velvet Touch, Monistat, and ELF Poreless. I saw a girl on YouTube changing her opinion on this product from "hate" to "love" after changing the primer she used with it from Maybelline Master Blur and Smooth to Smashbox Photo Finish. I also saw many people who love the foundation tend to be the ones who use silicone-base primer. What I'm trying to say is if the foundation seems to not work out for you, you might want to look at what primer you're using with it.

Let's check how it holds true to its claims:

+ Oil-free? - YES. It doesn't make my skin any oilier than normal.
+ Moisturizing? - YES. It doesn't make my skin dry throughout the day.
+ Blur imperfections? - YES. My pores appear smaller and my complexion looks smoother.
+ Medium-full coverage? - YES. I need only half a pump to achieve a medium coverage.
+ Natural/ undetectable? - YES. The finish is natural, not matte, not dewy and doesn't look cakey.
+ Perfect? - NO. There are a few things making this foundation not for everyone:

• It doesn't claim to control oil so very-oily-skin girls who prefer a matte finish might want to look for a mattifying foundation instead although they might be able to get away with it by using a mattifying primer and a setting powder.
• I find that the foundation sometimes accentuates dry patches on my chin when my skin is very dry or when I don't moisturize well enough. However, this drawback isn't as bad as most foundations (I'm looking at the Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Foundation) so I think only very-dry-skin girls need to be careful.

There are other benefits this foundation isn't claimed to have but actually offers for your makeup:

+ Long-lasting? - YES. I said it doesn't control oil so I still see my oil starting to come out after 4-5 hours; however, the magic happens when I blot with a tissue paper and my face looks fresh again. The foundation is still there and not separated! It won't be melted by heat, sweat or oil like other foundations! This never happened to me before! What else? ... It isn't oxidized. Don't believe that I leave it on my face long enough? Well, I leave the house at 8 AM so I put the foundation even before that, drive almost 2 hours to my work place (yes, 2 hours ladies!), stay at work for 8 hours, drive back for another 2 hours (T.T!), and arrive home at 8PM. Except for the oil it isn't claimed to control, the foundation looks the same after 12 hours!!!
+ Light-weight? - YES. I don't really feel anything when wearing this foundation, but only when I use the right amount for my face, which is only half a pump.
+ Looking good in photos? - YES. Not only the foundation doesn't have that white cast in flash photos 'cause there's no SPF, it also makes skin look brighter and blurred in non-flash photos.


That was a long review to read; I tried to cover everything you should know to consider buying this foundation. My final thought is that although it is not a perfect foundation for everyone, it is for me and has been my go-to everyday foundation. I have combination skin so in the Summer my skin won't get as oily as the oily skin type and in the Winter it won't get as dry as the dry skin type. Also, I don't mind blotting once before going out for lunch (I normally have lunch pretty late, around 2PM), so I have nothing to complain.

I'm still in the market for a non-heavy full-coverage matte foundation though so I'll try out some famous ones out there and write a post about what I find. Hope this review helps!