If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that I am a HUGE fan of powder foundations. Nothing beats a good powder foundation if you like to apply your foundation quickly, and also if you've got oily skin (like me).
So whenever I see a new powder foundation hit the drugstore, I am ALL over it. I had amazing luck with the new Physicians Formula SPF 50 Powder Foundation recently (click here for my review) so I guess I wanted to press my luck with this new version by NYC.
At just $4.99 at Rite Aid, I couldn't pass it up:
NYC Smooth & Natural Matte Powder Foundation in 731U Urban Light
The first thing I noticed about this foundation is its embossed quilted design, which seems to be a theme we're seeing a lot of in new drugstore products for 2010. It's pretty and definitely sets it apart from other drugstore powder compacts.
I used this foundation for seven days straight, with various combinations of different moisturizers, primers and concealers beforehand. Unfortunately, as much as I really wanted to love this, I just could not find a combination that worked with my skin. It seemed as if, no matter what I did beforehand to prep my skin, this foundation just didn't want to give me the coverage I need. I don't need a full-on mask with my foundation, but I do prefer a more full-coverage look, which powder foundations are known for delivering. Sadly, this product gave me light-to-medium coverage at best.
In its defense, I will say that the color was a nice match for my NC20 skintone, and the powder itself applied smoothly. It's not chalky or cakey, which is wonderful. It also has a nice, smooth texture that gives it a lot of slip when you're applying it to your face (which can probably be attributed to the dimethicone in this product, which is the third ingredient after talc and mica). However, even in conjunction with my beloved Maybelline SuperStay concealer, I found that this foundation just didn't provide the coverage I need, and it definitely didn't last throughout the day. On most days that I used this, I saw my skin imperfections come through in a matter of 2-3 hours.
It was really difficult to photograph a swatch of this foundation because it actually does blend effortlessly into the skin. In the above pic, the foundation is on the back of my hand and you can see my bare skin on the left and right sides of the image. As you can see, it does cover well and it's not cakey, however I just couldn't find a way to get that coverage to last, even with various primers beforehand.
Perhaps this foundation is just not for oily skin like mine. But if that's the case, it kind of defeats the purpose of powder foundation, which is really made for us oily-skinned girls, right?
I will say that I did have better luck with this product when I used it as a finishing powder after liquid foundation. When applied sparingly with a kabuki brush after applying liquid foundation, it did a nice job of setting my foundation and giving a little bit more coverage than my usual setting powders. So maybe it's not a total waste after all.
If you're looking for a new, inexpensive setting powder to put on top of your liquid foundations to give you a tiny bit more coverage, this new NYC Powder Foundation might be just the trick. But if you're an oily-skinned girl who loves full-coverage powder foundations, I'd probably skip this one.
Have you tried this any of the new NYC products launched this year? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
I love the quilting that so many companies are doing. It reminds me of some asian cosmetics that I've seen. I think they do a lot of cool things with the top texture of their products.
ReplyDeleteJT: I totally agree. And OMG, Asian cosmetics are *beautiful*. I'm totally obsessed with them. In fact, my boyfriend almost hates to go to Mitsuwa and Marukai/Daiso with me because I will linger in the cosmetics aisle for hours just staring in wonder at all the pretty things. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for posting! You just saved me some cash on this one!!
ReplyDeleteI'm disappointed, but not surprised. I love NYC, but for some reason I have had terrible luck with their foundations.
mooosley: You are so welcome! Yeah, I guess I was just really, really hoping that NYC had stepped up their foundation game but, like you said, it's not surprising. :( I hope to maybe have better luck with that new blush stick (I'm going to try and exchange the foundation for the blush stick this week). :)
ReplyDeleteI just bought the new blushable creme stick. I'm liking it a lot!
ReplyDeleteI just recently saw this at Wal-mart and I love their Smooth Skin foundation. Maybe I'll pass on this though if there's not much coverage.
ReplyDeleteHopefully you are still getting comments for this post even though it is old. I bought this product in the same shade a week ago when I found it on clearance. I absolutely loved it, but it was very dark when applied. I found it odd that the swatch you show is very light... did they reformulate this? I would certainly repurchase if I just got the "old version" or something by accident. The case looks exactly the same as yours.
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