A Budget Friendly Matte Foundation {#FollowUpFriday}

Before we get into #FollowUpFriday,just a reminder that I have an awesome Colourpop giveaway happening at the moment!

Today my follow up post is on an item I have shared on my Instagram stories, but I’ve never featured it in an actual post. I’m talking about The Body Shop’s Matte Clay Skin Clarifying Foundation. What’s with the long names of products???? I’m going to launch a product called: ‘My mystical foundation infused rose scented unicorn tears primer’! Can anybody beat that name??

Okay, back to the actual product….Let’s just go there….the shade range is atrocious and the shade I selected actually does not match me. I took a sample of their darkening drops, hoping that I would be able to make it work that way, but unfortunately that did not work out.

I was really excited when I spotted this foundation, because I’m all about that matte life. Also this foundation claims to assist with blemishes with the addition of tea tree oil. I am prone to hormonal breakouts, so I love the idea of treating your skin, while you cover the blemishes! So shade range aside, I thought I’d still review this for you.

What does the Matte Clay Skin Clarifying Foundation promise?

Combat skin imperfections throughout the day with our NEW 100% vegan Matte Clay Foundation. This lightweight foundation is enriched with skin-clearing tea tree and leaves a breathable, yet full-coverage matte finish. It’s also resistant to water and sweat. Apply with our multi-tasking complexion blender for a flawless application.

• Full-coverage, matte finish
• Enriched with powerful tea tree oil
• Promotes clearer looking skin
• Oil absorbing properties
• Ideal for any skin type
• Ultra-lightweight
• Breathable 24-hour coverage

  

Packaging

This comes in a tube with a nozzle at the end. Nothing to write home about. Pretty standard stuff, and very similar to my favourite foundation from L’Oreal. The foundation is also a standard 30mls.

Where and how much?

This foundation retails for R150 from The Body Shop, though I got it on sale for R120. That’s a pretty good price for a foundation in my opinion, and a major part of why I wanted to test it. Do we need to spend R500 plus to get a good foundation?

Swatch

I picked this up in the shade 042 (Savannah Pecan) knowing that it would be slightly too light for me. This was the SECOND DARKEST shade and I mean, I don’t feel like I (or this swatch) represents close to the 2nd darkest shade on our continent. So it’s ghosty pink or way too brown…..those are my options?

The formula and application

So I braved a trip to Makro recently, wearing this foundation….for the love of the blog…and I just hoped NOBODY I knew would see me. They’d be like….‘Oh so she’s blogs about beauty, but the girl can’t even match her foundation?‘ Scandalous….even Olivia Pope wouldn’t be able to save me!

I am used to the nozzle due to this being similar to my L’Oreal foundation packaging, so I know more or less how much product to squirt out. I don’t have a wastage problem. The formula is quite in between, not thick or runny. This is a silicone based foundation, so I paired it with the Smashbox primer.

I applied this with a brush and with a sponge. As you can imagine, the sponge gives more sheer coverage, but I just prefer a sponge. Also with matte foundations, I feel a sponge just adds some moisture back into the foundation so you look less ‘matte’. The brush also did a good job and I went over my blemishes with a brush to add some coverage.

The coverage…. Now because this is too light for me, I cannot confidently say anything about the claims of it being ‘full coverage’. I feel this is more of a medium coverage. With it being too light for me, I’d say light to medium coverage that is buildable. I wasn’t able to get close to full coverage…also I didn’t want too…because…Makro…..ghost face concerns. I know Belle Blushh reviewed this foundation, so perhaps her account will be more accurate on the coverage side.

Okay, coverage aside…this foundation looked beautiful on my skin. It did not look dry or cakey at all, even though I did set it with a powder. The foundation also felt very lightweight on my skin. Also, I had ZERO pores visible when I wore this foundation! I had it on for a good 6 or 7 hours and didn’t experience any fading or greasiness. I did however have oil peeping through later in the day and I had seperation around the chin area. Nothing major, but worth noting. Also, if you’re sensitive to smells, this does smell slightly of tea tree oil, but the smell doesn’t linger.

Would I recommend this? 

Yes I would! For the price point and the fact that it also fights spots, it’s a pretty good foundation. If you suffer from breakouts, have oily skin and they actually have a shade for you, I’d say give this a try.

Side note: I actually use this as a ‘spot treatment concealer’ on my spots on no makeup days. So even if you don’t find your shade, you can get something close to use as a concealer if you suffer from breakouts. Just make sure to moisturise so that the blemish area doesn’t look dry. 

If you’re not necessarily too phased about the lack of tea tree oil and can’t find your shade in this foundation, I’d recommend the L’Oreal Infallible 24hr matte foundation. The first 10 or so ingredients are basically identical to the Body Shop’s ingredients and then they share another 5 or more ingredients. I’m not saying this means that they perform the same, but to me, very similar.

What do you think? Have you tried this? Will you? What’s your current holy grail foundation?