I decided to improve my base game and splurge on something other than what’s cheapest at Target. I did a bit of research and opted for the Fenty Soft Matte Foundation for my super oily skin. I ordered the shade I needed (200) online from Sephora and picked it up the next day. I thought while I was there I would ask if I could swatch colors to confirm my selection. Due to COVID safety precautions, they couldn’t swatch directly on my skin (completely understandable) and their alternative was to dab some on a clear plastic sheet and hold it to my jaw / neck. The sales clerk who helped me told me my selection was the right shade but too dark a shade and recommended that I buy the 170 instead. I’m semi-illiterate when it comes to makeup (I’m wrong on the natural minimalism side and my standards are flexible and / or undefined, so my product knowledge is pretty narrow) so I decided to take his advice and buy the lighter shade that seemed to match quite well given the circumstances. Side Note: I asked another salesperson what her holy grail was, hands down, for a matte primer that would stand up to my over-enthusiastic sebaceous glands and she immediately recommended Makeup Forever Matte Primer. I bought this too. This is probably relevant. I returned home and immediately tested my new makeup. Gently press down on a thin coat of the MUF primer (which is amazing, by the way. It looks a little strange before it dries / absorbs, but it keeps my forehead from looking brighter than a headlight beacon. all day) into my skin and let it settle before applying the foundation with a dry beauty blender. This is when disaster struck. Not only did it dry SUPER QUICKLY, but it became completely unmistakable, leaving streaks and doughy looking spots all over my face. It clumped and smudged like half-dry acrylic paint or had accumulated around my pores (especially on my nose) while sliding over the surrounding skin, giving me severe “plucked, badly burned chicken” vibrations. by the sun with goosebumps and a psoriasis epidemic ”. There was also no solution to this problem, and every attempt to do so only exacerbated the problem. On top of that, the shade was DEFINITELY too light and chalky … I looked like a version of Gwen Stefani around 1999. I went back to Sephora the next morning to trade for my original color choice. I tested it at home on clean, dry, hydrated skin, this time without the primer (I was assuming my issues were due to the two formulas not playing well with each other) and using the same beauty blender. same problems. Not as bad as the first time around, but it still dried too quickly, became almost impossible to mix, and was the wrong color – this time just too dark a halftone and slightly too yellow. By working in smaller sections one at a time, I managed to make my skin look great on several occasions, whenever I had time to bask in my makeup routine instead of cramming everything into a whirlwind. 5 minutes before you miss the door before work. However, 9 out of 10 times (if I’ve even used it a lot) it turns me into a gooey, streaky, slightly too tanned mess. I haven’t tried using a foundation brush yet, but the Fenty performed almost as poorly with my fingers as it did with the dry sponge. Are foundations still so demanding !? I’m used to using liquid foundations that work almost like lotion. Why does this foundation make me so dirty? There are over 15k reviews for this stuff on the Sephora website and they are very positive with an average rating of 4.0 … my experience is surely an anomaly and I’m just doing something wrong here. I would hate to waste a $ 35 bottle of foundation (can’t return it as they kept my original receipt when I exchanged for another shade) so I’m trying to find a way to do it work for me. Advice is sought and welcome! Both to ease that Fenty debacle AND to finally find the perfect mattifying, mattifying (but natural-looking) foundation for my over-oily, sensitive, hyperpigmented, textured, acne-prone skin.
I think your issue is twofold.
**First problem:** Mixing matte on matte will almost always net major texture/blending problems when it comes to application. In general, I recommend using a hydrating/smoothing primer under a matte foundation, or a matte primer underneath a satin finish foundation.
**Second problem:** Fenty Foundation dries VERY quickly (as you learned). You have to work fast. Stick to working in sections, and use a setting spray to ‘hydrate’ the foundation while you’re blending if you need to. IMO, a brush works better with this foundation than a sponge (or start with a brush, then finish off the whole face with a sponge).
If you’re looking for a low maintenance, easy to apply foundation, Fenty is definitely not the one :\
So sorry that happened to you 🙁 I have not tried the gently beauty because I am more into light to medium coverage foundation and all the pictures I’ve seen have not given me good vibes. However to deal with a foundation that is too dark and too “dry feeling”, you can mix it with cream moisturiser. Alternatively, there are some pigments mixers that you can add to lighten/darken a foundation. I know Mac sells that but I don’t remember the exact name.
Side note, you ask if this is a normal behaviour for a non drugstore foundation and I honestly don’t think so. I’ve had several Dior ones, two Armani (my favorites), a couple of Lancôme, the double wear by Estée Lauder (I warmly recommand that one for a high matte coverage foundation), Clarins (loved that one too) Guerlain and Chanel.
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