Clinique Foundation Review

Following my earlier post about the Clinique 5-day foundation trial, I have given my 3 sample pots of foundation a whirl, and written a little review on them! 

I tried each foundation for 3 consecutive days, no powder, using the same skin-care products - Clinique's foaming cleanser, no. 4 Clarifying Lotion and an oil-free moisturiser - on each day, for an unbiased result (well, you can take a girl out of Biosciences...) These are my thoughts on them:

Anti-Blemish (02 Fresh Ivory)

with flash
(apologies for the bed-head!)

without flash

shiny and mostly worn off after
a day at uni - unimpressed face

This was my least favourite of the three. Apart from the sample being slightly too dark for my skin-tone I thought it gave a good amount of coverage initially, but unfortunately it wore off during the day.

I found it difficult to blend evenly with my fingers, leaving a streaky appearance, but it was slightly easier to apply with a foundation brush. I also thought the consistency was a bit 'cakey' for my liking.

I'm also not convinced of its 'anti-blemish' properties - It claims to not clog the pores, so not exacerbate any problems with acne or breakouts, but I didn't see any difference whatsoever after the three days - if anything I thought my skin was slightly worse after using it!

Stay-Matte (06 Ivory)

with flash

natural light

I really liked this foundation - it was easy to blend in, either with a brush or my fingers - great if I'm in a rush!

It was a good match for my skin-tone and definitely stayed put over the course of the day a lot better than the Anti-Blemish foundation. The coverage was very good and remained a 'matte' texture nearly all day, but it didnt look or feel heavy at all.

Pore Refining Solutions (02 Alabaster)

do my pores look big in this?

natural light (and a bit of desk-lamp light)

 I was pleasantly surprised by this one - It was similar to the Stay-Matte foundation in colour, texture and consistency, and blended just as well.

It was quite thick and had a lovely silky feel and a dewy appearance - something I don't usually go for with my already oily skin - but I didn't end up looking super-shiny!

I'm not sure how much it actually minimised the appearance of my pores, but I felt like the dewy-ness probably detracted from the most visible ones and gave my skin an overall healthy glow.

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natural light - happy face!

I can definitely recommend the Pore Refining Solutions and Stay-Matte foundations for combination-oily skin. It depends on personal taste whether you prefer a matte or a dewy finish, but I would rank those two equally highly!

I think I'm more likely to buy the Pore Refining foundation, simply because I have already tried several mattifying foundations, and it would be nice to have something different for a change!

If anyone has tried Clinique foundation or if you have a go-to foundation for oily skin, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts!

Maia