Being on the hunt for perfection I decided to give cream foundation a try: Ben Nye MATTE foundation HD. At the same time I was a bit worried about the ingredients as Ben Nye is a theatrical make up brand and requires different and longer lasting properties. So I called in  the help  from Dymphy who loves to do research on ingredients used in makeup and does so on PROMAKEUPSTORE’s blog on a weekly basis. She has her own blog too where she aims to educate people about organic cosmetics Nurchamiel + Beauty. The outcome of her research is quite surprising: click here to read it!
Here’s a list of foundations I’ve tried so far which oxidized on me:

• Loreal True Match & Infallible
• Make Up Store Matt Foundation (water based )
• MAC Mineral Satinfinish
• Bare Minerals powder foundation. This one is a BIG no for me. It contains Bismuth Oxichloride wich made me break out like crazy and even gave me cystic acne. Maybe another ingredient you could tell us more about Dymphy 😉 ?
• MAC Studio Fixed Fluid and Makeup Forever HD Foundation, both silicone based and the oxidation factor is less than with the others but I got the feeling that silicones don’t help me get rid of the shine on my T-zone.

This is the first foundation that doesn’t oxidize on me but it’s quite  high maintenance  in use and specially if you are not a PRO. It doesn’t blend easy at all because it has  no silicones in it. What I do is this: I scoop some out with a spatula and put it on the back of my hand to warm it up a little. Then I spray Mac Fix+ on my foundation brush and start applying on my face. Afterwords I smooth it out with a Duo Fibre brush (like a MAC 187) and a wet sponge and still don´t get an even flawless finish, though not visible from a distance.  Nevertheless I love how it photographs:

When a foundation has the name HD in it, it claims to be invisible on photo’s, well mission accomplished I say, I find the finish quite natural, even off camera. The same applies to their concealer which is basically the same consistency. They are both quite opaque therefore you have to build it up in order to not making it look cakey (another difficult point to this product).

The container of the concealer is very handy for makeup artists as you can screw several pots together.

The price I paid for the foundation is: 24,-Eur and 19,-Eur for the concealer which is not expensive considering the amount and quality you get.

What could be a downside to this foundation  is the fact that it contains acrylates. Dymphy herself was curios about this so she did some more research and she wrote:

“…I do remember that acrylic paints didn’t have a cream consistency like the Ben Nye foundation or concealer I reviewed last week. However, it is possible that the acrylates in that product provide a water resistant film, or at least makes sure that the product is waterproof. Since the foundation is for oily/combined skin, it could cause some trouble: the oil of the skin (sebum) can’t go anywhere because of the film and perhaps clog pores and cause pimples. My advise would be to thoroughly clean your face after using the products, perhaps even with a waterproof makeup cleanser”

So far I have not experienced clogged pores, but then again I have a good cleansing regime. But it doesn’t reduce the shine on my T-zone either.

In recap

• It does not oxidize 🙂
• Photographs natural 🙂
• Good price/quality 🙂
• Good coverage 🙂

But

• Doesn’t blend easy
• Does not reduce shine
• I wouldn´t buy/use this if I didn´t know how to properly apply foundation.

The concealer on the other hand is a big YES for me which I will tell more about in an upcoming post about concealer in general.

I will continue to use this occasionally or for photography purposes but it’s not my Holy Grail for everyday use. Thank you so much Dymphy and Monique for helping me out!

And hereby I remain “on the hunt for perfection”.