Flawless yet natural (Maybelline Wonder Finish Foundation)

Member Name: missixty

Product:	Maybelline Wonder Finish Foundation
Date:	16/01/08 (220 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Flawless finish, lightweight, easy to blend, good value for money

Disadvantages: Only six shades in the range

When it comes to foundation I'm very fussy. It doesn't matter how good you are at applying it, if you have a bad foundation you are all in all going to look a mess. No matter what products you use after your foundation and how well you do the rest of your make up, nothing can make up for a poor base.

Over the years my quest for the perfect foundation has taken me many places, I've tried the cheapest of the cheap Collection 2000 right the way up to Calvin Klein, Elizabeth Arden and Ruby and Millie. I've also tried pretty much everything in between. I've tried long lasting foundations, illuminating, powder foundations, three in one sticks - you name it I've probably tried it.

The one foundation I always come back to, time and time again is Maybelline Wonder Finish. Is it that elusive perfect foundation that nothing else can better? Well not quite, I do have other favourites but it is pretty much unflawed, which in the world of foundation is a rare thing, and it is definitely the best in its price range with such easy availability.

What I will say is that my all time favourite foundation would have to be Ruby and Millie, it really is perfect but not so great if you are on a tight budget and not so easily available - hence my tending to come back to Wonder Finish again and again. Another absolute favourite of mine is Sally Hanson Airbrush foundation but I believe this has been discontinued unfortunately.

The foundation itself is very watery in consistency compared with nearly all other foundations I have tried. This initially would be something that would put me off, as good coverage is essential to me when I am using a foundation. However, the watery consistency does not as expected, equal poor coverage. Far from it, after applying this any blemishes and dark circles will be evened out to a point where you will need very little concealer, depending on how extreme the imperfections are. The liquid consistency actually works in this foundations benefit as it makes it so easy to apply and blend. I don't think you could get that dreaded foundation line even if you tried with this product.

It blends so well and so easily that even if you are a novice in applying it would be difficult to impossible to get it wrong. I have tried applying it several ways all of which have produced great results. When I first discovered this foundation I used to apply with a sponge and the effects I got were great; a good even coverage and very easy to just apply all over your face with the sponge. However, be aware that using a sponge does soak up a lot of your foundation, that being of course the sponges fault not the foundation. This does cause some wastage of the product and there is the sponge/hygiene issue to be aware of too. During the period that I was applying with a sponge I occasionally applied with my fingers, if my sponge had gone temporarily awol. I found that this gave a better coverage as exactly the amount of foundation you were putting onto your fingers was transferred onto your face, not losing any in that pesky sponge. Fingers are also very good for blending with, although that's not a huge problem with this foundation. The best result I have found as yet is to use it with a foundation brush. These really are worth the purchase; they achieve the best finished look on the face, best coverage, are hygienic and don't soak up your product.

It is easy to layer this foundation; applying more layers in areas you need more coverage and less in others. If I have a particularly bad outbreak of spots I will maybe put an extra layer on there, or a third if it's one of those spots that just wants so badly to be noticed. In general one layer suffices. It is also worth noting that the best look is achieved by applying foundation only where needed and leaving the rest of your skin bare. With some foundations I've found this tricky as no matter how well I've tried to get the right match for my skin tone, it was still apparent where I had applied foundation and where I hadn't. With this it's easy to do, and it really does make you look so much better if you apply it this way, rather than having your whole face just look one block colour which is unflattering and looks un natural.

The bottle itself is almost not worth mentioning, it's just a very plain ordinary foundation bottle in skin coloured neuteral tones, it's not good or bad, if anything it's a little boring but that isn't a huge concern. The bottle has a little ball bearing in it which is useful for mixing the foundation by simply shaking the bottle before applying. It almost pours out of the spout, so no messy squeezing like with some bottles of foundation I've had that have resulted in foundation splattering everywhere!

After applying the foundation it apparently transforms into an almost weightless powder finish. I'm not entirely sure I'd describe it this way. It doesn't give my skin a dry or matt look as such, but it does give it the weightless feel. Maybelline describe it as flawless yet natural, which is the perfect way to sum it up. I can whole heartedly back their claims there.

It also contains Vitamin E which I'm not entirely sure I believe will do anything for you when it's coming in a foundation form but there's no harm in it being there. It also contains SPF 15 so it gives your skin a certain amount of day to day protection. It's also hypoallergenic, fragrance free, oil free and non-comedogenic. I've never had any side effects from using it but I don't have sensitive skin or allergies.

It's only available in 6 shades so there isn't as wide a choice as with some brands but if there is a shade to suit your skin tone available I would definitely recommend trying this out.

It retails at around £5.99 which I think is a fair price for this product. It is a lot cheaper than Ruby & Millie which is around £15 and whilst it is not quite as good as that, it is the next best thing I've found. I actually find this foundation to be better than Elizabeth Arden Flawless Finish and is better than every other foundation I've tried other than Ruby & Millie, so for the price I think it is definitely a must have product.

I personally, will always return to using Wonder Finish at points throughout my life.

Summary: The name says it all - Wonder Finish!