I love makeup from Elizabeth Arden. Her products have great quality and are reasonably priced.
This review will be about the Flawless Finish Perfectly Nude Makeup Broad Spectrum Sunscreen SPF 15. Yep, that’s its full name.
The bottle is glass, glossy and classy. Looks expensive, though without any pomposity. The cap is plastic and doesn’t sit tightly. All the letters on the bottle look brand new even though I’ve been using this foundation for a year or so.
The pump dispenser works great and smoothly, it allows to get the required amount of foundation.
My color: 02 Alabaster, the second in the line. it looks the lightest, because the first one has a beige undertone to it.
Alabaster is a light beige pink color, which looks different depending on the lightning. Just look at the swatches below:
It caused a lot of trouble when I was writing this review, but it also helped me describe it more precisely.
The formula is airy, non-sticky and not viscous. It’s more like a mousse and it’s silky and nice to the touch. When blended with a flat brush, it may appear patchy.
The smell is lightweight, pleasant and lingers for at least 30 minutes. I’m okay with it, but keep that in mind.
A few words about my skin:
I’m a “lucky” owner of porous skin. It’s naturally very fair and I want to accentuate it, because even natural tan and dark foundations make me look tired and sick. Plus, the skin on my body is even paler so I’m always looking for the fairest foundations. My skin has a pink undertone due to the blood vessels close to its surface, which is also especially visible on the nose and cheeks.
I don’t have many pimples. From a foundation, I want an even skin tone and no mask effect.
Even though this color is pretty fair, it doesn’t fully suit my skin. Somehow, it loses its pinkiness after being spread on my skin. it becomes simply beige, especially in the warm light.
Here is my skin on one of its bad days: after mechanical cleansing, with flaking, uneven tone, pigment spots and large pores.
In this photo you can see the foundation applied in a thin layer with a drop-shaped beauty sponge. Redness isn’t covered and requires a concealer. But this foundation doesn’t claim to have high coverage, so I’m okay with it. It can be applied in a few coats, but I rarely do so. I prefer natural makeup.
The foundation doesn’t settle into my pores and looks decent within 3 hours after application. When it’s warm, however, it starts coming off and my skin looks greasy. When it’s cold or frosty, the foundation lasts about 6 hours.
Now to the photos:
The foundation is applied in two coats and looks beige:
In a few hours:
As you can see, the finish doesn’t look matte. It will be great for dry skin.
My skin feels comfortable with this foundation.
Alas, the foundation oxidizes and darkens. It becomes especially visible on sunny days, and the skin tone between my face and neck becomes very uneven.
Well, this foundation is not among my faves, definitely. It’s nice to use, the bottle is beautiful and the smell is pleasant. But it has a few significant cons: oxidation, bad performance on skin, wonky cap.
This foundation requires a concealer. It’s not comedogenic and can be removed with a cleansing oil or milk.
I don’t use this foundation very often. It’s too dark even for summer. But I can’t make myself throw it away as well. I think it’s not for dry-skinned girls. I give it 4 stars because of the above listed cons.
