Foundation Friday for Over 50 | Make Up For Ever HD Foundation

Foundation Friday for Over 50s

This is the 5th post in my series “Foundation Friday for Over 50s” in which I’ll be testing a different foundation every friday for over 50 year old skin! In the past I’ve tried around 70 Foundations and of those I’ve liked about 5-7 which just shows how hard it is to find a foundation that looks good on more mature skin (or it shows how picky I am. . . )

Older skin comes with it’s own set of problems like uneven tone, age spots, enlarged pores, surface roughness and wrinkles, and I’m sad to say I’ve got them all. So the ideal foundation would help to disguise those things and hopefully make my skin look better than it really is! So check back every friday to see if I’ve found the elusive “holy grail” foundation yet. . .

Today’s foundation is Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Cover Foundation ~ $43 for 1 oz., comes in 26 shades

The description from the Make Up For Ever website reads: “An oil-free medium coverage liquid foundation that covers skin imperfections flawlessly while remaining invisible even under the most magnifying HD lens.” And, Make Up For Ever promises that “This foundation creates a soft-focus effect, which is designed to meet the coverage concerns of those in the spotlight. It leaves your complexion with such a flawless finish, it can withstand bright or harsh lighting.”

It comes in a glass bottle with a plastic pump to dispense the product. The shade range is impressive not only for the number of colors, but the variety of neutral, yellow, and pink undertones. I got a sample in shade 130 Warm Ivory – for medium light skin with beige pink undertones.

When I first applied the foundation I thought it was too light for me but within a couple hours it usually changed color to match my skin tone better. By the end of the day it had darkened up a bit making my neck look pale. I can’t say it oxidized because it didn’t turn orange but the color seemed to shift a bit throughout the day.

Ingredients:

This is an oil-free, water based formula that doesn’t rely heavily on silicones. It doesn’t contain sunscreen or anti-aging ingredients.

-Relipidium: (a yeast extract that rebuilds skins lipid barrier) Moisturizes the skin (+46% after 4h).
-Fucogel: Forms a microfilm that prevents dehydration and protects against external aggression.
-Sericite: (a fine grain mica) Enables rays of light to spread more widely intensifying the radiance of the complexion.

Application:

I tried the Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Cover Foundation four times with different application methods.

Day 1

I applied the foundation using a flat foundation brush (MUFE’s recommended method). I used a pore minimizing primer on the left side of my face, no primer on the right. Using about one pump of the foundation resulted in medium coverage that didn’t need any concealer. It had a nice skin-like finish (not too matte, not too shiny) that looked good from a normal distance. It wasn’t particularly smoothing and didn’t do anything to make pores and wrinkles look better (even on the primer side).

After 4 hours it settled into pores and wrinkles:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 2

I applied the foundation using a damp blending sponge and no primer. This resulted in a sheer coverage that needed concealer and finishing powder. It looked really nice applied with the sponge and lasted well for between 4 & 8 hours.

At the 8 hour check in it had worn off a bit, gotten shinier, and looked spotty on my chin & pores.

At 10 hours it was mostly gone and doing funky micro-spotting on my chin.

Day 3

Today is all about trying to build it up for more coverage and having it last longer so I prepped skin with a water based primer (Tarte Clean Slate Flawless Luminous 12 Hour Primer) and then applied the foundation with fingers. It didn’t go on great with the fingers so I did the building using a domed kabuki brush (Beauty Junkees). It took a little work to blend it out nicely and there were a couple of problem areas but the coverage is definitely buildable so that no additional concealer is needed. To really get it to last past the 6 hour mark I used a setting powder (IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Pores HD Powder) and a setting spray (ELF Mist & Set).

At full coverage it settles into wrinkles and pores immediately instead of waiting 4 hours. It doesn’t do anything to smooth my skin or flawlessly cover my imperfections or look invisible in general.

The primer I used on day 3 caused the foundation to slide around and pool in strange spots, so definitely do not use it with a “luminous” primer.

 

Day 4

I tried to correct for any mistakes I made in the past 3 tries and get this right so I could have one day where this lived up to it’s hype. I bought MUFE smoothing primer (if the brand’s own primer doesn’t work, what will??) and a brand new beauty blender, used the foundation sparingly and avoided my under eyes. It should have been perfect, but sadly it behaved exactly the same if not worse than the other 3 times I tried it! It immediately settled into those same forehead wrinkles, did nothing for my pores, and there was that “micro-spotting” on my chin again so I can’t blame any of that on the other primers or application brushes or using too much.

The same things happened at the same times: got shiny at 6 hours, started to wear off at 6 hours, settled into wrinkles and pores at 1 minute.

Coverage:

Is it “a medium coverage liquid foundation that cover skin imperfections flawlessly while remaining invisible” as promised? Not really. Coverage is sheer and is buildable to medium depending on how it’s applied. But it only looks good at sheer coverage. At medium it settles into pores and wrinkles. It did not cover skin imperfections and is not invisible. It actually accentuates most imperfections like wrinkles, pores, spots or hairs.

Finish:

The finish is on the dewey side so I prefer it with a light setting powder to mattify below my eyes and in my t-zone. But is does become increasingly shiny as the day progresses. This foundation is all about the blurring particles that make it look good in pictures and on video and under pro lighting and I have to say that’s the one area in which this excels! As long as the camera’s at least 2 feet away, this photographs beautifully. So if you’re only seen through a lens and walking around with a lighting crew then this foundation is for you!

Pores:

With primer or without, this did nothing to improve the look of my pores. As the day wore on it settled into them giving me the polka-dots and making them look waayyyy bigger by the end of the day. 

Wrinkles:

It settles right into wrinkles no matter how it’s applied… it’s just a matter of how long it takes. With fuller coverage it settled immediately, used sparingly it waited 4 hours to settle. Sure, you could just avoid the eye area, but I have wrinkles in more than one area so I can’t avoid my whole face!

Wear:

The best thing I can say about the wear is that it was consistent from day to day! Whether I used other products (primer, setting powder, setting spray) to help it wear longer or not it wore off on my chin and nose at 6 hours.

Feel: 

One of this foundation’s best features is it’s feel after it dries. I makes my skin feel smooth and silky to the touch and it’s weightless to wear so I’m mainly unaware of it during the day with the exception being when it felt a little drying around my chin and mouth.

Phone Test:

Flash Photography: Yes! Great at Flash photographs (see above under Finish)

 

The Verdict:

I don’t think I’ve been this frustrated with a foundation, EVER. It seemed to have such potential, but it just let me down in so many ways. From wrinkles to pores to shine I can’t find much good to say about this one. It’s just weird and I can’t recommend it to anyone who’s skin isn’t absolutely perfect to begin with so that leaves most of us mature gals out. 

And so the search continues. . .

Click Here for My Picks for the Best Foundations for Mature Skin

Shopping Links for Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Cover Foundation:

Sephora*                       Amazon*          

* Marked links are affiliate links. If you click the link and buy something, I receive a commission for the sale, but it doesn’t cost you anything extra. You are free to use the link or not as you choose.

This is not a sponsored post.