Sephora Hydrating & Smoothing Foundation

Hi everyone!

Ok so this post is about a product that I actually DO NOT like at all and it's the Sephora Hydrating & Smoothing Foundation.

Left: D25
Right: R30

If you know me and if you follow my personal Twitter and Instagram accounts, you will know that I have an obsession with Sephora France, because it's the only Sephora site that delivers to the UK and it's the easiest way for me to stock up on MAKEUP FOREVER products!

A few months ago, Sephora had a HUUUGE sale, so I decided to purchase a few things from the sale (as well as my usual Makeup Forever items). I was in need of more foundation, and I found this was on sale for 5euros (originally maybe 20euros or something...) so I thought "why not?!". I bought two of them in different shades, one normal one and another slightly darker one for when (if) I tan, and I was quite excited; the main reason was because it claimed to be "moisturizing, hydrating and smoothing" and I have quite dryish skin, so I thought that this foundation would be perfect for my skin type.

Left: Lighter shade
Right: Darker shade

When I received the package, I tried the lighter shade first. I was a bit disappointed because it didn't match my skintone perfectly; it was slightly too dark still, but I thought it wasn't THAT noticeable as I can just blend it down my neck further. I started to like it because it gave a nice coverage but didn't feel too heavy (I was using my fingers to test it out at first). However, after a few minutes, I looked at the foundation on my hand and realized it had started to dry up before I could even apply it to my face, and it looked like it was peeling off my hand! I thought it was because I didn't shake it enough or something... so I wiped it off and put more on instead and tried blending it onto my face using MAC's 130 brush. BIG mistake! The more I blended, the more it seemed to flake off my face! I didn't understand why! Then after a few attempts, I realized that it has to be applied very lightly, quickly and with a big duo fibre brush (I used the F50 brush by Sigma, available from HERE) all over the face in order to stop anything flaking off while also being careful not to blend too much! (Weird, I know...!!)

Another thing I noticed was, while wearing it throughout the day, any water or perspiration on my face automatically made the foundation "clump" and slide off, even when I applied Smashbox's primer AND powdered my face with any kind of powder (I tried Clinique's loose powder, MAC Mineralise Skinfinish, MAC Studio Fix foundation powder, MAC Prep & Prime Translucent powder...). Even MAC's FIX+ didn't help it! 

So overall, I was super disappointed with this foundation, even though I really wanted to like it, as it gave a really nice coverage! I still didn't test out the darker foundation, so I'm not sure if this will happen to all of the foundations, or it could just be the fact that I purchased from a bad batch!

I wouldn't recommend this foundation (unless you're the kind of person that doesn't EVER sweat or get hot, and if you live somewhere where it never rains but isn't hot/humid!! OR if you just want a foundation to wear at home then this will work for you!) but I have heard and read reviews from people that actually REALLY like this foundation a lot, which is why I'm thinking it might just be a bad batch that I unfortunately got stuck with... :(

... maybe that's why it was on sale...?!

Sephora foundation is available internationally in Sephora stores and online, or through HERE if you live in UK or Europe.