Veracious Product Review: Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Fluid Foundation

Hi, everyone! It's the weekend- woohoo! I'm especially excited because I'm getting some special visitors tomorrow- my sister, brother-in-law, and my adorable little niece! Cannot wait to host them here in the big city and share some quality family time. I'm sure you'll be seeing some photos soon :)

When it comes to the blogosphere, I've come across countless reviews that have either introduced me to a holy grail product or saved me from splurging on a stinker. Your reviews really make me an informed shopper! That said, there have been times when remaining open and objective have also helped me to stumble across some gems. Upon the release of Make Up For Ever's new Ultra HD Fluid Foundation*, I'd read some mixed reviews. Opinions were generally positive, yet there had been somewhat of a consensus that this wasn't the best option for oily skin. This made me rather hesitant, but when Make Up For Ever, one of my original makeup loves (since the '90s, people!) offered to send some Ultra HD Foundation* my way, I decided to keep an open mind and eagerly said  yes. So, so happy I did! 

The Ultra HD Foundation* comes in Make Up For Ever's typical glossy black packaging with white lettering. The box features a description of the product as well as a full ingredient listing. 

The foundation is housed in a cylindrical sturdy plastic bottle with an ultra handy pump dispenser: 

I'll go into more detail below, but the texture of the foundation is, as the name suggests, quite fluid. Here is a single pump of the foundation on the back of my hand. As you can see, it starts to run when gravity takes over:

So onto the nitty gritty! I'll first let you know what Make Up For Ever has to say about the foundation, then I'll give you my own breakdown! 

Make Up For Ever describes that the new Ultra HD Fluid Foundation* was designed to accommodate the new 4K, beyond sharp, television screens, aiming to be completely undetectable on camera, screen, and in real life.  It promises "medium to buildable coverage with an even lighter weight, second-skin texture that looks just like skin... [It is] long lasting with a natural finish... formulated with hyaluronic spheres to ensure comfortable wear on all skin types" (from makeupforever.com). 

Sounds promising, indeed! Here are my thoughts on the product, after wearing it several times: 

Colour Match-First off, the Ultra HD range offers a totally impressive range of 40 shades- amazing! I selected shade Y225 Marble, which is decidedly yellow-toned and reminiscent of MAC's NC20 offerings. Y225 is definitely more yellow than my natural skin tone and is *ever so slightly* darker than my skin, but when blended in, it matches quite beautifully and evens out the redness in my skin incredibly well! 

Texture-The texture is quite fluid, but is not the most runny/watery I've come across. When pumped onto the hand, it does begin to run quite quickly if the hand is tilted (see above photo).  When applied to the face, it has a noticeably silicone-y texture, yet still feels incredibly lightweight. 

Application- This formula really blends like a dream! Not only does it take minimal effort to blend, but it is also incredibly buildable, as promised. I typically add a second layer of foundation on areas with more redness, breakouts, and I've had no problem with things looking cakey or settling into pores. It also does not highlight any dry or rough patches in my skin. 

Coverage- This foundation truly is buildable! I find that one pump creates a coverage just shy of medium, while two pumps (what I typically use) results in a coverage somewhere between medium and full. With two pumps, only my dark circles and most pesky blemishes/scars show through. 

Finish- "Natural" would be my best description of the finish. It definitely isn't matte, yet I don't find it to be dewy or glowy either. It truly just looks like healthy skin (but better!). 

Wear- This is the area in which I was most pleasantly surprised! Yes, this foundation does tend to let natural oils peek through after about 6-7 hours or so. But, impressively, the break-through oil does not cause the foundation to break up, separate, or get cakey. As such, a quick pass of blotting papers fixes things perfectly! Sometimes I don't even blot, as the shine is far from the most intense I've experienced with other bases. I truly find that I can wear this for a solid 10 hours without the foundation disappearing or otherwise looking unsightly. 

Now here are some photos to demonstrate the Ultra HD Foundation* on my face! Like a bad blogger (forgive me, I was still in the grips of a terrible cold at the time), I completely forgot to take a "before" picture. But hopefully the photos below are still helpful!

Here I am wearing about 1.5 pumps of the foundation. As you can see, it really covers everything except from my dark circles and darkest red marks:  

Wearing 1.5 pumps of Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Foundation in Y225 Marble

And here is the foundation in the context of a completed makeup look, topped with Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light:

And finally, here are shots of me, on the same day, about 9 hours after applying the foundation (without any blotting or powdering in the meantime). As you can see, there is definitely some break-through shine, but the coverage of the foundation is still completely intact. You can ignore the redness around my nose, as that was 100% due to all the nose-blowing I was doing at the time! 

If you couldn't already tell, I am quite smitten with this foundation! The coverage is impressive, yet the finish is totally natural. It isn't the best at oil control, yet still wears quite nicely through a full day of work without breaking up or sliding off the face. It feels incredibly lightweight on the skin and does not seem to irritate my sensitive, acne-prone skin. It's truly great stuff! 

If I've tempted you, you can find Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Fluid Foundation* at Sephora for $50 CAD.

When was the last time you were pleasantly surprised by a product? Have you tried this foundation? Does it sound like your kind of base?

Have an amazing weekend! xo

* This product was sent to me for consideration and review. All expressed opinions are authentic and 100% my own!