Winter is here and it's time for my seasonal foundation switch. Although my skin is oily in the spring and summer, it lacks any kind of glow or moisture in the winter. After scouring the Makeupalley boards, I came across Boots No7 Lifting and Firming Foundation SPF 15, a satin-finish foundation I haven't heard much about in the beauty community.
The reviews seemed promising with 64 reviews at a rating of 4.4 and buyback rate of 84%. I immediately checked out my local Target for this foundation and purchased. Here are my observations.
Boots No7 Lifting and Firming SPF 15 foundation in Blonde
Photoshop was only used to resize and crop pictures. Nothing else was altered because I wanted to show you guys my true results. Blemishes and undereye discoloration remain but are less apparent. Before and afters were both taken indoors by the window in natural light.
The following picture shows the glowy finish of the foundation and was taken in normal, bright indoor lighting with flash, no editing.
Shade: It was trial-and error when I searched for the right shade. I'm in the NC30 range, and I read that many NC30-35 ladies were matched perfectly to "Vanilla." After swatching Vanilla at Target, the color seemed right but the undertone was not as yellow as I had hoped. It was not pink, but more beige than yellow. "Nude" had a wonderful yellow undertone but it was too light for my skin, so I chose the inbetween shade "Blonde," which happened to be a much closer match to my skin than the other two. It definitely has a yellow undertone, but I wish it were just slightly more yellow since my neck always seems more yellow than my face, even with a bare face.
For reference, I wear:
-MAC NC30
-NARS Sheer Glow in Punjab (best color match I've found so far)
-MUFE HD in 127
-Chanel Pro Lumiere in Shell 30
Coverage: Medium, covers flaws and redness but still allows skin to show through. Similar coverage as NARS Sheer Glow, Chanel Pro Lumiere, and MUFE HD. Gives a more polished, clean, glowy look to your real skin. Can be sheered out with damp brush or sponge.
Finish: Definitely satin, but on the dewy side of satin. Not too dewy that my face looks shiny or oily, but it does provide a very nice glow. Looks clean on the face and extremely smooth. No oil control problems here.
Feel: Moisturizing and very smooth, does not dry out my skin or emphasize flakiness, feels light. This product has dimethicone in it, which may explain the velvety feel and finish. Silicones in primers tend to break me out badly, but I have experienced zero breakouts from this foundation. I have not had any bad reactions to the ingredients.
Texture: Not very liquidy or runny. Texture is similar to MUFE HD. I find that this blends better with a brush than with fingers.
Packaging: I am blown away by the quality of the packaging. It comes in a heavy-feeling glass bottle and includes a pump! Really sophisticated packaging.. reminds me of Chanel foundations. The only thing I don't like it that you need to put quite a bit of pressure on the cap to take it off or put it back on.
Price: $14.99 for a 1 oz. bottle
Rating: A
Overall: I would have to agree with many of the Makeupalley reviews in that Boots L&F is a department store quality foundation at a drugstore price. It looks and feels wonderful on my skin and doesn't feel caked on or thick. It feels like soft, smooth skin. I would say that overall, this foundation is extremely comparable to Chanel Prolumiere, another one of my favorites, except that it has much better oil control. My skin appears satiny, glowy, and fresh. I would recommend you check out your local Target (especially all you ladies out there with yellow undertones!) and see if they have any testers like mine did. Some locations do and some don't. I am happy to confirm that this is a new winter favorite and will be a new part of my foundation rotation. I am interested in seeing how this foundation holds up in warmer weather. Will keep you posted!
You can find more information on the Target and Boots websites. Check MakeupAlley reviews here.
On a side note... My blog feels neglected. My last post was in June! Lol. I'm back at home for winter break at the moment, and I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to revisit my blog. I look forward to catching up on all your posts!
Wow your skin looks soo good. Loving the eyebrows too =). I miss your posts too.
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