Review: Maybelline Fit Me Foundation

Maybelline's new "Fit Me" foundation was a hugely anticipated foundation for me, once I saw it come out around Christmas in the US I knew that I wanted to try it out. I am foundation-obsessed, I know that I own more foundation than any other makeup product, hands down. This new line, "Fit Me" is designed to assist in helping women find their perfect shade to "fit" them. Once you find your foundation shade, you can match it to the co-ordinating shade in powder, concealer, blush and bronzer. I picked up the foundation, powder and concealer only, the blush and bronzer I would suggest passing on since it looks like they just repackaged it to include it in this line. I will review the foundation today, and the powder and concealer will follow.

Maybelline's foundation tend to be too yellow/pink or too dark for me. So I was really hoping this time that I wouldn't experience any hassles. Surprise Surprise, when I got to the Walmart display (on the first day of the sale) I noticed that 110 (the colour I wanted) was sold out, so I picked up 115 with regret, but really wanted to try this out. Turns out 115 is very PINK TONED. The model in the image background above is wearing 115, it's light, I would say a tad darker than 110, but very pink and since I have redness in my face I always opt for a yellow-toned foundation to neutralize that. I ended up returning 115 and went to another Walmart (at the time Walmart was the only store in Canada selling this, not sure if that has changed) and there was one 110 left, so I snatched it, with the matching powder and concealer too. 110 is very light, but I find this does oxidize throughout the day and can look a bit darker, which ends up being a great match for (I am NC15 for reference).

The packaging, as everyone is saying is nice, it's a sleek glass bottle, BUT it has no pump and this means it can get messy/wasteful etc. Just a little background, there are 18 shades of this foundation, 3 in each level (light 100's, medium 200's and deep 300's). But for myself, 110 was the only shade that would work, it is light enough which surprises me since drugstores usually don't make foundation very light. Also, make sure you turn over the bottle, because on the back label it also has the name of the shade: 110 is "Porcelain", 115 is "Ivory" and so on (2nd image above).

Here is a swatch, the texture is very nice, light yet pretty opaque and not runny at all. Let's talk coverage, this has been compared to NARS Sheer Glow, but the coverage on NARS Sheer Glow is much more, this Maybelline foundation gives light coverage. It feels very light on the skin, like a tinted moisturizer, and blends very well. But the coverage was what disappointed me, I do not feel this is very layerable and it does not cover redness in my face completely.

More than anything I feel this foundation only works for certain skin types, that being dry. This foundation is very hydrating, it does not stick to dry spots and it never really "sets" either, it has that dewy natural look. If you have oily skin, I would suggest totally passing on this one, as it will not last on you very long. I will tell you why, my skin is very dry, but I do what I can (especially in the winter) to make it more "oily" if that makes sense, I load up on moisturizer and recently started using Smashbox's Photo Finish (in green), which gives my skin more "slip" and helps glide on foundation. However, with this product, even on my dry skin, it tended to disappear quickly. I found that eliminating the primer step, it lasted longer, so this is definitely is a dry skin foundation.

And lastly, to show some colour comparisons with my other current foundations. 110 is not as pinky neutral as Dior SkinNude (10 Ivory) or Laura Mercier's Moisturizing Foundation (Blush Ivory). And NARS Sheer Glow (Gobi) is MUCH more yellow than 110.

I like this foundation for my skin, although I do have to work with it. If this gave better coverage I think it would definitely be my favourite drugstore foundation. Maybelline Fit me is marketed as a "fresh, breathing, natural" foundation and I think they have achieved this. Also in the magazine ad it says "Don't Cover Me, Fit Me, flawless that let's the real you come through" and that is definitely true, coverage is meh.

Have you tried this foundation? What did you think?