Thursday, February 17, 2011

Review: Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet +

Over Christmas, I went a bit crazy and bought all three of the Make Up For Ever liquid foundations. I heard great things about them and because I am greedy and foundation obsessed, I bought all three (not at the same time mind you). I have reviewed the MUFE Face and Body previously and loved it, and today I will review the Mat Velvet + foundation. This foundation is liked by many people, however more for those with oily skin. I have dry skin and kept hearing warnings not to get this, but I am curious person and I had to try it out for myself. The girls at Sephora were not recommending this on my skin either. If you have dry skin you should opt for foundations that offer a dewy finish, have light-reflecting properties and are gentle and light on the skin. So are the claims true that this is not really for those with dry skin?


MUFE Mat Velvet is described as "evens and matifies the skin tone, its amino acid coated pigments provide both stability and durability to the makeup. The formula, rich in wheat amidon complex, covers imperfections, neutralizes the shiny areas, and leaves a velvet finish. After the silicon evaporation, its oil-free textures leaves a non-greasy and comfortable finish". This is recommended for normal, combination, and oily skin types, dermatologist and sensitive skin tested, non comedogenic. It retails for $34 US/$39 CAD at Sephora. It comes in a plastic lightweight packaging, much like Clinique's foundation does, with a squeeze applicator (I like this packaging). I have it in the shade #20, which is "light with beige undertones". If you want to see more swatches of this foundation click here, and here (goes to Karlasugar's site).

This foundation provides very good coverage, yet creamy and light feel for the coverage that it gives, if that makes sense. I am used to more lighter/waterier feeling foundation, so this took some time to get used to and I am still not totally happy with how I apply it (tried fingers and flat tops). Let me know how you apply this in the comments please. This doesn't have enough slip to it as I would like in a foundation (since it is matte). Those are fresh cat scratches on my hand.

Here it is blended out a bit, you can tell a little goes a long way (I poured out too much), and it covers very nicely. This is a very pigmented and opaque foundation, if you are looking to cover a lot, this is a good one. Although this is thick and mattifying it does not give me a mask-like face, if I am careful on how much I apply. It's very adjustable, you can use a little or a lot to get the effect that you want. As for how it feels on my dry skin, with a good moisturizer and primer I feel like I can make this work, I just wouldn't recommend wearing it everyday (I alternate my foundations) because it will dry out your skin even more. This is a medium-full coverage foundation and I would suggest definitely adding a bronzer, blush or highlighter to give some life back in the face. For the winter when my skin is extra dry, it's not my ideal as it feels waaay too drying, I think I would use this more in the summer, when my skin has more moisture. If you looking for something with comparable coverage and have dry skin, I would recommend the Lancome Teint Idole instead.

For those with oily or combination skin I think this would definitely sit better on the skin because it does tend to set quickly and is long-wearing and resistant. I have to wash my face very thoroughly when I wear this, because only using wet wipes I can see myself taking it off over and over again and it's still there. So for oily skin, I think it's heaven-sent, for dry skin you gotta work, I've been mixing mine with moisturizer to sheer it out and give it more slip. This foundation also did not blend very well for me, probably due to my dry skin, where you put it is basically where it stays. It seems more work than it should for me.

And here is my MUFE foundation collection, they are all great and totally different with varying textures and coverage, so I like having them all for different reasons. For my dry skin, I like the Face and Body the best hands down, it feels like skin and feels comfortable, the HD offers good coverage and the Mat Velvet gives the most coverage.

As you can tell the swatches differ A LOT, so you need to go in and get colour-matched for this foundation. You can tell the MUFE Face and Body in 20 is very yellow and darker than the rest, but because the coverage of it is light it evens out fine on my skin. The HD in 117 is more yellow toned than the Mat Velvet in 20, which is more slightly more pinky. The Mat Velvet is the closest match to my skin I think.

While I wouldn't recommend Mat Velvet + for those with dry skin. if you are willing to work with it, it is do-able. I will reserve this foundation for use in the summer, as right now it is a bit too much for me, I much prefer the F&B and I will review the HD soon, still working out that one too.

Have you tried MUFE Mat Velvet? If you have dry skin, please let me know how it worked for you!

13 comments:

wimbly11 said... Best Blogger Tips

I have super dry skin too. Especially in the winter. All around my mouth and chin area is dry. I've been breaking out there as well, so I was using Clinique Acne moisturizer, and the BP totally dried me out more. I'm on the hunt for a great foundation. I was using Clinique Superbalanced, but I found it wasn't enough coverage. Do you think the Lancome Teint Idole would work well for sensitive/dry skin? I've heard the Lancome photo finish (name something like that?) is suppsoed to be good for dry skin as well. That perfect foundation must be out there somewhere. Right now I'm just using the Maybelline 24 Hour one which the lady at SDM recommended, but I don't find it does much for moisture.

Miss A said... Best Blogger Tips

Ooh I want this foundation - great review. Unfortunately I don't think it's on sale in the UK :(

x

Anonymous said... Best Blogger Tips

I have this foundation also and tried it with my fingers and flat foundation brush. I just ordered the sigma F80 flat top kabuki brush and it blends like a dream!

Cydonian said... Best Blogger Tips

Have I ever mentioned that I love your reviews? Hey, I love your reviews... lol. No really, they are totally helpful. I have HD and like it, was curious about Face&Body but think I will pass on Mat Velvet! My skin is dry enough haha!

KayKay said... Best Blogger Tips

thanks for the review. i love reading yours because I have dry skin as well and can relate. i have been wanting this foundation but i think ill wait till summer as well

Kristie said... Best Blogger Tips

Great post. I have tried this foundation as well but when I had dry skin. It was terrible and flakey. However, I think if I tried it again now, it might not be as bad where my skin is normal/combination.

Tiffany said... Best Blogger Tips

Ooo..great review! I really wanted to try this a few months ago but was put off when the Sephora SA told me she'd only recommend it for people with REALLY oily skin, and it made me question if my skin was oily or REALLy oily. I still don't know but I think I might get a sample next time I'm there :)

Farah said... Best Blogger Tips

Great post! I have some of the MUFE Face and Body foundations in my kit and like them. Great for those who dont need a lot of coverage and for underwater shoots ;) lol

Justine (Productrater) said... Best Blogger Tips

@Farah - face and body is one of the best foundation I've used, I love that stuff, weird texture but I get compliments whenever I wear it.

Jenarcissist @ the closet narcissist said... Best Blogger Tips

I LOVE Mat Velvet! I did my own makeup for my wedding, and that's the foundation I wore. When I first put it on, my blog cohort (KameraWhore) said, "What is that?! It covers EVERYthing!" I don't wear an expensive foundation every single day, but I definitely wear this when I need my makeup to last more or have better coverage...or some days when I'm just in the mood. It's really great. :)

the narcissists' diary / the closet narcissist

Lisa said... Best Blogger Tips

Thanks for the review, I think I might give this a try when it gets closer to summer, I have a few foundations that I would like to use up before.

♥ J said... Best Blogger Tips

I have dry skin too, but I just received my Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet + foundation yesterday (from Sephora F&F) +_+ I also heard good things about it, I will give it a try, if still too dry for my dry skin, I maybe will try to use it in summer +_+!!! Love your review!

Justine (Productrater) said... Best Blogger Tips

@cotton candy - Now that I go back on this review, I do find this product to be too drying since I've been using much more dewy foundation lately, those work better. Thanks for the comment!