REVIEW: Clinique Anti Blemish Solutions Liquid Foundation

I introduced this foundation to the blog some time ago in this post, and I've been testing it since... Obviously I was sent this to review as the initial post was a promotional post. This is not a promotional post... just in case anyone was wondering!

The foundation retails at £20 for 30 mls, and is available nationwide, in 8 shades - I recieved the palest (shocker!) 

My trials of Clinique foundations before now have always run into trouble with shade selection - I usually find the palest shades are too pink for me, while the next shade up will often leave me with a delightful orange tidemark if I don't spend about 6 hours blending it down my neck. Which is a pain. This time however the shade is spot on for me - However, given that there are only 8 shades, not everyone will be so lucky! I fear Women of Colour may be disappointed with this as the darkest shade does not look like it would really work for darker skins.

The foundation has a creamy liquid consistency, and has a light "medicated" scent. Some may dislike this, personally, I just thought it was a nice fresh scent, and it faded after application anyway, so it was not a problem for me. 

Clinique describe this as a moderate to full coverage foundation - I'd agree with that to a degree - I'd probably describe this more as a moderate coverage, which is buildable to full coverage. But my idea of a full coverage foundation is something like Illamasqua's Rich Liquid, which puts most other foundations in the shade when it comes to coverage!

I did find though, on days where my skin was a little blotchy, I could build up 2-3 layers to increase the coverage, and get an even look. The foundation blends well, with either a brush or fingers, and does not feel too heavy on the skin. 

Before and After pics anyone?

 Above - Before application...

Above - After Application.

As you can see, the foundation does even out the skin tone nicely... It gives a matte finish, so don't bother if you are looking for a dewy look!

In terms of blemish coverage, this performed well, and did tone down any redness in my skin. I did find that as it has a matte finish, it clung like a magnet to any dry skin - and this would obviously include any areas where blemishes were drying out and healing. This did not cover blemishes completely though - concealer is needed as well, but there is a concealer in the line which is meant to compliment this. 

Also, I should point out, one of my initial queries with this foundation was whether it would dry out my skin, and I am pleased to report that it didn't affect my normal-dry skin in that way. It felt comfortable on the skin, and I was very pleased with how well it wore. I tested this on the London tube, days at work and in a few different types of weather, and it gave me a good 8-10 hours wear consistently. 

Overall, I'm pleasantly impressed with this foundation - while I personally prefer a more dewy finish, I can appreciate that this is a good foundation with decent coverage and very good lasting power. I'd recommend this for people with breakout prone skin and who like a matte finish...