Jun 27, 2012

Review: Almay Clear Complexion Makeup

When it comes to foundation, I hardly ever can say I have found one that I truly love, therefore I have more than I could ever finish. I can always find something that is wrong with a foundation: color, texture, coverage, length of wear, and so on. However, since I made the decision to not buy makeup until September 1, I am now "forcing" myself to use the foundations I have had for a while. One of the foundations I have used quite frequently this month was the Almay Clear Complexion Makeup in the shade Ivory.

What sets this apart from most foundations is that it has salicylic acid in it (0.6% - such a random number). Of course, there are other foundations with salicylic acid, but there just aren't many to choose from (the other two I can think of are by Clinique and Neutrogena). Another thing I noticed about the formula is that it contains aloe and chammomile.

I will say that this has been repackaged - it is now in a round glass bottle and there is a pump! I don't know for sure if the formula is the same or not, so I will do my best to update once I find that out.

Anyway, I have very fair sensitive combination-oily acne-prone skin, which is a pain to work with. If something matches my skin it always either doesn't last as long as I want it to or it breaks my skin out. I also don't need a foundation that promises to last me 24 hours and I don't understand why brands are so insistent on releasing products that last longer than they should even be on the skin. I really just want to be shine free for a good 8 hours. This foundation lasts most of my day without getting shiny or disappearing. I don't know how it wears without powder because I always set my makeup with powder. The good thing is that I don't notice a significant difference no matter what powder I use (and I have tested it with: N.Y.C. Smooth Skin Pressed Powder, Maybelline Fit Me Powder, Maybelline Dream Matte Powder, E.L.F. Complexion Perfection Powder, and Covergirl Clean Powder).

I've used about 1/3 of this foundation. I would actually have more in the bottle if it had a pump (and as I mentioned earlier now it does). I usually apply it with my fingers or a makeup sponge (sometimes a synthetic foundation brush). I've actually layered the foundation before and I can get two thin layers before it looks cakey. It has a natural finish, which is great if you have oily skin but you hate the flat matte look (I like both to be honest).

This foundation does not irritate my skin or break me out. I can't really say whether it actually heals blemishes or not, but I can say that it doesn't accentuate them or irritate my skin.

I think the biggest con to this foundation is that it is only offered in 7 or 8 shades, so if you have dark skin this won't be good for you (of course there's no reason you or I can't write to Almay... I do this with companies all the time and sometimes they listen to customer feedback). I think they could also stand to release at least one lighter shade and about 3-5 darker shades. Somehow Ivory works beautifully with my ultra fair skin, but I can guarantee that I am probably not the palest person in the world.

I believe this goes for about $12-14 at the drugstore so it's a bit pricey when you compare it to other drugstore foundations. I'd also like to mention that usually Almay products don't work for me, so the fact that this does is great (because I was about to lose faith in the brand).

Anyway, if you have skin like mine and you can find a shade that will work for you I definitely recommend this!

Has anyone else tried this? Do you love it or hate it?



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