Product Review: No 7 Instant Radiance Foundation in deeply honey

Before attending makeup school I was so into watching makeup gurus on YouTube and I relied only on them to tell me what products I should try. One of my favorites are the Pixiwoo sisters. After watching hundreds of their videos it was only a matter of time before I would inevitably call my family in London to ask them to buy me makeup the Pixiwoo sisters use.

(FYI, one half of the Pixiwoo sisters' name is Nicola. My second name is Nicola. And who said that name wasn't famous?!)

A couple days ago my aunt & uncle arrived from London and I received my wonderful pasalubong. Now, upon graduating from makeup school I realized that some of the things I asked for might not be ideal for professional use. So now I guess my personal makeup stash will welcome a few new members.

One of the things I requested was the No 7 Instant Radiance Foundation. I have really oily skin and choosing an "instant radiance" foundation might not be the most ideal choice. But remember, I made the order before going to makeup school.

This foundation is very liquid and the first time I pumped it out I was surprised because of the quite runny consistency. I had been so used to slightly creamy products coming out of pumps for those were the kind that I had (no malicious pun intended).

The coverage is medium but buildable making the pigmentation quite strong. I used a stippling brush on one side of my face and a foundation brush on the other. The stippling brush gave a sheer coverage while still concealing dots and redness on my face.

product description, ingredients and recommended use

It had a dewy finish that felt matte and I think this is probably the only reason they call it "instant radiance foundation" because apart from that there was no radiance or glow on my face. Truth be told my face looked rather gloomy, even with the dewiness, but I think that's because the shade I had was a bit darker.

It doesn't feel heavy though you can feel that it's there (does that make sense?). After 2 hours of wear my t-zone started to oil up but the rest of my face felt supple but not oily. After blotting I found there was very little foundation left on my nose that you can see the redness. I used with this the collections 2000 concealer and put it under my eyes. 5 hours in, my face was completely oily (this was night time already) however my undereye area where I've put the concealer stayed completely matte with the coverage completely intact.

the pump bottle

The next day I lightened the shade by mixing it with my lighter Revlon Colorstay liquid foundation which had a matte finish. I must say I was really impressed with the combination of the two. The color was a perfect match, the dewiness of the No 7 foundation was lessened and the matte cakey look of the Revlon foundation was also minimized. They worked in perfect harmony complementing each other. However, it was very very noticeable I had foundation on that day. As I was about to leave I asked my brother what he thought of my skin and he had commented that it was flawless but advised me to use less foundation. I had thought he was just so used to seeing me with and without makeup that's why he could tell. But upon asking my mother, she commented the same thing. The foundation was very noticeable meaning it did not melt nicely on my face. It probably just... sat there, I guess.

Overall, the foundation is pretty nice and I think it would be ideal for people with really dry skin or people who live in really cold weather as it is harder to get a dewy effect around those temperatures. The coverage is pretty nice and the smell is fantastic. The foundation was a bit runny but I think that helps over all seeing as you won't have to tug and pull to spread it all over your face. I think this would be ideal for use on nights out where the lighting is kinder and the weather cooler. This would also be great on mature skin because it can give the dewy glow that mature skin lacks. This is a nice foundation that is good to have but I wouldn't cross oceans to repurchase this.

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