I'm now on my 3rd bottle of this so I thought it was time I featured it on here, considering it's been my go-to high street foundation for many months now! No.7 seems to be quite ignored in the world of beauty, especially among younger consumers but I can tell you that this foundation has definitely been a 'hidden gem' for me. It's so difficult to find a
foundation that suits oily skin without it being too heavy and cakey or too light and dewy but this foundation seems to have got it spot on.
No.7 Beautifully Matte Foundation (£13.50)
As always I'm open to being proved wrong but I do not think that I will ever find a foundation which removes the need for me to use a powder on top without it being really cakey. I don't actually like to look like I've got piles of makeup on so I'll always try and get a shade which is as close to my skin tone as possible and I will only use what I need to cover up imperfections and even out my colour.
My Thoughts: The shade 'Warm Ivory' is perfect for me, it's probably as close to my skin tone as any high street foundation is ever going to get. The formula is thick and creamy and it glides onto my skin, blending effortlessly, offering a full coverage. It evens out my skin tone and covers any imperfections without becoming cakey/patchy and with minimal oxidisation throughout the day. It has pretty good staying power when paired with a powder, although I do find that reapplying through the day can make it feel heavy; I actually prefer to take it all off with a cleansing water and start a fresh.
I've always gone back to MAC Studio Fix if I've run out of everything else but that oxidises so bad and the shade range is quite limited I think; NW15 is too light but NW18 is a tiny bit too dark - I can only wear NW18 when I have a tan. No.7 Beautifully Matte actually comes in 14 different shades which I think is quite a good selection for a high street foundation.
At £13.50 it is a little more expensive than foundation offerings from other high street brands like Rimmel & Maybelline but I do think it blows other mattifying high street foundations out of the water. If you are on a budget and you need a good base to even out your skin and help cover imperfections then I highly recommend trying this. The beauty about No.7 is that in some larger Boots stores they have staff on hand to help you try out the products so that'd be the perfect opportunity to see how this works for you.
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