I have combination skin and have looked for a liquid foundation for years that actually accomplished what all "matte" foundations claim to do. This product takes the cake for me. I apply it with a brush instead of a sponge, and to me that makes all of the difference. Obviously your skin will not look matte while wearing the makeup if you are working out or sweating intensely during the activity, but the purpose of the makeup is to diminish oil. I only wear foundation during the winter, and this gets the job done.

Like many other reviewers, this looked thick and cakey on me too. I got golden neutral #8. Works great for NC 35. When I got this I also got a sample of their new pore refining solutions makeup and I love love LUV that one. It looks like real skin and hides my pores and imperfections. And it keeps me more matte than stay matte. I got #8 golden neutral in that one too. So I returned the stay matte and exchanged it for pore refining solutions makeup. And I'm so happy I did!

This foundation is what I would call a "eh" product.
it's not horrible, but it's not that great either. It's not super expensive but it's not a cheap product either so I expected a little bit more than most drugstore foundations. However, I wouldn't say it was worth the money I would go for lo'real's true match or revlon's hd foundation instead, which is cheaper.

Pros:
-Matte, good for combination to oily skin
-not sticky when it goes on

Cons:
-Cakey
-Does not have a good coverage compared to the fact that it is cakey
-can be too drying sometimes

Great foundation! I have rosacea and it s a buildable medium to full coverage for me. Doesn't break me out which is exceptional.
it looks natural on the face, even if i set it with a loose powder, so totally not cakey!
I have many other foundations, but i wear this the most because of the great coverage and the lasting power. It stays all day long without doing any touch ups!

Dont like it, its cake!!!! On my face....

I live in the South, where it's hot and humid almost all year round. Which is why, I was very excited to try this product when it first launched. I was matched to the shade Golden Neutral. The color match was pretty good. It didn't oxidize badly on my face, like other Clinique foundations that I've used in the past have. Also, I will say that it does provide a pretty good level of oil control to my face. However, by the end of the day, there is shine that I see in the nose and forehead areas. So, for me, it does not provide all day oil control unfortunately. And, that's the main reason why I purchased it in the first place.

Even though, I don't think that it's a bad foundation, I don't really feel "wowed" by it enough for me to re-purchase it.

This was my very first high-end foundation and I was so excited to use it.
I have to say, it has a great texture and it goes on very smoothly and this foundation didn't break me out at all. The packaging was also very cute.
However, this foundation doesn't stay on my face the entire day like my MakeUp Forever Mat Velvet+. Also, if you don't mind a scent to the foundation then you can consider buying it. It's a great foundation but I wouldn't repurchase because I use my MakeUp Forever one.

Having very very very oily skin in the past i have been skeptical of foundations and whether they're actually oil controlling or not. Each foundation i've tried oil has always triumphed and come through leaving my make up a mess. Massive props to clinique and this foundation , this truly does control oil like no other foundation i've tried and so i'm pretty happy with the product. I put it on at the start of the day and though my make up isn't perfect after 6/8 hours ( what makeup does achieve this though) it has controlled the oil incredibly. Criticisms would be how dark the shades tend to be , I got honey and i find it tends to be on the slightly orange-y side also it is a very sheer coverage ( you're informed of this on the box though so that was my own error) however this foundation is build able and you can achieve a decent coverage by building it up. Use in conjunction with a good powder and you're good to go.

Sob.... I really wanted to love this product. It met all of my standards as far as texture and coverage. BUT (and this is a huge BUT), it oxidized like crazy on me! And that's saying a lot, because the warmer shades ALREADY lean way too orange for my asian, yellow-undertone skin :( The SA matched me with 8.0 Golden Neutral, and it seemed perfect in the store (damn you, deceptive department store lighting!) but as soon as I got home and put it on, I looked like a bad spray-tan victim.

Sigh. Oh, Clinique. When are you going to realize oompa loompas don't exist naturally in the real world?

This was my HG for years until it was discontinued a few years ago. This is the new and improved version but it's not even close to being as good as the original. I tried the lightest shade Linen and could see that as the MA was applying that it was too dark. As the day went on, it oxidized and then to a very peachy/orange color. I looked like an Oompa Loompa in training! #foundationfail