Physicians Formula The Healthy Foundation SPF 20

At first I didn't like this foundation, it made my oily skin even more oily. I loved the way it looked on application but I was blotting like two hours later. This was using it with Revlon Pore Reducing Primer. How I found it to work for me is using a mattifying primer (Rimmel Stay Matte). This really helps keep the oilness at bay. Now I love it and find myself reaching after it more often. It really does have a medium-full coverage and is easily buildable. I use one layer over my entire face and put a 2nd layer on my age spots to cover them up. I highly recommend this to those who have normal to dry skin, if your skin is oily you will need a matte primer underneath.

I think this is a pretty good foundation. It comes with a doe foot applicator, which is nice. It also has shades that match to warm, neutral, and cool undertones. The only downside is that I am between the light and medium shade, but medium is way too dark for me.

It's got an interesting smell to it, but it fades quickly.

Easy to blend, doesn't appear to oxidize terribly on me, but I do notice that I am a little "pinker" than before.

It's more on the expensive side.

On the fence on this one...the shade I have is in MW2. I guess the one thing that stands out to me is the smell - it smells like chemicals, but the scent doesn't last once blended. Another thing that stands out to me is that it has spf 20. granted it sheers out when you blend it in and therefore, affects level of sun protection (you should be wearing sunscreen underneath regardless) it is a good option to have as a day time foundation. Lastly, the doe foot applicator stands out to me as well as it is my first foundation that has it. I dont mind it although it is technically unsanitary, but I like how it's not wasteful either.. overall, I find that it works better with a water based primer, a setting powder, setting spray and finishing spray but after the 6 to 7 mark it kinda looks cakey/sits on top of skin in certain areas of my face (dry areas) and throughout the day I do have to blot my nose (I have sensitive/combo skin). I do not mind blotting my nose throughout the day though and I still have to try out and see if a refreshing spray like MAC's fix+ would help with the cakiness towards the end of the day. Overall, an interesting foundation that I do not love nor hate but I am currently enjoying the journey of how I can make it work. Will update.

This foundation is a good shade but could be lighter. I still feel like the lightest shade isn't pale enough. It has a good satin finish to it, but doesn't last long enough. Medium coverage. The smell is absolutely horrible like hairspray and the bottle is extremely bulky & heavy! I dislike the applicator too; very unsanitary! Plus the silver colored top comes apart from the inner part which is really annoying.

I am on my second bottle of this! I absolutely love this ! It makes my skin look sooo gooood. I love how it comes in my shade too!

Honey, please take this seriously. I have seen youtubers do it amd i was like AH would never happen to me! But nopi broke the damn cover. You know the hype you have when you get a new foundation and you are about to try it out? Like Christmas you destroy the wrapper as of all the hatred you kept inside all year could only sneak out before a moment a extreme joy to even thing out. So yeah i broke it. It’s a cones le like twistcap in a rectangular shape, SO CONFUSING there was no way NOT to break it. That’s what i tell myself anyway.

However let me begin with the shade range. Pretty impressive and they even have samplers .. I have been wondering what the color of their CC cream was for years but here were are, times of change. So you are a yellow undertoned human being? Sorry but you won’t find a match. Neutral? Unless you are more on the pink side it will be hard. I tried them all, went to sunlight, came back and forth like a crazy shoplifter that was shameless. They were all pinkish. I ended up with LW2 because i was motivated this was going to work because there is a foundation fairy sprinkling the right undertones to every believers « not quite right » products. I am planning on givin her a call because she has been skipping my house for a while now.

However consistency is really good, coverage is medium to full and you do have a SPF which makes it alots easier in your skincare routine ( you should always apply you sunscreen anyhow but theres so much one can put on their face sue me )

You have alot of product in the bottle. Tends to stay there as well . I like to have a lake on foundation on my hand and use the amount i need then clean the rest off. With this wand its like eating chips with chopsticks .

For those of you who don’t have light olive undertones well i am jealous because that would have been a favorite one for me! I do recommend.

BTW dont you dare go buy this full price, it’s 40% off twice a month at shoppers xox

It's been a very long time since I named a foundation HG! I'm so excited to brag about this one. I'm not purposely picky about foundations. I have a lovely combination of having aging skin (40 years old) with fine lines around my eyes and eye bags/circles and crepey eye skin. But I also have extremely oily skin and clog prone as well. I want the skin like finish and the anti-aging skincare ingredients but I also need a foundation that will not become an oily emollient mess either and can last all day long. Very few foundations can pass this test! I will say that I'm highly impressed with the overall performance of this foundation. I only found two flaws with this foundation but nothing too problematic that I won't repurchase.

First I will discuss the benefits:

Shades: PF is finally in the new age with shades that will accommodate warmer and darker skin tones. I'm shocked to find out that PF has two darker shades after my shade in this foundation. Such a major accomplishment for this company. For reference, I'm NC40/42 and my shade is Medium #4 which is the darkest medium shade. To gauge in the shade depth, if you're darker than NC42, there are two darker shades offered in the "deep" category.

Finish: The finish is my favorite finish which is a matte with a skin like illuminating effect. This is much like the old discontinued Chanel matlumiere. You get such a soft focus effect from this foundation with a matte base.

Performance 1: In conjunction with a pore matte primer and setting powder, I get all day oil control. Even working on my car and weights at the gym, I only got very minimal oil coming through.

Performance 2: This foundation starts off very wet (not runny though) so it gives plenty of time to blend before it starts to dry down. I love this because my favorite application method is using a beauty sponge and it takes seconds to evenly cover the face allowing you time to pounce the sponge around before it dries.

Performance 3: This foundation does not oxidize on me and stays true to color all day.

Performance 4: This foundation does not transfer! It also doesn't travel or melt off and vanish in spots. No touch ups needed!

Now for the two cons.

Packaging: Granted, the bottle itself is gorgeous and heavy. It resembles a lot like Dior's foundation bottles. However, the cap is the issue! The cap is a screw top and there is a gigantic doe foot lip gloss type applicator attached to the cap! There is no way to get every last bit out of the bottle with such a silly contraption and no pump. The doe foot application is just gimmicky and annoying and probably cost more for PF than to just slap a pump on the bottle.

Fragrance: The smell of this foundation is very chemical based and strong. It also takes a good six hours for it to finally die down. It's so strong that it will compete with any other scent you have on such as perfume or hair products. yuck.

Overall, I do love this foundation. It has outstanding performance for a very affordable price. Retails for $12.99. Found at CVS and Target.

SELECTED SHADE: MW2 (NC37 for reference)
SKIN TYPE: combination
METHOD OF APPLICATION: sponge

PROS

- soft matte finish
- light to medium coverage
- natural looking
- lightweight
- easy to blend

CONS

- packaging
- oxidizes

COMMENTS: This is a good foundation if you’re looking for something natural, which I’m all for. I can’t feel this on my face at all. I love the soft matte finish. I didn’t find this drying whatsoever. The coverage is medium at best. It kind of has the effect that the UD One and Done has on me, except this one wears better. I wish it came with a pump, but I’m happy with the product nonetheless.

Will repurchase.

I really like this foundation - I almost love it. I was hoping it would be a more affordable alternative to my beloved Dior Forever foundation, but it is not. It is close in many respects and so, I would likely repurchase, but it will not replace my Dior. The packaging looks lovely and well made, though it is too heavy and a bit too large, in my opinion (read: think of travel), but the doe-foot applicator inside is so poorly thought out... where is the pump?!?! Ahhhh- this could have been so much better (& hygienic)! The scent... terrible. Overwhelmingly chemical... exceptionally off-putting. Ok, thsee complaints aside, the foundation is lovely - especially for a pharmacy brand. It blends well, applies well, covers well, feels light and comfortable, the shade is a great match for me (LW2... so great to see a warm/neutral fair skin foundation at the pharmacy, as the fair shades are often too dark and pink toned...and there are lighter shades for those even fairer than I!), doesn’t oxidize on my combo skin, wears well... and the finish is so nice - quite similar to Dior Forever (but just not quite as beautiful). The only caveat is that it is unforgiving with dry patches... I must exfoliate really well prior to wearing this foundation, otherwise, it highlights my dry patches and makes them drier. I think it is due to the husky tonic acid in the formula, which (sadly) doesn’t work well with my skin in my dry winter environment (as it pulls moisture from my skin rather than from he air into my skin).

So close to holy grail status...and yet not quite.

First lets get the negatives of this foundation out of the way. Is it drying? Yes it can be, depending on how dry your skin is and how much you put on. Does it oxidize? Yes on some people. Does it smell? Yes. It does not have added fragrance so it smells a little like paint, like that wet and wild foundation but not quite as strong.

Now on to my personal experience as I've been wearing this foundation everyday for a week. I have mature skin that leans to the dry side and I prefer light to medium coverage. I applied this foundation over various types of primers and always with a damp sponge blender. I only apply 1 layer and then build it up just ever so slightly in a couple of areas. This foundation goes on so light and so skin-like that when I'm applying it looks like there is nothing there. The first day I applied it I was like "what is this crap? it just disappears" and it's true When I'm applying and looking at myself very close up in the mirror, it doesn't look like there is any product on my skin. It just looks like bare skin but there is something remarkable about this foundation that is hard to describe. When I back away from the mirror just a little and take a look there is no redness to my face, my color is even and my skin is just sooo pretty. It's like my face is glowing, but in a way I can't quite explain. It's not glowing like it's shiny or like I'm covered in the sheen of a highlighter or like I'm oily. It's a glow that is just so naturally healthy looking and I actually usually steer away from products that claim radiance or glowiness because I don't find them flattering on my mature skin as they tend to highlight lines and creases. Physicians formula describes this as a brightening foundation and I guess that's a good way to put it. My face looks so fresh and bright and youthful.

I do find it gets kind of dry looking after about 5 hours of wear but since I apply with a sponge and I only use 1 layer all over I find it's not too bad. I have discovered that if I give my face a light mist of setting spray or primer water and then lightly dab it in with a beauty blender that it freshens right up and loses that dry look. I have also found that if I use a setting powder it instantly changes the look from extremely natural and fresh to more dry and make up like. Most people should not need a setting powder with this. I see a lot of people saying it's a matte foundation. I don't think I would describe it as matte because it has that lit from within look but it's definitely not tacky or luminous either. To me it looks satin like but when I touch my face it feels totally dry and invisible. not sticky or dewy. I only use a tiny bit of very fine setting powder where I put my concealer. I have also heard some people report that this foundation oxidizes horribly. On me it oxidizes a little. Luckily I accidentally chose a shade (MN3) that was a tad too light and too cool for my complexion so I'm not too bothered by a little oxidization.

I would say if you are a person who likes light or medium coverage and your skin is not too terribly dry that you will most likely enjoy this foundation as much as I do. If you have very dry skin and you like a lot of coverage you will probably detest this foundation. The videos I have seen of people complaining about dryness the most all applied 2 or more entire layers of this foundation with a brush! That is going to be very drying on someone who already has dry skin. I don't think it's possible for this foundation to be built up to full coverage even a strong medium coverage is going to be hard to achieve without making it dry and cakey but the light coverage is so pretty that I just don't feel like I have to add more. This foundation gives me some sort of youthful looking glow that I have never experienced with any other foundation. It is hands down the best drugstore foundation I have ever used and it's giving my high end foundation a run for their money too. I am so impressed and will definitely repurchase.