review: elf flawless finish foundation

elf makeup takes me back. It was one of the first cosmetic brands I played around with in the earlier days of the creation of beauty is art. The reason for this was fairly simple: YouTube. Most of the beauty gurus I watched (like emilynoel83 and The Makeup Chair) raved about everything from the elf eyeshadow primer to their affordable eyeshadow palettes. For someone just getting into makeup - with a limited budget - elf products were the obvious choice. If you're interested in checking out some of those older reviews, you can do so here and here. Today, I wanted to get in touch with my makeup roots by reviewing something I have heard about time and time again: the elf Flawless Finish Foundation.

e.l.f. Flawless Finish Foundation (Review)

Recently, a full wall display of elf products went up at my local drugstore. I have to admit, I was intrigued. It had been a while! Were the products better than before? Worse? The same? They were certainly a whole lot more expensive than they used to be. Gone were the days of $1 and $2 items. Despite that, I decided to try out the Flawless Finish foundation, for about $8 CDN. This is a fairly standard price tag for a drugstore foundation so it seemed like it would be worth trying. Especially since my all-time favourite foundation (the Rimmel Clean Finish) was discontinued last year. I have been on the hunt for a fabulous replacement and have tried out several types from a variety of brands. So far? Mixed results. Perhaps, elf would be the brand that would end the search. 

On that note, let's dig into this foundation review. For starters, there is the packaging to consider. I have to say it was impressive. The cap is a simple black matte plastic and the bottle itself is frosted glass. Then when you take off the cap, there is a nice (and easy to use) black pump. This is a detail far too many drugstore foundations skip out on. That in itself made the Flawless Finish look more expensive...which is great! Another plus is the shade range. There were a ton of different foundation colours to choose from, ranging from very fair to medium to dark. The fact that each bottle also included information about the undertone of each shade was especially useful. This made it super simple to find the perfect shade match. 

Though there are quite a few positives (like the packaging, shade range, and easy to understand undertones) there are also some not-so-fabulous aspects to consider. For me, that is the way it applies and sets on the skin. In terms of application, this takes quite a lot of product to fully cover the face. It also tends to look very obvious on the skin. No matter how much I prepare my skin with moisturizers, primers, and all the rest, it always looks very obvious that I am wearing the foundation. It doesn't end there. This foundation fails to actually set into my skin. Even after using powders and setting sprays....it moves so easily. For instance, recently I applied it before going to see a movie. About an hour or so later, my finger very gently brushed against my face by accident. It looked like I had taken a makeup wipe to my skin. The foundation was gone. As someone with dry skin, this is not something I am used to. 

I wish the list of cons ended there! This foundation also has quite a strong scent to it, almost like baby powder and perfume mixed together. If you are someone that doesn't like your makeup to smell? Skip this. The scent is noticeable both during application and wear time. Overall, there are some reasons to love this foundation line and just as many to be on the fence. Though I can appreciate that so many people love the elf Flawless Finish Foundation, this is a miss for me. I would not repurchase. 

Rating: 1.5 / 5 

elf has a lot of really fabulous products and a few that miss the mark. This is one that missed the mark for me. While I certainly appreciate the clearly labelled undertones and the bottle itself...this product just doesn't work on my skin. Please let me know in the comment section below if you have tried this foundation and what your experience was like. I would love to hear from you!

Are you a fan of elf products? Have you tried this foundation?