Make Up For Ever Ultra HD liquid foundation, my review

A foundation with an invisible coverage, compatible with 4K technology, this is the claim of the new foundation by Make Up For Ever, the Ultra HD.

I am a big fan of the brand’s base products. I have used many of them for several years now and I have always been very happy with them. However, I had never tested the old HD version (launched in 2008) but when I saw the video of Wayne Goss about the new Ultra HD foundation, shot especially in 4K, I got very excited.

The product was launched exclusively on Sephora.fr in July, so I ordered a bottle to test it.

I tried it and… well, I was not impressed. My skin was certainly very radiant with this foundation but after a few hours (2-3 hours), it became way too shiny. I told myself that well, maybe testing this during very hot and sweaty summer in Dubai was not necessarily the best idea.
So I took it with me during my holidays in France to try it again in more “normal” temperatures (normal for me in any case ;) ). And unfortunately, it didn’t change anything, I was still looking like a disco ball after 3 hours and the lasting power was also not so great…

In the meantime, I received an invitation from Make Up For Ever to witness the launch of the Ultra HD foundation here in Dubai. The product will soon be available here at Sephora (on October the 1st) and the brand had organised a beautiful event to introduce the Ultra HD.
I put a lot of small videos and photos of the event on Snapchat (if you want to follow me, just add me at bonniegarner smile ) and Instagram.

During this event, I had the privilege to meet Dany Sanz, the brilliant founder of the brand Make Up For Ever and I was able to ask her more specific questions about this new product. By the way, I really appreciated chatting with her; she’s super simple, funny and accessible.
In short, a highly interesting and informative exchange!

So, Dany gave me tips on how to optimize the use of this foundation on my skin. Well, after that, she told me in confidence that the Mat Velvet + could be a great match for my skin type (already have it, love it), and that it also works very well with cameras. The fact that she speaks so frankly was totally refreshing! smile

So I started everything again from scratch and here is my review and my conclusions:

Make Up For Ever Ultra HD liquid foundation, presentation:

What the brand is saying about it:

Make Up For Ever Ultra HD liquid foundation, my test and thoughts:

– Innovation and formula: 

The technology of 4K cameras has existed for several years in the movie industry and soon the first smartphones equipped with 4K cameras will arrive.
Make Up For Ever has chosen to improve the formula of its HD foundation (released in 2008) to relase an Ultra HD version. In the era of social media like Instagram and Snapchat, the brand bets on technological innovation.

Formula wise, this foundation contains soft-focus pigments that will bring a blurring effect and also unify the skin texture, a Chinese berry to brighten the complexion and some silicone elastomers to smooth irregularities (wrinkles, fine lines, small scars etc.).

– Color range:

Make Up For Ever offers 40 different shades for its Ultra HD foundation. Impressive!

To create these 40 colors, the brand has worked with Sephora (also part of the LVMH group, like Make Up For Ever). Using data collected worldwide via the diagnostic Pantone Color Profile tool, the teams had a very precise idea of ​​the different skin tones they could use to create the different shades of this foundation.

These shades are divided into two big categories: the colors with a yellow undertone (the name of the color begins with the letter Y, as Yellow) and those with pink undertones (these begin with the letter R, as Red).
Each of these colors will replace the old and complete the range of HD foundations.
To help you, here are the equivalences with the old HD color range:

107 = R240
110 = R220
115 = R230
117 = Y225
118 = Y325
120 = Y245 (my winter shade)
123 = Y365
125 = Y315 (my summer shade)
127 = Y335
128 = R415
130 = R330
135 = R300
140 = Y305
145 = R360
153 = Y405
155 = R370
160 = R410
165 = R420
170 = Y435
173 = Y445
175 = R510
177 – T505
178 = Y535
180 = R530

The shades 150 and 185 have been discontinued. And there are also 16 brand new colors that complete the range.

I don’t know if it helps you to choose your color, but I’m usually MAC NC20 in winter and NC25 in summer.

– Packaging:

The bottle is luxurious, but still very convenient as it’s a plastic container, which I quite like with my legendary clumsiness.

Small detail that I greatly appreciate: it has a pump! (Can you hear that, Estée Lauder Double Wear, a PUMP! It’s really convenient, you should try it! wink )

– Application:

With a claim of being an imperceptible foundation, I suspected that the method of application had some kind of imlportance… The brand recommends an application with your finger tips or a foundation brush (the 108 Large Brush Foundation by MUFE is even recommended).

I have tried many different ways to apply to have the better result. Here are my conclusions after several tries.

• – Application with my finger tips: I quite like it because you can really melt and blend the product into the skin and the result is rather natural and homogeneous (well, I must admit though that the only thing that bothers me with this method, is to get my hands dirty ;P )

• – Application with a brush: I first tried to use my buffer brush (my favorite, the 104 by ZOEVA) and I hated it. I felt that with this method, the foundation emphasizes all my flaws when it’s supposed to blur them… Not really conclusive! So I forced myself to try to apply it with the 108 foundation brush Make Up For Ever gave me (I’m not a fan of flat foundation brushes). And what a revelation! This brush is perfect to apply this foundation! It allows me to completely blend the product in the skin without a trace because it’s dense and rather “thick” for a flat brush. I really like it!

• – Application with a Beauty Blender: I love using the Beauty Blender to apply my foundation. No exception here, the finish is very natural with this tool and it’s very easy to blend the product with the skin. I use it wet for a more natural finish. However, this sponge tends to absorb the product a little bit, you just need to use a little more than for the other application methods (about 1 /2 to 1 pump more).

– Pigmentation and coverage:

The brand describes it as a product with a medium but buildable coverage. I would rather call it light to medium coverage but it’s true that you can easily add more product to increase the coverage.
In general, depending on the desired coverage, I use between 2 to 4 pumps.

I don’t have a beautiful skin at the moment; I still have some issues due to my hormonal acne. It’s starting to get better but I still have a lot of scars I need to correct. For that, I often use the Make Up For Ever Full Cover corrector because I love its fine texture, its very good coverage and its ultra long-lasting power (it’s waterproof).

Dany Sanz gave me a great tip for an even more invisible finish with this corrector.
She advises to mix it with a little bit of foundation before patting with your finger tip or with a fine brush to apply on the area you want to hide. Mixing the Full Cover with the Ultra HD foundation will add the benefits of the two products: high coverage and soft-focus effect.
I tried it and I like the finish I obtain a lot by using this technique! smile

– Finish:

The brand speaks of a semi-mat finish and a product that is intended for all skin types.

I won’t beat around the bush, I’m not at all convinced that this is the case, unfortunately. For me, this foundation is not suitable for combination to oily skin.
I found it to have more of a satin finish than a semi-mat one and I was tremendously shiny with this foundation. To be precise, I have to touch up with blotting papers or some powder every 2-3 hours if I don’t want to look like a greasy mess…
Personally, I don’t mind to do a touch up late morning or after lunch because with my oily skin, I usually have to do it anyway. But 4 times a day, it’s a little bit too much! uneasy

During the presentation of the product, the brand recommended the use of a primer to prep the skin and increase its lasting power. I tried with the Step 1 Matifying primer I bought a few months ago and that I like a lot (it’s silicone-free, which is rare enough to be outlined). It slows the shine down a little but I still fell very greasy after 3-4 hours.

I tried with the Step 1 Smoothing primer the brand gave me during the presentation, but because the goal here is to fill the pores and smooth out imperfections, it doesn’t really help matifying my skin… sad In addition, the composition is rather silicone heavy, and I’m not a big fan fan (this kind of product doesn’t usually help my acne, so I try to avoid them).

– Lasting power:

So, inevitably, the lasting power is not really satisfying on my skin… And I usually set it with powder (with the MUFE HD loose powder). But it doesn’t change anything.

After a few hours, with the all the shine, the foundation tends to be much more visible and it starts to “move” on the skin. Later in the evening, I had the impression that it also emphasized my pores a lot… uneasy

I guess it has a lot to do with my skin type. But I asked some friends with combination skin, who also use the Ultra HD and they all told me that they weren’t impressed by the lasting power of this foundation either.

Just after the application, the finish is quite nice and it’s true that it gives a very nice glow to the skin and smooth out the imperfections. But on me, 3 hours later, it was already far less pretty and much more greasy…

– Value for Money:

I find the value for money of this product quite correct because I don’t think it’s a bad product anyway. It just doesn’t suit my skin type.

The price of the Ultra HD liquid foundation is $43.

Finally, here are the swatches:

And on me:

I applied the shade Y245 with my Beauty Blender (3 pumps) with a little Step 1 Matifying primer below. I also used my HD loose powder.

• – Just after the application:

• – 3 hours after the application:

We can see in the pictures that the finish is pretty luminous just after the application but rather greasy after a few hours. And the texture of the skin is so much more noticeable.
So yes, just after I applied it, it was pretty and glowy and usually I want to keep my makeup on for more than just 3 hours so yeah, not super convinced… uneasy

In summary:

[wprs-pros][wprs-cons]

Again, I don’t think it’s a bad product but unfortunately it’s not suitable for my oily, prone to acne skin.
(And yes, I’m gutted that it doesn’t fit my skin perfectly BECAUSE THERE’S MY NAME ON IT! *excuse me while I go cry in a corner*)

I think I will definitely try this foundation again in a few weeks, because I started a new treatment for my oily skin. So if it works, my skin may look less like a giant French fry and the finish will probably be different. Fingers crossed!

The Make Up For Ever Ultra HD liquid foundation is available on Sephora.com for $43.

I am very curious to know if some of you with a less oily skin than mine have tried this foundation and what your thoughts are. Please feel free to leave me a comment and share your impressions! smile
(Obviously, people with oily skin can also leave me a comment! ;) )

*: the Ultra HD liquid foundation in the shade Y245, the Step 1 Smoothing primer and the Large Foundation Brush 108 by Make Up For Ever were offered to me by the brand to do the review on the blog.  I purchased the other products mentioned in this post myself.

Photos credits: bonnie-garner.com