Full coverage powder foundations: it’s the challenge that many makeup brands have taken on recently, trying to defy the limitations of powder to offer the lightweight feel but with liquid-like coverage. Ever since the L’Oreal Infallible Powder Foundation went ultra viral, I’ve noticed an uptick in these types of products coming out, though few have actually held a candle… until the elf Camo Powder Foundation.
The new e.l.f. Camo Powder Foundation is $11 and comes in a whopping 30 shades to start… however in stores, you’ll only find about twelve. On the brand’s website you can find the full color range, but at the time of writing this they are all sold out. Womp womp.
This product makes some incredibly lofty claims that I would even be surprised a liquid foundation to uphold! It’s primer-infused and is supposed to deliver medium-to-full buildable coverage with a semi-matte finish. It’s non-comedogenic (great for acne prone skin!) and is supposed to give a blurred, eve, crease-free complexion for all skin types.
I chose to try out the shade Light 280N which, despite being called ‘light’ actually looked slightly dark for me. I also felt that it pulled a little warm, as I have slightly golden undertones. It wasn’t awful when blended down my neck, but wasn’t perfect, and I don’t think going lighter and warmer would be a solution.
Here’s the thing about a lot of these “full coverage” powder foundations: you may be able to build up the coverage to truly full, but then you’re really layering up the product which ends up looking heavy. With this one being no exception, I think it taps out at the high end of medium and low end of full.
Still incredibly impressive, and you can see above how much it evened out my complexion and concealed my acne. I could see subtle discoloration from my darkest acne scars through it, but it was definitely enough coverage for me to feel comfortable. I know it would be the perfect amount if I weren’t experiencing as many breakouts as I am at the moment.
For a powder, this did end up surprising me when it came to wear time. Throughout the day, and even having worn a mask to run errands, the foundation didn’t break down or separate on my face. Some product did transfer to the inside of my mask but you couldn’t see any missing spots or patchiness on my face. The coverage also didn’t fade super noticeably throughout the day.
I have combo skin that gets oily in my T-Zone (particularly my nose) and dryer toward my cheeks. My blemishes in particular are dry and slightly flaky right now due to treatment. I did notice that over my dry areas, the foundation accentuated some texture. While the brand claims this is great for all skin types, I don’t think I would recommend it to someone with dry skin in general. I’m very curious to re-test this in the summer when I’m more oily as I did see some radiance coming through in my T-Zone, though it never looked shiny, per-se.
The other claim I don’t feel it delivered on was being crease-free. I have deeper expression lines and the foundation absolutely left noticeable creases in my laugh lines and the “elevens” at the front of my brows. This isn’t a problem I had with the L’Oreal powder. Knowing that, I would use a pore/line filling primer next time I apply this.
Being a few dollars cheaper, vegan and cruelty free, I do think the e.l.f. Camo Powder Foundation gives L’Oreal a run for its money with very similar performance as far as coverage and wear time. While it may not be the perfect product for everyone, it’s definitely a powerhouse and outperforms powders of the past tenfold!
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