Mally Beauty Ultimate Performance Full Coverage Foundation in Medium

Hello, Beautiful!

I was really excited to receive Mally's Ultimate Performance Full Coverage Foundation (which I picked up in the Medium shade). This is a cream foundation that comes with its own sponge (which is really nice, but has it's set backs - which I'll explain later in this post).

The before & after photos/live demo on QVC really sold me. There was one model with serious sun damage, who after using this foundation looked nearly flawless. I have a lot of flaws to cover and not only want a full coverage foundation, but need a full coverage foundation. I wanted this to be "the one", but I'm still not sure if it is.

As soon as this arrived in the mail I immediately tried it out. Since it had been on the postal truck for hours in the heat it was really warmed up. It practically melted into my skin, which was nice because it looked so natural and flawless. I was instantly impressed!

All was good and I was extremely happy. I went onto QVC and wrote a very positive review on this, saying how it changed my life (because the coverage was amazing and it looked so flawless).

BUT then I tried it out for a second time. By that time the foundation had adjusted back to normal temperature. It certainly didn't melt into my skin like it did at first (which I expected). I swirled the sponge in the compact to warm it up, which helped a lot. It did go on easily and blending wasn't a problem. However, it kind of just sat on my skin instead of melting in. It helped if I pressed the sponge into my skin, stippling it on, but it still didn't look all that natural.

[I should mention that I apply my makeup in front of a window during bright day light. I figure if my makeup looks good in natural sun light it will look good in any other light (which is usually true). Natural sun light shows so much more... you really could look great in indoor lighting but go into natural sun light and look like a train wreck.]

So keeping in mind that I apply my makeup in direct sun light, I found it hard to make this look natural. That was really disappointing. But in regular indoor lighting this foundation looks good... it looks great actually.

Below is a photo of me before using this foundation (no makeup on) and after using this foundation.
This photo is taken in front of the window where I apply my makeup. It gives the most truth to the level of coverage this foundation has, as direct sun light shows the most flaws. I did use flash on the camera (since I had no lights on in my closet). In the "after" picture the color tones are a little warmer than in the "before", but you'll still get a good look at the coverage level (which I'll explain more of after the pics). I'm wearing nothing but the foundation - no concealer at all. Just the foundation.

Keep in mind my flaws are MAJOR... you've been warned...

Ugh, I can't believe I just showed you that before photo! I know, I know.. my face looks like a teenager who is having bad acne. But the truth is I'm going on 27 and that's adult acne caused by my health issues (which include a major hormone imbalance). Now that you've seen my ugly mug of a face and how awful my skin flaws are (that I always talk about but haven't had the guts to show until now), lets get back to the review...

For a full coverage foundation I have to say that it's not really all that full coverage. Mally says that in her description, saying "I wanted a full coverage foundation but not too full coverage - you still need to see the skin" (or something like that - I don't have the description in front of me to directly quote from). But still I expected a little more covearge than this. You can still see a lot of my flaws - especially up close. If you don't have as many flaws as I do then this foundation may cover beautifully for you. Of course when I've paired it with a concealer (Laura Geller's Real Deal Concealer) it worked a whole lot better at covering everything up. Without a concealer I wouldn't feel comfortable just using this.

I'm going to keep working with it, trying different application methods and tools (flat foundation brush, stippling foundation brush, etc.), in an effort to make this work for me.

The sponge that came with this product is actually really nice. It's a large, dense sponge that feels comfortable on your skin and blends the product really nicely. HOWEVER, I am having the hardest time washing this sponge!! I cannot get the makeup to completely come off of it. If there were only small traces left or the lightest tint of foundation I may not care, but this sponge still looks like I just applied my foundation. I normally just use the one-time-use, throw away wedge sponges. So I don't have a lot of experience washing sponges. Regular soap and water didn't work. I also tried shampoo and water (which is what I use to clean my makeup brushes) but that didn't work either. I'm thinking makeup remover will be my next step to try. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know in the comments of this post.

So yeah... that's my review on this foundation. I love it but I hate it. I'm going to keep playing around with it and see how I can make this work for my skin. Maybe I'll do an updated post in a month or so to let you know if this is a "love it" or a "hate it".

Here are some upcoming  blog posts:

- Review & Swatches: Mally's Poreless Perfection Skin Finisher

- Review & Swatches: L'Oreal Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base

- Organizing Your Nail Polish: Creating swatches and an organization system to easily identify colors and try on the colors before you commit to painting your nails.

- Blog Sale: Wow.. where to do I begin with this. I didn't realize how many items I really had (hundreds). It may take longer than intially expected, as I'm still creating swatches for the Valentine Beauty Closet. I'm now aiming to post the blog sale by the end of September (but I can't announce an official date just yet).

Also, on a personal note, today is the last day of my son being a little boy. He's now going to be a big boy starting kindergarten on Tuesday! Below is a recent photo of him at the local skate park rocking a Yo Gabba Gabba shirt and band-aid from a boo-boo:

He looks nothing like me! He's like a clone of my husband. He's got my husband's blonde hair, blue eyes and pale skin. But I can be credited for his long eye lashes, at least I passed some kind of physical trait down to him. People often don't believe that I'm his mom... which comes in handy when he's being bad in public. I always tell my husband that I can deny that he's my child, but he never could, lol (you all should know I'm kidding... sort of).

Have a great Labor Day everyone!!!

xoxo with love & beauty,

Crystal Valentine B.
- The woman who runs ValentineKisses.com