Review: No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation

Hey everyone! I thought I'd share my thoughts on No7's Beautifully Matte Foundation, which I bought at the beginning of April. This post is probably going to be quite long but I'm aiming to make it as thorough as I can!

This foundation doesn't get an awful lot of hype in the beauty world - but neither do many of No7's products. I do think No7 is a bit overpriced, but they do have some great products. It does get mostly positive reviews on Makeupalley and Boots.com though.

The No7 sales assistant used the Foundation Match Service device to match me to Calico, the lightest shade (big surprise) which matches me quite well but would be too dark if you're extremely pale. There are 14 shades to choose from which I think is pretty good.

Other things to mention:

• It's hypo-allergic
• It has an SPF of 15
• It has medium to full coverage
• It has a matte finish, as the name suggests!

I don't like to look or feel caked in makeup so I don't usually go for full coverage foundations, however this one usually feels light on the skin.

 I like how this foundation is less likely to aggravate any breakouts as No7 say "salicylic acid had been included in the formula to help unblock pores and improve the condition of the skin throughout wear." I also own the Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream which contains 2% salicylic acid. The only thing with this is it means you can't apply either of these products very close to your eyes, or it may sting. 

Calico swatched.

It claims to keep you shine free for up to 14 hours (or 12 hours according to the website) which is quite tame considering there's a 25 Hour Foundation (by Rimmel) and the L'oreal Foundation I almost bought, Infallible Matte, promises a matte result for up to 24 hours. I don't know who wears their makeup that long but I think the staying power's quite good. I wouldn't say my skin is extremely oily and this foundation wears well for around 7 or 8 hours before I start to feel a bit shiny on my forehead.

I like to apply it over the Beautiful Skin Day Cream for Normal/Oily Skin (reviewed here) and use the Real Techniques Buffing Brush (from the Core Collection) to apply and blend. For testing it for this review I used no primer or powder. Although this has fairly high coverage I definitely still needed some concealer for those dark circles and blemishes...

Before, so no makeup:

After (just foundation):

Here's a comparison how my 'problem area' (i.e. where I always seem to break out) looked before and after applying this foundation, so you can have a closer look at the coverage it gives. That's right, I lost my mind and put pictures of my spots on the internet (my skin is quite rubbish at the moment.) Oh well!

^ As you can see it hasn't done much when it comes to covering the three active spots near my jawline, but it has done quite well at covering red marks which are healing old spots.

Here's how the foundation looks along with the rest of my makeup:

It might just be the lighting but if I wasn't avoiding powder for the purposes of this review I would definitely have powdered my T-zone with MAC's Blot Powder as I feel like my nose and forehead look a bit shiny.

In case you're wondering, the rest of the makeup I'm wearing is:

Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara (reviewed here) applied over Seventeen Falsifye HD Mascara
NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Vanilla under the eyes (reviewed here)
Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair for spots
MAC Prep and Prime Highlighter in Radiant Rose under the eyes and on the brow bone
MAC Satin Taupe eyeshadow with a bit of Patina at the crease
L'oreal Brow Artist Plumper in Dark Brunette
NARS Gaiety blush
NYC Smooth Skin Bronzing Powder Sunny (I never use bronzer but I thought I'd give this a go - not sure if you can tell I'm wearing it?!)
Seventeen Mirror Shine Lipstick in Belle (I've raved about this lipstick before but I don't think I've actually shown how it looks on the lips until now!)

Overall, I quite like this foundation, though I don't think it's 'holy grail' at the same time. The coverage is good, but what I think I like most about it is how natural it looks, as it doesn't feel heavy or cakey at all.

You can buy this foundation only at Boots for £13.50, but look out for the £3 off No7 Makeup vouchers! There is currently a free gift offer when you buy two No7 products. There's also a 'Save £5 when you spend £35 on selected fragrance, No7 & premium beauty' offer which is only online.

Have you tried this foundation? What's your favourite foundation?

Sabrina xx