Y’all, I have a confession to make. It’s something I didn’t even realise was a thing until I noticed it. But now I have to admit it. I’ve been running Emmie’s Beauty Life for almost eight years. And I’ve never reviewed a Maybelline foundation. You’re shocked and appalled, I know. Now, I’ve talked about plenty of Maybelline foundations over the years. It just turns out I’ve never given one the wear test/review treatment.. Well, that ends today, with my review of the new(ish) Maybelline Superstay Lumi Matte Foundation. This foundation has been making the rounds on TikTok and Instagram for a while now. And I’m super excited to talk about it! Let’s get into the review.
MAYBELLINE SUPERSTAY LUMI MATTE LONGWEAR FOUNDATION – $34.99 – chemistwarehouse.com.au
*24 Shades Available*
Starting with the packaging, the Lumi Matte Foundation is housed in a curved rectangular glass bottle with a matte white cap. There is black detail on the bottle itself and silver detail on the cap. There is also indents around the cap that spell Superstay on the sides and top of the cap. It fits in well with the existing Superstay complexion line. And it has, in my opinion, a sporty vibe. Like it’s designed to ‘go the distance’ with it’s 30hr wear claim. The Lumi Matte Foundation is vegan and contains 30ml of product.
The Lumi Matte Foundation is dispensed via a white plastic pump at the top of the bottle. The pump itself is quite stiff and requires a lot of pressure to dispense product. And to make matters worse, it doesn’t pump a lot of product out to begin with. It’s also, and say it with me folks, extremely messy and can get gunky quick. All in all, not my favourite pump. But considering the fact that the Fit Me Foundation still doesn’t come with a pump in the year of our lord 2025, I shouldn’t complain too much.
The Lumi Matte Foundation has 24 shades in the line. Which is significantly less than the 40 shades available in the Fit Me range. The shades are divided up from very light to very deep and there is a mix of cool, neutral, warm, and olive undertones in the range. Having said that, there are some sizable gaps, in my opinion. The deepest shade could definitely go deeper. And there is too strong an emphasis on the light-medium shades. Mostly I’m just shocked that we in Australia got all 24 shades available at Priceline (L’Oreal has a tendency to not send all of the shades internationally. See also, NYX Cosmetics)
As for what shade I have, well, much like the aforementioned NYX, I did have a difficult time finding a shade in this range that worked for me. I initially had shade 115, described as being Light with Cool Undertones. But it ended up being too dark for me at this time. I ended up grabbing shade 98, Very Light with Warm Undertones as a mixer to bring the shade down. And ultimately, I did get to a shade that worked well for me (I would use two pumps 98 to one pump 115 for my shade). I have since learned that there is a shade between those two that probably would have been my match. But I’ve already bought this foundation twice. I’ll make do.
The consistency of the Lumi Matte Foundation is pretty much exactly what I expected. Very light and fluid. It easily runs along the back of my hand. A formula like this, you would expect that it would be best applied via fingers. But I found that it was easy to apply with both a brush or sponge. I didn’t experience any streakiness with a brush. And while I did have to go in with an extra pump when I used a sponge, I loved the evenness I got from the finish.
The Lumi Matte Foundation is described as being a medium to full coverage foundation with a luminous matte finish. Because my preference was applying with a sponge, I was wearing it as a medium coverage most often. It does an excellent job at covering up my dark spots and pigmentation. But it’s still super lightweight on the skin. Finish wise, while I’m still on the fence about how we can have a luminous matte finish, I can see what they mean. The finish is very skin like and flexible.
Now, let’s get into this wear test. As expected, this wore extremely well on a particularly hot September day. And I hoped that would be the case with a 30hr wear claim. I didn’t experience any fading or cracking. The only thing I really noticed was I was definitely getting shinier on my forehead and cheeks towards the end of the day. But that didn’t cause the foundation to separate at all. It stayed true to colour throughout the day (I know the after picture looks deeper. Time of day and all that). I’m honestly trying to find something else to say except nothing is coming to me. This wears extremely well.
All in all, I’m a little torn. While I do enjoy the wear of the Lumi Matte Foundation, I’m not sure I can give it my recommendation. The kerfuffle with the shades is a mark against it in my eyes. If you can find a shade that will work for you, I say get it (especially because it is half off at Chemist Warehouse at the time of writing). But there are other foundations at similar price points with better shade ranges that I like more. Have you tried the Maybelline Superstay Lumi Matte Foundation? Let me know in the comments.
Cheers and love
Emily xo