Happy Foundation Friday, y’all! Today, we are chatting about the newest foundation launch from Benefit, The Porefessional Foundation, which launched back in July. This launch has been one of the more talked about expansions of the iconic Porefessional line. And the reviews have certainly been divisive. Which may as well be the bat signal for me to try it. I’ve spent the last few weeks wearing it and really putting it through it’s paces. So, if you want to see how the Porefessional Foundation holds up, just keep watching!
BENEFIT THE POREFESSIONAL FOUNDATION – $72.00 – sephora.com.au
*40 Shades Available*
Starting with the packaging, the Porefessional Foundation is stored in a cylindrical, frosted glass bottle with a white cap on top. There is white and bright pink detail on the bottle. It does stand out amongst the rest of the Porefessional range (the primer has been in a blue tube for most of my makeup wearing life but has since been repackaged to feature more pink). I also wish the cap was a little more secure on the bottle as it slips off very easy and the potential for mess is there. The Porefessional Foundation contains 30ml of product.
The Porefessional Foundation is dispensed via a pump at the top of the bottle. The pump is plastic, but at the time of writing appears to be secure. I’ve experienced no leaking from the sides as of yet. One noteworthy thing I will mention is that the pump is extremely controlled. It shoots out quite a small amount of product. Which may or may not be a good thing depending on your preference. For me, I do like the controlled pump as this is the kind of foundation that works best applied a little bit at a time. I’ll go into more detail on that shortly.
The Porefessional Foundation launched with 40 shades. This is admirable as one of Benefit’s main criticisms over the years is that their complexion range have previously been lacking in the shade department. I do believe this is the most expansive shade range they’ve ever had for a complexion product. We have a solid mix of shades and undertones. I also noted some olive undertones but only from the light medium range up. I would love to see some olive undertones pop up in the lighter shade ranges. Hopefully Benefit adds to this range in the future.
As for me, I wear shade 7N Savvy, which is described as being light with medium undertones. I had initially purchased shade 10N Ace, which is the light medium neutral shade. However, it was way too deep. 7N works much better for me. It does look slightly yellow during the initial application. But it does eventually settle into being a pretty rock solid match to my neck. I was legitimately surprised at how good of a match it is.
As far as application goes, I wasn’t too picky. The Porefessional Foundation applied easily and evenly using a sponge, a brush, and my fingers. More often than not though, I would use a sponge. Purely for the sake of convenience. The texture of the Porefessional Foundation, while still predominately a liquid, is on the thicker side. making it an easy option to dot all over the face without it running or dripping. I would use three pumps at the start and work in sections. Dabbing and blending the product until I got the desired coverage. If I felt it necessary, I would go in with an additional small pump to add more coverage.
The Porefessional Foundation is described as being a medium to full coverage foundation with a matte, blurred finish. For me, even while using a sponge, this foundation walks right up to the line of full coverage. I feel like all of my imperfections are covered, with only some of my deeper freckles still able to peek through. Having said that, I strongly agree with the blurred finish. My skin looks absolutely incredible! My face looks so smooth and youthful. And while it is a matte finish, it’s not at all drying or cakey.
The lack of dry though might be thanks to the formula. Which has got some fun goodies in the mix. We have Glycerin, which is amazing for retaining moisture for the skin. Rosehip Oil, which as well as being a good boost of nourishment for the skin, can help improve the skin’s appearance over repeat wears. Finally, we have my good friend Niacinamide. We know her, we love her. She is basically my skin’s saviour at this point. She hydrates, she helps the skin barrier, and more importantly for this foundation, she helps smooth the look of pores.
The biggest selling point of the Porefessional Foundation however is the long wear claim. Yes, this has a 24 hour claim on it. So, let’s see how it held up on a hot and humid summer day in Mount Isa. Pretty well, actually! The first thing I noticed was how true to colour this foundation stayed (I know it looks deeper in the after photo, it was overcast when I took the after photo). I had no cracking, no fading, no noticeable sinking into pores, I even got rained on and this foundation didn’t budge. The only thing I did note was that I was a little on the shiny side. But a touch up with some powder would have easily solved that. I easily could have continued to wear this foundation for the rest of the evening.
So, I think this is a pretty easy call. I do recommend the Benefit The Porefessional Foundation. Especially if you have combo oily skin, this will be a godsend to you. I will be curious to revisit this foundation in the winter when my skin leans more dry. But for right now, this foundation has quickly become a summer staple. Have you tried the Benefit The Porefessional Foundation? Let me know in the comments.
Cheers and love
Emily xo