Hi everyone!
I bought this Almay TLC (truly lasting color) Foundation a while ago mostly due to the fact that I have slightly sensitive skin at times. There is a lot I have to say about this foundation so thought I would write a review for you. I had a quick look on the internet for other people's reviews of this foundation and found that many people love it and many people hate it. This review is just my opinion on it and I would recommend you look up more reviews before buying or testing it if you have the opportunity.
My before image - As you can see I have a lot of redness on my cheeks and acne and scarring on my chin. The only thing I have put on my face is my usual moisturiser.
The packaging of this product is very nice. It is in a glass bottle with a pump which makes it easy and not messy to get the product out. When buying you should check the pump works first if possible because the first one I picked up had a pump that did not work. There is 8 shades available, which isn't many compared to other makeup brands, so it can be difficult to get a good match. There wasn't much choice between undertones either. I got the shade 140 buff which I find is slightly too pink for my olive skin. It isn't a huge difference but can be slightly noticeable, possibly more so if you had darker skin than me.
I bought this from Farmers (NZ) for $34.95 which is relatively affordable.
I found the texture of this foundation quite strange. It feels very thick and heavy which can make it difficult to blend onto the face.
I found this foundation applied best with my beauty blender. I tried a flat top foundation brush and a paddle foundation brush but found that the products went patchy and didn't look good at all.
When the foundation was on my face it felt quite tacky and the weight of it was average. It didn't feel extremely heavy but it wasn't light either.
I have had a weird dry patch on my face and when the foundation went on it it made it sting a little which was worrying, especially because this is a foundation for sensitive skin. This foundation also clung to any dry skin on my face.
Because of the weird texture of it I would say it does take a bit of practise to be able to apply it well. I have worn it a few times before I took these photos and written this review. The first few times weren't so good :P
I feel like I used a large amount of product to cover my whole face. I used 2+ pumps for a start then I went back later and used more to build up the coverage.
I would say this is only a light-medium coverage foundation. When I tried to build it up I was able to do so slightly but then it started to look quite cakey.
Above is how it looked with just the foundation. In photos you can see it is very reflective so I wouldn't recommend this foundation for someone who is going to be having photos taken of them. (This was the good photo - others were brighter).
I set this foundation using my usual Australis Fresh & Flawless Pressed Powder. I found that the powder just sort of sat of the top and looked powdery and cakey so that is something you have to be careful with.
As you can see in the above photo the powder took away some of the shine.
I didn't use any concealer and the foundation covered most of the scars and from a distance the acne couldn't be seen.
This foundation didn't cover everything but the finish looked alright overall.
4 hours after application:
This foundation is supposed to last 16 hours so I was quite disappointed when after 4 hours it was already starting to wear off. I had only been at home working on some things for this blog so it wasn't like I was running around or doing anything that would cause it to wear away quickly.
There was redness already showing through on my cheeks and the foundation was starting to separate on my nose and forehead.
After 6 hours:
The foundation was very patchy on my forehead and almost completely rubbed off on my nose. Some scars and acne was visible on my chin and more redness on the tops of my cheeks.
After 10.5 hours:
The foundation had completely separated all over my face and the acne and scars on my chin was clearly able to be seen. The foundation was very patchy all over my face and quite a few areas had worn off.
My skin has been very easily irritated recently mostly due to it being winter so my skin has been dryer than usual. I found that for most of the day my face was fine but later on it started to get a bit itchy. I'm not sure if it was because of the foundation or just because my skin has been weird lately.
Above is how the foundation looked after 10.5 hours. (Sorry for the bad photo, it was late at night and we have horrible lighting). You can clearly see my acne and scarring on my chin.
Overall I did not love this foundation. It did not last long at all but with a primer and setting spray it would possible last better. The foundation by itself I have to say was average. Once I eventually got it blended nicely it looked good but didn't last long at all. I would not wear this if I was going out anywhere for longer than 4 hours as it just started looking terrible.
I think this foundation would also be more suitable for people older than me as my skin is still doing funny teenage things and doesn't go well with quite dry or quite oily skin.
Sorry for this super long review, I just had so much to write about!
Please leave a comment if there is anything you would like a review for. Also subscribe to this blog and my Youtube channel so you don't miss anything from me!
-Alexis :)
