Almay Smart Shade Skin Tone Matching Makeup

As I mentioned in my last post, a few weeks ago I attended an event sponsored by Almay that resulted in me taking home a bunch of free goodies. This week on the blog is all about reviewing three of those items and today we look at the second one: Almay’s Smart Shade Skin Tone Matching Makeup.

I knew I’d have issues with this product as soon as I heard the name. Despite what marketing materials say, foundation can’t “match” your exact skin tone by sensing your skin’s colour.

This product line contains “just three skintone-adjusting shades” in order to simplify the foundation buying experience.  According to Almay, your chosen shade “adjusts to the natural tones and nuances of your skin with breakthrough new almay tonemimic™ shade-sensing bead technology which intuitively transforms to your skintone for all day natural looking coverage in your perfect shade.” How does a foundation, or any product, “intuitively” change colour? That’s simply not possible.

Here’s what it possible: The foundation contains tiny beads that when crushed released colour. This information was actually told us at the Almay picnic and I completely believe it. What I don’t believe for a second is that this released colour then uses “shade-sensing bead technology” to match my skin colour.

Instead, what’s happening is that the released colour is sheer and poorly pigmented. This results in a product that seems to basically match your natural skin tone however, what you’re really dealing with is a foundation that provides minimal coverage.

And that brings me to my other peeve with this product: The coverage it provides sucks. But I know that there are people out there who want a lightweight foundation that feels, and essentially looks, like nothing and this one certainly fits that bill. While this isn’t a foundation for me, it might be exactly what some people are looking for.

This is a very easy foundation to apply and to wear; you barely even have to blend it. It’s also not too matte nor too glow-y, providing a natural finish that even I like. And while it won’t hide anything, it does even out skin tone. Basically, it’s like a BB cream without any of the moisturizing or mattefying properties that many of those types of products offer.

I do like this foundation’s packaging as it allows easy access to the product while protecting it from air, bacteria and oily fingers.  But even better is the fact that this product “contains broad spectrum spf 15.” If I rated products using stars, this one would get a star just for including that ingredient.

Priced at around $16, I wouldn’t call this a cheap foundation to buy however, it’s not badly priced since it does provide face-friendly sun protection.

Would I buy this product: No, it doesn’t provide enough coverage for me.

Should you buy this product: If you want a lightweight, sheer foundation that provides protection from the sun for a reasonable price then yeah, pick it up; just understand that it’s not “intuitively” doing anything.