Maybelline Fit Me Shine-Free Foundation

And I’m back from vacation! I’ll be posting about that next week; this week is about three products I used while I was away.

Let’s start with Maybelline’s Fit Me Shine-Free Foundation. I picked up this product because I needed a travel-friendly foundation that would also fight shine. While I love my regular foundation, Make Up For Ever’s Mat Velvet + Matifying Foundation, its liquid nature doesn’t make it well suited for travelling.

I spent the bulk of my vacation cruising the hot, humid islands of Fiji where everyday was at least 30C (so yeah over 60 degrees warmer than in Toronto). This meant that I needed a foundation that could also handle sweaty situations. According to Maybelline’s claims, this product could do that and more. Supposedly, this foundation has an, “anti-shine core (that) has ultra-lightweight powders built in to instantly dissolve oil.” The result is, “…flawless, shine-free skin…”

The under $15 price tag made me skeptical of that claim but I figured that hey, it couldn’t hurt. And I was right; this foundation didn’t hurt. In fact, it actually provided medium coverage that felt barely there. It also did a great job at evening out my skin tone and giving it a matte finish.

Unfortunately, that matte finish was short-lived. Within an hour of wearing it, my face was visibly shiny. Now, to be fair, Fiji is quite the testing location for a foundation but then Toronto can also get pretty gross and sweaty in the summer. I do feel that if a product is really supposed to be able to fight shine, it will be able to hold its own even in a place like Fiji.

While this product didn’t deliver “shine-free,” it definitely is an “on-the-go” product. It was super-easy to travel with, didn’t take up much space or require any special applicators and was a breeze to apply, even on a small cruise ship. The packaging isn’t anything special but it really works and is pretty durable, even though it’s just plastic.

I also really like the texture of this foundation. Maybelline describes it as a “creamy gel foundation” that “transforms to a matte powder finish.” And for a short period after application, that’s exactly what happened. But then the shine broke through.

This foundation is available in "12-oil free shades" and can be found in most drugstores.

Would I buy this product again: Maybe but only if I was going on a trip to somewhere that wasn't as hot or humid as the South Pacific.

Should you buy it: If you want a travel-friendly, medium coverage foundation that goes on easily and matte, this might be a product for you. Just realize that it’s not that great at fighting shine.