MUA Undress Your Skin Illuminating Foundation Swatch + First Look

So... guess who finally gave in and bought something new?

Hello there again lovelies, I have another post for you all to do with a certain foundation that was recently released! Of course judging from the title and picture, you know exactly what I am talking about!

MUA recently released their newest foundation to add to their ever-growing range, the Undress Your Skin Illuminating Foundation, which is also a part of their newest line, the Undress Your Skin range. There are a few things within the range such as a face primer, concealer and a highlighter, however this is currently the only product that I picked up... unless you count the Undress Me Too eyeshadow palette, that is.

I decided to pick up this foundation when I saw that Superdrug had it on offer for £3, however I never intended to buy this; I was quite happy with my current foundation routine, and I was not willing to pay the full £5 for it, however cheap that may make me sound. Of course the offer of £3 for the foundation dragged me in, and I also wanted to see what it was like (pretty contradicting to what I said about being happy with my current routine)... so I bought it, and when I got home I decided to play around with a bit to see how well it fared with me.

First things first; I think that the product packaging is a little funny, but I like how squidgy the tube itself is. It looks quite thin, and when you squeeze it it does not feel full at all, which I guess can be a bit of a turn-off from the product (a reason why I did not buy it straight away, actually). Also, the cap; It is not sealed. I have said before that this puts me off of buying a product because you do not know if anyone has played around with it. Luckily, the silver seal where the product comes out was still in place, so the one I bought had not been tampered with.

But in all seriousness, please MUA, start sealing the caps on everything! I get incredibly paranoid about these sorts of things!

Now onto the product itself; the foundation (I picked up the shade Porcelain) is quite runny, and when I say runny I mean that it is extremely runny. I accidentally left the tube, uncapped, laying on my counter and a minute later there is a puddle of foundation growing there. Oh dear. Not that being runny is a problem, but I am used to leaving my foundation tubes sitting there when I am applying foundation, and none of my products have ever done that. Oh well, my own fault! Just a warning for those who tend to forget these things like putting caps back on!

I actually quite like the runny consistency of the product; it is easy to apply and a little actually goes a long way I have found, which can be a bit of a problem if you put too much of the product on the back of your hand, and honestly I do prefer to use only a little. If you use too much of this, it starts to look cakey and even flakey. Ooh, I rhymed! But seriously, using too much made me look horribly cakey and I felt quite suffocated by the amount I had used. Luckily I like wearing a light layer of foundation, or I would hate this product!

Another problem, other than looking cakey, that I found with this product is that if you do not use a primer or moisturiser with it, it might look bad; even if you moisturise like there is no tomorrow. I have normal to dry skin, but once my moisturiser is applied most foundations look okay on me without a primer; this one does not. There were quite a few patches that looked dry and flakey and just all around bad, so I had to take it off. It was not until this morning that I decided to try it again, but with a moisturiser and then a primer. I have found that using a primer is the most effective way of using this foundation; it looks beautiful after that. It also goes on a lot better, too.

MY FACE!!! ARRRRGH!!!

I decided to take a picture for you all to scream at; I think that the foundation did a really good job at evening out my skin tone and even hiding a lot of my natural redness; I was happy with the finish as well, a lot more pleased than I was when I used it last night, and thought that I looked a lot healthier and well-rested in all.

All in all, I think that this is a pretty nice product; I hate that I have to use a primer with it, because I usually don't wear primers, but I'll get over that in time because I like the finish it gives me. It has a nice amount of coverage too, one which is build-able (as I have found out), but for someone who has dry skin probably not advisable, and covers redness quite well in my opinion. The only downside to the product is that, without a primer, it has a terrible finish and can look cakey if you put too much on. I also don't like that there are only three shades in the entire range from MUA, because it limits a lot of people from buying it; even me. Porcelain, whilst a pretty good match for most light people, is a tad lighter than my natural skin tone, but not too light that it is noticeable (thank goodness). Other than that, I quite like the product now that I know what to do when applying it.

Also, random little note: I like to apply this with a foundation brush. I have used my fingers too, but it looks incredibly streaky and uneven that way for me.

So... what are your thoughts on this product if you have it already? Is it pleasing you or has it become a disappointment? Let me know!