£5: MUA Undress Me Too Foundation in Porcelain

I didn't know what to expect from the MUA Undress Me Too Foundation. It's got a lot of mixed reviews, bless, and for a fiver what could I really hope for? That somehow it would miraculously match my vampire complexion while not irritating my super sensitive skin?

First Thoughts

Shade-wise, I was pleasantly surprised. It looks like it will be too dark when it comes out of the tube, but once you start blending it looks much lighter. It did oxidise to a slightly darker, ashier, more pink colour - but unless you're a beauty blogger and literally stare at your makeup after you've applied it, you probably won't notice.

How It Looks

This stuff is not luminous, despite the tube saying otherwise. This is not a glow-y, healthy foundation, but actually a medium coverage option that leans more towards the matte side. It did a surprisingly good job of covering redness, and even covered some of my smaller spots. I've never had a cheap foundation that matched me and evened out my skin so well, so I'm really impressed with how it looks... when it blends properly. More on that in a bit.

How I Apply

Blending is the main problem I have with this foundation. Normally when I'm testing something it out, I'll try it for one day with a brush, one day with my hands, one day with a damp sponge, etc. With this one I tried the same method twice and would have completely different results, it seemed to depend on how dry my skin was and how much product I used. When it's good, it evens out the skin and doesn't require powder; when it's bad, it's a cakey mess. My advice? Less is definitely more! When applying too much it can get pretty cakey, but fortunately you won't need more than two layers as it's surprisingly high coverage. I like to put primer on to smooth over dry skin as much as possible, and then dab on small amounts and buff everything in with a brush. Once the first layer is on, I dab over everything with a damp sponge and apply more over redder areas. 

Lasting Power

Even though this doesn't claim to be a long-lasting foundation, I don't always use powder with this. Setting spray will do the job just fine. I find that this lasts really well on me, but my sensitive skin does start to tickle a bit so I can't wear it all day long. Those with oily skin might need to powder the T-zone.

Summary 

Even though this can be tricky to blend at times, when it works, it works well. It's the cheapest foundation I've had that was pale enough, and does a great job of evening out my skin tone. I don't know if I'll repurchase it simply because it doesn't get on with my sensitive skin - but most people reading this won't have that problem, so it's well worth a try if you want a pale foundation that won't break the bank.

Have you tried this foundation? What did you think?