Review: Coastal Scents Undercover HD Foundation

Before I get going on this review, I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who reads and follows my blog! I noticed this morning that my followers have reached the grand total of 500! I'm so tempted to have a little giveaway when I hit 666 followers. Wonder if anyone would be up for that....


So, Coastal Scents Undercover High Definition Foundation. Available at Coastal Scents in 14 shades. Costs $16.95 for 30ml (1 fl. oz).

Let's start on the packaging. I've seen many complaints about the cheap look to the bottle, but I don't agree. It actually reminds me a lot of theatre make up where the packaging is very much secondary to the product inside. It doesn't have the sleekness that a MAC foundation may have but I certainly have no complaints. The plastic bottle, as opposed to glass, greatly reduces the shipping weight which is a huge bonus to those who don't live in the US. While it doesn't match the black packaging of much of the other make up from Coastal Scents, I don't actually care.

I do have issues with the pump though. I'm pleased it has a pump, I hate it when liquid foundation don't have a pump (Revlon Colourstay, I'm looking at you!). This is an airless pump, and the pump pushes up the foundation from the bottom. This is a bonus as the pump completely scrapes the side of the bottle meaning that there's no wastage. The usual type of pump, those with a tube going to the bottom of the bottle, tend to leave residue on the sides of the bottle. However, this pump just seems badly made. I tend to have to pump several times to even get anything out of the bottle and then I sometimes get a fountain of foundation shooting out. I've pumped every bottle, and it's the same for all of them.

I did receive every shade of these to review, as I stated in both my swatch post and video review. You can see my swatches here, and Jasmine's here. I swatched the whole set as the pictures that appear on the Coastal Scents website are just rubbish. I don't think they bear any resemblance to what you end up getting in the bottle. All those pictures were taken over a period of about an hour and the colours are as accurate as I can get them. If you look at the website picture of ST-12, and then my swatch of ST12, you'll see none of the olive tones at all on the website.

The shade range is pretty awful. As I stated in the swatch post, I think there are a lot of gaps in the shade range, along with some very odd undertones. The numbering system doesn't go just from light to dark and there's no system of "odd = pink, even = yellow" that I can identify. While the middle range of skin tones seem to be well covered, there is a very large gap at the deeper end and a smaller one at the paler end. I am about MAC NW15, and I have to mix ST-01 and ST-04 to create a match. ST-01 is the right undertone and too pale, ST-04 is a bit too yellow toned and dark. I mix them in equal amounts to get my shade. I'm fortunate that I got sent all 14 shades as otherwise I would not have found a match.

This foundation is not very thick, or very runny. It just has what I'd consider a "normal" liquid foundation texture. My Diorskin Nude is thicker, my L'Oreal True Match is thinner. The two shades mix easily enough on the back of my hand. I use one pump of each, a bit more than I actually need but I can't control the pump well enough to use a half pump of each.

I apply this with my MAC or Sigma 109 brush. I did try the 188 but it gave me an uneven and streaky finish. The 109 brush gives a lovely, even coverage. I find this gives the foundation a medium coverage. You can blend out to a lighter coverage, or apply a little more for a slightly heavy coverage. I don't think you could apply this as full coverage without it looking obvious. This blends very well into my skin. It doesn't give an obvious foundation look, but covers what I need it to. Mixing my own shade allows me to create a nearly perfect match, which I can adjust to lighter or deeper as I need to.

It actually feels very light on my skin. You know that I hate to feel foundation on my face, and I can't feel this at all when I've finished applying. I usually set with ELF High Definition Powder and the effect with the foundation and powder is one of nearly perfect looking skin. I always apply over a primer and the foundation lasts pretty much all day. I always lose foundation around my nose as I wear glasses, and my chin does get a little oily. This is true for pretty much all foundations so it's not a fault with this one.

Overall, I'd consider this an "OK" foundation. I'll carry on using the two bottles I have to blend my own shade but I really doubt I'll bother buying any more once they're used up.

These foundations were provided for free for me to review. This has no effect on the review I give.