Maybelline SuperStay Full Coverage Foundation Review

As a skincare junkie first, and a make-up lover second, it should come as no surprise that my guilty pleasure make-up purchase is foundation. I just love the look of flawless skin. No matter how dressed up or down you are, a gorgeous complexion is always a good look. It has been a hot second since I’ve posted a foundation review, so I put out an Instagram poll (@amandadev4) to get a feel for whether you would rather see a high-end or drugstore foundation review. It was a reeeeeally close race, but the drugstore voters had it by a slight margin! So, today, I’ll be reviewing a recent drugstore foundation purchase- The Maybelline SuperStay Full Coverage Foundation. I bought mine at Ulta, but it is available most drugstores I’ve visited for $11.99. But to be honest, with all the coupons and sales available at drugstores/Ulta, there isn’t a reason to purchase it at full price. I tend to purchase new drugstore products when I can get some sort of deal on them, but that’s just me.

According to Maybelline’s website, the Allure Best of Beauty award-winning matte foundation offer 24 hour coverage and a flawless finish. As far as ratings go, this foundation is rated 4.1/5 (1015 reviews) on the Maybelline site, and 3.8/5 (739 reviews) on the Ulta website. I’ll give my personal review at the end of this post.

Initial thoughts: The foundation is pretty liquidy, and hallelujah, it has a pump! I tried this foundation three different ways- without a primer, with a mattifying/pore filling primer, and with a hydrating primer. As far as application goes, I found the easiest way for me was to apply with a brush all over the face, then press the foundation into my skin with a beauty blender. The foundation was pretty easy to build up in areas where I needed a little more coverage.

I highly recommend using some sort of make-up sponge in this process instead of just a brush. I think this particular foundation could get cakey fairly easily if excess foundation stays in places you don’t need it.

I should also note that I use primer a majority of the time, and always set with a powder and setting spray, so I did these steps while testing the foundation to give it a fighting chance. I would classify this foundation is medium/buildable full coverage. It can be sheared out with a sponge to be medium coverage, or fairly easily built up to a fairly intense coverage. I did find that my shade matched me almost perfectly initially, but did oxidize slightly on me (more so when I used no primer). But as far as first impressions go, I was happy with the coverage and easy blendability of the foundation. See below for a before and after foundation picture, so you can get an idea of the kind of coverage I’m talking about.

Make-up applied: 10:30 AM. The side by side photos give you an idea of the finish of the foundation, and how full-coverage it was. The next photo just gives you another angle where you would typically be able to see any kind of shine on the forehead or nose (which there isn’t).

First check in: 1:40 AM (~3 hours post application). The foundation still looks great. On the days I didn’t use primer, or used the hydrating primer, the foundation looked less matte. But in my opinion, that’s a good thing. I tend to prefer  a glowy/dewy look over a completely matte look. However, with a mattifying primer, I did start to notice the foundation settling a little into my smile lines.

Second check in: 4 PM (~5.5 hours post application). At this point, without mattifying primer, my forehead and nose were definitely a little shiny. Nothing crazy, but if I wasn’t testing out the foundation, I probably would have used a blotting sheet. Coverage was still looking good at this point, despite the shine. However, when I used the mattifying primer, I did notice the foundation looking a little dry on my chin area at this point in the day.

Final check in: 10 PM (~11.5 hours post-application). I’m definitely shiny without primer, and with a hydrating primer. Only a small bit of shine had developed with the mattifying primer, but I wasn’t happy with how dry my chin looked, or how the foundation seemed to emphasize my smile lines. If you look closely here, you can also see that the foundation has kind of rubbed off the tip of my nose at this point as well.

Final thoughts: This foundation had pretty good lasting power. Although it claims to be able to last 24 hours, nobody in their right mind needs to be keeping their make-up on for that long. I’m certainly not about to test those claims out, although the 10ish ours I wore this foundation would lead me to believe that it wouldn’t be too pretty by 24 hours anyways.

For my personal review, I’d score this foundation a 3.8/5. The main things that knock this foundation for me are the oxidation, and how it seemed to settle into my smile lines. I was very impressed by the upgraded packaging for a drugstore foundation. The lasting power was pretty great, although I think the Maybelline FitMe Matte and Poreless Foundation is better in terms of staying power, and just overall performance. Ultimately, I would say it’s a good drugstore foundation, but not the best I’ve tried.

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I hope you found this review helpful!

Until next time,

Amanda

Follow along on IG: @amandadev4