Clinique Perfectly Real makeup Foundation Review: holy grail or fail?

Hey Everyone!

There are so many different foundations out there.  Many claim to be very light weight and claim to look like a second layer of perfect skin while still maintaining medium-full coverage.  Now, I've used a lot of foundations in my day and i can tell you that the majority are not light weight AND look completely natural AND have medium-full coverage.  The name of the foundation I'm reviewing today is the Perfectly Real Makeup Foundation by Clinique.  The name really convinces you that this is the perfect foundation, doesn't it?  Well, read on to find out whether or not this foundation is as perfect as it claims to be.

Coverage

I would say that this is a medium to full coverage foundation.  It does a great job of evening out the skin tone.  It covers redness and blemishes, but not completely.  It lightly covers blemishes and redness so that it appears more pink then red, as seen in the picture near the bottom of this post, i have acne around my jaw and chin, and after this has been applied they appear more pink.  If you were to purchase this foundation  i would recommend buying a good quality concealer if you don't already have one.

Squeezed out of the tube, not blended

Blended slightly

Completely blended on hand

Formulation

This is the perfect combination of a liquid and cream foundation.  The consistency is very nice and light weight.  Perfectly Real Foundation just glides on your skin and blends like a dream so you really don't need to use a lot of products, which means that it will last a long time.  My only issue with the product is how sparkly it is.  It has little sparkle bits in it that really show up in the sunlight.  Unfortunately, the sparkles don't give a soft kind of dewy effect like I think it was meant to do, but it legitimately makes your face sparkle, which although some people might like, I don't because i find that it makes me look like someone out of that book twilight.  The fact that it did that alone turned me off of this foundation. 

I tried to capture the sparkle but it was really difficult to capture on camera.  I
had to get really close to a light, which is why my hand appears yellow.

Packaging

I really like the packaging on this.  It's very understated and thin.  The color of it is beige (yeah, that beige color is not the foundation inside, it's the color of the bottle).  and it has a silver lid that twists on and off.  The tip makes it easy to squeeze out product without the risk of over pouring and wasting foundation.  Of course, the tip also has draw backs.  For example, if you do squeeze too much product out, there is no way you are getting the product back into the tube, which creates waste.  This holds 1 fluid ounce or 30 ml of product, which is standard for any foundation. 

Over all effect

Like i said, it makes your face look sparkly out doors and indoors.  This creates a fairly natural effect on normal to oily skin, but it accentuates dry spots.  It dries pretty quickly and lasts a long time with primer.  The photograph below captures my cheek.  I'm wearing this foundation in Shade 10 on my cheek, nose and that half of my chin.  No moisturizer or primer, no editing, and no other makeup on any part of my face. (That's right.  I'm completely makeupless right now...except for the foundation on half of my face)!

Who would you recommend this to?

Anyone with normal to oily skin looking for medium-full coverage who doesn't mind sparkling in the sun.  If you can work that sparkly look and that's something you're into then by all means purchase this foundation and work those sparkles, hun. I guarantee you will love it.

Who might not like it?

Anyone with normal to dry skin who is a bigger fan of a matte or dewy finish and looking for a lighter coverage.  This foundation is not for you guys. 

 Coverage: 4/5

Formulation: 3.5/5

Packaging: 4/5 

Over all effect: 3.5/5 

Overall: 15/20 

In conclusion, I'm not a fan of this foundation only because it accentuated my dry spots and made me sparkle like a disco ball...i know that the pictures do not pick up the sparkle very well, but in person i find it to be a little overwhelming.  I love the formulation and feel and coverage of the Clinique perfectly real makeup foundation though, so if they just removed the sparkles and made it more of a dewy finish i would definitely repurchase, but for now, although i normally love Clinique products, this was a holy fail for me.  

The Coach wristlet featured was from the Summer 2010 collection.  
 
What's your HG foundation?  Let me know below!