Review | Ex1 Cosmetics Invisiwear Liquid Foundation
I am particularly happy to talk about Ex1 Cosmetics. I discovered this British brand on Instagram and been wanting to try it for a long time. Now the Invisiwear Liquid Foundation is finally mine, let me share with my opinion about it!
EX1 Cosmetics was founded by Farah Naz out of a personal frustration of not finding affordable and diverse makeup for exotic skin tones. Thanks to her background in biochemistry, the founder worked on a range of foundations that target as many women as possible. To Farah Naz, Women with exotic skin tones shouldn't have to spend more money than their Caucasian counterparts to get a suitable and high quality product. I couldn't agree more!
What the brand says about the Invisiwear Liquid Foundation on their website:
"A lightweight and luminous liquid base, formulated with light diffusers which unify skin tone and cover imperfections effortlessly. Specially designed 'true colour' pigments work perfectly with your skins' natural tones in a velvety smooth, ultra-blendable formula. Cleverly designed light diffusing particles detract attention away from lines, wrinkles and blemishes."
COMPOSITION & PACKAGING
The foundation comes in a light 30ml plastic bottle with a pump. As you can see, the design is nice, simple and identifiable. One thing that annoyed me is the pump that doesn't always discharge the same amount of product. Overall, the packaging is nothing crazy but it's OK for me.
The range has only five shades, from F100 (the lightest) to F500 (the darkest). I picked the F200 according to their foundation finding guide you can find here. This color is a bit darker than my skin tone but it gives a nice tanned look I won't complain about! The F100 looked too pale for me on the other hand. However, the number of shades is indeed very limited. The thing is that I don't have an "exotic" skin tone (AKA pale - yellow skin tone /Asian, olive skin / Eastern and dark skin) so I guess it's the reason why I couldn't find a shade that would perfectly match my skin color. Also note that there is no shade with pink undertone because of the reason mentioned above.
The formula is non comedogenic, it's also oil and fragrance free which is great for sensitive skins. Plus it's not harsh at all when worn on a daily basis. There's no SPF though.
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TEXTURE & APPLICATION
The texture is quite thick and creamy. It blends very smoothly into my skin whether I use my Beauty Blender or my Sigma F80 brush. The foundation does stretch on the skin easily, even on irregular areas, without smudging. Note that I always use a primer before the foundation, which is a mistake with the Invisiwear as I'll tell you why in the next section...
COVERAGE & FINISH
I find the the coverage to be medium and the finish is still quite natural. My beauty spots and darkest acne scars are still visible after I applied it but it's not a problem for me. I'm one of those who look for a foundation that enhance the skin rather than gives an unnatural / cakey mask effect. With the Invisiwear foundation, I can tell it looks like your skin but better! The formula is so light I don't feel anything whatsoever. At the same time, the Invisiwear foundation helps even out the complexion but unlike what I read, the finish is matte, not radiant (a highlighter is well needed then).
However, I noticed it tends to emphasize the very dry areas and it also moves a bit on my T-Zone (especially on my nose) after few hours when I apply a primer so I recommend you to avoid primers if you have an oily / combination skin. In that case, I think a daily cream is far enough. If you have a dry skin, make sure your face is well moisturized before and if you have a normal skin... Well, you're the winner!
As for the long-lasting power, the foundation lasts all day on my combination skin without sliding off (only when I have not applied a primer before) which is amazing! After around 6 hours though, it starts to oxydize a bit but nothing to be worried about.
Before / after screenshots of a video I will post soon:
Above all the positive points I raised, the fact that, unlike my other foundations, my T-Zone takes longer until it starts getting shiny is a real plus for me.
So far, I really love the Ex1 Cosmetics foundation for all the reasons mentioned above. I think it really is a great foundation as long as you know how to deal with it according to your skin type. It's also affordable yet as good as any pricey foundation. I say YES!
However, I noticed it tends to emphasize the very dry areas and it also moves a bit on my T-Zone (especially on my nose) after few hours when I apply a primer so I recommend you to avoid primers if you have an oily / combination skin. In that case, I think a daily cream is far enough. If you have a dry skin, make sure your face is well moisturized before and if you have a normal skin... Well, you're the winner!
As for the long-lasting power, the foundation lasts all day on my combination skin without sliding off (only when I have not applied a primer before) which is amazing! After around 6 hours though, it starts to oxydize a bit but nothing to be worried about.
Before / after screenshots of a video I will post soon:
So far, I really love the Ex1 Cosmetics foundation for all the reasons mentioned above. I think it really is a great foundation as long as you know how to deal with it according to your skin type. It's also affordable yet as good as any pricey foundation. I say YES!
Where to purchase online: www.lookfantastic.com | www.lookfantastic.fr
Price: £12.50 | 17,62€
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