I’ve heard SO many good things about this foundation. Here’s my full review and swatches of the NEW L.A. Girl Pro Coverage Illuminating Foundation.
Can you believe it!? Two posts in ONE week!? I’ve been busy with work, but have been trying to stay consistent with two posts per week. Baby steps here, people.
I was so excited to try this foundation. I’ve seen so many reviews on it and I knew that for $10, I needed to try it. But was it a hit or a miss? Let’s get into the review.
DESCRIPTION
“L.A. Girl PRO coverage high-definition long wear illuminating liquid foundation is ideal for a flawless looking, full coverage finish. Lightweight formula is comfortable for all day wear. Paraben free formula with added anti-oxidants helps hydrate and improve the skin’s appearance.”
They have 15 different shades and 1 white shade to act as a foundation lightener and each foundation is $10.00 a piece.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The first time I got this foundation, I got the shade Nude Beige online at the Ulta website. WAY too dark for me. The second I put it on I was like YIKKKEEESSS. Way too dark. I’d say with my spray tan, I’m a light/medium foundation shade and I prefer a neutral undertone to balance out my redness, but not make my face look too yellow. Nude Beige was only the fourth lightest shade (not including the white shade) and so I figured it would a good match for me. Needless to say I was wrong.
Besides the shade being totally off, I put about two pumps of it on the back of my hand and blended it into my skin with the Morphe M439 and to my surprise, it covered everything.
I knew I needed to get one in my shade.
Looking at the L.A. Girl website, the nearest store that carried the products to me was in the next state over. I walked into the UIta a few weeks ago to repurchase a few products and WHATTTT!? L.A. Girl products on an end cap display!? Is this real life!? I was super pumped.
I ended up grabbing another shade in Natural, and I also picked up the white lightener shade, just in case it was still too dark for me.
PACKAGING
I think the packaging is great. It reminds me a lot of the Make Up For Ever Ultra HD foundation bottle. It feels sturdy and it has a pump for the product. My pump doesn’t really work that well, it sticks when I press it down to dispense the product, but overall I think the packaging is great.
You get 0.95 fl. oz. (Make Up For Ever gives you 1.01 fl oz. for comparison).
FORMULA/PIGMENTATION
It appears initially to be a little runny…it’s not thick AT ALL…but the coverage! For being that runny of a foundation, the coverage is incredible. It has a ton of pigmentation in the thin formula, so you have to be sure you have your correct shade, because your natural skin won’t shine through like lighter coverage foundations.
The finish is definitely illuminating and it leaves a sheen on the face. If you’re super oily or prefer matte foundation, I don’t think you’ll like this formula at all. But if you’re normal/dry like me, or prefer a more illuminated look on the skin, this will be great formula for you. In my experience, once you set it, it mattifies. For me, I don’t see the sheen under the powder if I bake, but I’m sure you would if you lightly set it.
I will say that the foundation shades run yellow and have a verrryyy warm undertone to them. Natural was still a bit too dark for me, but the two lightest shades were SO yellow. I tend to reach for shades with a neutral undertone that way I can adjust them as needed to match my spray tan, but when it’s too yellow, it’s really tough to make it match because my spray tans are more neutral olive/red undertoned.
In the swatches, the shade Natural looks to be more of a pink undertone, especially compared to Nude Beige, but it definitely still looked yellow compared to my natural and spray-tanned skin tone.
APPLICATION
I applied 2-3 pumps of the foundation to the back of my hand and dipped my Morphe M439 brush into the products to stipple it onto my skin. I did end up mixing in a pump of the white shade to lighten the color before applying it to my face, mixing it on the back of my hand with the end of a small concealer brush. After the first layer, I went back in with my Beauty Blender sponge to touch up areas where I have post-acne spots and places where I needed extra coverage.
The product honestly applied flawlessly. It was so easy to blend and I only used 3 pumps for my entire and a full coverage finish.
[su_note note_color=”#FFF” radius=”4″]FOUNDATION WEAR TEST
Oftentimes with illuminating foundations, the product can tend to slip and slide around when applying other products over top. This product stayed put literally all day long. After 10 hours of wear, I had some rubbing off on the top of my nose and I felt that I had some enlarged pores and shininess on my cheek area (which is pretty normal for me). I’ll usually get a tiny bit cakey around the corners of my nose and t-zone, but for being on my face that long, it wasn’t too bad. [/su_note]
What about the lightener?
I did use the white foundation lightener to lighten the “Natural” shade, because it was still too dark for me, even though the undertone matched me better than the lighter shades of the foundation. It didn’t mess with the product at all and did a great job of only lightening the color. I actually use this to mix in with other foundations that are too dark for me and it also doesn’t disrupt the formulas of those either. A+ for me on this one.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I really did like this foundation. I think that part of me wishes it wasn’t SO illuminating, but if you like an illuminating foundation, you’ll like this. If you’re oily or prefer more of a matte finish, I don’t recommend picking this up. I feel like this would be a tough foundation to not set with a powder. I think it would rub off and slip around, so in that case, the illuminating quality goes away once it’s set anyway. It did last pretty well on my skin throughout the day and layered well with other products.
The coverage and pigmentation is amazing, especially since the formula isn’t thick whatsoever. The only thing I truly do not like about it, is how yellow the shades are and how illuminating it is. I think a more semi-matte finish of this foundation would be PERFECT.
I also do really like the lightener shade, I think that if you weren’t crazy about the foundation, to at least try the lightener because you can mix it in with your other foundations that you already have at home to lighten them up to better match your natural skin tone.
What do you think about the new L.A. Girl Pro Coverage Foundation? Have you tried it?
SHOP THE POST
Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored and I purchased these products with my own money. All opinions always remain my own. This post may contain affiliate links.
