“Zee Helsee Foundation.”
You don’t have to say it like that, but I think it’s more fun. 🙂 And I’m a certified expert in ridiculous product pronunciations (an ERPP).
The Healthy Foundation is available in 20 shades at drugstores right meow. You can find it at CVS, Rite Aid, Target and Ulta, as well as the Physicians Formula website, and it’s pretty good for medium coverage.
1. The coverage is smack-dab in the middle on the foundation spectrum.
On one end, there are the full-on cake face foundations (been there, done that). On the other end, the lightly tinted moisturizers and BB and CC creams. This falls right around the middle.
When I dab, dab, dab a few dots on my face (it has a doe-foot applicator), it hides all of the freckle action on my cheeks and the red areas around my nose and mouth. Everything looks even. I also think my pores look a little less obvs.
Plus, it’s one of those liquid foundations that looks just as good in the evening after work as it looks first thing in the morning, so it wears well, too.
2. It’s strongly scented.
It’s supposed to be fragrance-free, but it isn’t. I detect strong notes of sugary butter and sunscreen.
3. It’s tricky to find/create an exact color match.
There are 20 shades in cool, warm and neutral undertones, which is a decent selection, but it hasn’t been easy to find or make something that works for me. I’m an NC42 in MAC and have warm skin with strong yellow tones, and I tried three colors in the warm and neutral families in Medium and Dark, but nothing looked right straight out of the bottle. Every shade also darkens once it’s on my skin, and it happens within a couple of minutes, so I end up having to go a shade lighter and doing a lot of mixing. And the first few times I tried it, I actually ended up removing the foundation completely and starting all over again because my mixes were off.
Active Ingredients
Octinoxate 3% Inactive Ingredients: Water/Eau, Cyclopentasiloxane, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Isododecane, Butylene Glycol, Acrylates/Polytrimethylsiloxymethacrylate Copolymer, Propanediol, Cyclohexasiloxane, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Isodecyl Neopentanoate, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Magnesium Sulfate, Schinziophyton Rautanenii (Mongongo) Kernel Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylene Brassylate, Dimethicone/Bis-Isobutyl PPG-20 Crosspolymer, Silica, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Evodia Rutaecarpa (Wu-Zhu-Yu) Fruit Extract, Ethylhexylglycerin, Hexylene Glycol, Cellulose Gum, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Aluminum Hydroxide, Retinyl Palmitate, Rhodiola Rosea Root Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, BHT, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Tocopherol, Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891).
So it isn’t an “easy” foundation.
To go with that, even the warm and neutral shades contain a lot of peach and pink in them, so if I don’t get the mix exactly right, my skin looks a little off…and a little too pink.
With some trial and error, I can always find a way to make it work. Still, even though I like the satin finish, the medium coverage and the wear time, in terms of foundations, ultimately, this is just too fiddly for me…
4. This should perform better if you have cool-toned skin.
Or, if most foundations you’ve tried contain too much yellow for you. Or, if you wear pink-toned foundations well. In either case, this foundation might work well for you, especially if you’re looking for medium coverage and a satin finish.
5. It’s expensive for drugstore.
It’s $14.95, so it’s on the pricey end for drugstore, but it’s definitely not expensive compared to department store prices.
If you happen to have warm-toned skin, give $12 L’Oreal True Match Lumi a try. I’ve worn it off and on for three years, and I still think it’s one of the best drugstore foundations. It’s dewier than this, but you can matte it down with face powder.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
I don’t think they really did light shades or dark shades enough justice here from the photos I’ve seen. I’m pretty sure it’s too dark for me at the lightest.
I love your reviews thank you soooo much! It is so incredibly helpful to get the level of detail you provide along with the pros/cons so your readers can make informed decisions. Love your blog and been reading for years! Keep up the amazing work!
Sounds like PF needs to make some changes to this product. It has to be frustrating to mix your own color and then have it darken after all that work. Ugh.
I am pretty yellow in undertone, so I don´t think it will work for me. And to be honest, I can´t really be bothered to mix my own color every morning, not even for a drugstore foundation.
I started off with LW2 and it was far too light, so the light shades are in the color range. I ended up with LN4 and I normally fall between MAC NW 15-20. I should have just followed every other woman who bought LN4 before me. The neutral shades seem to be the most popular.
This is the very reason I do not buy drugstore foundations for the most part. Because by the time I buy 3 or 4 or 5 shades to find mine I could have gone to a sept store/Sephora/ulta and be matched and even given a few days sample to try at home to make sure I like the formula spending anything.
Hi Karen, Thank you for your detailed review. I really appreciate it. I am looking for a drugstore foundation but I don’t think PF if for me. I have a hard time matching shades also, plus I am definitely looking for a matte – med coverage.
I gotta say I agree with Christy Peeples DuBois on this one. I have given up on drugstore foundation. I know there are good ones out there, but I get frustrated buying multiple bottles to get a match or create a match and then find out the formula just doesn’t work with my skin. Considering a bottle of foundation lasts me over a year (yeah I tend to wear it sparingly or not at all) it’s worth it to go the department store, Sephora route. Now mascara that I toss every 3 months, drugstore all the way!
I just wonder why it’s called “healthy”- the ingredients don’t sound very natural to me or beneficial…but I have to say: they did a fine job with the packaging! It looks very elegant and not cheap at all. Too bad you couldn’t find the right color!
I got very lucky and hit the jackpot with color my first try (so sorry it was much more difficult for you). I also agree that it wears very well and the coverage is perfect. I love this product however my only beef with it is how am I supposed to get all of the product out with the applicator they provide? It is difficult to get the thick creamy formula out of the nooks and crannies of the bottle. Do you have any suggestions on how to get the most of my money without wasting product in the end?