Physician's Formula Youthful Wear Youth-Boosting Foundation & Brush Review.

 Physician's Formula Youthful Wear Youth-Boosting Foundation

I purchased this foundation a couple months ago when I first spotted it on the rack at CVS. I'm not going to lie, the only reason I purchased it is because I saw the little hot pink sticker stuck to the front that reads "TRY ME FREE" that you may spot every once in a while on newly launched Physician Formula products. When you see that little label on the product, it's basically like a mail-in rebate. You send in your receipt in along with the label, and you will receive your money back for the product. (For more information on PF's rebates, click here.)

I'm always interested in trying new foundations, so I thought it was worth a shot, even though it isn't targeted for my age range. That doesn't really matter though, because I've used "firming" and "age-defying" products before and really liked them.

Anyway, Physician's Formula's new Youthful Wear Foundation claims to even out skintone and texture, blending effortlessly while providing a flawless coverage that will last all day. It also claims to be Physican Formula's first ever "Cosmeceutical" foundation that will help treat visible signs of ageing, restoring skins firmness & elasticity and improving the skins appearance in the long-term. Alright, Physician's Formula, You had me at flawless coverage!

Physician's Formula Youthful Wear Foundation is available in three (3) shades: Fair, Light and Medium. Apparently PF didn't get the memo that there are more than three colored skintones out there. 

The foundation is housed in a little purple squeeze tube, which is great for travel (no bulk), convenience (no struggle getting product out), sanitary and you won't waste any product as you'll be able to squeeze out every last drop. And for those of you that like to cut open your squeeze tubes, to literally get every last drop, you'll be sure to get every molecule.

It also comes with a small synthetic foundation brush, which is very soft and actually works pretty well.

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First off, I'd like to mention this is a silicone based foundation. Let me tell you, my personal preference is, I. Hate. Silicone. Unless it's 350cc's of silicone being inserted into my chesticles, I don't want it on my face. Like I said though, it's only my personal preference. For my skin type, silicone based products just make my skin look dull and after several hours, it can feel uncomfortable and oily/itchy on my face.

I chose the shade Light, which is a peachy beige shade. It lacks any real golden tones, but once applied to my face, the color looks much better. After going through different foundations in my stash, it seems to be a perfect MAC NW25 color match, but it can also work for NC20, maybe even NC25 - which is around what I am now. Although it looks a little dark on my hand, it seems to blend well on my face.

The consistency is very light, airy and moussey. It's much like the texture you'd see with a mousse foundation, such as Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse or L'Oreal Magic Souffle Foundation. It blends very well and feels light on the skin. I read in a review that the texture is similar to Laura Mercier Silk Creme, but I disagree completely. Laura Mercier Silk Cream is much creamier and moist. I don't find them comparable.

The coverage is light to medium. It evens out the skintone very well, but my freckles still show through. It has a satiny-matte finish. To add a little glow back into my skin, I like tossing on a little Benefit High Beam on my cheeks.

As for application method, I don't care for the brush it comes with. I like the brush, but not for this foundation. I don't like using my fingers, and I don't like my usual synthetic flat top brush. The best brush I found for this foundation is the good ol' MAC 187 Duo-Fiber Stippling Brush (any skunk brush will do).

Let me tell you though, I have very normal skin. I sometimes apply a moisturizer before a foundation, but not always. I've found that when using this without a moisturizer, this foundation highlights the imperfections on my face and shows dryness I didn't even know existed. It makes my skin look dull and dirty. I then tried using this with a silicone primer and.. *screams* don't ever do it! It balled up all over my face like nobody's business and little balls of foundation fell all over my clothes and in my hair. Don't do it. SO, I applied a good layer of a water based moisturizer mixed with a face illuminator (I used this one I purchased from Forever 21) and then applied the Physician's Formula Foundation and it was like an "AHA!" moment. The foundation seemed to adhere to the moisture on my face, and it blended better on my face and the final result was 100x better. The results were like night and day. You must moisturize your face for the best results and if you'd like an extra glow (since the foundation is matte), add an illuminator in with your moisturizer.

(I applied a layer of DDF Moisturizing Dew mixed with Forever 21's Love & Beauty Illuminator to my face, then using my MAC 187 Brush, I stippled the Physican's Formula Foundation all over my face and swirled the brush in circular motions until all of the product was blended. Then, I applied Benefit High Beam to my cheeks and the bridge of my nose using the same brush. Lastly, I added a little bit of Nars Irrisitiblement Bronzer all over my face for color and Kevyn Aucoin Hot Pink Liquifuschia Cheek Color to the apples of my cheeks.)

The result is incredibly natural, flawless skin. It softens my pores and makes my skin look very smooth. I find the lasting power to be pretty average. It seems to break down a bit after 6 hours. I don't set it with a powder, but I'm sure that would prolong the wear for a couple more hours.

Overall, it took a quite a bit of work to figure out this foundation, and I think it's pretty good. I think it's a terrible foundation for dry skin, and the most suitable for combination/oily skin.

Ingredients: Active Ingredient: Zinc Oxide 1.960% Inactive Ingredients: Water, Dimethicone, Isododecane, Hydrogenated Didecene, Lauryl PEG-8 Dimethicone, Vinyl Dimethicone/Methicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Tribehenin, Nylon-12, Polyamide-5, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Laminaria Digitata Extract, Ceramide 3, Glycerin, Aluminum Dimyristate, Disodium EDTA, Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Magnesium Silicate, Olive Glycerides, Propylene Carbonate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Tocopherol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexyl Glycerin, Hexylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, May Contain: Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides.

PROS: It has a velvety smooth texture, feels incredibly light on the face (can't feel it at all!), provides a good light-medium coverage and comes with a foundation brush - even if it's not useful for this particular foundation, you may be able to find a use for it. I like using it to apply concealer.
CONS: Limited color selection. There are only three shades: Fair, Light and Medium. There aren't any shades light enough for porcelain skin or medium-dark to deep skintones. The consistency is a little thick, so if there is not enough moisture on the skin, it can be difficult to spread. Looks dull on dry skin. It's quite expensive for a drugstore foundation, at around $14-$15.
PACKAGING: The packaging is great. It's a small squeeze tube, which is great for travel (no bulk), it's sanitary and you won't be wasting any product, as you can squeeze out every last drop.
OVERALL: Overall the foundation isn't bad. It's just so-so to me, and although I will finish up my tube, I don't think I will be re-purchasing it. I think those that will find the best use out of this foundation is those with light to medium skin that leans more towards neutral (as it lacks yellow, but isn't too cool/pink) with minor imperfections. It will even out the skintone and camouflage very minor blemishes. It's best suited for combination to oily skin as it's a foundation that really needs moisture to adhere to, and it also has a satiny matte finish which is great for those with oily skin types.