With all the hype and anticipation that has been going around about Maybelline's Fit Me collection, I am sure that almost every avid makeup fanatic has heard of the line. This collection was just released last month, but to my knowledge, some stores still have the partial line. For those of you who haven't heard of the line, it is marketed as a "customized" face makeup collection based on your skin tone which includes five products: a liquid foundation, concealer, powder, blush, and bronzer. Sound familiar?
In 2003, L'Oreal released their True Match line, which basically advertised the same thing that the Fit Me line does. Since then, L'Oreal's True Match collection has expanded and includes liquid foundation, concealer, powder, blush, a liquid bronzer (now discontinued), and 2 different cream compact foundations (one with a roller application). For the sake of consistency, I'll be including JUST the liquid foundation, concealer, powder, and blush from both lines.
Now, on to the review!!!
Midori Sweet's Vital Stats:
- Oily skin with some acne and dark spots
- Light/medium skin with yellow undertones (~NC30)
- Large pores and a few fine lines under the eyes
- Dull under-eyes
Round 1 - Foundations:
For the review, I applied Merle Norman's Luxiva Foundation Primer prior to foundation application and set with each foundation's corresponding powder and ELF's HD powder. I applied each foundation with ELF Studio's Angled Foundation Brush.
Maybelline Fit Me Foundation
Overall, I was quite impressed with this foundation. I have used MANY drugstore and several high-end liquid foundations, and I feel that this is up to par with some high-end foundations. There are 18 shades to choose from and are organized by tone depth (Light, Medium, and Dark). Additionally, the shades that end in '0' are yellow-toned, whereas the shades that end in '5' are pink-toned. This line doesn't offer as many shades as True Match (which will be discussed shortly), but you shouldn't feel less confident about finding a match with Fit Me because the formula is extremely blendable. So, you can still find a good match even if it isn't perfect. My shade in this foundation is 210 (Sandy Beige), and it is seriously a VERY good match for my skin. You don't hear too often that drugstore foundations have true yellow undertones, right? :) The thing that impressed me the most about this foundation was that it provided a light-weight, light/medium coverage with a satin/slightly luminous finish. I barely could feel anything on my face and my skin just looks so radiant (without looking greasy)! With a primer and setting powder, the foundation lasted about 6 hours on me. Most importantly, my face did not turn into a splotchy mess; the coverage just faded into something a little lighter, which is something I find to be rare in a liquid foundation.
L'Oreal True Match
This actually isn't the first time I've used this foundation. I first used it when it came out and gave up on it shortly after, but that was before I knew about foundation primers :P. True Match offers 24 shades of foundation, ranging from pale to very dark skin tones. It is organized based on undertones (Warm, Neutral, and Cool). Each undertone family has 8 shades, ranging from pale to very dark. My shade in this foundation is W4. It has slight golden-olive undertones, but it still works for me. Like the Fit Me foundation, I found it to be very easy to blend into my skin. There are a couple of things that I feel that make True Match different from Fit Me. First, I found that True Match gave slightly more coverage. My dark spots and acne are a little less noticeable with this foundation. Also, I feel that True Match is a little bit more matte. I would classify this as a satin-matte foundation. With the same primer and setting powder, the foundation lasted roughly the same amount of time as Fit Me did. However, I did notice that the foundation slipped off the sides of my nose. I love this foundation also, and I would also rate it as a foundation with a "high-end" feel.
Winner - Push. At first I was going to give it to Fit Me due to the better color match. I didn't want to give off the impression that W4 in True Match isn't a good of a match for those who have a similar skin tone as I do, since foundation matching varies from person to person (due to subjectivity, skin chemistry, slight variations of tone, etc.). Both foundations offer an impressive color range and are of high quality. In the end, it's all a matter of personal preference. Do you prefer a foundation with a slightly dewy finish, or a bright-matte finish? For me, Fit Me will probably be my fall/winter foundation and True Match will be my spring/summer foundation.
Round 2 - Concealers
Maybelline Fit Me
There are 6 shades (2 shades with each tone family) that correspond with the foundation shades. Again, '0' designates a warm undertone and '5' designates a cool undertone. The shade Sand (20) is what was recommended according to my foundation shade. The concealer comes in a long, lipgloss-like container with a doe-foot applicator. I love the formula of this concealer! It's very creamy and like the foundation, very easy to blend. Unfortunately, I feel like the shade is lighter than my foundation (and my foundation is the lightest shade in the Medium family). Therefore, I think it's too light to cover my blemishes. I DO love using it for my under-eyes though. I am lucky to not have dark under-eye circles, but they definitely can use some brightening in that area. This concealer is perfect for that. I set it with the ELF HD powder, and it never settles into my fine lines or looks cakey. It does give a light coverage, so this may not be ideal for those who have very dark circles. I also noticed that the shade Medium (25) was peachy toned, so even if you are yellow-toned, I think you could use that shade if you have bluish circles.
L'Oreal True Match
This collection contains 9 concealers and are also arranged by Warm, Neutral, and Cool undertones. Additionally, the depths within each family are arranged by Fair/Light, Light/Medium, and Medium/Dark. The corresponding shade to my foundation is W 4-5 (Light/Medium Warm). This concealer comes in a short, mini-lipgloss type tube and has a brush applicator as opposed to a doe-foot one. It's also on the creamy/liquid-y side and it works well with the brush applicator. Unlike the Fit Me concealer, I feel like the True Match is catered more for blemishes since it matches the foundation shades precisely and provides a medium/full coverage. I never experienced caking with this concealer, and I think that you can achieve a naturally flawless finish with the foundation/concealer combo.
Winner - True Match. Even if you can't use the corresponding shade for an under-eye concealer, you probably can just buy a shade lighter. The Fit Me concealer is probably too thin for covering stubborn things like redness around the nose, mouth, and eyelids. It's still a good option if you have minimal blemishes and/or just need a bit of oomph in the under-eye area. True Match's concealer isn't exactly full coverage by any means, but it's still buildable from what I experienced. Due to its formula's versatility, L'Oreal takes the cake with this one.
Round 3 - Pressed Powders
In this review, the pressed powders were applied with ELF Studio's Face Kabuki Brush immediately after foundation, and were set with ELF's HD Powder.
Maybelline Fit Me
This line includes 18 shades of powder, one for each shade of foundation. Thus, I purchased the shade 210 (Sandy Beige). When you first open up the container, you have your powder housed in a round pan. Lift that compartment up, and you have a small but sizable mirror (2" x 2") and a little pouf. Honestly, I'm disappointed with Maybelline for including such a useless applicator. It's way too flimsy and thin to work with. If you tried to pick up any product, it would just stay in the pouf and just stain it. Very pointless. You should be good if you have a large fluffy powder brush or a kabuki brush, though. So not all is lost :). When applied lightly, I was able to slightly increase the coverage with the foundation and get a nice velvety finish. The powder is very lightweight, and I think the nylon ingredient accounts for that. I noticed that my face oxidized a little at the end of the day, but it wasn't anything too drastic.
L'Oreal True Match
There are 24 shades of powder in this line as well. Since I wear W4 Natural Beige for the foundation, I picked up the same shade for the powder. I really think that this powder is very similar to the Fit Me powder in a lot of ways. The packaging of the flip-compartment is the same: the powder is on top with a mirror (2.25" inches in diameter) and round sponge on the bottom. I will give L'Oreal some props for providing a usable applicator. Although a sponge isn't my ideal choice for applying pressed powder, it works for a small touch-up when you're out and about. The sponge is thick enough to work with and doesn't just let the powder sink in to itself. The formula of the powder feels the same as the Fit Me in the sense that it's velvety and pigmented, but this one contains some parabens and silicones. Luckily, I don't react adversely to those ingredients, though it is something that should be accounted for if you are. In my opinion, the powder still feels light on my skin, though not as weightless as the Fit Me. It did amp up the coverage more than the Fit Me did. Lastly, I also noticed that the powder oxidized my face more than Fit Me.
Winner - Fit Me. Again, it's not to say that True Match's powder is bad at all. Fit Me's winning factors were the weightlessness and the minimal oxidation. In the end, both powders produce the same finishing effect. I feel that you could use the True Match powder as a powder foundation if you wanted to, since its coverage is a little heavier.
Round 4 - Blush
Both blushes were applied with ELF Studio's Blush Brush.
Maybelline Fit Me
12 blushes (4 for each depth family) and 3 bronzers (1 for each depth family) are included in this collection. The blush choices for the medium section included Medium Pink, Medium Nude, Medium Coral, and Medium Mauve. I typically have an affinity for pink-brown blushes, so I picked Medium Nude. The Fit Me blushes are really a re-packaging of the soon-to-be-discontinued Expert Wear blushes. If you look at the back of the packaging, you'll see a silver label that reads "Ideal for users of Expert Wear Blush in (shade name)." Medium Nude is the equivalent of Sweet Cinnamon in the Expert Wear Blush. In my opinion, the blush is the most disappointing product of the line. Firstly, I thought the brush could be used in a pinch, but it was a stiff and scratchy fail. Secondly and more importantly, the blush is hardly pigmented at ALL. No matter how hard I try to get a swatch, nothing can be seen on my hand. I understand the whole line is all about enhancing your natural beauty, and maybe that's why they kept the blush sheer. But what's the point in wearing a blush if it has no visible effect on your face? No thank you!
L'Oreal True Match
True Match also contains 12 blushes in its line (4 within each tone family). Each shade is designated for tones 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, and 7-8. Looking at the display, I saw a few colors that I wanted to try out. I ended up picking W 3-4 (Barely Blushing) for consistency. The packaging is the same as True Match's pressed powder. The blush comes in a flip-top compartment with a mirror and brush on the bottom. I have to give L'Oreal props for including a nice emergency-touchup brush; it's fluffy and its shape is designed well enough to fit your cheekbones. Overall, I think this is one of the highest quality blushes you can get from the drugstore. It's soft and sheer, yet the color is buildable. I'm literally in love with the bronzey-pink shade that I get with this bluh! It doesn't last a very long time, but at least it doesn't fade into a splotchy mess. I definitely will be buying some more in different shades.
Winner - True Match. Hands down. Just skip the Fit Me blushes if you are tempted (or at least, don't get the same shade I did).
Round 5 - Packaging
This section is going to be hella short. I bet yall are glad now :P. The Fit Me products are all clear, square-ish containers with black accents. I think the products (well, except maybe for the blush) look very nice on my vanity. The True Match products are your standard clear containers with silver and pearly-grey accents. They're not super-chic or super-cute, but they make up for it by including handy applicators (in the blush and pressed powder, especially).
Winner - Fit Me, going by looks. As mentioned before, if you ditch the applicators that Fit Me's pressed powder and blush come with and use brushes instead, you'll be golden. True Match's packaging looks a little bit outdated to me, though packaging really isn't a big selling point to me.
Round 6 - Price/Value
I believe that one of the biggest selling points, if not THE biggest, of drugstore makeup is the price. When Fit Me came out, Maybelline advertised that it would be accessible to all women due to its low price. I'm not sure if L'Oreal did the same, but it was probably just implied because it was the first drugstore makeup line to introduce a customized face routine. These prices that will be listed below are directly from Walmart.com. Don't forget that the prices may vary depending on your location and different stores.
Maybelline Fit Me
- Liquid foundation (1 fl. oz./30 mL) - $6.48
- Concealer (0.23 fl. oz./6.8 mL) - $5.48
- Pressed powder (0.3 oz/9.0 g) - $6.48
- Blush (0.16 oz/4.5 g) - $4.48
- Total - $22.92
- Liquid foundation (1 fl. oz./30 mL) - $8.97
- Concealer (0.17 fl. oz./5.2 mL) - $7.97
- Pressed powder (0.33 oz./9.5 g) - $8.97
- Blush (0.21 oz./6.0 g) - $8.97
- Total - $36.88
Final Decision - Overall Winner
Let's review the winning rounds for a second:
Maybelline Fit Me - 3 rounds
L'Oreal True Match - 2 rounds
I don't mean to be corny (too late for that disclaimer, huh? :P), but it's a super hard decision to announce a clear-cut winner. Both lines are great quality for a fairly low price. Additionally, I feel that both have a universal appeal, whether you're new to makeup or have been a long-time user of makeup. If I had to pick ONE line over the other, I would say L'Oreal True Match is the winner by a small margin. Even though Maybelline Fit Me won more rounds in this review, I feel that the True Match line offers more versatility, a wider appeal (not everyone prefers a dewy face, the satin-matte finish of True Match is a good balance), and user-friendly applicators for those who are frequently on-the-go (like me!). Furthermore, all four products I have from the True Match collection are consistently very good products. Don't get me wrong though. I really was impressed with Maybelline's Fit Me line and I feel that they've stepped up their game for the past few years. Based on this thorough review of the two lines, I would say spend the extra $$ and get the True Match line. Either way, with whichever one you decide to get, having a good face primer and setting powder is key for keeping that fresh-faced look through the day.
I hope this was helpful to you, and not such a bore LOL. Please feel free to comment below if you have any suggestions, questions, remarks, etc.! :)
Have a fabulous day everyone! Oh, and I'll be posting swatches in the next blog entry! :)
There were just a few things I'd like to add! :)
ReplyDeleteAbout L'Oreal's True Match shades: Neutral can mean a lot of things when it comes to makeup. L'Oreal defines it as an equal mix of pink and yellow tones. Therefore, in my experience, the Neutral shades in L'Oreal foundation/powder/concealer are quite peachy and don't have any yellow.
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