Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Dermablend Smooth Indulgence Foundation vs. Dermablend Smooth Liquid Camo Foundation Review

I've been using Dermablend Smooth Indulgence Foundation for about four years.


A friend of mine that is also an esthetician recommended it. I like it because it doesn't break me out or irritate my skin at all. It's also nice because it's buildable. It says it's medium coverage, but you can build it up to full coverage. It has a matte finish and the shade "Natural Beige" was a good shade match for my skintone. (I am about an NW20, but I do lean more neutral. I am 1N1 in Estee Lauder Double Wear.) I typically use Smooth Indulgence Foundation to conceal post inflammatory hyperpigmentation on my chin and to cover the scar on my left temple. It blends well and doesn't need to be used all over if you only need coverage in certain areas. My main complaint with this foundation is that it does break down after about 3-4 hours on oily areas, like my chin. I have to blot and then reapply loose powder, but then it looks passable. At 7-8 hours, it does become patchy on oily areas, but stays nice on non-oily areas, like my cheeks. I have been willing to overlook these flaws since it doesn't cause any skin irritation.

About a year or so ago, Dermablend discontinued Smooth Indulgence foundation and replaced it with a reformulated version called Smooth Liquid Camo.


I put off buying it and then caved and ordered the shade Linen. Linen was too light for me, so I returned it and got Cream instead.

Here are some swatches. From top to bottom in each shot are Dermablend Smooth Indulgence in Natural Beige, Dermablend Smooth Liquid Camo in Cream, MAC Studio Finish concealer in NW20, MAC Full Coverage foundation in NC20. (I included the MAC shades just for comparison purposes.)

Inside, no flash:


Inside, with flash:


Outside, no flash:


So, how does the new version compare? I tested out Smooth Liquid Camo last week. It seems sheerer than the original version. I also feel like it's not as matte. I was able to get some coverage on my chin, but it was hard to completely conceal my red areas. I did set with loose powder (Clinique Blended face powder), which helped to mattify.

Here's what my skin looks like without any makeup:


Here's what it looks like with Smooth Indulgence on the left side of my face and Smooth Liquid Camo on the right side:


Smooth Liquid Camo foundation looks nice when it's freshly applied. At about 3.5 hours, my chin started to get oily. I blotted and reapplied loose powder, but it looked a bit cakey. At 8 hours, there was a patchy appearance on my chin and the sides of my nose. I decided to just wash it off at that point and that's when I noticed that the skin on my chin was red and slightly inflamed. I hadn't used any other new products, so it had to be a reaction to this foundation. The next morning, I had some congestion on my right cheek and one new breakout.

I am really disappointed in Dermablend's Smooth Liquid Camo Foundation. It was challenging to get good coverage, but if it hadn't irritated my skin, I would have tried to work with different primers and setting powders to get a better result. However, since my skin reacted to it, I'm just going to return it. In the meantime, I'll be hoarding my Smooth Indulgence Foundation for special occasions until I find a suitable replacement.

If you'd like to see a demo of these foundations, please check out my YouTube video! Thanks for watching!

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