Maybelline velvet soft matte foundation review

Out now in stores is the Maybelline Dream Velvet Soft-Matte Hydrating Foundation ($9.94) and Dream Blender Foundation Blending Sponge ($4.97). The foundation is available in 12 different shades.

The foundation is a new gel whipped formula that is supposed to have a velvet soft texture. It’s supposed to give your skin hydration with a soft matte finish.

The Dream Blender sponge applicator looks like a tiny ice cream cone. The sponge end has a nice pointed tip and the plastic handle makes it easy to hold.

After using both of these for a week now, I can clearly state that I’m not a real fan of either of them. Here’s why:

The foundation is really thick and mousse like in texture. A little goes a long way and gives my skin about medium coverage. Freckles and dark spots still show through.

The sponge applicator is on the firm side, even when moistened with water. So when you use the sponge, as directed, it just smears foundation around and doesn’t really allow you to work it into the skin.

And since the foundation is so thick, it just kind of sits on your skin like a mask. I also found that the sponge makes it hard to get it smoothed out evenly so it ends up a bit patchy as well.

I do have better luck when using a foundation brush. You can get it more even and work it better into the skin.

However, I do find this Dream Velvet foundation to be cakey. From far away it looks good but up close it doesn’t look as great, especially once you set it with a powder.

I’m confused as to why they even call this matte at all. It is in no way a matte finish. It has a luminous glow to it that doesn’t go away with powder either.

So if you’re oily like me, you probably won’t like this one. And I notice that it oxidises on me pretty quickly.

Wear time on my oily skin isn’t that great either. It starts to disappear around the 5 hour mark, especially around my t-zone area.

I do like the pointed end of the little Dream Blender sponge. It makes it easy to get into the creases around your nose and around your eye area. So it does come in handy for applying concealer, just not foundation in my opinion.

Unfortunately the Maybelline Dream Velvet foundation just isn’t for me. I’ll be returning this one to the store asap.

“Maybelline’s Dream Velvet Soft-Matte Hydrating Foundation is a refreshing gel-whipped foundation that leaves complexion perfected and smooth with a velvety, soft-matte finish while skin stays hydrated for 12 hours.“

This foundation is supposed to be a first hydrating matte foundation that creates 100% velvet-smooth perfection with unique, gel-whipped formula that ‘s ideal for normal to combination skin.

What I love:

-the formula really is unique. It’s soft and fluffy and blends like a dream -even though at first I thought that the shade I picked up- warm porcelain- would be too dark for me, once I blended it into my skin, it looked like a perfect match – the coverage is really nice- light to medium -the finish is matte, but not flat- it looks natural and smooth- unlike a lot of matte foundations that tend to accentuate pores and lines -the claims that this foundation is most suitable for normal to combination skin are spot on

What I don’t love:

-as much as I like this foundation, there is no way that it’s as long lasting as Maybelline claims it to be. After about seven hours, it starts to wear off and looks a bit patchy

I really like this foundation. It has a nice coverage, a really nice finish and I actually used it without powder a few times (which is something I never do) and it looked just as nice and shine-free.

Maybelline Dream Velvet Soft-Matte Hydrating Foundation in Warm Porcelain

Now, as I mentioned, this is not as long-lasting as I had hoped, but it’s a perfect “everyday” foundation. If you have extremely oily or dry skin, I’d stay away from this one as it’s suitable for mostly normal/combination skin types. Seeing that this foundation has a matte finish, it might be seem like it’s suitable for oily skin, but unfortunately, I don’t think this is the case. Right now my skin seems to be normal, however on those days when I don’t use Retin-A, my skin is very oily, and Maybelline Dream Velvet Soft-Matte Hydrating Foundation doesn’t work too well for me on those “oily” days. Other than that, I think this foundation is great- it’s just not for everyone.