Clarins Ever Matte Foundation & Powder [In Our Makeup Bag]

By Alex K.

What It Is:

Clarins Ever Matte Foundation in 105 Nude & Powder in 01 Transparent Fair

Why This Should Be in Your Bag:

With summer weather in full-force, I’m on the hunt for a foundation that suits my oily skin. In the winter, I’m usually okay to wear many types of foundations, but in summer I need a product that is specifically formulated to create a matte finish.

Clarins has answered the call and released their new Ever Matte collection just in time for summer. With a liquid and powder to suit all sorts of skin types, I’m hoping for a miracle! The powder contains “The “Shine-Stopper” complex [that] combines the benefits of plants and purity of minerals to instantly mattify the complexion, control shine and help tighten pores”, while the liquid has ‘the “Skin Detox” complex [that] regulates production of excess sebum in skin and helps tighten pores.”

How To Use It:
My preferred application method for the liquid is my fingers. I find a brush deposits too much foundation and creates a heavy layer. The powder comes with a puff that delivers surprisingly excellent coverage. Especially when wearing the two together, I don’t want a full layer of foundation and a full layer of powder on my face!

Bare-faced

With Ever Matte Liquid
in 105 Nude

With Ever Matte Liquid in 105 Nude
+ Powder in 01 Transparent Fair

CC Rating: A+

These two products pleasantly surprised me! As an oily-skinned gal, I’m always looking for products that claim to help control oil and keep me from shining throughout the day.  I found with the liquid only, I started to get shiny around 1pm (5 hours) and the powder only held out until 3pm (7 hours). I have quite an oily T-zone, so I’m impressed by these times. Despite their impressive individual performances, these two really shine (oh, the irony) together. When I applied the liquid and then the powder, I stayed shine-free for virtually the entire workday. At about 3pm (7 hours), my chin, nose and forehead started to get a bit shiny, but nothing that a quick dusting of powder couldn’t handle. Keep in mind, this is in my non-air conditioned office!

The Ever Matte liquid and powder were both extremely comfortable to wear, which is a huge plus for me. There is nothing worse than a heavy face of makeup, even if it does keep shine at bay. My skin still felt like it could breathe and my face had a really natural look to it. The mattifying effect was so harsh that every single trace of “glow” was gone; it gave me a fresh, but shine-free look. I also found that it evened out my skin tone substantially, and covered blemishes and dark circles with a very thin layer. Even though the bottle of liquid is rather small, I think it will last quite a while. The added SPF is nice, but 15 isn’t high enough to keep me from burning, so it was a moot point for me.

There’s actually a pretty extensive shade range (9 in total) in the liquid formulation and 3 in the powder. The powder is supposed to be slightly transparent, so I can understand them only producing 3 shades. In fact, I compared Fair to Medium powders and found only a slight difference in the tone. This makes me confident that most will be able to find a shade match in the Ever Matte liquid and powder.

If you’re oily-skinned, I seriously suggest you check out the Ever Matte foundation range from Clarins. You can purchase both of these from Clarins website, the powder being $30 USD and the liquid $32 USD.

[Need some new makeup but not sure what to buy? Check out Alex's other beauty reviews here.]