A US brand that I like trying products from is Physician’s Formula. This brand is very hard to find in Europe, so it is always a challenge to track down the products, but I have to say that much of what I have tried by them has been right on the mark. Their Butter Bronzer? Favorite. Butter blushes? Favorite. So you can imagine I was curious to try some of their base products. Therefore, when I last visited New York last fall I picked up the Physician’s Formula The Healthy Foundation in LN4. These are my thoughts.
Review: Physician’s Formula The Healthy Foundation
Since this product is hard to find, and the official Physician’s Formula website is not accessible from my location, I have no clue how many shades this comes in. I usually buy Physician’s Formula products from Iherb, which is a US website that ships internationally. This foundation is currently not listed on that website. On Amazon this retails for about $10. On a Dutch website I found this priced at €15. I think that in the US drugstore I ended up paying around $12 dollars for this foundation, but I did get it on a buy one get one half off deal.
What does The Healthy Foundation have to offer?
You know I love me a light weight foundation and that is exactly what this foundation has to offer. It is supposed to be natural, brightening and it comes with an SPF of 20, which is always great this time of year. I went out the other day and got a bit burned on all exposed parts of my skin except for my face as I was wearing this foundation. So it seems to work quite well. An added bonus with Physician’s Formula is that their formulas are usually quite well done. Many of their products are quite natural and not filled with gunk. This foundation does have a bit of a weird scent though which kind of throws me off every time I use it.
What is the packaging like?
With some products I don’t really care about packaging, but with foundations I do. I find that the easier for me to use, the more likely I will reach for that foundation. If it has packaging that allows me to also keep the product nicely hygienic, then that is an added bonus. This is one of those foundations that comes with a glass bottle and a giant doe foot applicator. The glass bottle feels luxurious but the applicator is a bit of a health hazard of course. Every time you dip the wand back into your bottle you could potentially contaminate the product. Given the day and age we currenlty live in, you may want to just be extra careful with this one and either pour out some of the foundation (the texture is liquid enough to do that) or to first wipe the applicator on to a palette or other surface that is not your body before application.
What is this foundation like?
Packaging aside, what truly matters is of course how this foundation works. I already mentioned this is a lightweight foundation. I like a light coverage foundation, especially in the spring/ summer time. I save my heavier base products for the winter months when I need all the help I can get in terms of coverage. In the spring/ summer season I opt for more lightweight, dewier foundations and this fits that bill very nicely. It is a smooth, liquid texture that blends in easily and gives a beautiful naturally radiant finish. It does have a bit of a funky smell which isn’t my favorite, but at least it doesn’t seem to be very heavily fragranced.
What is the shade match like?
I got this foundation in LN4 as they were out of the shade lighter than this. I figured that this is indeed lightweight, that I would be able to get away with a slightly darker shade. LN stands for light neutral which is exactly what I always look for in a foundation. As you can see here, the shade is a bit too dark, but this is nothing a bit of bronzer and a good blend down the neck can’t solve. I think that if I had gone for the slightly lighter shade, it may actually have been too light and would have made me look too pale.
What does this foundation look like on the face?
The most important part of any foundation review: what does it look like? This is a super lightweight texture that is truly meant to just even out your complexion a bit, but other than that it is not meant to cover all imperfections. This is the type of foundation that I think works well on my skin. It evens out my redness, doesn’t look cakey, and yet it stays put very well with a bit of powder on top. It looks very natural, very glowy and this is just exactly what I personally look for in a foundation.
My final thoughts
So what do I truly think of the Physician’s Formula The Healthy foundation? It is definitely a good foundation that really works with my makeup aesthetic. This is not great if you are looking for a base product that will cover everything under the sun, but it will work for you if you are looking for a natural base that is great for everyday. Phycisian’s Formula shade range is commonly known to be atrocious, so depending on how deep your skin is, this may be difficult to find a match in too.
Would I recommend the Physician’s Formula Healthy foundation?
I would recommend this foundation if you can get your hands on it quite easily and you can find your shade match. If you have to make too much of an effort I would pass up on it. I am glad to own this foundation, but it is not a holy grail foundation I can’t live without. There are other foundations I like just as much or maybe even better than this that I feel are more readily available to me. If this were easier to get worldwide, I would have bumped it up a few rungs on the ‘foundations I love’ ladder. It is a good one, but not something I would repurchase if I ever ran out.