A drugstore foundation I was asked to try by my subscribers? The L’Oreal True Match Serum foundation. This thing was all the hype and many people wanted my opinion too. Only problem? Where I live this retails for quite a steep price point and the shade I thought might work for me was nowhere to be found in stores. So it took me some time to hunt this down in my shade and for a reasonable price in order to try it. Now that I have I can tell you: this is a good, dewy, lightweight foundation. Unfortunately this comes in a terrible shade range and messy packaging. Let me explain.
Review: L’Oreal True Match Nude Plumping Tinted Serum foundation 0.5-2 Very Light
It took a while for this foundation to come to The Netherlands. We are usually behind on Maybelline and L’Oreal releases: the US typically gets them first. On top of that, once I found this in store I was shocked to find this retails for €25. For comparison, the Rare Beauty Tinted Moisturizer retails for €33. That is not that much more and considered a high end product. This is by far the most expensive foundation I have ever found at a drugstore. This is why I decided to keep an eye out online and abroad to see if it was cheaper. Lo and behold, through Lookfantastic I found the exact same product for €13.95. A much more reasonable price point for a drugstore foundation.
What does this foundation have to offer?
Let’s start with the positive points. My main reason for trying this is because it is slated as one of the best hydrating, skin tint like foundations and the drugstore. This promises to be lightweight and dewy and I have great success with L’Oreal foundations in the past. The line dupes out quite a few YSL products (they are made by the same manufacturer as L’Oreal owns YSL) and the quality is always great. Only downside? This comes in just 6 shades where I live. I had to go online to find the lightest shade in the range and as you can see below: that shade is still too dark and yellow for me.
How does this foundation swatch?
What stands out most about this foundation though is how lightweight, weightless and pretty this look son the skin. As you can see in the swatch, this is a great lightweight, skincare like texture with a lot of glow, but not to the point where you will look greasy. I love the look of this on my skin. For my dry/ dehydrated skin this is one of the best drugstore foundations I have found in a long time and that is saying something. I love how easily this blends and look seamless and streak free. I would recommend using this with a brush to get the best performance out of it.
What is the coverage like?
This being lightweight you can expect this to not be full coverage. This is a sheer to light finish product like the trend has been like for a while now. And I am loving it. What I don’t love about this? The packaging. Now that I have used it consistently for a few weeks, I am frustrated with how messy this is. The dropper style seems like an intuitive method of using this, but the product is so liquidy that the dropper is too coated in product making the dropper very ineffective as this just drips everywhere. The result? Very messy packaging that I need to clean up all the time. A squeezy tube would have been so much better for this.
What is the shade like?
But the packaging isn’t the biggest downside here. That would be the shade range. In the packaging this looks very promising. It seems to have a pinky undertone and the shade looks night and light. But alas, as you can see in this picture here, without blending this down my neck you can clearly see a line that is much darker and more yellow toned than my own skin. It looks okay from the front and I can definitely make the shade work if I also wear bronzer and a full face of makeup. But if this is already too dark for me, then what about people who are even paler than me? And usually when this happens, the shades on the deeper end of the spectrum are usually also not that great.
My final thoughts
The L’Oreal True Match Serum foundation has so much going for it! This has an amazing lightweight formula that stays put all day, yet is very hydrating and dewy looking. In short, it has everything I have been looking for in a drugstore skin tint/ foundation. In contrast the shade range is terrible and with just 6 shades available it will be difficult to find a shade right for you. I think the theory here is because there is little coverage that the shade will ‘adept’ to your skin tone, but we can all see here that’s not the case. This foundation is dark, yellow and just not a great match to my fair skin with a cool to neutral undertone. By now, I have tried enough foundation to give this a hard pass based on that shade range alone, especially at the exorbitant price this retails for in my country.
Would I recommend the L’Oreal True Match Serum foundation?
If you can find your shade: sure. But you will be hard pressed to find it. Also, the price of this product will greatly depend on where you live. If you are in The Netherlands or another country where they have hiked up the price: look online. They often do more shades at a better price point if you shop around. But for the price point this retails over here, and what this does I don’t feel it is worth it in the end.