EX1 Invisiwear Liquid Foundation in F200 Review

A foundation that's made specially for yellow, olive, Mediterranean complexions? You know I'd be all over that by now! And I was. A few years ago soon after EX1 had launched I had excitedly purchased shade F300 after referring to their shade chart, F300 was supposed to match skintones between NC37 and NC40. When I tried the shade F300 I was thoroughly disappointed at the shade as it was still not yellow enough for me, it was more neutral peach on my skin. I couldn't believe it, the brand that was aimed at yellow olive skintones was still not yellow enough for me and so disdained and disappointed I left it at that thinking drugstore foundations will NEVER be suitable for olive complexions.

Fast forward to now, I'd seen some swatches of all the shades together on Pinterest and instantly saw F200 looked more yellow, so the intrigue really grew from there. I also noticed the shade F200 was floating around insta and so I decided I wanted to give it another go. I managed to get a sample and after trialling it I'm ready to share my thoughts. FYI this foundation has no scent and no SPF for those who are wondering.

Description from website:

A lightweight and luminous liquid base, formulated with light diffusers which unify skin tone and cover imperfections effortlessly. Specially designed ‘true colour’ pigments work perfectly with your skins’ natural tones in an ultra-blendable formula.

The result? The perfect Invisiwear effect.

• Clinically and Dermatologically tested
• 100% Oil and Fragrance free
• Non Comedogenic

Shade

There's a total of 5 shades in this range F100, F200, F300, F400 and F500. I got F200 which is meant to be for those that are between NC30 and NC35. Now I don't really like MAC foundation shades as I don't find them very olive yellow but rather I think they lean more towards warm/orange neutral. 

The shade F200 is a very good match to my skin tone, when I apply it to my skin, it disappears and blends in really well. It's almost like my skintone in a bottle! If I were to describe the shade I would say it's a olive beige shade with some yellow, it's not a very yellow shade but has just enough to work very well with my skin tone. It's definitely a better match for me than the F300 and I adore it! This is the third time I've given up on a potential favourite just because of trying the wrong shade!

Excuse my splotchy dry hands, the skin on my hand is quite translucent/transparent hence the splotchiness and veins.

EX1 F200 and Nars All Day Luminous Weightless Stromboli

Texture

The texture of the EX1 is very thick and creamy. I've travelled with my little sample pot and where some foundations can make a mess and coat all sides and end up on the lid, even possibly leak, the EX1 didn't budge one bit, so you know it's not a runny formula at all. I've applied it with both sponges and brushes and I've noticed that since it's a thick formula you have to bounce the sponge a little extra to blend it in and as expected you use more product with a sponge, the brush manoeuvres and blends the foundation in well and doesn't take as much effort and you get a bit more coverage. (I'm currently obsessed with a particular face brush at the moment and haven't been able to put it down, I haven't picked up a beauty blender since! All will be revealed soon...Check here for brush review!). Also even though I don't have the full size bottle, I really like the packaging for the EX1, it's simple and effective, I love how clean and efficient the pump action is, you'll never waste a drop!

Feel

This is a lightweight formula as advertised but I don't think it's as lightweight as some of the newer foundation releases. Back in 2013 when it had first released you could say it was one of the first of its kind to offer decent coverage yet an invisible look and feel but foundation technology has evolved since then and there are many products out there now that provide an even more lighter feel. But yes I would say this foundation has the potential of looking and feeling invisible depending on your skin type/condition and how you apply, prep or set your makeup.

Finish

The EX1 Invisiwear does set to a demi matte finish on me and I have combination dehydrated skin. I wasn't anticipating this at all. At first it looks like a satin finish and exudes a glow that satin foundations would leave but after around 5 minutes it sets to a matte finish. In fact I have to be weary of how much powder I put on top or else it dries down too much and I'm left looking a little matte and a touch cakey. I have to wait for the foundation to dry down/set first so that I can see where I can/need to powder. It dries down especially around my mouth for some reason where I also have some texture, so I've learnt to use extra moisturiser there and go easy with the powder.

A couple of months ago I was going through a very dehydrated and dry phase, many of my foundations would look really dry and dull on my skin and the texture and flakes would look more pronounced, this was also one of the foundations that looked awful on me. So I don't think the EX1 is good for those with very dry, dehydrated and textured skin. Thank God my skin has improved since then and I can comfortably wear this without too much trouble. Definitely do your skin prep and moisturise well as the matte finish may not be forgiving if you have very dry skin. 

In terms of pore filling and skin smoothing, the brand doesn't claim for this to fill in pores or anything but I think it fills them in enough like most foundations would do anyway, it also isn't a smoothing or plumping foundation like the Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation (review here) or the Urban Decay One & Done (review here). This is more of second skin finish where it mimics the skins natural texture. I have no complaints with this, I still like it very much. 

Coverage

I would say this foundation offers medium to buildable full coverage. I have some mild redness and post acne marks, general uneven skin tone and hyperpigmentation. Since I don't have the full size bottle I can't tell you how many pumps I use but I can tell you that I use 6 small dots around my face and get a proper medium coverage on my self. I'm not very keen on full coverage so I tend to go for a more natural look and finish to my skin. I love how even this makes my skin look and because it's so close to my skins colour it really looks great on me. I colour correct under my eyes and around my mouth and I get a pretty flawless finish.

Build-ability

The EX1 sets so I suggest building one section before proceeding to the next, I prefer to build thin layers at a time and only were I need it. Since this blends so well into the skin I find this builds nicely too but take into consideration the dry down as this looks drier on me the more I  build it on my dry/dehydrated areas. 

Longevity 

This foundation sets to a demi matte finish so it lasts really long on my skin, especially after setting with powder. I like the way satin/matte foundations look on my skin as the day goes by as my natural oils come out and give my skin a healthy natural glow, the matte nature of this foundation works well with my skin type and I get really good longevity out of this.

Oxidation

The EX1 Invisiwear does oxidise and deepen a bit to a slightly orange tinge, but not too much that it looses the olive yellow tones that work so well with my skin, it makes me look a little more tanned and golden and I don't mind that too much, I actually quite like it. A lot of people have complained about how orange it goes on them but there isn't much you can do as the shade range is very limited, having only 5 shades means you can't go down a shade as the shade differences between all 5 shades are quite distinct. Shade F100 is actually more on the neutral pink side which doesn't really make sense. But we can only hope Farah Naz (the creator) brings more shades to the range as I think that would do very well for the targeted consumers of this brand. 

Overall I really like the EX1 Invisiwear foundation. I adore the shade more so as it contains a nice balance of beige, green and yellow to match my skin so well, even the oxidation colour is manageable. I don't have many foundations that flatter my skintone that well but this one is definitely one of them along with bareMinerals Original Golden Medium (review here and here) and Nars Stromboli (review here and here). With the right skin prep I can make the demi-matte finish work really well for me, the skin like finish and the longevity is great. If you have an olive yellow complexion and haven't tried F200 in this range I suggest you get a sample and give it a go. My success with the EX1 Inivisiwear Foundation has made me want to try more of their products now! As usual I hope this was helpful. Toodles!