I found a sachet sample of the Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation in a magazine a while back when they had newly released. It was in the shade 09 Neutral and I managed to get myself a decent few uses by squeezing the contents into an empty pot (proper efficient me!). I noticed Clinique were handing a lot of shade 09's out in various places, they're still available to this day on eBay actually, in the hundreds! I suppose they thought it'd be a good in-between shade for dispersion to the public! I've tested this formula out a good few times and well... I think I'm in love!

What Clinique Say :

A foundation-and-concealer in one for a natural, beyond perfected look that lasts all day. Lightweight, moisturizing makeup covers thoroughly without clogging pores. Skin breathes comfortably, colour stays true, even through sweat and humidity. Due to the rich pigment level that enhances this flawless coverage makeup, shades may appear deeper when first applied. Leave the foundation to settle just for a few minutes, this will allow the high pigment in the formula to adapt to your skin tone which is why you get such a flawless perfected finish. Suitable for ALL skin types.

How to Use

- Using the large backside of the wand, sweep foundation across your forehead, cheeks, and chin. Then use the angled tip of the applicator – that has a slight dip in it to hold more product – to cover down the bridge of the nose and across the jawline. Blend well with fingers.

- Finish by using the pointy tip to spot conceal any trouble areas – under the eyes, around the outside of the nose, on top of blemishes. Pat and blend well with fingers.

Benefits

- Moisturising

- Works for all skin types

- One dip of the wand gives you a full-face application. Spot-conceals, too.

- Slow-dry formula makes blending easy.

- Dual-sphere particles absorb oil and add hydration.

- 12 hours of full-coverage wear from a flexible formula that moves with skin.

- Natural-matte finish

- Full Coverage

- 20 shades available

- Oil Free

- Fragrance Free

- Ophthalmologist Tested

Packaging

The Beyond Perfecting Foundation comes in a see through, weighty cylindrical glass bottle and the applicator is a mahoosive doe foot. I personally really like the applicator, I find it's a cool and convenient way to apply the foundation directly to my face as it keeps the hands or fingers from getting dirty. Though I have heard complaints from some who (most likely are germaphobes or have very acne-prone skin) aren't too fond of this type of dispensing as they find the re-dipping unsanitary, it's understandable but there are so many cosmetics out there with similar types of packaging and dispensing, like your typical concealer and concealer wand right? Same thing ain't it? Anyway, I like it!

Shade & Oxidisation

The shade 08 Golden Neutral is exactly as it says, it's a golden neutral shade, a smidge more pink and neutral than Nars Sheer Glow in Stromboli but it's the fact that it's a lot more yellow than Neutral that makes it so much more wearable for me, I don't love it and a part of me really wishes it had more golden olive tones in it but I actually love the finish way too much to care enough, it's a good enough match! I've heard majority of the shades in this range are pink which is typical of Clinique's bases, so I don't think there are many options for those who have yellow undertones outside of the NC37-42 range as I've seen a lot of people on YouTube in this range wear Golden Neutral that just about get away with it and even they mention that the shade range could do with some expanding. Also I noticed the shades don't actually go dark or light in chronological order, they seem to jump up and down throughout the 20 shades so it's best you go to the store and test it.

Nars All Day Luminous Weightless Stromboli, Nars Sheer Glow Stromboli, Clinique Beyond Perfecting 08 Golden Neutral, 09 Neutral, Urban Decay One & Done Medium, Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation 7

Another plus point is that it doesn't oxidise, it stays true to its' original tones which is another claim in Clinique's description. Being rather pink toned already shade 09 Neutral could've looked worse on my oxidisation prone skin but it didn't, I kept glancing at my face every now and again to check if it was starting to look inappropriate but it was still completely in the safe zone. I highly believe it was mostly the finish and coverage that made it look so amazingly and surprisingly great, not only the tone adapting pigments, because if it looked the slightest bit cakey or drying it would be a whole other story, but obviously more on the finish later...! It also doesn't make the hyper pigmentation around my mouth look atrocious, but I do use a couple of swipes of Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Caramel to help bring some warmth back to that area.

You can see how yellow/olive Nars All Day Luminous Weightless Stromboli is to the rest and how pink/neutral Clinique Beyond Perfecting 09 Neutral actually is!

The texture of the Beyond Perfecting Foundation is thick, creamy and dense, almost whipped gel like too. It doesn't really drip or budge from its' place, very much like the Milani Conceal & Perfect, which I heard is meant to be a dupe. I've used both brushes and sponges to apply it, I use my favourite H&M BB Cream Brush and do a pat pat, swipe motion like usual and it blends in really well and smooth, it doesn't leave streaks or get cakey. The smooth angled flat top and density of this brush works well with the denseness of the creamy liquid and I get optimum coverage. It's pretty much the same with a sponge, just a little sheerer as the sponge does absorb some product, so I do end up using a bit more, though the sponge does give a smoother finish. What I do sometimes is blend most of it with a brush and then go over really lightly with a sponge to smoothen it out a little more. Clinique recommend using your fingers, I haven't tried this nor would I do this as I'd prefer not to get my hands dirty.

I feel this formula would work for combination to normal to slightly dry skin types as it's quite creamy and moisturising, they do mention that it's for all skin types but I suggest if you're oily then use a mattifying primer and powder well as this formula may be too emollient and radiant for you. If you have dry skin you may find this too thick a formula and it may sit on and exaggerate any dry skin and texture.

This texture works very very well for my skin surprisingly even though I usually prefer my lighter consistencies. Like the Urban Decay One & Done, the Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation and the Estee Lauder Double Wear Nude this has a thick creamy whipped texture that coats my skin with a definite layer of product and smoothens it out, the same technology has been used between all of these formula's but this one is definitely my favourite.

Finish

The finish is what totally blew me away! I don't think the shade 09 Neutral would've worked if this finish or formula was any different to what it is. The Beyond Perfecting foundation gives my skin a luminous, deliciously youthful, plump and poreless finish. It's a glowy, satin finish, not at all greasy, but not quite matte either, the light simply reflects off my skin in all the right places. It honestly looks so creamy and luscious on my skin it's as if I drink over 2 litres of water daily, as if I eat well and balanced every single day, as if I exercise regularly and as if my bodies natural Hyaluronic Acid reservoirs haven't started declining yet, nor that I'm a day over 20! It's AH-mazing!

This is the finish I get on my dehydrated combination skin. Though my skin has been behaving well lately and alhamdulillah (all praises to God) is in a much better condition than usual, so I'm not too dehydrated and my texture isn't too bad, I find this formula smoothens my skin and fills in my pores really well, better than most that I've tried so far. My skin type has both the capability  of looking utterly parched or stinkingly greasy and being a dewy skin admirer it's difficult to find a formula that has the right balance which lets me achieve that pretty polished glow that I've always yearned for, without it highlighting every single bump on my skin or looking unflatteringly shiny. I always say bumpy shiny skin is unattractive but I may have just found the perfect formula for me.

I wouldn't say this formula is the most undetectable in finish, it is a thick formula and it's kinda obvious that you have makeup on, but I'd still classify it as a natural finish because of how incredibly smooth and seamless it looks. I know you all know that I like my natural second skin like bases but this formula looks flawless on me without it looking a bit thick or cakey and that's my selling point. I don't mind looking like I have makeup on but it can't be cakey, it needs to be skin enhancing and it needs to look good and this formula looks pretty darn good! Since it's a full coverage foundation you can easily reduce the amount you use to achieve a lighter undetectable coverage, I would definitely do this too but I also think I'd keep this specially for the days for when I want more flawless coverage as I already have other bases that are a lot more undetectable and more natural in finish.

The Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation is very similar to the Milani Conceal & Perfect in terms of their claims and texture but the way they behave on the skin over time proves that there are major differences in the formula which truly set them apart. If you've read the review, you'll know the Milani starts off looking great on me, very smooth and poreless but then turns horrid after a few minutes, it sinks in to all my fine lines and pores and really ages my skin. Whereas the Clinique stays the exact same and in fact makes me look a lot more youthful. I remember I would actually keep checking the mirror every now and again to see if the Beyond Perfecting also decided to do a U-turn but it didn't, it still looked flawless hours later.

Coverage & Build-ability

The Beyond Perfecting Foundation is pretty much a full coverage foundation, it's a pigmented formula, a little goes a really long way and it's definitely build-able so you can start as sheer as you want, which is what I love about full coverage foundations, the coverage is totally adaptable to your desires. I find it astounding how such a full coverage foundation can cover so much yet not look horrendously cakey at the same time and look so natural too. It covers everything! I don't have a lot to cover, some faint marks from old spots, general brown girl uneven skin tone and some mild redness. I use 1 doe foot application and get full coverage, though I do use my orange colour corrector on my problem areas as usual and this keeps it from looking ashy or grey, I can either go in with a couple more dabs of foundation or a little bit of concealer around my mouth if I want more coverage there.

With regards to build-ability I find it builds really easily and smoothly, as mentioned in Clinique's description this doesn't dry or set too fast so you have plenty of time to build and work the foundation into the skin, though I doubt you'd need any more than two layers of this pigmented formula at the most.

Feel

This isn't the most lightweight or thinnest of formula's but it's not super heavy either. As it's a pigmented product you really don't need a lot of product to achieve coverage but I'd say the creamy emollience would be the only give away. The Nars All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation, which is a powerhouse of pigment, is what I'd call lightweight. The Beyond Perfecting Foundation does feel ever so slightly tacky/moist on the skin at the beginning but a good dusting of powder sorts that out. I find this formula is rather hydrating, I love how nourishing and moisturising it feels and I can feel it continually hydrating my face through the day, the finish can vouch for this fact also as my skin looks hydrated too. Some foundations can end up looking very dehydrated in certain areas of my face like around my mouth after a while, but this foundation doesn't do that.

Longevity

Which brings us to longevity, this honestly holds up really well, the first few times I tested this I didn't use any powder, not only was it because I adored the radiant glowy finish but because I obviously wanted to see how the foundation stood up on its own and what the condition of my skin would be as the day went on. I wanted to see if the amazing "glow" would turn on me throughout the day and end up breaking up the foundation or settle in any lines but it stayed put, like they mention it moved with the skin, it was still smooth and poreless. The radiance/shine had increased a little after a few hours but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting, since this is quite an emollient and radiant formula I was anticipating a hell of a lot more grease but it wasn't bad at all. Yet another truth in their claims.

This isn't transfer proof so I highly recommend setting with powder, though there seems to be a film former aspect to it where it sort of settles itself on the skin. I would also make sure to set under the eye if you use it as a concealer there, since it's a creamy formula it'll most probably sit in the creases. On myself I would definitely set with powder if I needed it to last the day but if I don't need for it to last long I would happily stick to the foundations own finish and glow for as long as I could and powder only when I desperately needed to.

Overall Thoughts

I love this formula, I never knew I could get addicted to such full flawless coverage, I think I may have found a new Holy Grail product here! It's very rare that I buy a base that quick after only a few trying it a few times so you know it must be good! It's brilliant that they've managed to meet most if not all of their claims, not many products can do that. This formula has simply worked so well for my skin type and my skin concerns, I never thought I'd rave about a product so much but it's true, I'm in love! I obviously can't guarantee that everyone is going to share the same opinions as mine or have similar results since everyone is different but I definitely recommend you check this out if you like full coverage, skin smoothing, radiant foundations, perhaps pick up one of those 09 Neutral samples from eBay haha! I really wish they expand the shade range so that more people can benefit from this wonderful formula, this is definitely the better version of the Milani Conceal & Perfect Foundation which even though was made as a dupe, it really doesn't compare. This is utter perfection! It's Beyond Perfecting!

Pros:

- Full Coverage

- Gorgeous radiant satin finish

- Very pigmented so little goes a long way

- Easy, convenient packaging

- Skin smoothing and pore filling

- Hydrating and moisturising

- Lasts well on the skin

- Doesn't get unbearably oily on my skin

- Ideal for combination - dry skin types

Cons:

- Not ideal for very oily skin

- Not everyone likes the applicator

- Most of the shades are pink

- Not the most lightweight of foundations

- Not the most undetectable or second skin type of foundation

- Can transfer easily if not set

If you've tried this foundation let me know! I'd love to hear your thoughts.