Finally - we, the Beauty Crew have been allowed to...REVIEW!! Now don't worry, Beauty Review is still strictly an independant site. And we, the crew, will only talk honestly and freely about products we try. Because - well, we practise what we preach around here!
Another thing we're super strict on is sending trial products to people who match the product's target user. There's no point sending someone with oily skin a moisturiser for dry skin right? So when we were asked to put the The Max Factor Miracle Workers Collection to the test our first job was to work out who suited what product. And we ended up with one product unassigned. And so we invited one of our most active members, and a wonderful reviewer, Amyxxoo to join us on our review panel as an honourary crew member.
Natalie aka First Lady was assigned the Max Factor Ageless Elixir Foundation, aka, the Age Defier.
So, if you know me, you'll know that I don't actually wear foundation often; special occasions and nights out only. Primers on the other hand? Oh I am all about them. I have primers for everything, and I'll wear more than one to tackle different issues. I know a primer is supposed to create a smooth canvas for your base to adhere to, but for me, a great primer IS my base.
But that doesn't mean I'm not constantly searching for the perfect foundation. After all, what is a girl without a quest in life? So let's talk about the Max Factor Ageless Elixir 2-in-1 Foundation and Serum. Foundation AND serum? Makeup AND skin care. In one product? Really? Hmmm, my spidey-senses were heavily weighted with suspicion. But hey, I'm 31. I have a 4 year old and a 15 month old. I cling to anti-ageing claims like Rose clung to that door. And for the record, if it meant younger looking skin, I'd have taken the whole door and left Leo floundering in the icy too.
The foundation is wonderfully light and smooth and smells fresh like...skin care. I definitely believed there was serum in there! I found one full pump just a wee bit much for my face - this product spreads easily and more importantly, evenly. It blends flawlessly, so yay for a great shade match. But what I really, really love about it, is that it's buildable. This works from a light coverage foundation through medium and builds to full coverage without being patchy or bulky.
It lasts well through the day 8 hours by itself, although it did struggle in 30+ heat. In all fairness it'd have to be superglue to stay put on my oily summer skin, so I wasn't too surprised.
Now the anti-ageing bit. I wore this for a week straight, and my skin felt lovely, there was no leftover 'foundation-feeling' at night. Am I noticably younger? No, it's not botox in a bottle, but for daily foundation users, I reckon there would be a cumulative effect from the serum. I also think the lightness of the foundation is related to the hydrating skin care in it.
So, prime time. The part of this trial I was looking forward to the most - the Smooth Miracle Primer. It's brilliant. (Why bother with suspense?) It makes applying the foundation incredibly easy and I found it made the foundation last longer (even on hot days) by around 4 hours. The best thing about the primer? For me it's a stand-alone product too. I'm wearing this almost daily after moisturising as my base. It creates an almost blur effect, it really reduces my redness and works beautifully under my powder bronzer and highlighter.
Here's a (truly awful) before and after of me before and after wearing the primer. I don't look quite so, erm, ruddy, after just one product...winning!
So all up - love the foundation, LOVED the primer. I'll continue to use them both and I'll be repurchasing the primer as soon as I run out!
Amy aka honourary Crew Member was assigned the Max Factor Miracle Touch Foundation, aka, the Skin Smoother.
Magic in a pot, it truly is. I was a little unsure of how well a foundation would actually fit all my criterias. I was looking for even skin tone and for it to work well with my combination skin. I prefer a matte foundation over a 'dewy' one.
First thing I must address, the packaging - you think there is a decent amount of product until you actually open it up and realise there is only a small amount in the glass lid. The rest of the compact is to hold a sponge! Totally unnecessary. Let's talk about sponge...hmmmm. I much preferred using my mock 'beauty blender'. The foundation itself is quite interesting, it looks like a solid cake of foundation bit when you touch it and apply it to your skin it turns to a liquid form.
I sadly colour matched wrong so applying it to my face I cried a little as I watched my self turn orangey, but the foundation is beautiful, I truly love it. Amazing coverage and it without a doubt gave my skin the illusion of an even skin tone. My face was rather 'Matchy, matchy' without needing to add other products to my face.
Longevity, with a primer you are looking at 8 hours without it going blotchy or shifting. With the primer I had no transfer whatsoever. Without a primer this product does not perform as well. If I could change anything about this product it would be the packaging. Ditch the sponge! Add more product.
This primer has such and obscure smell to it. A little chemically, a little almond smelling. It's white in colour and it's on the thicker side in comparison to ones I have used. I've used it for over 2 weeks with the Miracle Touch foundation and with another foundation and it really does make a difference to the way both foundations have sat on my face and stayed on it.
I use 2 pumps to have enough product to cover my face. I let it sit on my skin for 2 minutes before proceeding with my foundation. The formula is quite a silky texture but almost feels like a powder once dried. With foundation overy the top both sat amazingly and had similar results. My skin was even, it was absolutely flawless and left it looking incredibly natural. The longevity I easily found 8 hours easy. With no patches or no areas where my makeup had shifted.
So there you have it, the final 2 Max Factor Miracle Workers foundations have been given the Beauty Crew reviewing treatment! Have you used either of these? How about the Smooth Miracle primer? Share your experiences below!
And thank you, Amyxxoo for joining us on this trial!
These all look nice, i have never tried this brand because I'm too broke haha