I’ve been a one-foundation woman for as long as I can remember: Bobbi Brown’s SPF 15 Tinted Moisturizer. We’ve been through a lot together and it’s never let me down, but lately I’ve been wondering what else is out there. How do I really know it’s the best if I don’t test drive another? I needed to get some foundation “strange”.
I went looking for excitement on the other side of the tracks: the drugstore. In my Beauty Bill of Rights (Article IV) I stated that some things are worth paying a little more for, foundation being my example. Could I be satisfied with something so…common? For my first, I went for something with stamina: Almay Truly Lasting Color with SPF 15. I’ve never strayed from Bobbi and I was nervous: would I look chalky or cheap?
The Claim: “tlc truly lasting color™ liquid makeup with spf 15 delivers up to 16 hours of flawless coverage that won’t rub off even in heat and humidity. plus, it nourishes your skin with a blend of green tea to protect, vitamin e to help smooth, and lemon extract to brighten…for all day, natural radiance.” [Disclaimer: the lack of capitals at the beginning of each sentence is direct from Almay’s website, not me. Apparently that’s a “thing” they’re doing with all their products.]
The Good: Love the pump! (Wait, that might have come out wrong in the context of my opening statements….) Seriously, the foundation is delivered from a pump and it allows you to control how much you use, which is great. It goes on smoothly and evenly and gives me a ‘peaches and cream’ complexion. I would classify the coverage as light to medium (depending on how much you dispense) but it felt light on my skin, not heavy or occlusive. I chose Ivory, which is the lightest color available but was a great match for my fair skin. It stayed put and looked great all day. The SPF 15 is from Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide, both of which are physical sunblocks proven effective.
The Questionable: the foundation had a tendency to settle visibly in any dry spots (which was good motivation to exfoliate), especially under the eyes. It does contain Sodium hyaluronate which can help retain skin’s moisture, but unfortunately it’s pretty far down on the ingredient list. Luckily so is the “lemon extract”, which is a potential irritant and brings nothing to the table. And it shares the same drawback all drugstore cosmetics do: you really can’t try it out before you take it home, so the color match is a guessing game.
The Verdict: This is a good foundation for someone with normal skin to slightly oily skin but no dry patches. I liked it enough to wear it for our blog photo shoot but I don’t think I’ll be able to wear it in the Winter time, because my skin will likely be too dry.
Beautypendence Rating (out of 5): 
In summary, a worthwhile summer fling but not a candidate for knocking Bobbi off the pedestal. The quest continues….
Images: Almay; author’s own
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hi,just asking where i can buy the foundation,i lived here in phillipines,there is no ALMAY product store here,im thinking to buy online shipping,and i dont know were,kindly help me,i so loved the foundation after i read your articles! thank u very much :)! have a nice day!
Thanks! That stinks that they don’t sell Almay in the Philippines. Have you looked at drugstore.com? It looks they have some kind of option to ship internationally here. But it might be really expensive. Good luck!
just put ur tinted moisturizer or a regular one or a primer underneath it then. 🙂
I’m just finishing up using the last bottle of my Almat ‘wake up call’ in naked/my. So sad that I cannot find this anywhere any longer. They discontinued it a while ago. I bought what I could on eBay but it just doesn’t seem to show up any longer. I’m now looking at the Almay TLC in naked/my. Don’t know if it will be heavier or not. I’ve been so happy with the wake up call. And of an era.