Review: Smashbox Camera Ready Full Coverage Foundation Spf 15

Price: $38.00

Where to buy: Smashbox counters, sephora.com, sephora stores, smashbox.com, etc.

Description: A lightweight yet buildable cream to powder full coverage foundation that’s good for your skin. This luxurious, creamy formula glides on effortlessly leaving a semi-matte finish without being cakey or heavy... this foundation leaves skin looking naturally flawless.

I am going to make this short and simple (yeah, right! this is probably going to turn out to be one of those never ending posts!):

Once again, in my search for the perfect foundation I gave this one a try.  Up until that point I hadn't tried any smashbox products (besides for my brow brush) and I really wanted to, I've heard so many good things about their primers so I thought their foundation had to be pretty good as well... anyway, so I ended up buying this one, what attracted me to it is the fact that is full coverage. 

Here are the facts:  This foundation is called "camera ready" for a reason... it makes you look awesome in pictures... and I will give it that, you will most definitely look good in photos... but what about in person??? That, my friends, is the question!
Let me start by saying this: Application absolutely SUCKS! Excuse the language, but that is trully how I feel. This is a cream to powder foundation, so I was a little out of my element when applying it at first, I am used to liquid.  The first time I tried it with the brush that it comes with, I applied concealer, primer and my clarins cream prior to it... it did NOT look good.  The second time I tried it with my mac 130 brush and applied the smashbox primer instead of my mac one... didn't make a difference.  Third time I didn't apply my concealer on first, hoping that it would look less cakey, nope... didn't work. And yesterday I gave it a try one last time, I wanted to take pictures to show you all what I mean when I say that "it didn't look good" and once again it did NOT look good.

The thing with this product is that it only looks bad when you see it up close.  If you are to look at yourself in a mirror from, let's say, 4 feet away you are going to love what you see! I don't know what it is with this foundation but from far away it makes your skin look even toned and like it really does provide full coverage.  When you see yourself up close is when you start having issues with it.  Just look at the pictures:

It settles into every little fine line or dryness you may have on your skin.  My Clarins cream did nothing under this foundation.  Notice my nose and pores on my cheek? My regular foundation does NOT make me look like this.

Look at all of that cakeyness on my forehead! And this is supposed to be a full coverage foundation... well, what do you think?! I can still see my acne scars under it!

And around my lip and my cheeks... more cakeyness... this foundation looks nothing but natural, at least not up close. 

Please note that I tried really hard to blend this foundation onto my face and these pictures were taken after me blending and blending it like a maniac.

Would I recommend it?  NO, NO, NO!  Unless you are a model and all you do is take pictures for a living or you won't have any close up human interaction, than this foundation is not for you.   It is impossible to apply it so that it looks natural, oh, I should point out that that the lady at the Smashbox counter told me to use their smashbox face and body brush with it to achieve the best results but I am not going to spend $52.00 on a brush just for that foundation! So maybe if you do apply it with this brush it would look better but I honestly don't think so.

I am wearing this foundation on this picture, see what I mean by looking good in pictures?  But who cares if you look good in pictures when in person your face looks cakey and you see the product settle in all your fine lines and dry spots on your skin!  I am sad to say that this baby is going back to the store.  I really wanted it to work, for once I found a foundation that matches my skintone perfectly... so I guess my search for the perfect foundation is still on. 

I rate this product a 1 out of 5.