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KVD Good Apple Full Coverage Serum Foundation is a buildable coverage, natural-finish foundation with a relatively thin consistency and surprisingly hydrating feel. It comes in 40 shades and you get the standard 1 fl oz / 30 ml of product for $42. The glass bottle has a heavy, substantial feel to it and comes with a high quality metal pump that is very easy to control.
This caught my attention when it first came out because of the popularity of the Good Apple Foundation Balm (and because it claimed to somehow be full coverage but also serum-y in texture?) but I didn’t immediately run to try it out. On my last visit to Sephora, I gave this one a swatch and color matched myself, expecting it to feel much like other full coverage foundations I have tried. It had a surprisingly moisturizing, smooth, buttery feel to it that didn’t dry down too quickly, seemed to spread easily, and look decent on the skin, as far as I could tell from a quick in-store swatch. So, an unplanned purchase came home with me.
It has been almost 3 weeks since I started using it and I’ve tried it with my skin in varying conditions, over different primers/sunscreens and with different powders. I didn’t really go into too many different application methods, because the way I apply foundation works for me with most different foundations, but I’ll talk about how I apply it as well.
When I bought this, I went with the shade 012, which seemed to match me very well both wet and once it dried down. I didn’t notice any oxidation or darkening as it dried when shade matching myself and I have not noticed that happening either as I’ve worn it the past few weeks.
Here are some comparison swatches to other foundations in my collection:
Application
The way I apply nearly any foundation is by working in sections. I will tap/dot it on in a small area and then pat it out with my fingers to get a nice even layer of it over the skin. Then I will give it a final blend with a damp sponge and sometimes a foundation brush as well if the sponge is not doing the trick. With some foundations, it isn’t necessary to work in sections but with higher coverage and/or more matte/drying formulas this method has worked the best for me, so I adopt it for almost every foundation I apply.
I don’t usually layer or build up coverage but my skin has been less even in tone in the past year, so I’ve been dabbling with building up coverage lately. To do this I’ll use exactly the same application method a second time over an area I’ve already covered. This doesn’t always work. Sometimes the second layer will look very unnatural or cakey and sometimes the second layer will lift the first layer and leave a patchy uneven mess of my complexion. Luckily with this foundation, layering has been delightfully easy.
I have found I can even use it as concealer. It works best as spot concealer on me which is awesome because I then know my “concealer” actually matches my foundation and it is one less product to have cluttering up my makeup table. It works fine as an under eye concealer too, offering plenty of coverage but looks a little bit more drying than other products in that area. I’ve definitely needed more hydrating concealers as I get older.
It has been pretty compatible with most other products I’ve tried it with. Primers I’ve successfully paired it with include Milk Makeup Pore Eclipse Primer, Elf Power Grip, Tatcha Silk Canvas, NYX Angel Veil, and Smashbox Primerizer. With the Elf primer being sticky, it seemed to require more effort/strength (lol) to spread the foundation over the skin, but it sat smoothly and beautifully over it once I got it there. With the Milk primer, I got even more pore smoothing but I did notice the foundation looked drier literally in the dots of my pores, which was only noticeable up close. It wasn’t bad enough to prevent me from using these two products together again in the future.
I’ve used it only over two sunscreens. One is the Australian Gold Botanical Tinted Face Sunscreen SPF 50, which works amazingly well with the foundation. The other is the Equate SPF 50 Broad Spectrum Sunscreen Spray for Kids. The Equate sunscreen is one of the few products that didn’t agree with the foundation. The sunscreen pills all by itself, and adding foundation over top emphasizes that pilling. I can make it work with a thinner, lighter coverage foundation but because this one is so high in coverage, it kind of ruins the finish and creates a patchy look in areas where pilling is the worst.
Performance
Let’s talk a little bit about the finish and how this sits on the skin (texture and pores, especially). I would say this has a natural finish. It isn’t super matte and it doesn’t add any glow to the skin either.
It isn’t super smoothing on higher texture areas and over large pores. I have other foundations that I think give me a smoother finish and are more flattering on those areas but most of them are lower coverage. I am happy enough with how this looks on the center of my forehead and on the inner part of my cheeks to be able to achieve the level of coverage this offers. It doesn’t make those areas look any worse than they would look without the foundation, it just doesn’t really do much FOR them either. The best thing I can do to make sure those areas look the best they can is to keep on top of hydration both by drinking plenty of water and using hydrating skincare products.
A single layer of foundation that isn’t applied particularly heavily will give me strong medium coverage. It noticeably evens out my overall complexion and gives me a more rested look. Applied this way, I will still see prominent freckles, dark spots, active breakouts, and the discoloration from healing breakouts. A second layer will noticeably fade the look of spots that are healing and lighter dark spots but I may still see active breakouts and dark freckles. If I want a “flawless” look, I will then use the foundation as a spot concealer over those specific spots. I do this with a couple of small brushes like an eyeliner brush, a small flat synthetic shader or lip brush, and a small pencil brush. Used as a spot concealer, it easily covers dark brown freckles and the redness of active breakouts in one or two additional layers and sits decently well over the texture of a breakout (see my chin, lol).
Wear Time
I need to reapply powder at least once to get through the day and keep shine at a comfortable level. This is supposed to be “transfer proof”, which is true immediately after application but once my skin gets oily, it easily rubs off. This has been the case for every foundation I have ever tried and so I do not take this claim very seriously. The amount that it gathers in lines or around my nose is very minimal and not enough to bother me. I have other foundations that require less or no maintenance at all but I find the coverage/finish/ease of use worth it.
All in all, I gotta say I’m very happy to have this foundation in my collection. I ended up using it exclusively for weeks on end and ignoring all my other ones, just because I was enjoying it so much.