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Physicians Formula The Healthy Foundation is a light to medium coverage foundation with SPF 20. It comes in 16 shades and retails for about $15. Physicians Formula describes this as “a long-wearing, buildable, and breathable foundation that provides lightweight, medium coverage with a healthy, satin finish.” I agree with this for the most part. The long-wearing part depends on your skin type and the skincare products you apply underneath it. The website says this is fragrance free but it does have a very light scent. I don’t notice it during normal use unless I am actively looking for a scent.
I have combo skin that is more on the dry side as I write this review. For moisturizer I primarily use squalane oil, which is very lightweight for an oil and absorbs well into the skin. On a typical day when I just use the squalane, this foundation wears on me all day without much fading or breaking up. If I use a more emollient SPF as well, like Dior One Essential City Defense, the foundation won’t last as long and I’ll have to touch up with powder during the day.
The bottle is made of glass and there is a large doe-foot applicator attached to the lid. I find myself having to dip back into the bottle a couple times to apply enough product to cover my whole face. One thing to be careful about is dipping the applicator into the bottle too quickly. If I do that, sometimes little droplets will fly out all over my desk and makeup mirror. As long as I’m careful and slow down, it’s not really an issue. It is one of the few foundations I’ve found that works well with a brush. It applies even better with a damp sponge.
The consistency is on the thinner side it feels very light and hydrating. It spreads easily and blends quickly over my face. Once applied, it looks like natural skin, just more evened out and with a healthy glow. I always set this foundation with powder because it leaves behind a very slight tacky feel. Applying it over just moisturizer (no SPF), and setting it with powder, is enough to get me through the day without needing to touch up. It doesn’t do much to smooth the look of texture and large pores but it doesn’t emphasize them either.
