Review | No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation

*photographs updated October 2015*- the old ones were horrid!

I have to review this product simply because in my opinion this is the best foundation I have ever used. Or atleast for my skin anyway! I heard about the new No7 colour matching service around the end of summer and was very much intruiged to see if it actually works. I went to the No7 counter in Boots for a consultation which is very quick and easy. They take off your foundation from your jaw line on each side of your face, place the little camera device doo dar thingy on your face in these areas and it takes lots of little images of your skin before determining the shade. My shade came out as "cool vanilla" which did surprise me as I'd never really thought my skin tone was cool but hey.

The assistant then asked what skin type I have which is very oily! The newly launched No7 foundation range caters for different skin types, so they meet different people's needs. She recommended the 'Beautifully Matte' foundation and applied it to my jaw line and I was blown away at how well it blended into my skin, especially between my neck and my face. No more worrying about foundation not blending between the two, horrah! I was sold there and then and purchased my first bottle at £12. Before that I'd bought cheap foundations generally from collection 2000 which I didn't think were bad and I was happy with the price which is around £5? So £12 to me seemed quite a bit more but it definitely lasts much much longer. I purchased my first bottle in October and didn't start my next bottle until February/ March? That's pretty good going in my book for a foundation to last that long seeing as I wear it practically everyday.

I think I pretty much love everything about this formulation. It glides well onto the skin and is easy to blend. I use fingers to apply it as I find sponges soak up the product thus meaning you run out quicker. The finish on the skin is lovely and matte but not cakey, with a dewy look to it. I do powder over the top due to the fact that my skin is so so oily but for people with less oily skin you could get away without powdering. It has a slight scent to it which I like but its not too fragrant and the foundation is buildable- a little bit goes a long way. I can use one pump for my entire face for an eveyrday light/medium coverage or one and half pumps for a fuller coverage and it has SPF 15 in it which I love, being conscious of sun exposure n'all. The only thing I will say which for me isn't the case is it does state on the bottle "up to 14 hours shine free complexion", but as I say I have terribly oily shiney skin so I'm not surpised. It does stay matte for a good few hours though before I have to powder again and does stay on my skin all day.

So yeah! That's my rave on this foundation. I totally love it and I can't see me using any other foundations now. Why would I want to when it does everything I need and is the perfect colour? I'll be heading back into Boots for another consultation in spring/ summer to get a match for my summer skin (if we get any sunshine mind). I'm yet to try out the concealer as thats pretty pricey and I'm quite happy with my cheap £1.99 collection 2000.

Have you tried the No7 match made service?

P.s... I thought this was pretty cool too