I have nothing against Jay Manuel. In fact, he looks to be a fun and loving guy with a great heart, and I would hang around with him all day if I ever had the chance. He is a truly gifted and talented makeup artist who knows how to bring out true beauty in anyone. I am sure he has touched many faces from famous to everyday people with various skin tones. With this in mind, I don’t understand why his Powder to Cream Foundation would turn out to be such a disappointment times eight!
Jay Manuel Powder to Cream Foundation retails for $38 and comes in 12 colors. Incorporating Korean cosmetic technology, Jay Manuel has created a powder which turns into a cream rather than the usual cream to powder. Water-encapsulated powder liquifies into a cream upon buffing. No more of that dry flat and matte looking foundation from regular powder foundations. With this one there is a slight glow to give the skin luminescence and to brighten up dull complexions. Sounds great, right?
1. Color Selection
I thought his color chart allowed for easy selection. Determine if you are in the light, medium, or dark skin spectrum then choose which depth you are within that selection. Similar to the RCMA and Joe Blasco foundations.
This is the reason why I chose the Light #4 because I am certainly not porcelain or fair. I am light but not too light. I am not close to a medium either. I consider myself on the dark end of the pale spectrum which is why I thought Light #4 would be perfect.
I WAS WRONG! I should have chosen Light #1 or #2 because this one turns out to be too dark, close to two or even three shades too dark.
2. Color
This foundation is orange! I am not saying peach. The foundation reminds me of an orange creamsicle. I don’t quite understand why this foundation is orange unless there is some nostalgic attachment to the 1970’s foundation colors. I never was a fan of the pumpkin line of demarcation on the chin many young women sported in that era.
I am not a cosmetic chemist but the foundation consists of liquid encapsulated colors. Once the “powder” is rubbed, it will turn into a cream onto the skin. Maybe, only certain pigments work with this mix which turns the color of the foundation orange. Or Jay was wearing blue tinted lenses and determined the colors to be as close to a neutral skin tone. (Blue plus orange equals beige or brown in skin tone color theory.) From what I have read from the reviews, the darker colors turn out to be red based. These foundation would not match anyone who has deep olive tones.
3. Texture
If you have oily skin, skip this. Don’t even let curiosity get the best of you because you won’t like the texture of this. The first ingredient is glycerin. Glycerin is a humectant and it will allow the skin to stay moist or feel moist. And, this is how the foundation feels after application.
You know how it feels to be in a setting of 100% humidity, your skin is never relieved from that wet feeling. This is how it feels with the foundation. The skin always has this layer of moistness; it only dries up if a layer of face powder is applied on top. You might think, so what, “I always powder my face.” Well, this takes me to reason number four.
4. Blotchy
After wearing it for a couple of hours, the powder just congregates to the oiliest parts of the face. It appears the oil acts as a magnet and just forces the foundation to end up in those areas and just gone in the other areas. What is worse is my reason number five.
5. Oxidation
I mentioned the foundation is orange. Well, it becomes oranger. (Improper English, I know.) I am glad I wore this at home on a weekend because in public people would have been staring at me. I have never ended up with such an orange face since the late 70’s or early 80’s. I may have had great memories of that era, but I don't need it in makeup!
6. Lighting
Again, this has to do with the color of the foundation. I don’t quite understand why it should be so orange. Maybe, Jay is so used to studio lighting where the kelvin temperature (lighting temperature) is so bright, white, and blue that the orange looks like beige on the skin. This would be great if all of us lived in perfect studio lighting, but we don’t.
I noticed when the lighting changed, the color of the foundation changed. The worst part was when I went into a dimly lit room; my face was dark orange! Can you imagine what I would have looked like in a dimly lit fancy restaurant? I would have been a glow-in-the-dark pumpkin!!
7. Application Can Be Messy
I like powder foundation. I don't mind mineral foundation. I find it is easier to use on those days when a quick application is needed. However, sometimes I want that creamy liquid feel with the ease of powder application which is why I bought this in the first place.
It may be a powder but the formulation can make it messy because the powder will easily fall off the brush and the next thing you know, you will have foundation smeared all over the white blouse. You really have to swirl it in the lid of the container to apply and turn it into a cream which really defeats the purpose. Why not use a liquid or cream foundation in the first place?
Not only is it messy at times. The brush will be saturated with moisture. It gets dirty after one use. For this reason DON'T use some fancy named animal-hair makeup brush, use a synthetic one. Better yet, use a silicone sponge!
8. Coverage
I couldn't get full coverage from this. I could only get anywhere from sheer to medium which is fine with me because I am not a full coverage fan. However, if you want full coverage, you will have to use A LOT!!! It takes a lot of product to provide what liquid or cream foundation can provide. There is only about 0.4 oz (11.5 g) of product. To provide full coverage, used everyday, this will probably provide you with about a month supply if you are lucky. Then, consider full coverage will also give you an opaque orange color only to oxidize to a more orange color. Unless you are doing a cosplay as Pumpkinhead, I would avoid full-coverage hopes altogether!
Conclusion
The technology is intriguing and I have seen it used in some lip/cheek products which sounds better than a foundation. I also have to state that since this product does contain water and there are no parabens as preservatives, the shelf life will only be a year or two. If you keep it longer, then you can watch a new form of mold grow or maybe discover a new strain of penicillin.
Like I said, I have nothing against Jay Manuel. I just made the wrong choice when it comes to his beauty line. I have heard raves about his liquid foundation and even his mascara. I will try those someday or maybe you should or have. If you have, let me know!
Olivia
