Catrice True Skin Hydrating Foundation

You know I will go out of my way to purchase anything that Tati Westbrook has recommended and approved. Well, this is one of them.

I don’t have lots of foundation reviews on this blog because I tend to stick to what works for my skin and a lot of them sadly didn’t. And if you’re one of my Twitter followers, you might have read a mini-review I did for this foundation (spoiler alert: it wasn’t positive.)

But for now, let’s just see what I have to say about this foundation after using it several times for more than a week. 

Catrice True Skin Hydrating Foundation

This foundation retails for RM45 and it could be cheaper or pricier depending on which drugstore you buy them at. I got the shade 020 Warm Beige and it comes in about 20 shades I believe but here in Malaysia, the shades available have extremely slimmed down as we only get a whopping 5-6 shades depending on which drugstore. This is just not right. They have 20 shades but then don’t make them widely available. When will they learn?

What’s the packaging look like?

When it comes to Catrice, I really like most of their foundation packaging. This True Skin foundation comes in a glass bottle that feels luxurious and it has a pump. I find the pump working just fine. I normally will need a one and a half pump with this because two full pumps are just too much for me. Packaging — it’s definitely getting an A+ from me. 

What does this foundation have to offer?

The Catrice True Skin foundation is one with a lot of promises. This foundation is supposed to be an ultra-lightweight, hydrating foundation that melts into the skin for a “real skin” finish. It is infused with hyaluronic acid and watermelon seed to help retain moisture and restore skin elasticity. It should combat redness and smooth out skin tone evenly. Coverage should be medium to buildable full coverage while not looking cakey and feeling comfortable on the skin. 

Other claims from Catrice:

• Long-wearing
• Cruelty-free
• Vegan
• Formulated without animal biproducts, gluten, parabens, acetone, preservatives, lactose

How does this foundation swatch?

While hand swatches don’t really tell much, they can be helpful to show you the texture of this foundation and how it blends. With this foundation, a little goes a long way. I will give it that. It is very liquidy, it somehow makes me uncomfortable because I am so used to creamy foundations. Once it’s nicely blended on the back of my hand you can kinda see this foundation has some luminosity to it but it doesn’t do that on my face. 

What does this foundation look like on my skin?

Right now, I have quite a bit of redness around my nose area and the foundation does a great job at covering that up. It’s so lightweight on the skin but it takes a bit of effort to get this foundation to look smooth and even. And I don’t think this foundation is as hydrating as it claims to be. Even on well-moisturized and prepped skin, it doesn’t look that good to me. 

But one thing I have to give credit to is that it does look like my skin but better and after long hours of wear, it still looks okay — it doesn’t move around too much and it doesn’t make me look like a greasy mess. Anyway, below, the left side is a picture of my skin with no foundation and the right side is with the Catrice foundation on. Slightly undetectable but my skin looks so dry!

My final thoughts

I really wanted to love this foundation, but alas — it’s not a favorite. I don’t know who will suit this foundation because even on my oily skin, it looks matte and doesn’t have enough hydration. It’s a hydrating foundation, for heaven’s sake. And for some reason, it doesn’t want to stick down in some areas of my face: why is that? I just don’t like the way it sits on my skin, it emphasises fine lines and texture and the fact that it’s difficult to get it to look fully even — I am not about that life. 

I have tried mixing it with my favorite Maybelline Superstay foundation, but it doesn’t do any justice. Such a shame it doesn’t work especially as it’s supposed to be hydrating and radiant. I have tried different applications too, just to see how it blends, react and all that jazz. I would say with this foundation, try not to dot the product directly on your face instead load it up on your sponge first. Trust me, you will thank me later.

You know what? I think I gave this foundation a fair chance to work but I guess it’s just not for me. I will let you know if there’s any new update but for now, I am so bummed!

Would I recommend the Catrice True Skin foundation?

I am dreading answering this question. Because while I think this is an okay foundation, I don’t think it is anything groundbreaking. If this foundation would have been less mattifying and MORE hydrating this could have looked lovely on my skin. What’s the purpose of advertising it as a hydrating foundation but it’s far from that? I am furious.

If you have a normal skin type with little to zero skin issues, then, yes by all means. I will just be sticking to my everyday Maybelline Superstay foundation for now. If you’re looking for an affordable foundation that’s long-wearing and matte, give the Catrice True Skin foundation a whirl.

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Have you tried this foundation? What’s the last disappointing item you tried?