Woohoo, finally, a new beauty post, and it’s a real goodie! The Wet n Wild Photo Focus foundation has been hot stuff all over the international beauty community for the last year and is said to be a dupe for many high end foundations, sounds pretty fab, right?

When the Photo Focus range finally hit our shores, I rushed out to my nearest Clicks to go and pick one up. Well, it turns out that I had a bit of a wait, and a search ahead of me, it seems as though this foundation was eagerly anticipated by every single beauty lover in the country! Eventually, two weeks ago, I found some stock, picked one up and began testing it out.

The Secret Board is one of my favourite beauty blogs, I just love how thorough Mariska is and I really enjoy the format she uses, it’s just really well thought out, so I asked her if I could borrow that format for this post, thanks Mariska! And so, without further ado, here is my review of the Wet n Wild Photo Focus foundation.

Product: as I mentioned, the Wet n Wild Photo Focus has been wildly popular since being released overseas. It claims to be a high-performing, skin perfecting foundation that will give you flawless looking skin. What makes this foundation so popular is that it has been tested under seven different light conditions to make sure that you are always camera ready. In terms of finish, the Wet n Wild Foundation gives a matte look.

Packaging: I quite enjoy the casing, the bottle is made of glass so it’s pretty sturdy and the black lid looks good.

Consistency: this foundation has a more medium consistency which really helps when it comes to application, you’ll see what I mean in a minute.

Coverage: I would peg the Wet n Wild foundation as a medium coverage, but buildable. I don’t think you can get quite full coverage from it, but you can get pretty darn close. On days that I want a more sheer look, I just make sure that my foundation sponge is a lot more damp.

Finish: Although Wet n Wild claims that this foundation gives a matte finish, I would say that it does give an ever so subtle glow. No where near what a dewy foundation would give you, and it definitely is 90% matte, but there is a very slight luminosity to my skin once I have applied it.

Application: Okay, so I am really not a fan of the spatula applicator, I would have much preferred a pump. I have found that the best way for me to apply this is to paint stripes on my face (like you would with a stick foundation) and then blend it out with a damp foundation sponge, I use one from Real Techniques. You do need to work fairly quickly as the foundation dries down relatively quickly, but it’s a pretty easy product to blend which helps.

Wear: The first time I wore this foundation, it was without a primer and it only lasted about 3 hours before starting to break up around my oily areas. Since then, I have always worn a primer and the wear time has been so much better, clocking in at about 7 hours before things start going downhill. Another point to note is that I have been wearing this foundation when it’s been super hot, and so I think that it will probably wear even better during the colder months, when our make up isn’t sliding off of our face. In terms of oxidation, I didn’t notice any on my skin but of course, every skin is different.

Shades: Oh man, this is where I was so, so, so disappointed! If you look on the international Wet n Wild site, there are 20 shades available, and it’s a pretty decent selection. We have 5 shades in our stores, 5. How are 5 shades going to cater to our diverse market? Of course, I couldn’t find my perfect match, and so I had to take one that is slightly too dark for me (Classic Beige) and I use lightening drops. I really hope that we get more shades, and soon as this really does put a damper on all the hype around this foundation. Below is a swatch as well as what it looks like blended in.

Price: R99.95 at Clicks.

Will I repurchase: Yes, despite the shade range not being great at all, I really enjoyed using this foundation. It gave me the coverage that I wanted, it lasted pretty much all day and it didn’t feel heavy on my skin or accentuate my texture.

Good to know: Wet n Wild is cruelty free

Score: 8/10

And there you have it, my thoughts on the Wet n Wild Photo Focus foundation. Have you tried it? What did you think?