Estee Lauder Individualist Natural Finish Makeup

I have been a mineral powder foundation wearer for around 10 years. Liquid foundation never looked natural on me or it would break me out. Over the past year my oily acne prone skin has started to become flaky around my nose. The mineral foundation started to make it look worse. Even with a good moisturizer I could not get the mineral foundation to work properly around my nose. I also started to feel that the powder looked a little well too powdery. I use a spray to set it but that created problems for blemishes that I wanted to say concealed. When I received a gift certificate for Estee Lauder I took a chance on their Individualist Natural Finish Makeup. It seemed to have the makings of everything I needed in a foundation.
I have a hard to match skin type. To describe it many would say I am cool toned but I do have undertones that are warm. In most cases I am neutral. When I ordered I picked out 2W2 Dawn for some crazy reason. Honestly, the color worked well until hit my jaw line. I exchanged the color for 2N1 Vellum. This color works better for me and is almost invisible. I have to order online but if you can I would visit a counter to be color matched. Otherwise you could try their online beauty help. However, when I tried them I had to do a good bit of the guess work.

Pros:

* Nice coverage for a sheer - medium foundation. I was worried this would not cover major blemishes but it works very well.
* Natural looking finish. Unlike many foundations I have tried this one blends in and does not look like I have on much make. A friend commented that it looked like I had went to a spa for some skin care.
* Even the wrong color that I picked semi blended into my skin. The correct color adjusted right to my color even though it was a tad more beige than my skin.
* No break outs. I have been wearing this for over month with zero problems.
* Fairly nice color selection.


Cons:

* The bottle is not transparent. I have no idea how much is left and drives me batty.
* It is a squeeze type bottle. If you squeeze out more than you need there is no way of getting back into the bottle.
* Price. $33.50 for a foundation is a lot to me. For that reason I have been testing out drugstore brands that are comparable in product claims. Look for those reviews in the future.



In a perfect world this would be my perfect foundation. However, when I weigh in price and the bottle flaws I can not give this foundation a 6 out of 6.

Tips for using:
I have tried to apply this foundation with 2 different techniques. Using just my fingers I could not get the right coverage. I like to use my foundation as my concealer and fingers alone create a very sheer coverage. I tried using the MAC 187 Duo Fibre brush (aka skunk brush), this was a complete failure. I could not get an even application and the brush soaked up more product than it applied on my face. What worked best for me was using a foundation brush. I use the Becca foundation brush which gives me even coverage and allows me to do extra dabbing on blemishes.
This foundation has a natural finish which is semi dewy. I do not suggest using any finishing spray. Even with powder I do not have any problems with this foundation setting. I use the Estee Lauder Lucidity powder over this foundation.