Review: Neutrogena Microclear Skin Clearing Foundation

Hi everyone! Hope everyone has been well. This blogpost is going to be a review on the Neutrogena Microclear Skin Clearing Foundation.

For skin color reference, I'm about a MAC NC30-35 and I bought this Neutrogena foundation in shade 60 Natural Beige. I also have sensitive skin with some acne and acne scars.

I've been testing this foundation for about a month now, and I'm going to have to end up returning it. But first, let me just mention the pros about this foundation. It's a medium to full coverage foundation, and I use a damp sponge to apply it onto my face. It gives a really great satin finish to the skin and I really love the coverage. It doesn't take much to build up to full coverage, and I do have quite a bit of acne scarring on my face. It's easy to blend out, it's not cakey, and it's a perfect match for my skin tone. I don't think I've ever found a foundation that matched this closely to my skin color. As far as wear time, I've found that I could go about 6 hours before my face starts getting shiny. I'd say my skin is combo/slightly oily. This is also a drugstore foundation, so it's very affordable.

Here's the deal breaker: IT BREAKS ME OUT. I couldn't believe it because, well, look at the name of the foundation!!! I didn't really think that it would help clear  acne, but I expected it to not break me out. At first, I thought it was something else that was causing the breakouts, but it is definitely this foundation. I use a new makeup sponge every time that I apply this foundation, so it's not a dirty brush/sponge that's causing me to break out. I always cleanse my skin, tone, moisturize, and prime my skin before I apply any type of foundation. The only difference in my routine has been this foundation. I stopped using it after my first application when I noticed two or three new blemishes on my face. Then, I waited for my face to clear up and tried using the foundation again. Same result. I used it about six other times and finally just gave up on it. As much as I love this foundation because of the finish and coverage it gives me, it's just not worth the acne that comes with it. I was so bummed out. This would be the perfect foundation for me if it didn't break me out.

Neutrogena needs to relabel this foundation because it definitely doesn't help people with sensitive and acne prone skin, and that's really the consumers that they're targeting. It's misleading and unethical. I would not recommend this foundation to anyone with sensitive skin/acne prone skin.