Elizabeth Arden Flawless Finish Sponge-on Cream Makeup Review

A cute gold and silver and black coloured box  directions are quite hard to read, but out with the magnifying glass and all good, just hard with the shine and colour of the box, directions are: Use a damp sponge for a lighter coverage and dry for a fuller coverage. Inside this box is a shiny gold coloured doubled layer container. Bottom layer is Black with holes on the bottom where the white sponge sits ( presumably to let the sponge breath) First layer the cream foundation with a nice mirror. Nice and attractive

I wiped the dry sponge over the foundation eek it looked way to dark, I did get my right colour. I smeared this easily over my face this glided on effortlessly, I sort of got a nice smooth rhythm going with dabbing foundation on the sponge then smearing and pushing the sponge on my face to get a even coverage and to push this creamy foundation into my skin. Coverage is medium and is quite build able, it also blended effortlessly without grabbing my skin or doing the odd exfoliating job I sometimes get. Maybe the sponge stopped the flaking of skin.

Then I used it with the sponge damp, also easy to apply it went on a little lighter. Easy pesy to use.

Ok so the hard facts when I looked at my skin this foundation worked in so it looked like it became part of my skin, not just sitting on top but blended in.

Oh it’s nice not drying or caky. I did need to do top ups (but I’m talking after a hard day’s physical work) so on that note it did survive heat and sweat. Not once did I feel sticky and It felt it quite breathable. Removal a bit of cleanser and off it came.

I’d taken to using bb creams lately as I was a bit over the heavy feeling of foundations. This is nice and light with a medium coverage that made my skin glow it made me feel like I’ve got my face on I’m back on track. Made me feel like I have nice skin and with that I felt great. I would really recommend this. As it’s easy to use blends in easily with or without a primer-looks fab with or without powder over top. And importantly it didn’t sit in my lines or age my skin it gave it a little glow. I like it very much.

I’ve trialled this foundation for almost a week through rain, shine & wind and I love it. I opted for Toasty Beige which is a tad ashy but it can’t really be helped seeing the colour range available in NZ is limited. I did however manage to make it work for me - for shade reference see the tips section below.

The beautiful packaging is very typical of the Elizabeth Arden range with the mirrored compact and gold detailing and although aesthetically pleasing, it’s plastic. You can argue that it’s quite bulky but it houses a good quality mirror and a separate compartment for the sponge with holes at the base for air.

The cream gelee-like foundation has a slight floral scent which you can’t detect on the skin. In terms of application I prefer to use the sponge, I swipe/dab gently into the product and then press it into my skin. It goes on like a cream gelee and I thought it would dry down to a powder but it remains ever so slightly tacky/wet to give a radiant looking appearance. It has buildable coverage but my preference is just to lightly go all over my face because it leaves it looking healthy and natural.

My favourite thing about the foundation (aside from the finish) is that the it doesn't break down easily which is great for me since I have oily skin. I've tried the foundation with and without finishing powder and lasts a good 8 hours without any need for a touch up.

It has a steep price but when I compare it to the other foundations I use I'm getting more product that actually looks good on the skin and better functional packaging.

I really enjoyed using the Flawlesss Finish Sponge-On Cream, it was nice and smooth on my skin and left it feeling soft and not clogged up like some foundations I have used.

My husband even noticed as soon as I put it on how nice it made my skin look - so that was a bonus.

The packaging is also nice - made me feel good using it as usually I just use supermarket foundations which are pretty stock standard. I would definitely use this again.

I'm not usually a fan of compacts and sponges, so I was very sceptical to try this but ended up being pleasantly surprised! I found the formula to be very lightweight and glided onto my skin. I would say it gave me medium coverage. It covered up my hyperpigmentation but did not feel or look cakey on my skin but I used a primer on my skin before, which also helped. I suffer from dark undereye circles and while it did not cover them completely, it did make a massive difference. The only issue that I found with this was that I found the compact itself to be a bit bulky and clunky and felt a little awkward to use at times but overall, really surprised by how much I enjoyed using this!

When I received an invite for this trial I was super excited. I had never tried an Elizabeth Arden foundation before so was interested to see how well it would work for me. The packaging is gorgeous! It comes in a metallic silver and gold box and inside is a matching compact. It has 2 compartments, the top one has a mirror and the foundation, then underneath is where the sponge lives.

I selected the shade Vanilla Shell which matches my pale skin perfectly. My skin is dry and sensitive so I have issues with foundation looking cakey or causing irritation. This is super creamy and on me the coverage is light to medium. I use after cleansing and moisturising, it feels quite lightweight on my skin.

I don't love or hate the sponge that comes with it, it's nothing special but gets the job done. However, I get a weird looking finish with this foundation, it doesn't look very natural on me and seems to sit on my cheeks and makes my fine lines on my forehead really noticeable. You need to be careful as I find it can cake up if you use too much. More than 1 layer on me and it starts caking really bad.  I also dislike that it doesn't feel completely dry. I got no irritation at all though which was a positive.

For me the best way to use it is over my BB cream, it gives me a nice looking complexion and lovely glow that way, however on its own it just doesn't work for me.

So while it is a lovely foundation I suggest if you have dry skin to make sure you prep your face well to stop it accentuating any dry areas and caking. I don't see this as a life changing foundation for me and I would not repurchase this unfortunately.

I was excited to be given the opportunity to trial this Elizabeth Arden foundation.I'm in my 40's, with normal to dry skin. I selected the shade Vanilla Shell which was a good match as I'm usually about an Ivory or one shade darker.

The foundation compact is very glamourous looking. It's a mirrored compact & inside is the cream foundation and a little sponge. It's a bit 'plasticky' when you feel it & on my compact the clasp didn't work, so the lid pops open again when you close it. I use a hair tie now to keep it closed.

The foundation itself can be applied 2 ways. With a dry sponge for a full coverage finish, or a wet sponge for a lighter finish.

Dry sponge application. This foundation goes on fairly heavy and is buildable so very quickly my makeup looked very heavy. Yes, my skin tone was even, and it covered imperfections but what stood out for me above the fact that it’s heavy is that I looked super shiny, oily looking. I gave it a few minutes to settle, & then realised the foundation was settling into some of my more prominent wrinkles. I then applied a finishing powder to settle the shine down a little, which worked. The finished look was okay, but the foundation did seem to absorb the powder, and through the morning I became super shiny again. Dry sponge application was also a little heavy a finish for my liking. Overall it was okay, and it felt nice on my skin, but I don't think I achieved the youthful radiance it promised, it did the opposite

I tried the wet sponge application & the coverage was much more to my liking. It was a medium coverage and still buildable in places I needed a bit more. It still finished super shiny and still settled into wrinkles. I looked like I had really oily skin. I also noticed on a couple of humid days my skin was sweating a little under the foundation. The application was better with a wet sponge, and with less coverage the wrinkles weren't filled as bad, but oily skin look just didn't look right. Yes, the really fine lines seemed less noticeable, but I think the light creamy formula particularly on my forehead crease really settled into the crease and became super noticeable! It lasted a good 6 hours, but I felt my makeup looked a little worn by mid afternoon.

The foundation itself felt lovely and light on my skin if you ignored the finish. It didn't cause my skin to breakout despite the oily shine it gave off. Removing the makeup was easy and my skin wasn't dried out after wear.

It's a pricey foundation which is why I probably had higher hopes from it. Had I paid the money I would have been upset by its performance so if you have an opportunity to try it in store first you should. While I don't tend to fret about my wrinkles there are other foundations out there that do a better job minimising wrinkles and fine lines instead of highlighting them. I wouldn't purchase this particular foundation for myself - but I'm sure others, perhaps younger than me would like it.

Ok I was super excited to receive this foundation! I love EA products and have never used one of their foundations before. Firstly the packaging! Wow, so shiny and gold and silver :) My 6 year old daughter loved it and took the cardboard packaging haha. Really like the size of it, even though it's quite thick (width wise), it's still quite small and easy to pop in a small purse. It’s a very cute compact and easy to open and close. The mirror is a decent size which is great. It comes with a sponge applicator, I did try this but really didn't like it much as it didn't seem to apply the foundation as well as another damp sponge that I already used, so I didn't use their included applicator and used my own. The foundation is quite hard (not sure if that’s the right word or not), but the previous foundation I used was a bit more slippery (or softer?). It seems that it will last a bit longer as it’s more “dense”. It doesn’t really have much of a smell, but what you can smell is pleasant and not overpowering. The colour was not too bad, maybe a little on the orangey side? I used Beige which is normally the kind of shade I would choose and this colour was pretty good but again a tinge orangey. I did find that I needed to use a bit to get good coverage for me, eg had to wipe the sponge over quite firmly to get enough to cover my scar – I have old burn scarring around my chin so need a decent coverage foundation. This foundation does cover but it takes a couple of layers to do so. It does seem to last well, I usually need to touch up a couple times a day and still did have to do so using this EA Foundation. They say they have diamond powder in this foundation and this should help with fine lines and wrinkles by not sinking in and making them stand out less. I’m not really sure if this product really did this or not, maybe a little better with my fine lines around my eyes but really not that different to me. Price wise it is definitely on the more expensive side at $75 and for me I wouldn’t usually spend that much on a foundation as I use it every day, however if it lasts for longer than my usual foundation then I would think about purchasing as I do like the foundation. All in all – a good foundation with decent coverage and looks nice on my skin. I would recommend this foundation to others, however the price would probably be a major factor in whether people would purchase or not, definitely a factor for me

I was incredibly fortunate to receive this foundation to trial from BR, and I'm absolutely sold on it. Before using this foundation I wouldn't have considerd spending this kind of money on a foundation, but this has changed my mind as it's so superior to any others that I've ever used.

The packaging is so glamorous and fancy looking, and very handy also having the sponge in the compact with the makeup.

I dampen the sponge that comes in the compact just a little to apply the foundation and it is the smoothest applying foundation I've ever tried, and it looks really natural on my skin but totally perfects it.

My skin looks glowing and perfecto with a medium coverage of this foundation, and it builds easily without any crustiness affect to provide full coverage.

This foundation lasts well on my skin and doesn't rub off too easily.. I completely love it and would absolutely buy it even though it's about twice the price of what I would usually spend on a foundation.. I feel that my skin has never looked better than when I'm wearing this, so to me it's worth it!

As soon as I found out I was on this trial I was so excited, I went straight to farmers to get colour matched, and Vanilla Shell was the perfect shade for my skin tone. They actually had quite a good range of shades for this foundation which was great. I had never tried a cream foundation before, I usually just go with the liquid so I was glad I was trialing something completely different. The packaging is so fancy! It comes in a square gold and silver compact with the Elizabeth Arden logo on the top. You open it up and there's a good sized mirror at the top and the cream foundation down the bottom, flip that up and the sponge is underneath. I find the sponge easy to use, its quite thin but it easy to hold and to apply the foundation with. The first time I used it I don't think I applied it well, I must of put too much on because I felt I was constantly dabbing my face because it felt so greasy even with powder on top. The next time I used it I tried to just apply a small amount at a time with lots of dabbing of the sponge and blending, it seemed a lot better on my face but I found my chin and around my nose still looked a bit shiny and I had to use powder again throughout the day. The coverage is really good and it seemed to stay on well. It gives my skin a nice glow which worked well at hiding my fine lines around my eyes. It didn't last all day like some foundations I have tried but as long as I carried a powder with me I could touch up parts of my face that seemed to go a bit greasy.

I can hand on heart say I've never considered using an Elizabeth Arden foundation. For some reason I thought I'd be too young for it (40-ish, cough) and that it would be too expensive.

Price-wise? That's silly of me. My favourite foundation is a few dollars dearer.

As for not right for my age? I couldn't be more wrong. In fact I think it is perfect for someone of my age with my skin type (combination/dry).

That packaging... so luxurious. You feel fancy the moment you pick it up. I love the gold compact and the big mirror, and the way the compact that holds the sponge has holes in it so that the sponge can dry between uses.

The scent is delicious - like an expensive shampoo! Yet once on your skin it dissipates so it doesn't becoming annoying.

The product itself? This is only the second cream foundation I've used and as much as I enjoyed the previous one, this is far superior. It glides on and looks oh-so natural. To the point that I thought it wasn't doing anything. Step back from the mirror and take a good look at yourself and you'll see the difference. My skin looked radiant and glowing. But it still looked like my skin. I had to layer it up over acne and discolouration to improve coverage and it didn't patch or cling to dry bits. It lasted all day and there was no oiliness. I thought I wouldn't enjoy the sponge - but I preferred it to using my current sponge. It seemed to pick up product and blend it better.

Full coverage? Nope. Definitely more medium, but I love it for this. I don't want my face to look like a mask, I want to look like a better version of me - and this foundation achieves it.

As for recommending to a friend? If my friend was wanting to look natural, but glowing, and had the cash to spare - I absolutely would.