Elizabeth Arden Flawless Finish Sponge-on Cream Makeup Review

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 usually use a liquid foundation, so this sponge on cream foundation was a very different experience for me. It definitely took a little getting used to with the application side of things. Lucky for me I was in Auckland the other week and ended up getting my makeup done at the Elizabeth Arden Boutique on Queen Street where they showed me how to apply this foundation. They also used their own brand primer underneath which definitely made a difference so I purchased that which made the makeup application free!

The packaging is a glamorous gold compact, which opens to a mirror and the cream foundation pan that also lifts up to reveal a thin, square sponge. It is a little bit fiddly to get the sponge out. Perhaps because of hygiene reasons, but the makeup artist used a brush and not the sponge to apply this - I came home and used the sponge included but ended up streaky and patchy so I blended it out with a beauty blender. I have since used a brush to spread it out and pat it in and it gives very nice and even coverage. A very radiant, airbrushed look.

Overall I love the coverage and feel of the makeup on my skin, but I think on its own it is a bit wet - in that it smudges easily onto my phone or jacket collars. It definitely needs to be set with a bit of powder. Once that is done it lasts for ages - even the biggest, sweatiest of concerts it’s still picture perfect at the end of the night - and that is definitely from experience! The medium - heavy coverage is great and doesn’t feel caked on. It’s sheer in product but heavy on coverage which is great for mature skin where wrinkles seem to be accentuated by heavy foundations but you need heavy to cover dark spots and uneven tone - it used to be a no win situation for me but now I’m winning with this one.

I’m not totally 100% on the colour range - I have been fake tanning lately so the colour was perfect for me now - but if I’m my regular pasty ‘au naturale’ self all the colours are too tan looking, even the lightest shade. I really like this foundation and hope they extend the colour range in the future because I will repurchase it, who knows maybe they’ll make a more ‘pasty’ colour range! I love that it doesn’t take up much room in my makeup bag and won’t spill!

Since I am currently just over the mid-40s, this foundation has really stood out head and shoulders above my normal foundation. I have pretty dry skin and are now showing quite a few age spots (that drives me insane).

I picked the lightest shade and this is a perfect match. This foundation applied smoothly with the supplied application sponge, does not highlight wrinkles or pores, and provides great coverage. I would prefer to use this during the winter months because of my very dry skin during colder months, during warmer seasons, I prefer to rather just use BB creams and tend to only use creme foundations at special occasions.

Admittedly, some concealer might be needed for dark spots. As for the lasting power of 12-hours as it claims - I've had it on early morning till about 9 pm and only had to do about 2-3 powder touch-ups, during the day (midday and after work).

I found that this foundation was fine for dry skin, doesn't smell. It looked pretty expensive with the gold packaging and it was easy to open and the nice gold case matched nicely. Unfortunately, I feel that the outer packing is a waste.

I used the supplied sponge and it does go on quite thick I found that I just had to dab, or tap it onto the areas I wanted to cover then blend it out – I suggest using a beauty blender to really blend it out along my nose & forehead area. I found that I could layer up more if needed.

I found that it did not cause any irritation or dried out my skin out, but have found that moisturising well is a must before using the product. I believe that the product will travel easy with no spills and great for the no liquid allowance for international travel. Love the compact look – the gold not so much.

Overall, I have to say this was one of my favourite foundations but don’t think it is totally worth investing the money for and exceeds my budget ($75), however, it is a nice to have.

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!

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

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 was excited about getting to review this product. I haven’t had much luck with Elizabeth Arden products in the past but was open to giving this one a go. I also was a wee bit concerned about this type of foundation as I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Moisture Mist Beauty Cake foundation either.

I must say I do adore the packaging of this. The lovely gold packaging with the mirrored lid and red door is very classic. I think having the sponge in there is lovely too as it makes it easy to take on the go and not worry about forgetting a brush or it getting dirty. It is reasonably bulky though so maybe not one for travelling with if you are trying to reduce the size of items. I do also wonder whether you can get refills of the foundation as it seems like such a waste to chuck out the beautiful packaging when you are finished.

The foundation does have a slight smell to it, but nothing offensive. This also doesn’t have any SPF in it - although I would never rely on foundation alone for this. I also just have to mention that the shade selection is a bit poor with only appearing to have eight shades in the NZ market - none of which were quite pale enough for me (but I’ve tried to ignore that in my review as my face shade isn’t your problem). I do find this cream product a strange one to use a sponge with as with these sorts of products they seem to work better once they warm to your skin and then they blend better so often I like to use a brush to get a more sheer application. I did find with the sponge provided that I got a nice medium coverage that didn’t look cakey at all. I think my favourite part though was that it still looked like skin and had some luminosity which is impressive for this type of foundation.

Overall I actually quite enjoyed this foundation despite my initial misgivings about it. So if you can find a shade that suits you I definitely think it would be worth a whirl.

I was so excited to try out this foundation, I loved the idea of blending out my lines, I mean who wouldn't be intrigued by such claims. I picked the shade Gentle Beige which turned out to be a perfect match for my skin.

First impressions, Its a cute wee compact with a mirror which is always handy to have. The foundation pan has a decent amount of product in it which I was glad to see with it being on the higher side of the price scale. The sponge sits underneath in its own little compartment that has tiny holes in it which would let air get in and prevent mould and all that which is nice to see. The sponge applicator is much smaller than I was expecting, its very thin so I would be interested to see if it out lives the foundation. The compact clip on mine doesn't lock though, it pops open and doesn't keep the lid down... so it wouldn't travel very well at all. Not a great look for a high end product.

The foundation its self I was really happy with, the finish is very nice and almost velvety like, with no tacky feel to the skin. I liked the way the sponge applied the foundation to my skin without streaks and blends like a dream. But again it is a very thin sponge so i'm not convinced it would last very long. As far as my lines, I felt like it blurred my annoying forehead lines really well and I was super comfortable with the way it sat on my skin. As far as wear it had a good 4 hrs plus lasting power but after 5 I felt like I needed a little touch up. Coverage wise I would say it gives a good medium cover.

Overall I am really enjoying the foundation and will happily wear it on the regular. Just a bit gutted with the clip not locking the compact shut so I have to store it in the box so it doesn't dry out.

I was really excited to be chosen for this trial team as I'm a big fan of Elizabeth Arden products but I haven't tried any of their foundations before. I selected Warm Sunbeige and was pleased that it turned out to be a good match for my skin.

I love the appearance of the product, it comes in a classy gold compact with a mirror and separate compartments for the foundation and sponge. I did think the sponge was a bit thin and small though compared to other brands compacts that I have used in the past.

I was impressed that this foundation was easy to blend and provided quite an even coverage. However I felt it provided more of a medium coverage than a full coverage, while my skin appeared smoother I felt that it didn't provide as much coverage for my sun spots and pigmentation as I would like.

For $75 I probably wouldn't buy this foundation for myself unless there was a really good sale. While it did a pretty good job I felt it didn't meet all my expectations around full coverage and a radiant finish that lasts all day.

Packaging: From the photo I was expecting the compact to be metal but its plastic giving a bit of a cheap feel. For the price it seems like they could of made it metal like a sturdy re-cycle-able tin. The thick compact has a mirror and separate compartment for the applicator. The applicator is very standard you might want to use a brush or beauty blender.

some additives: It contains mineral oil/liquid paraffin this is basically a by product of petrol. It clogs pores and doesnt allow skin to breathe. Although there is some research that highly refined cosmetic grade mineral oil wont clog pores companies dont need to disclose the quality & there's evidence that something in it - 1,4-Dioxane is a carcinogen. Talc.This mineral can have asbestos contamination. Studies by the National Toxicology Panel demonstrate cosmetic-grade talc free of asbestos is a form of magnesium silicate that can be toxic and carcinogenic. Silica and Talc absorbs oil so this would help keep the foundation from being too oily. Kaolin. This is a clay which helps exfoliate skin and cleanse.

Product function: I disagree that it goes on "effortlessly" the cake was a little hard. I wet the sponge applicator to apply and this worked. I was hit by a detergent smell which i thought was the applicator but the foundation actually smells like it too. Once applied, it seems to lighten a little & look okay this must be the light reflecting thing in the description working. I am very fair and I got warm sun beige. At first seems orange but looked more yellow when all over my face. It depends on the lighting I guess. After about 4 or 5 hours I noticed my skin had absorbed a lot of the make up so I would not say this is long lasting although I did not use primer. It will apply fairly easy with a wet applicator and it is creamy but does not have an amazing silky feeling like conditioner or silicone based primers. The next time I wore it with a lighter foundation over the top to balance the fact it is too dark for me using the Elizabeth Arden like a contouring base and a light other branded foundation on other areas. It lasted very well in the light rain for several hours. But afterwards looked bad you could tell I was wearing foundation and it looked all the same shade like the darker foundation which could of been oxidization or the darker Elizabeth Arden one dominating the lighter foundation. I could see it sitting in my pores. I didnt see a huge change in diminishing the look of aging but it has a little smoothing effect & gave a healthy glow as described. Although it sates that this is ideal for medium to dry skin its not very hydrating. I suggest trying with a primer and moisturizer.

Verdict. Not something I would spend $75.00 on. I have seen them cheaper on trade me. The diamond powder addition gives this a nice high end luxury feel.