Oxygenetix Breathable Foundation

I'd never heard of Oxygenetix but I liked the sound of it - a breathable, long-wearing foundation for the summer with SPF 25, great coverage and skincare benefits that are used on post-surgery patients. The brand claims to be incredibly popular in Hollywood, and also uses the patent-pending Ceravitae, which is an oxygen complex that promotes collagen creation and healing skin tissue. It also contains anti-bacterial qualities which are good for exfoliation and for acne-prone skin. Here's what I thought of it after I tried it for a few weeks..

Packaging
The foundation comes in your standard pump bottle, which is light, plastic and well-made. It definitely shows its medical background with the design, but that's the least of my concern. I found the pump dispenses the perfect amount for a full face each time, which is great because I get no waste at all.

Formula
When you first pump some out, it feels almost like a foamy liquid because it's so light - it's actually an aloe gel-based foundation. This makes it sooo easy to apply! I tend to dot it on the skin and use my Sigma F84, but I imagine you can get a lighter finish with fingers or a sponge, or, it's even light enough to just buff it on with something like the Real Techniques Buffing Brush. As you'd imagine with a texture like this, it really feels weightless and hydrating on your skin. For my combination/dry skin, this formula is perfect. I'd recommend it for anyone other than perhaps the oily-skinned gals.

When applied, it translates into a high medium coverage and it has an impressively glowy and skin-like natural-matte finish. To get a full coverage I stipple and dab a bit more foundation onto certain areas, because it seems to be able to maintain that finish despite the layering.

My only qualm with the formula is its lasting power. It claims to be long-wearing and sweat and water proof - which, to be fair, isn't untrue, because there is formula still left on my face at the end of the day. However, it doesn't look particularly pretty. For me, it gets a bit patchy on oilier areas, like my chin and nose, so I'd recommend setting it and touching it up with power. If you're generally dry or normal-skinned, it'd probably last beautifully everywhere for you.

Shades
The Oxygenetix foundation comes in 14 shades - 7 blue toned, and 7 yellow toned. I think this separation is absolutely great, because there's nothing more glaringly obvious than wearing the wrong tone of foundation. At around the NC30 skintone, my shade is Beige, which is the third darkest yellow-toned shade. This gives you an idea of the wide range of shades they have!

Price
I suppose this is a big sticking point - this bottle costs £45. Which is quite expensive for a foundation already, but this is made even pricier in comparison to other foundations by the fact that the bottle actually only contains 15ml. Now I do think it's better for them to sell 15ml for £45 than a typical 30ml for £90 because let's face it - who wants to part with that much for a foundation.

Given the skincare benefits and the overall amazing formula, I still believe £45 is an acceptable price especially if you suffer from severe skin conditions or sensitivity and can't get on with any purely cosmetic foundations.

Overall
Unless you're getting it for the skincare benefits (you can read about them all on the Oxygenetix website), I think you could possibly find similar foundations. However, the formula is just beautifully lightweight and a dream to apply, and has a gorgeous skin-like finish. I can see why they recommend it particularly for the summer because you get the coverage but also the breathable feel! You also have to admit that the shade range is just fantastic. To pay an extra £10 than Chanel (if we're just talking price) for the skincare benefits as well, I think would be worth it.

You can get the Oxygenetix Breathable Foundation from Beauty Is Skin Deep and Effortless Skin.

Yu