No7 Airbrush Away Foundation

If you've been following my blog for a while, you'll know I'm a big fan of No7, particularly their foundations. I've written about their Beautifully Matte, Beautifully Matte Light, Superlight and Stay Perfect Foundations all of which I love. I was sent the Airbrush Away Foundation in late 2015 and I've since gone through two bottles of it so I thought it was about time I wrote about it.

Airbrush Away is supposed to give a velvet, yet radiant soft focus finish, blurring the appearance of fine lines and pores. It contains Berryflux Vita, an antioxidant ingredient that improves skin hydration and tone.

It comes in a glass bottle with a dropper (similar to the Lancôme Miracle Air de Teint) so you have to shake it before use. It's a silicone based foundation (it contains dimethicone) so it feels silky and spreads and blends easily. If you don't like silicone primers, you probably won't like this. Although I'm not the biggest fan of silicone primers as I tend to prefer a more hydrating primer, because this is in the form of a foundation I don't mind the silicone feeling at all and I prefer this to using a separate silicone primer like Benefit The Porefessional or L'Oréal Nude Magique Blur Cream.

I have normal/combination skin and although I have no problems with large pores, I do find that this does give that airbrushed look without sitting in my pores or blocking them. It gives medium coverage and a more powdered looking finish at first, but as the day does on I get oily around my t-zone, so I need to use powder or the oiliness is quite noticeable on my nose as it is with most other foundations I use. I don't like using extra powder on top of this foundation because it already has powders in it so I just bring blotting papers with me to use during the day and that does the trick. If you need it to last longer and don't mind looking quite matte, you could powder on top to set it and give extra longevity.

One thing I've noticed about this foundation that you may want to consider is that it's unforgiving on dry skin. I tend to use a hyaluronic acid serum or primer first for best results. Like all the other No7 foundations I've tried this blends into the skin quickly and evenly and doesn't streak. Although it has silicone, it's light in texture and feels comfortable on my skin. The downside I would say is that it's probably best suited to normal skin, if you're not too oily or too dry and you like a medium coverage or if you are conscious of the size of your pores, this is a great option. I find that other than getting a bit oily throughout the day, this lasts on me very well and doesn't sit on my skin or look patchy at all the end of the day. 

Bare skin

You can see in the photos that it has evened out my skin, covered redness and the blemishes on my chin quite well without concealer. You can also see the pores on my nose and cheeks are a lot less noticeable with the foundation on. 

Just No7 Airbrush Away

I tend to wear this on days when I need a bit of extra coverage or if my skin isn't looking it's best and I just want to look a bit more polished. It does have a lot of similarities to the Lancôme Miracle Air de Teint which I absolutely love and I do prefer, but if you want a cheaper alternative, this is a great option. Out of all of the No7 foundations I've tried, this and the Beautifully Matte are my least favourite, only really because of the coverage as I tend to prefer something lighter. However I like having one of them in my collection for nights out when I like more coverage or on bad skin days when I have a breakout and the extra coverage just gives me more confidence. I've gone through two bottles of this and I would definitely repurchase it mostly because I get so many compliments about my skin when I wear it, probably because people are so used to seeing me with lighter coverage.

At €22 it's not cheap but you can always get it with the No7 vouchers and that makes it a bit more affordable. The glass bottle isn't the most travel friendly so I don't take it away with me, Beautifully Matte is better in that sense because it has plastic packaging. It also has more coverage and controls oil better, so there are positives and negatives to both foundations.

If you want a foundation that won't cost a fortune, that gives medium coverage and flawless looking skin and blends in quickly and easily, Airbrush Away is definitely worth trying out. There are 17 shades which is quite good for a "drugstore" brand. However I'm the lightest shade, Calico, and as I've said before I think No7 could do with having a shade lighter than that as I know a lot of Irish woman have even fairer skin than me and find it hard to find a good, inexpensive foundation to match their skin tone.

Have you tried Airbrush Away or any other No7 foundations?

Emma x