Seventeen On the Spot full coverage foundation in 'Porcelain'

Over the past few months I've been on a mission to sort out my skin. I've switched up my skincare routine (which I'll be blogging about later on this week), started taking supplements targeted at eradicating acne and I've been trying my best to eat a healthier, more balanced diet while drinking lots of water throughout the day. Because of my crazy mixture of spots and dermatitis I tend to prefer a full coverage foundation to give me a somewhat more 'flawless' complexion. I can't really get away with anything alluding to 'naked' skin! When I saw that Seventeen's new foundation boasted not only full coverage but also a 2% dose of the super spot buster salicylic acid along with the promise of 'clearer skin in 4 weeks' my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to try it out, putting aside my usual trusty Revlon ColorStay. 

The idea behind salicylic acid as a spot treatment is that it gently exfoliates the skin, getting rid of dead skin cells and enabling pores to remain clog-free, thereby gradually clearing spots. I've tried lots of skincare products containing salicylic acid in the past, but they often ended up aggravating any dry patches on my skin which isn't ideal. My old favourite when I was a teenager was Neutrogena's Spot Stress Control daily scrub which left my skin baby soft and worked a treat at tackling blemishes- maybe I should give it another go now?! Anyhow, most recently I've used an Elemis wash for spot prone skin which I really didn't like and a Dr Nick Lowe wash which was very nice but a little bit drying. I decided to switch to a hot cloth cleanser and Simple face wash routine as my skin was going crazy constantly and I wanted to take things back to basics. With this in mind, I was a little bit apprehensive about using Seventeen's On the Spot as I don't want to risk a dermatitis flare-up or dull my sensitive skin. 

Seventeen On the Spot 'Porcelain' £6.99

First thing's first. I went with 'Porcelain' as it seemed to be the lightest shade available, although there were two other light shades, 'Ivory' and 'Fair'. While the sticker on 'Ivory' appeared paler, the actual foundation was much more yellow toned than 'Porcelain' and as such seemed darker on my skin. 'Porcelain' has pinker undertones but is still a little darker than what I'd prefer. Still, once set with concealer and powder it looks fine. The consistency of the foundation is quite thick and I'd say it gives medium-full coverage, although not quite as full as Revlon ColorStay.  I still need to apply my high coverage MAC concealer on top to fully disguise blemishes and spots. The tube has a handy pump dispenser which makes for very easy use and ensures you don't accidentally squeeze out too much product. I need about three small pumps to cover my whole face comfortably. 

Excuse the slightly blurry photography, my camera was refusing to capture the silvery tube properly! I suppose the catch is you have to use this every day for four weeks to see if it really does clear skin... But I'm reviewing it based on how it performs as an everyday foundation for the time being. I found it easy to blend with my fingertips although it does tend to build up along the hairline and jawline, so a foundation brush or sponge would come in useful. It does leave a slight orange tint if not blended thoroughly, which is a little annoying as I hate foundation tide marks! Unfortunately the formula does seem to cling a little to dry patches, and seeing as my chin has decided to have a 'dry but spotty' moment I found it tricky getting the balance right between layering on foundation to hide redness and blending it effectively without it clinging to dry patches. Hmm. I think it's best to apply a thin layer of moisturiser or primer directly before applying the foundation to minimise this happening. 

Slight orange tint...

Excuse the background, I was trying to find natural lighting! Wearing On the Spot foundation 'Porcelain'

In the picture above I'm wearing On the Spot set with concealer, loose powder and then my usual blusher. Regarding staying power, the foundation held well for a good four hours or so, having been set with loose powder initially. I then applied a little more powder to my t-zone to get rid of any emerging shine. Is On the Spot worth its moderate price of £6.99? I'm not sure I'd buy it again unless it was on some sort of offer, to be honest. It does give a high level of coverage, especially when set with concealer and powder, but I definitely prefer my trusty Revlon ColorStay when it comes to balancing my complicated combination skin and in terms of suiting my skin colour perfectly. I reckon if you don't have any dry areas On the Spot would be a good choice although you might have to reapply powder during the day to keep shine at bay. I'll keep using it as it didn't cost too much and it does the job, but if I'm going out at night or celebrating a special occasion I'll chose something a little more special. I'm also curious to see if it makes a significant difference to my skin in terms of getting rid of spots. I guess only time will tell...

Seventeen On the Spot is available at Boots

Have you tried On the Spot? What did you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts.