Review: "I tried Catrice's R170 TikTok-Viral Foundation on my dry, pigmented skin"

medinews January 18, 2022

106 2 minutes read

If you've spent any time in the TikTok beauty community, you know they're all about budget-friendly products – especially when it comes to makeup (haven't heard of the Catrice HD Liquid Coverage Foundation?!). And after spending a lot of time at home without much makeup, TikTok's beauty gurus value quality products that feel like you're actually wearing no makeup.

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With the plethora of beauty brands out there, you never have to settle for anything less than perfection when it comes to what to expect from your makeup. If you're anything like me, foundation is one of the hardest products to find. When TikTok started raving about Catrice's ultra-affordable HD Liquid Coverage Foundation (R170, Superbalist), I had to get my hands on it (but mostly face!).

As a South Asian woman with sensitive, pigmented, dry skin, I have a hard time finding products that match my skin tone and don't make me break out. I was more than a little skeptical when TikTok users promised it was lightweight, high coverage, and had a long-lasting finish. Happy to say I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this, especially for a price of R170.

Here's why I love Catrice HD Liquid Coverage Foundation:

I found a perfect color match.

My skin has a mix of warm and cool red, yellow and orange undertones, so finding an exact color match can be difficult. Out of the 18 shades offered on Superbalist (and 26 on Catrice's website), "golden beige" was perfect for me. It's a slightly yellow hue which gives my skin some warmth and glow but my favorite part was the slight red undertone which helped even out and blur the pigmentation and acne scars I have on my skin.

It lasted nine hours on my skin.

For dry skin, most foundations I try look patchy or sticky after a few hours. This is the first foundation I've used that hasn't budged – although it's important to note that I had to use a foundation (I swear by this one from Smashbox).

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I wore it for nine hours during dinner, a long sweaty walk and a party. The "after" selfie above? It was recorded at the end of my night.

Catrice HD Liquid Coverage Foundation is as light as everyone says.

Countless foundations are marketed as lightweight, but this one comes with a true water-like texture that still gives you a matte, high-coverage finish with just six drops all over your face. I didn't even feel like I was wearing foundation – my skin could actually breathe. While a night of makeup and clogged pores usually meant waking up with breakouts on my cheeks, I was delighted to wake up with completely clear skin whenever I used this.

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If you're looking for a lightweight, high-coverage foundation but prefer a more luminous finish, like I do, then you should definitely try Catrice's True Skin Foundation (R170, Superbalist). It has the same properties as Catrice HD Liquid Coverage Foundation with a creamier texture and a natural, skin-like finish. If you're anything like me, you like having options, so go ahead and have both of them ready for whatever makeup mood you happen to be in.