The 7$ foundation that shows what’s wrong with the beauty industry (Fenty foundation dupe)

Because, see, there’s a dupe of Fenty’s Foundation out there. It’s dirt cheap, and very likely, it’s not for you. Instead, it shows everything that’s wrong with the beauty industry today. Catrice’s HD Liquid Coverage Foundation is technically a perfect dupe for Fenty Beauty’s Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation, if you just look at their respective ingredient lists. Bam, same.

Why Catrice doesn’t value their customer base

But Catrice’s foundation comes in four shades. Yes, you read that correctly. Also, the darkest one is a light medium at most. That means that very likely, this whole post will mean zero to you, because you’re outside of Catrice’s measly four shades. And that’s because Catrice is a brand that. Does. Not. See. You. You’re not a valued customer for them, because your skintone isn’t light to light-medium. I guess if I asked Catrice, I’d get something along the lines that it’s expensive to develop a broader shade range, and that the demand for that is low anyway. But then, Catrice is expanding massively worldwide. I’ve seen Catrice in US and Singaporean drugstores, for example. So, why not keep on asking them about it? At least that is what I keep on doing.

Let’s keep talking

I can’t fault you for wanting to give your hard-earned money to Fenty Beauty instead, though, that makes you feel seen and valued as a customer, no matter what colour your skin is. I was incredibly lucky to find a good match in Catrice’s lightest shade (Fenty does offer shades that are actually lighter than that as well).

Also, I can’t fault you if you choose to close this post now, because why bother? I decided to post this review, though, because I think it’s important to have this conversation and to stress that brands could do, and should do better.

I have to acknowledge that I am privileged in that I can easily go to a drugstore and opt for a cheap foundation that will fit my skintone. But a lot of people don’t have that choice, and it’s time to stress that, over and over.

Comparison

I couldn’t test the shade range of Fenty Beauty’s Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation (here’s Astrid’s review of it), but from online research I previously guessed I’d be around 130. I got a sampler of the Faux Filter Foundation, though, so I could test it. The closest shade they included in the sampler was 150. It’s good, though, and will be perfect in summer.

Do you remember that article about the placebo effect in luxury products (here & here)? I could’ve sworn that the Fenty Foundation looks better on my skin than Catrice’s. But then I realised that I used my Fenty sample very sparingly. I had overapplied the Catrice foundation every time I used it? Lesson learned. Other than that, they both look and feel the same.

Foundation Formula

When looking at an ingredient list, it’s helpful to know that Phenoxyethanol (a preservative) is allowed in doses of 1% in cosmetics. Fenty’s Foundation has some fruit extracts that are missing in Catrice’s formula, but because they are listed after Phenoxyethanol, we can safely forget about them. Both formulas are water-based, but with a high amount of silicones in the formula. Both aren’t, ‘serum’-foundations whose base is volatile silicones that vanish after contact with skin, leaving only pigments on it.

Application

I use a beautyblender, even if it soaks up much more foundation than a brush would. I get a very smooth result with it, so there. Be quick though, that’s a very quick-drying formula that doesn’t lend kindly to a careful, slow application process.

If you’re looking for a primer to wear under it, I can say that Fenty’s primer works best with it, although I had decent results with Estée Lauder’s Genuine Glow Priming Moisturising Balm. Becca’s First Light Priming Filter was horrendous and resulted in major cakeyness. Did the primer add to the look, though? I wore primer on one half on my face and none on the other, and they looked literally the same.

Foundation Wear

I was looking for a primer, because on my 40-years-old skin the matte and long-wearing formula is rather unforgiving. Well-moisturised skin is key. I also found that it looks best on me after a few hours of wear, when the foundation isn’t just sitting on my skin. It’s a rather matte, rather high-coverage look. One that I’m not naturally into, I’ve to add. I’ve to add some light-reflecting finishing powder on top to liven it up a bit (Guerlain Meteorites are my sparkle of choice). It’s a wonderful foundation to wear in pictures.

For me, after 8 hours of wear it starts to creep into fine lines and develop that weird, crepey look when foundations settle in some places of your skin and wear completely off in others. Initially, it doesn’t settle into pores or fine lines. It rather smoothed them out. Nevertheless, I like my bases with a bit more glow, so I’d naturally gravitate towards a foundation like MAC’s Waterweight, which has a little bit less coverage, but more glow. The biggest pro for this foundation, though, is that it magically feels like NOTHING on my face. Even when I touch my skin, it’s a satin-y feeling instead of the ‘ugh sticky’-foundation feeling you sometimes get.

Price & Availability

Both foundations aren’t easily available everywhere. While some Sephoras around the globe carry Fenty Beauty (Sephora Germany, for example, doesn’t), and in the UK it’s available via Harrods, Catrice is easily available in Germany, but while there’s Catrice in the US and UK, their counters in various drugstores tend to be scarce. Have a look at their website to find a counter near you. Catrice HD is 6,99€, while the Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation is $34.

And keep rising your voice and making your displeasure heard when beauty brands are not offering the shade range you need. (Here’s Catrice’s contact info.)