Leichner Camera Clear Tinted Foundation Review

While having a cheeky browse on Fragrance Direct, I spotted this foundation for the silly price of £3.50 for 30ml. I really like stage makeup for certain things, and my palette of Screenface cream foundations has probably seen better days. I thought I’d never heard of Leichner before (I realised later that I have in fact used some of their products before!) and my curiosity was piqued by the ‘all day moisturising ‘ claims, so I picked up a few shades despite reviews online being few and far between. If nothing else I can use them when I do my friends makeup instead of my more expensive kit makeup (sorry, mates!)

The product comes in tubs with a screw-top and a little cover to keep it all neat n’ tidy. Tubs aren’t ideal, but at least they’d be easy to depot from – I don’t think I’d want to carry these big clunky containers in my kit. But they seal up nice and tight and feel very sturdy.

Top row, L-R: Blend of Biscuit, Blend of Porcelain, Blend of Rose.
Bottom row, L-R:  Blend of Almond, Blend of Copper, Blend of Beige.

As you can see, these have a thick cream formula. Some of the ‘swatches’ on the website are reasonably accurate, some are really not, so don’t go by those if you can help it. I’ve read that the colours dry lighter than they appear, but it’s hard to tell once you’ve blended them out, which I always do to see if they match. If I do see it when I use it on others, I’ll update the post but right now I’m not seeing it.

Let’s see how it applies, shall we?

Here’s my face with no foundation or base on. As you can see, I got a pretty ugly situation going on round my chin, and there are some small blemishes on my cheeks as well.

Here I’m wearing Blend of Porcelain with no primer, concealer or powder. I think it’s evened me out quite nicely and while it’s not got rid of all the nastiness on my chin, it’s done a decent job. The spots on my chin were quite dry, and it didn’t accentuate the flakiness I have there or cling to it nastily. I’d say this was medium coverage? It leaves a slight dewy finish, but it doesn't set at all, so I’d really recommend powdering over it, especially if you want to apply powder blush as I don’t think it would play very well directly on top. You’re better off using your (clean!) fingers or a stippling brush with the foundation – sponges eat it and paddle brushes can leave it looking a little thick/streaky. I wouldn’t say this was really very buildable and as it's so creamy, you have to be careful to use creamy products over it or it won't blend. For example, using a stick concealer over the top would be a nightmare!

Essentially, this product is a like thick tinted moisturizer with decent coverage. I wouldn't say it moisturized my skin all day, but it certainly feels good on my skin, and I feel I need to use less moisturizer in the morning if I'm going to be applying this afterwards. I've only been wearing it for a few days though, so we'll see.

If you have even slightly oily skin, I’d steer well clear. I’ve not tried with a primer yet but even on my dry skin, it last only around 4-5 hours before I notice a shiny t-zone (I have a horrible very dry face/chin slightly oily t-zone combination, however.) I can’t comment too well on how it photographs as I’ve only used one shade on one model with wonderful skin, and I didn’t have time to thoroughly peruse the unedited photos. From what I saw, it looked true to application but I don’t think the name ‘Camera Clear’ does the product any favours as I think it gives you an expectation of a flawless skin. It’s a nice dewy looking finish, but I wouldn’t say with my limited experience it’s great for photography.

UPDATE: How well it photographs varies. I do use them fairly often, and it's been interesting to try it out with different powders.

All in all, I really like this product. It’s great for dry skin and it was worth the price.  The only major downside is the scent – it’s very floral/powdery/Grandma smelling. It doesn’t bother me too much, but it’s not what I’d class as pleasant. It does fade on application though, and I do notice that lots of stage/screen foundations can smell similar.

It’s a shame that it’s not that well known a product or widely distributed a product, so will be difficult for most people to find a match.