Sammi the Beauty Buff: Review & Swatches: PÜR Cosmetics HydraFluid Water Serum Foundation

Hi, friends! Today I have a new product to share with you from PÜR Cosmetics. I reviewed their new Cameo Contour Sticks just a few weeks ago, and now they're adding another product to their Spring 2016 lineup: the HydraFluid Water Serum Foundation. I've actually been in the market for a new foundation recently, so I was excited to see how well this worked. These babies are being released into Kohls and UTLA this Sunday, so you can use this as a sneak peek to see whether or not you'd want to pick one up.

About

About PÜR Cosmetics

You might know them better as "PÜR Minerals" (even their website is still www.purminerals.com) but after their expansion into different makeup products, they've begun moving away from that name. They started out in mineral makeup, and now they make a whole slew of products, such eyeliner, mascara, lipstick, and even a handful of skincare products. They take a natural and, well, pure, approach to beauty products. The brand was actually founded by a former Clinique employee about 12 years ago. and they've been doing quite well. Fun fact, right? They also don't test on animals.

About HydraFluid Water Serum Foundation (from PÜR 's website):

"PÜR’s encapsulated water complex delivers Swiss Alps-sourced water to hydrate the skin for lasting radiance while providing silky, medium coverage. HydraFluid water serum foundation is incomparably lightweight yet offers the perfect amount of coverage and satisfies the desire for dewy, breathable, luminous looking skin. This is the chosen foundation to create “bare-looking” but perfect complexion whatever your skin tone or type. Water sourced from the Swiss Alps is known for its high purity and is the ideal mineral water to refresh skin."

Other Claims:

Utilizes phospholipids to deliver the purest water sourced from the Swiss Alps deep into the skin for long-lasting hydraiton
Helps smooth, firm, and lift the skin's appearnace
Helps soothe skin and provides antioxidant benefits
Key ingredients: Encapsulated Water Complex, Ceretin Complex, Vitamin E

Ingredients

Aqua, Dimethicone, Phenyl Trimethicone, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Isododecane, Polyglyceryl-6 Polyricinoleate, Pentylene Glycol, Octyldodecyl Neopentanoate, Polysilicone-11, Stearic Acid, Lecithin, Ceramide Ap, Retinol, Lactic Acid, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Sodium Starch Octenylsuccinate, Enteromorpha Compressa Extract, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Sea Salt Extract, Tocopherol, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Butylene Glycol, Silica, Palmitic Acid, Simethicone, Polyglyceryl-2 Isostearate, Decyl Glucoside, Squalane, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Tromethamine, Phospholipids, Propanediol, Panthenol, Stearoyl Inulin, Sodium Benzoate, Hydroxystearic Acid, Mica, Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Xanthan Gum, Phytantriol, Aluminum Dimyristate, Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Sodium Anisate, Sodium Levulinate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Saccharomyces/Magnesium Ferment, Saccharomyces/Copper Ferment, Saccharomyces/Silicon Ferment, Saccharomyces/Zinc Ferment, Saccharomyces/Iron Ferment, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Alcohol Denat., Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Tin Oxide, Potassium Sorbate, Disodium Edta, Hexylene Glycol, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol May Contain (+/-): Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Iron Oxides (Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499)

This ingredients list is on the back of the box, as well as their website. I like that they're not trying to hide anything. They have the ingredients list for all of their products on their website.

Price and Availability

0.1oz | $39: PÜR Cosmetics (and as of February 7th, they will also be available at Kohls and ULTA stores nationwide)

My Experience

*All photos were taken indoors by a window

The Packaging:

A quick fun fact: the shades aren't labeled on the tubes (just the boxes), so I had a fun few minutes trying to remember which shade was which! If you're not a beauty blogger or makeup artist, I don't see this being an issue for you, but that was definitely a "behind-the-scenes" moment in the Beauty Buff household. PÜR, why you do this??

The tubes are a little funny looking. The product comes out of a clear nozzle, which is nice, so you can see the color of the foundation without squeezing it out. If there's a store than doesn't have testers, maybe you can sneak a look at the tube to see if the color looks good on you. It reminds me of something science-y for some reason, but it's convenient.

The Stuff Inside:

It currently comes in five shades: Light, Medium, Tan, Dark, and Deep. On their website, they coordinate these shades with their other foundation products, which makes it easy for people who are already fans of PUR to choose which one they want. They also include descriptions, which is nice.

Light: fair or fair with creamy ivory undertones
Medium: medium beige with blush to golden undertones
Tan: olive with yellow, honey and caramel undertones
Dark: rich bronze with golden undertones
Deep: warm with golden amber undertones

These are extremely liquidy! I know the name HydraFluid Water Serum should really give it away, but I was still quite surprised. I have to say, I like that these aren't very thick in texture. Those types of foundations tend to provide better coverage, but they can get really cakey really fast if you go overboard.

Unfortunately, I'd say the only major strike against these is their poor shade selection, The Light shade is pretty dark for being the lightest shade, and as a whole, I feel like this spectrum of colors is leaving out a lot of skin tones. I like that they at least attempted to cater to everyone by offering the Tan, Dark, and Deep shades (unlike some brands--ones that are even more popular! *cough* Physicians Formula). Still, they have a ways to go.

My Experience

"Before" pictures are shown completely bare-faced. I think I also just woke up an hour earlier at most. I have allergies, so my eyes are puffy and the dark circles are out and proud, so let's just move on.

"After" photos feature the addition of PÜR Cosmetics HydraFluid Water Serum Foundation in Light, as well as other makeup (undereye concealer, blush, highlighter on cheekbones only, eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick).

Before -- no makeup

This is my face before foundation. It's also my face before...anything else. If you want a truly bare-faced, hair-not-done, unruly-eyebrow Before picture, here it is!

Before -- no makeup

The directions say to shake before use and then "apply 2 to 3 drops of foundation to the face with the Liquid Chisel Brush. Buff into skin in a circular motion. Layer for additional coverage." Since this foundation comes in a squeeze tube, getting out exact "drops" is quite difficult, but the point is that you don't need a lot for a full face of foundation.

I applied this foundation with a round brush, but since I didn't own their Liquid Chisel Brush, I used my trusty ol' Sigma Synthetic F80 Round Kabuki Brush, which worked out quite nicely. You could also choose to apply this with your hands, but being that it's water-based, your hands might absorb some of the product (and you might not get the neat, blended look you're looking for). I can see this working well with a sponge like the BeautyBlender as well, but I just happen to be a brush person.

If you're going to use a brush, I recommend using something made with synthetic fibers, because natural hair brushes will soak up a lot more being, since this is water-based. (This has been a Public Service Announcement, brought to you by Sammi)

After -- full face of makeup

This is me with a full face of makeup on. I didn't apply any setting powder, but later in the day, my forehead looked a little dewier than I typically like. If you have combination skin, you might want to apply a bit of powder before you leave the house (I didn't feel the need to reapply throughout the day), but you should be happy with it if you have dry skin.

This foundation feels really nice on the skin. I wouldn't say it's "hydrating" in a sense I can skip the moisturizer, but it gave my skin a smooth, silky feel. It helped cover up the two acne marks I have on my forehead, so the coverage is nice--effective, but still natural-looking. The shade I used, Light, was a tad darker than my skintone but blending down the neck and really buffing it into the skin made it work.

If you'd like to see my full look that day (aka actually being dressed with my hair looking presentable), check out my Instagram!

The Verdict:

Pros:

True to its claims
Moderate coverage
Natural-looking finish
Comfortable on the skin

Cons:

Limited shade selection

Overall, I really like these foundations! If you can find a shade that works for you, I highly recommend giving them a try. I think those with dry-to-combination skin will like these more than oily-skinned folk, but being that it's so lightweight and comfortable to wear, you might still want to give it a shot. You might like how it looks after you've applied a bit of setting powder over it. Once these launch in Kohls and ULTA, hopefully there will be some testers out to see if your skin tone is represented there.

What's your favorite foundation right now?