Nykaa Skinshield Anti-Pollution Foundation Review & Swatches

Nykaa Skinshield Foundation Review

Are you looking for a cruelty-free foundation that gives you a skin-like finish and covers your blemishes? Something that’s not very expensive and has a travel-friendly packaging? Because that’s what I’m going to be talking about today. Recently, Nykaa launched their new range of foundation, with 15 shades, that claims to be “anti-pollution” and give a satin matte finish. Read on to know how it fared and if it’s better than the cult favourite Maybelline Fitme Foundation?

Price: INR 799 for 30ml

Availability: You can buy it from Nykaa stores or their website.

Ingredients & Product Description

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My Thoughts on Nykaa Skinshield Foundation

I’ve only owned Maybelline fit me foundation previously which provides medium coverage and a matte finish. But ever since I’ve decided to stop investing in non-cruelty-free beauty, I needed an alternative that’s accessible and affordable. This Nykaa foundation gave me just that and turned out to be even better in terms of coverage & finish! And I’ll ignore the anti-pollution claim here because that totally doesn’t make sense to me.

Packaging

It comes in a black plastic tube which has a narrow transparent strip towards the flip open cap, where you can see the foundation shade. Initially, I thought if I’m paying INR 800 I wanted a frosty glass bottle that comes with a pump just for the boujee effect. However, the tube (that looks exactly like NARS tinted moisturizer and Sleek foundation) is very travel-friendly and you don’t have to worry about breaking your foundation bottle. You can also cut it open to get use of every last drop which is always a downside with glass foundation bottles.

Texture & Smell

The foundation’s texture is thick and creamy but it spreads effortlessly with both brush and fingers. The smell is exactly like white homoeopathy medicines and it’s literally in your face when you open the tube. However, you won’t sense it even a bit once you apply the foundation. I think I’m really good at describing smells, ain’t I?

Nykaa SkinShield Foundation Shade

The Nykaa foundation comes in 15 shades catering to different undertones. They have taken quite a jump from their previous foundation launch that had 5 shades of beige to this skinshield range that has many shades of beige with some shades of tan.? On a serious note, the shade range is decent and covers people till shade NC 45-47 but I don’t agree with their claim of catering to all Indian skin tones. There’s still a long way to go for that. I can literally count a few friends on fingers who would not find a match here.

Coming to my match, the shade 09 Desert Honey matches me perfectly. Nykaa claims that the shade has neutral undertone but I’d disagree, it’s slightly warm toned. If you could see the swatches below, Desert Honey looks so much like LA Girl Concealer in shade Medium Beige, another close match for me. The Maybelline foundation in 310 – Sun Beige is a bit too neutral for me and Colourpop is a very close match and the foundation looks very similar to it after drying. You could use the swatch comparison in case you’re somewhere around NC 40-44 and confused about your shade match. BTW, I’m NC 42.

It’s also paraben-free, if that’s something you consider while making a purchase. I don’t.

Application/ How to use?

As I mentioned above texture is thick and creamy but the foundation is easy to spread and blend. I have used it with both my Real Techniques buffing brush and fingers and it’s easy to apply with both. Of course, fingers require more effort while blending. Beauty blender tends to sheer out the foundation so you won’t be getting the coverage it offers. The best bet would be to apply with fingers and use a beauty blender for an effortless blending. If you have dry skin, moisturize your skin properly otherwise it tends to cling onto dry areas. The foundation does oxidise a little, say half a shade up or so.

Coverage & Staying Power

The coverage of Nykaa skinshield foundation is medium to full and it offers a semi-matte finish. It conceals my deep dark circles partly without making it look grey or ashy, pretty similar to how LA Girl concealer hides my undereye circles. All minor blemishes, uneven skintone will be covered except for deep brown acne scars and Postinflammatory Hyperpigmentation.

This foundation has stayed on me for 6-7 hours easily with very little to no fading when I didn’t go out in the sun. But it fades and breaks down badly within the first few hours if you’re in the heat throughout. Indian heat, I tell you! And yes, I prepped my face and set the foundation well in place using RCMA No Color powder because that’s how I wear foundation in general. I barely feel the need to touch up in between with this foundation but doing so after 4-5 hours make it look as good as when you’ve just applied it.

Conclusion

The Nykaa Skinshield foundation is an excellent cruelty-free, drugstore foundation available in the Indian market. However, their shade range is not enough! I do wish they come out with more because brown girls shouldn’t have to wait longer to find a foundation that matches them. It’s the best for people with combination and oily skin but heavy prepping would make it work for dry skin types as well.

Why You Should Buy Nykaa Skinshield Anti-Pollution Foundation?

• Medium to full coverage
• Semi-matte finish
• Travel-friendly packaging
• Cruelty-free & Vegan
• Creamy texture but easy to blend

Why You Should Avoid Nykaa Skinshield Anti-Pollution Foundation?

• Really weird smell
• Limited shade range that’s not enough for Indian skin tones

The product was sent by the brand to try & review. All opinions are of my own. Affiliate link has been used in the post, read Disclaimer to know more.