NYX Professional Makeup Total Control Drop Foundation Review

I’ve been testing out the NYX Professional Makeup Total Control Foundation for a few months now. I had received it in three shades from the NYX Professional Makeup PR Team at a media event.  I had already heard great things about it from my favorite beauty gurus on YouTube.

As someone who has a combination skin, my complexion can get a little oily around the t-zone but my cheeks are often pretty dry and redness-prone. Hence, I wanted to see if this held up the test on my skin. I like a good matte foundation and matte finish when it comes to makeup looks. I’ve never used a foundation that came in droppers so this was fairly new to me.

“From sheer to full, your ideal coverage is just drops away with our new Total Control Drop Foundation! Fine-tune this velvety, matte foundation with the included dropper. Simply adjust the number of drops until you create the look you’re feelin’ today. Want more coverage? Add more drops!” – NYX Cosmetics Site

The ‘foundation drops’ are super buildable and the pipette-style bottle allows for adjustable coverage. Two drops = sheer, light coverage, three drops = medium coverage, and four drops = a full coverage finish.

The formula is new to me – it’s very thin (hence the name!), but it’s buildable. So, the best way to apply is to layer it on using a brush or beauty sponge. One layer might do the trick by itself, but for more coverage, add more layers. At first, I thought this was the type of foundation that you mix with moisturizer or primer, but I don’t think it’s meant for that. It’s really just intended to be buildable coverage. I found that two coats gave me medium coverage – but because there is not much in the way of texture to the formula, it wasn’t the best for covering large pores and acne scars. That being said, usually, the thicker formulas look nice at first but turn me into a grease ball after a few hours. So – you gotta pick your poison here. The NYX Total Control formula is nice and matte – so it’s very good for oily skin. I’ve heard from other bloggers that this is not a good choice for dry skin (it tends to cling to dry patches). It is definitely sheer to full coverage & feels very weightless.

For the application, I would recommend using the Total Control Drop foundation Brush instead of a beauty blender which would soak up most of the product. This is a synthetic angled brush which is specifically designed to help with reaching around all of the natural curves of your face. This method worked out much better for me. I used the dropper to put only a few drops at a time to make sure I didn’t apply too much. This gave me a very natural looking coverage and blended out very easily and quickly.

Application Tips

I start with a very little bit of Primer to moisturize and prime my skin.  If you have dry, flaky skin, this NYX foundation will cling to flakes, accenting them.

I drop 2-3 drops onto a foundation brush and then tap the brush around my face to distribute dots of foundation, then I blend it out with the brush.  I have also tapped dots of the foundation onto my face using my fingertips and then blended with a brush.

For the best finish: blend, blend, blend.  And then blend some more. I like using the NYX Total Control Drop Foundation Brush.  A damp beauty blender dabbed (not rubbed) on your face can help even out the finish if you need it.

The foundation retails for AED 69. The packaging is actually REALLY nice and high-end looking – the bottles are made from glass. Since the price is reasonable, I think it’s fair to say you can get a couple to mix if you can’t find an EXACT match. And because they are so thin, you can mix them very easily. The three shades that I received are Beige, Vanilla, and Mahogany. In order to get the closest shade to my complexion, I mix vanilla and beige. I also like to use vanilla as a concealer and mahogany for contouring. Later on, I received Medium Olive shade in another PR Package from the NYX Professional Makeup Team. Again this isn’t a perfect shade for my complexion so I mix it with vanilla and beige.

NYX’s Total Control Foundation blended oh-so-easily, it kept my oily t-zone under control and didn’t cling to any of the dry patches around my cheeks. The finish is a matte-to-satin, so if your skin is particularly dry it’s worth applying the foundation mixed with a drop of moisturizer to ensure it blends seamlessly.

My Verdict