Happy New Year! ‘New year, new me’ I guess as I’m ringing in 2019 with my first ever negative review :o. Unfortunately, this foundation was all types of awful for me…
I am of course talking about the Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation, a foundation hailed to solve all the shade matching issues with its wide array of 25 shades(!). They claim that their shades can match 99% of UK skin tones and describe the foundation as having:
- 24HR moisture
- Soft focus to reduce pores, imperfections and dark circles
- ‘Up to’(!) SPF 20
It costs £8.29 at Boots, so it isn’t going to break the bank, but every penny counts.
I used shade Bronze 402 and defo had not found my perfect shade but there really wasn’t much choice once you got past the medium toned shades…

Source: Rimmel London Website
I found the shade was a close enough match however and went about testing it for around 2 weeks (maybe 10 wears overall).
Let me first start with the pros because it does have some!
- It has quite a matte yet not too dry finish which is my preference with my foundation. It doesn’t mention anywhere however what the finish is meant to be… but I was supposed to be doing positives (oops).
- The bottle’s pump is v good and I find I only need 1 pump (or 1.5 sometimes) for a full face. If you end up liking this foundation, it’ll last a long while! The coverage is really good tbh.
Okay, disadvantages.
- It oxidises. Badly. If I haven’t got the perfect shade match to begin with, this most definitely didn’t help and meant wearing the foundation all day was awful. It was a shame too as the foundation didn’t have any grey undertones (which often happens nearing the darker shades) but the oxidation left with an orangey/grey hue :(.
- It doesn’t hold in oil and shine as I constantly needed to touch my face up with powder or oil blottings sheets (I usually never have to with my other foundations).
- It doesn’t dry down fully at any point and most definitely transfers. Stay away from any white/precious clothing in this for sure! This is a big pet peeve of mine and makes me hyper-aware of my foundation all the time.
Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this foundation, especially if you have a similar skin type to me (combination/oily). Their shade range could definitely be improved on, though for a drugstore brand it is commendable. I just wish the foundation was actually good lol.
Did this foundation work for you? Let me know!