Rimmel Match Perfection Old vs. New

Don’t you just hate it when a makeup brand goes and reformulates one of your favourite products… especially when it’s a foundation? For the past year I have been singing the praises of Rimmel’s Match Perfection Foundation in the shade 081 Fair Ivory. I wholeheartedly believe the colour match could not be more spot on and understandably I was apprehensive when I heard Rimmel were changing the formula. Does the new formula live up to the old or is this a case of if it ain’t broke don’t fix it? Read on to find out.

Packaging

The packaging is very similar with a few minor changes. The lid has a textured dot pattern and the sticker on the front now includes the same pattern as well as the colour pink in the logo. The pump mechanism has changed slightly too. The pump feels more sturdy and less likely to wear out over time. It has a groove for your finger and is more squared off and structured than the old one. Overall, the foundation is still nicely presented and the claims and shade are clearly stated on the front.

Claims

Old

• Rimmel’s Match Perfection foundation is a luxurious, smooth and creamy formula that glides smoothly onto skin, feeling lightweight and bringing a flawless radiance to skin.
• Match Perfection incorporates Smart-Tone technology, that adapts to and mimics the tone, colour and texture of your skin for a perfect match, every time.
• SPF 18.

New

• Invisible, mistake-proof foundation for visibly perfected & healthier looking skin.
• Weightless, smooth texture blends with skin’s real tone instead of masking it.
• 24HR moisture complex leaves skin feeling hydrated.
• Soft-focus powers help reduce imperfections, pores & dark circles.
• SPF 20.

Shades

In the old range of Match Perfection I use shade 081 Fair Ivory which was the second lightest in the range. Since the reformulation, there are now only eight shades in the range and Fair Ivory is not one of them meaning I had to purchase 010 Light Porcelain and I now wear the lightest shade in the range. Once applied to my face the shades look almost identical which is good. Light Porcelain is more pink-toned and Fair Ivory is more yellow-toned which makes me think my skin’s undertone leans towards neutral as I can pull off both shades.

Swatches:

Left: Light Porcelain, Right: Fair Ivory.

Light Porcelain looks a lot more visible as I pumped out more by mistake.

Consistency

This foundation is designed to provide light-medium coverage and personally I love this foundation for day to day wear. I use one pump and dot the foundation over my face before going in with an additional half pump and dotting it on any redness to provide that extra bit of coverage. The texture of the old Match Perfection is a lot runnier than the new one and also slightly sheerer than the new one too. I haven’t found the consistency to affect how this blends except that the thicker consistency might take the tiniest bit longer to blend. I actually like the new consistency as I don’t have to worry about the foundation running off the back of my hand.

Dewiness

One thing I instantly noticed about the new formula is that it doesn’t seem to look as dewy as the old. For me, that’s not a dealbreaker but the old gives that highlighted, glow from within look. The new formula looks slightly more matte but you can still achieve that glowy look with a good highlighter. I found sometimes with the old formula there could be too much dewiness, it looked like the foundation was still wet and hadn’t absorbed into my skin properly.

Pore Blurring Technology

One of the biggest changes claim-wise about Match Perfection is that the new formula aims to blur pores and make them less visible. I don’t know if I was just having good skin days the handful of times I’ve worn this foundation so far but I did notice a difference. The foundation made my skin look even and didn’t accentuate any acne or problem areas.

To truly put this foundation to the test I applied the old Match Perfection foundation to one side of my face and the new Match Perfection to the other.

  Left – old, right – new.

Because I truly believe this is the best foundation for my skin tone colour-wise I’ve included an image of me completely bare faced next to the image of me wearing just foundation.

Match Perfection adds the loveliest hint of colour to my face and makes it look that much healthier! Until I find a foundation that performs similar or better than this, I will continue to repurchase.

Conclusion

Part of the reason it took me so long to pick up a bottle of the reformulated version was because I had convinced myself the new formula would be nowhere near as good as the old. I am glad to say I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like the new formula and I shouldn’t have been worried at all. The shade is the only thing that has changed but I can still pull off the lighter colour and it actually looks almost identical once on my skin. At the moment I can’t say whether or not I like the new foundation better as I haven’t used it enough but it has made a good first impression. Rimmel, you’re still my perfect match!

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Have you tried Rimmel’s Match Perfection, old or new? What do you think?