Maybe she's born with it, maybe it's Maybelline! Well, let me tell you, my complexion is absolutely awful from October to April so if it's not the summertime, you can reasonably assume that my skin doesn't look this good on my own! In this case? It's TOTALLY MAYBELLINE.

So read on and let me tell you of my latest drug-store obsession, shall we?

Maybelline Dream Velvet - Ivory 15

I'm always stumped when I buy foundation because I've got an ever-fluctuating skintone. I also sort of sit between pink undertones and yellow/golden undertones, but most of the foundation I find that has yellow-tones is for people with darker complexions than myself. So I was REALLY impressed right off the bat that this foundation comes in TWELVE shades. Twelve! After hemming and hawing, I drifted towards Ivory 15 and while it's a little oranger than what I'd choose normally for winter-time, it's a fairly good match for me for the rest of the year so I dove right in!

Maybelline Dream Velvet surprised me at first with it's relatively thick consistency.For some reason I thought (erroneously) that this was a lighter weight foundation (the 'velvet' maybe?) but this is actually a pretty solid medium-weight matte formula. Whoa! I've spent most of my foundation life with brands like Rimmel on the drug-store level, and Clinique on the higher-end, but I tend to stay light with my formula, so I was REALLY IMPRESSED to see how much coverage Dream Velvet could get me. It also absolutely goes on matte, with a really small amount going a REALLY LONG way. See the amount I put on the back of my hand? The size of a pea? Covered my entire back of my hand and THEN some.

The only problem I really had with this formula was that I was unable to find a powder that worked well with it. I like a good setting powder to keep everything in place, but this foundation was NOT. HAVING. IT. I'm sure there are some it likes, but I tried three and just gave up and went powder-less, stepping out of my comfort zone for a bit.

Overall, I was really impressed with this formula, and considering my other choices are 2-3x the price of this foundation? I think I might be buying my foundation at Shoppers instead of Sephora in the future!

Pros:

• GREAT coverage! I was impressed with how much coverage this product really delivered with a small dollop
• Great variety of shades for all kinds of skin tones.
• My skin felt pretty hydrated at the end of the day when I used it without powder, it actually survives from morning to night.

Cons:

• Dream Blender/other blending tools ate a LOT of this product, it was harder to move around so I had to push down harder, leaving more product in the tool.
• It does NOT play well with some setting powders, so avoid it unless you have the patience to find one that works. It caused flakes/caking for me.
• No SPF, keep in mind when choosing a moisturizer and primer.

Maybelline Dream Blender

It's a beauty blender. We all know what beauty blenders are. I have about 4 rolling around in my makeup drawer right now. Ovals, egg shaped and oblong. The Dream Blender isn't a game-changer if you already own one of these bad boys, but it is a different take on the product due to the handle. Unfortunately I don't think it really offers THAT much more value over any of the other blenders I've used.

Pros:

• The handle is good for touch-ups and helping apply to hard-to-reach areas.
• Helpful for precise application.

Cons:

• Too small to do the face quickly.
• Hard to clean because of the handle
• Ate too much of the product.

The Maybelline Dream Velvet Foundation retails for $16.99 & the Dream Blender retails for $7.99 and both can be found at Shoppers Drug Mart, Walmart and other local drug stores that carry Maybelline.

What's your go-to drug store foundation?

Disclosure - I received these product for review, but all opinions are my own.