Why Did The New Maybelline SuperStay Powder Foundation Go Viral? – Full Review
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Price Category: Value
- $14.99 Retail
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Pros
- Flawless application with a brush
- Doesn’t cling to dry spots
- Doesn’t contribute to excess oiliness
- Can also use as setting powder
- Wears well with other powder products on top
Cons
- Included applicator does not work
- Wears very ptachy
- Only about 5 hours of wear time
- Powder turns into a cream as it mixes with the oils on your face
- Terrible shade range / all warm tones
- Not talc free
Review Overview
The revamped Maybelline Powder Foundation isn’t as great as it seems. While it applies well with a brush, it’s wear is patchy, slimy, and it has a terrible shade range.
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Maybelline Powder Foundation has a ton of promises, but it doesn’t deliver.
Maybelline recently revamped their SuperStay Powder Foundation to include a new formula with longer wear claims – from 16 hours to 24 hours! The foundation has been going viral on social media… I personally loved the original Maybelline SuperStay, so I’m not sure why they felt the need to revamp it. The new formula boasts up to 24 hours of wear time, buildable medium to full coverage, and promises to be sweat, water, and transfer resistant. Before we jump into this Maybelline Superstay Powder Foundation review, check out the comparison chart.
Quick Rating Rundown Chart
Promises vs. Performance: 24 hours of wear with no caking, no patchiness? I’m not so sure…
The new and improved Maybelline Powder Foundation promises up to 24 hours of coverage with super staying power. This means a sweat resistant, water resistant, transfer resistant wear. It claims to resist caking and patchiness for a flawless wear ready for anything. Maybelline SuperStay Foundation is a hybrid formula, combining the performance of a liquid with the comfort of a powder. The coverage is buildable medium to full, more versatile with a brush, but claims fuller coverage with the included sponge.
My Maybelline SuperStay Powder Foundation Review Thoughts
Guys, I’m going to be honest… I don’t get why this Maybelline superstay powder foundation went viral. What I will say in this review: it applies flawlessly with a dense foundation brush (I used the Honest Beauty Foundation Brush) and looks beautiful when first applied. The texture also allows any other powder products such as bronzer, blush to apply effortlessly on top. But, the included applicator? It just doesn’t work. Next, the application is patchy, the color isn’t true to what it really is. When applied with a sponge, specifically a damp sponge, the colors oxidizes, which makes me question the sweat/water resistant claims.

I had high hopes for this pressed powder foundation because it looked stunning at initial application, but it just didn’t wow me in any way as the day went forward. I got a solid 5 hours of wear from this Maybelline foundation before it started breaking apart, accentuating every texture and pore on my face.
Here’s an interesting element of Maybelline SuperStay Powder Foundation review – it didn’t look oily but felt oily.
Let me explain, it didn’t contribute to any excess oils on my forehead which I was impressed by! However, this was weird – foundation didn’t look really oily, but when I touched my face, the powder would turn into a creamy consistency that would ball up and disappear. This of course resulted with a patchy complexion. So, it is not a transfer resistant foundation like they claim. Going forward, I will most likely continue to use this powder foundation as a setting powder to get extra coverage where I need it. See YouTube video of the foundation.
How It Compares: Lets Review Maybelline SuperStay Powder Foundation Against the Competition
Comparing Drugstore Powder Foundations
I can’t say the new Maybelline power foundation is a winner. While it applies beautifully (with a brush), it isn’t the best powder foundation wear I have experienced. There are many other powder foundation formulas that I would rather wear than Maybelline 24HR SuperStay Foundation. In my experience, this foundation applies well, but it doesn’t wear well. While this foundation doesn’t accentuate dry patches or contributes to excess oiliness, it wears very patchy and uneven. The shade range only has 16 colors to choose from, and they are very warm toned and I can’t imagine that they would match most skin tones.
When it comes to drugstore powder foundation, I much prefer the original Maybelline SuperStay Foundation. Though it may not last the full 16 hours Maybelline claims, for a powder foundation the wear of this one can’t be beat. Even with oils peeking through and some rub off, the foundation still looked great on my skin. It never looked cakey, heavy, or powdery despite layering to achieve a fuller coverage. It did not settle into my fine lines or exaggerate any texture.
The only other drugstore powder foundation I have somewhat enjoyed is L’Oreal True Match. It’s a versatile pressed powder that can be used to set makeup, control shine, or worn on its own for buildable coverage. It wears better, too, without exaggerating texture/dry spots or contributing to excess oiliness.
Comparison to Top Foundations
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If we’re talking best performance, the original SuperStay Maybelline powder foundation was better. Now, powder foundations don’t wear the best on my combination skin type, but there are some that I can get a solid 6-8 hours of wear out of – and the new Maybelline powder foundation isn’t one.
The best powder foundations I have tried are Make Up For Ever Velvet Undetectable Longwear Blurring Powder Foundation and Shiseido Synchro Skin. Make Up For Ever foundation gives me a lot more coverage, but I prefer the wear of the Shiseido foundation more. Both products beautifully blur and don’t look like a powder on the skin, even though Makeup Forever is a bit superior in initial finish. I do think Shiseido Synchro Skin controls my oil and shine more and has a longer wear than MakeUp Forever Velvet Foundation.
Both of these pressed powder foundations are beautiful formulas with small differences between the two. I think with these it comes down to price, amount of product, and shade range. With the Shiseido powder, you get 9 grams of product for $45 and it comes in 16 shades. With Make Up For Ever’s powder, you get 11 grams of product for $43, and have a much larger shade range to choose from (32 shades).
Other Powder Foundations Options
If you are considering a powder foundation, definitely don’t cross a loose powder foundation off your list. bareMinerals is home to the original and still the best. It provides customizable coverage, about 6 hours of comfortable wear, and doesn’t exaggerate skin imperfections.
Performance Rating Chart
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Advertised Product Highlights
Maybelline SuperStay 24HR Powder Foundation
# OF SHADES: 16
FORMULATION: Pressed powder
FINISH: Soft matte
COVERAGE: Buildable medium to full
SKIN TYPE: All skin types
LONGEVITY: Up to 24 hours
PROTECTION: No SPF
BENEFITS: Lightweight, comfortable feel; Sweat-resistant, water-resistant, transfer-resistant; Resists caking and patchiness; Customizable coverage
CLEAN BEAUTY CLAIMS: Vegan; Non-comedogenic
Edited by Maddie