Shade
This foundation comes in warm, cool and neutral shades, so there is something for everyone. It is easy for me to find my correct shade since I am always the lightest shade. Wal-Mart had a chart just for this foundation that will help match you. It actually seemed fairly accurate. I used it and it worked well. For this foundation, I am W1-2 or Porcelain. At first I was worried that it was actually going to be a tad too dark, but it ended up being a perfect match.
I found this to have light to medium coverage. It can be built up. It feels lightweight, but did a good job covering the little bit of redness around my nose and some old acne scars on my cheek. It did not settle into any pores or make them stand out. It felt great on my skin. If you are a fan of matte finishes, this is not the foundation for you. It gave my skin a nice dewy, healthy look that lasted all day. My skin gets oily throughout the day regardless of what I do. Naturally, I expected to find that the foundation had melted off my face or my skin looked really greasy. Much to my surprise, neither was the case. Naturally there was a little shine, but nothing like what I had expected. The staying power is good, even without a primer. 7 hours and it is still in good shape.
Before Application
After Application
Packaging
The packaging of a foundation is important to me. And not for an aesthetic purpose, but for function. I like foundations that have pumps because they are less messy. This foundation comes in a 1 oz glass bottle with a silver pump. At first, I thought the pump was going to poorly made. Something about looked a little cheap, but it feels very sturdy.
Overall Impression, Scent and Price
I am both shocked and pleased to say that I love this foundation. I am not a huge fan of foundations that have a matte finish because I think they look a little unnatural. But this one is great. It is dewy without being oily. As for the claims of brightening the skin, it does do that. Upon removal, my skin felt very smooth and still had a brighter, more clear appearance. Nothing too drastic, but it was there. Scent can be an important factor for a lot of people (including myself). Luckily, I noticed no scents with this foundation. Nor did I experience any irritation.
I paid $10.79 for it at Wal-Mart. CVS actually had testers, so if you were interested in trying it and you live near one, I would check it out.