NYX Total Control Drop Foundation Swatches and Review

Check out our full review and swatches of the NYX Total Control Drop Foundation. We give it a full review and show swatches on two separate skin tones.

NYX Total Control Drop Foundation Swatches

As a pale girl, it can be hard to find a good color foundation match. Cosmetics companies tend to make shades that are either too pink or too yellow – it can be hard to find a good neutral (in my particular case). Now, I can only imagine how hard it is for women of color, who are lucky if a makeup brand offers ANYTHING darker than “tan.” It seems like brands are really missing the boat when it comes to offering colors for my darker skinned sisters. I am seeing that brands are JUST starting to figure this out. Now instead of nude makeup shades only coming in peachy-pink and taupe, I’m starting to see them branch out into dark browns and plums. Makeup companies are starting to offer more options, and I love that. But I think we have a long way to go. Let’s focus on the cruelty free brands who are doing a good job on that front, shall we?

I asked my friend Brittany from Clumps of Mascara which brands offered good foundations for darker skinned women. She mentioned NYX, so I reached out to see what they had to offer. The new NYX Total Control Drop Foundation comes in 24 shades. They sent us all 24 shades to test drive – the 12 lighter shades for me, and the 12 darker shades for Brittany, so we can give you some (hopefully helpful!) swatches along with our thoughts on the formula.

Let me just add that in addition to offering a a great shade range, NYX is cruelty free and totally affordable!

The formula is new to me – it’s very thin (hence the name!), but it’s buildable. So, the best way to apply is to layer it on using a brush or beauty sponge. One layer might do the trick by itself, but for more coverage, add more layers. At first, I thought this was the type of foundation that you mix with moisturizer or primer, but I don’t think it’s meant for that. It’s really just intended to be buildable coverage. I found that two coats gave me medium coverage – but because there is not much in the way of texture to the formula, it wasn’t the best for covering large pores and acne scars. That being said, usually the thicker formulas look nice at first, but turn me into a grease ball after a few hours. So – you gotta pick your poison here. The NYX Total Control formula is nice and matte – so it’s very good for oily skin. I’ve heard from other bloggers that this is not a good choice for dry skin (it tends to cling to dry patches).

It’s also VERY long-wearing – in fact, I couldn’t get the swatches off my arm using only an oil cleanser – I had to follow up with a regular cleanser and then wiped with a towel. I would recommend removing with a washcloth, scrub or sonic brush to make sure you get it all off at the end of the day.

The foundation retails for $14 each. The packaging is actually REALLY nice and high-end looking – the bottles are made from glass and they remind of expensive apothecary products. Since the price is reasonable, I think it’s fair to say you can get a couple to mix if you can’t find an EXACT match. And because they are so thin, you can mix them very easily. My best shade is 3 (Porcelain), but shade 4 (Light Ivory) is also kind of nice for brightening my skin. It’s more peachy than I would normally wear alone, so I found that mixing the two works nicely. Shade 1 (Pale) is SO light that I actually really love it as a highlighter and undereye concealer. The darker shades even work as liquid contour colors.

Here’s what Brittany thought of the formula and color range: While I’m typically a powder foundation, girl (mainly because that Floridian humidity is so disrespectful), I’m pleasantly surprised at how well NYX’s Total Control worked for my normal-dry skin. I was too lazy to figure out which tool would work best so I ended up dropping a few drops on freshly cleansed fingers and got to dabbing on my skin. A little went a few long way and the shade Mocha fit my perfectly. It wore nicely throughout the entire day. I felt a little bit of tightness but that could probably be remedied with a few drops of argan oil mixed in with the foundation. And can we talk about how while Mocha was ideal for my skin, there were FIVE shades darker than me? This is how it’s supposed to be done, NYX. Thank you.

So without further ado, here are the NYX Total Control Drop Foundation swatches!