When did this foundation become such a hit? I heard about EX1 a couple times, usually on Youtube and it's not a really well known brand. However, all of a sudden this foundation is just appearing everywhere in my recommendations. Let's see why.
The EX1 Invisiwear Liquid Foundation is probably most well known product from EX1 in general. According to the packaging, it's a foundation with some science behind it as it's supposed to adjust itself to perfectly match you. It's formulated specifically for olive skintones, but works for other skintones as well. It's supposed to be medium buildable coverage and it has a flawless skin-like finish. It's formulated without fragrance, oils or parabens. And it's vegan. It also shouldn't clog your pores.
I really like the claims on this product and you get 30ml in a bottle with a pump which is nice. I got the shade 3.0. I got it for 15 Euros on Beauty Bay and it comes in 16 shades. The shade range could be better but at least it's quite ballanced. The thing is though that 3.0 is like the third lightest shade and it's pretty dark. I thoughts it's going to be a lot more pale and I can barely wear it. It looks very different in the photos on Beauty Bay website than it looks in person. In person I would say it's a light-medium with gold undertone.
It's supposed to adjust the color to your skin and create a perfect match, but I don't think that'll work with the match I'm working with. I would go a bit lighter for sure if I was to purchase this foundation again.
You can tell even side by side with my other foundations that it's pretty dark and the olive undertone with a hint of golden undertone is very visible. If you have olive undertone and you struggle with finding the right foundation shade, I feel like EX1 is the right brand for you.
Wear test
The foundation has a very natural finish and light to medium coverage. It feels very nice on the skin but requires a little bit of building to get more coverage. It doesn't move around or look cakey when you try to build it up a bit. The shade I have is a lot darker than I expected and it's also very yellow. I was able to save it with the lighter concealer, but it's doesn't exactly match me even though it looked nice in the swatch pictures. I didn't have time to try any cream products on top of this foundation but overall I really like how it looks and feels. You can barely feel it on your skin and it looks very natural.
List of used products
NYX Honey Dew Me Up Primer
EX1 Invisiwear Foundation, shade 3.0
Maybelline Instant Anti-age Eraser Concealer, shade 00 Ivory
Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder, shade Translucent
Milani Silky Matte Bronzing Powder, 01 Sun Light
Milani Baked Powder Blush, shade 05 Luminoso
W7 Very Vegan Highlighting Powder, shade Nature's Glow
Trend It Up Fibre Brow Gel Filler, shade 010
Sephora Universal Cooling Eye Primer
Juvia's Place Nubian 3 Coral Pallete
Catrice Brush Ink Tattoo Liner, shade Black
L'Oreal Lash Paradise Mascara, shade Intense Black
Fenty Beauty Flypencil, shade Spaghetti Straps
Barry M All Night Long Setting Spray
Trend It Up Ultra Wear Nude Pen Matte, shade 020 Matte
Wear time 15 hours
This was a ride. We still have to wear masks in public transport and in stores and crowded places so part of the problem was the mask for sure. Other than that, the foundation started separating quite a bit, but I'm not sure exactly when it started happening. It didn't feel gross or oily on my face and overall it still looked decent and there weren't any patches missing. However, after closer examination I could see at the end of the day that it started so separate pretty bad. I assume that it's because of the long wear time. The weather is getting really hot and I've been all over the place and didn't really have time to check my makeup. I caught a glance of myself in the mirror a couple times during the day and the makeup overall looked really nice. However, nearing the night I just forgot to check and saw myself in the mirror as I arrived home around midnight.
Final thoughts
Overall, I like the consistency, coverage and finish of this foundation. It looks very natural, it's light-medium coverage which you can build up and it doesn't look cakey. The price is quite alright, it's not too expensive and if you find a good match it might be a great everyday foundation.
One thing I'm not stoked about is the longevity. It lasted quite well but honestly at the end of the day I looked very worn out. 15 hours is a very long time and I don't always wear my makeup that long but it's nice to see how it holds up. In this case it wasn't great. I appreciate that it didn't start patching off or sliding around my face but it started separating. However, even though it looked kinda gross it didn't feel gross which is nice.
I like this foundation a lot but it's not going to be a one I wear when I need the extra long wear time or extra coverage. It's nice and lightweight and looks very natural without looking like a mask and I really enjoy it. Just bare in mind that it's not going to last whole day and night and it probably won't really last well if you have a very oily skin as well. I feel like the disrupting on my face was mostly caused by skin oils and the manual damage I did with the mask and my hands. But it's a very nice foudation for a medium-length day when you just want something quick and easy and natural.
Have you tried this foundation? Let me know in the comments and thanks for reading!