Reviewed: Oxygenetix Foundation & Moisturizer

Even though I am well into adulthood, my struggle with acne and covering it up continues to be very real.  So, when I got an email from Oxygenetix regarding breathable, oxygenating moisturizer and foundation that are targeted to both covering and healing a variety of skin concerns -  in my case, acne, I was intrigued.
    The Oxygenating Moisturizer emerged as the hands down favourite of the two.  It is lovely, super light-weight, very hydrating, and wears extremely well under make-up. I've been using it morning and night for about a month, and my skin has been responding really well to it.  Oftentimes with very sensitive skin, some formulas can be irritating, but this is one I would absolutely  be interested to purchase when my current supply runs out, if budget allows.   

 I was impressed at the range of colours in the Oxygenating Foundation range, as it does seem to cater to a truly wide array of skin tones, more so than many foundations I've seen from other brands.  I went with Pearl, and it was a very good colour match for my very fair skin.     I would say it provides a light-to-medium coverage that I was happy with, although I think you could likely build it up to full coverage.  I'm not sure how it would be at covering up scars or more intense redness, though, as I don't have those skin concerns. It wasn't like my experience with Dermablend, which provided super-full coverage and really perfected the skin.  However, I do think that there does have to be some allowance made for the breathability of this foundation, because it certainly feels like there's nothing on your skin, which I love.  I did still have some breakouts, but those were not exacerbated or increased by this foundation, which, for me is definitely unusual but totally great!  As a super-pale redhead, I do also certainly appreciate the SPF.  Both products are also vegan and cruelty free, which is a plus.   

   This is a very specialized product, and so the price reflects this.  It is certainly not drugstore range, but much more high end with the moisturizer at $85 and the foundation at $66 - and that is on a US site - our poor Canadian dollar! Ouch! Particularly when noting that Chanel's brand new Les Beiges foundation is $65 (CAD) for double the amount. Combined with very minimal, less attractive packaging, it makes the price point a bit hard to swallow, considering the 15 ml gets used up very quickly - I'm already almost out! That said, if it fits your very specialized skin care concerns, it might well be worth it.     The main downer for me, is how difficult it is to get this product. It's not available anywhere on PEI, and is only sold in select specialized beauty or skincare clinics in Canada (There is a list here).  It seems to be more readily available in the US, and I did find it (on sale!) at online beauty boutique Lovely Skin, which does actually ship to Canada - although with our dollar the way it is, even the relatively reasonable flat rate shipping of $20 is going to hurt.  You're going to have to really want this stuff and seek it out to add it to your collection.  I noted that Lovely Skin does offer $9 samples of foundation to test for colour match, which is helpful, especially since one can't easily pop in to a counter to swatch, as you might with drugstore or even higher end designer brands like Nars, or Armani.     Overall, I did find these to be good quality if difficult-to-obtain products.  Both are a bit costly for my more humble beauty budget, but I may make an exception for the moisturizer. If you do have seriously sensitive or damaged skin, however, the foundation might also be worth considering, although with the price point, I'd certainly suggest trying out the sample size first to be sure of a good colour match.    Follow