We Tested the New Nontoxic Foundation That Rivals Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk

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(Image credit: Courtesy of Credo Beauty)

I'm not going to mince words. Never have I ever (or at least not until a few weeks ago) been able to stomach a clean and/or natural foundation formula. I have painstakingly high standards when it comes to the finish, application, tone, and durability of my foundation, and nothing I ever tried felt up to snuff (or even close, for that matter). In fact, I would likely need another set of hands to count the number of times I excitedly applied a promising new and natural foundation alternative only to be instantaneously scandalized by the sticky or slippery texture, suspiciously off-base undertones, or lack of day- or night-enduring stamina. Simply put, if a foundation makes me look oily, discolored, or downright discombobulated, I will put it down and never touch it again. (The one exception has been Ilia's cult-loved Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40, which I'm absolutely obsessed with.)

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(Image credit: Courtesy of Credo Beauty)

Believe me, I have wanted to love a clean foundation for a long, long time. I've amassed quite a few other natural makeup formulas I routinely use and recommend, but foundation is where I consistently get stuck. Even though consistency and finish have always been problematic (so many natural formulas are very oily or tacky), the lack of shades has been, and still is, completely unacceptable within the clean-beauty space. So when some of my favorite peeps over at clean-beauty retailer Credo popped into my inbox to tell me they were launching its first-ever private-label makeup brand, Exa, I was instantly intrigued. I love Credo, so this one had to be a winner, right? 

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(Image credit: Courtesy of Credo Beauty)

Erin Jahns, Beauty Editor

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(Image credit: @erin_jahns)

Shade: Hannah 490 (fair with subtle olive undertones)

Rating: 4/5 stars

Review: Little did this foundation know when it arrived on my doorstep that it would have to jump through every precarious hoop a foundation can be put through: 100-degree heat and a trying 16 hours of wear. (Yep, I did the most damning thing a beauty editor can do and slept in the stuff.) However, in an epic plot twist that I've never experienced with a clean foundation formula, it passed every test with flying colors. (For the record, nearly every other natural foundation I've tried has melted off my face three hours after application and at even the mere mention of sweat or exercise.) So yes, I'm extremely impressed with this foundation.

What I love most about this foundation is how beautifully and smoothly it applies and blends into the skin. It does that "your skin but better" thing, which is entirely the point of foundation, right? I'm pretty sure I actually murmured aloud "holy shit, this is beautiful" as I used my Beautyblender to buff and press it into my skin. That type of jaw-dropping, immediate reaction rarely happens for me. It smells lovely, which is important (for me) when it comes to makeup because it's sitting right beneath your nose. While the finish is slightly more luminous and dewy than I would normally go for, I found that setting it with a touch of powder easily toned down any areas I felt looked too shiny. And again, let's remember I was battling high humidity and heat, so I'm not sure it would always end up looking quite so glowy.

I ended up wearing this foundation overnight (I know, I know), and I was completely surprised when I woke up in the morning to find that it still looked *almost* as good as when I first applied it. Really. It only looked slightly worse for wear than my non-clean foundations that tout super-long, 24-hour wear. I did set it with a non-clean setting spray, which probably helped matters. I've done that before with natural foundations, and they've still looked smudgy and all-around messy a few hours afterward.

This foundation doesn't apply, look, or wear off like any other clean foundation I've tried. It's far superior, and it even comes in a beautiful glass bottle that makes it feel really expensive. I'm impressed all around. The only reason I can't give it a full five stars is that the finish is a little too dewy for my taste. But all in all, Exa's High Fidelity Foundation has set a new standard in the industry for both quality and inclusivity. It's time for all of the other brands in the clean-beauty space to level up! 

5 More Clean Makeup Products I Love

Courtney Higgs, Associate Beauty Editor

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(Image credit: @court_higgs)

Shade: Paetynn 170 (medium deep with golden undertones)

Rating: 5/5 stars

Review: As someone with brown skin, I’m still getting used to the concept of a clean foundation. Up until about a year ago, there wasn’t a single clean foundation on the market I could point to that had the shade range to match my skin. So when Erin sent me an excited message in Slack a few weeks back about Credo’s new in-house makeup brand that was not only clean but was also coming out of the gate with 43 shades, my interest was immediately piqued.

Before I go any further, I need to mention that I am mildly traumatized from having to mix foundation shades for so long, and I can acknowledge that I may get overly excited when I get my hands on a single bottle that matches me perfectly. It’s not such a rarity anymore, but a perfect shade match and clean ingredients? That’s not a product I’m used to seeing! I love this foundation. It imparts that quenched, glowy finish that’s taken over Instagram. It’s super dewy... like so dewy it can err on the side of oily if you’re not careful.

After experimenting a bit with the application, I’ve learned that layering it on top of a heavy moisturizer will end in disaster (even when accompanied by the Exa Jump Start Smoothing Primer). The key, for me, has been pairing it with a lightweight moisturizer and setting any super-loose areas like my forehead, which is oilier than ever right now, with a thin layer of powder. Overall, I’m very satisfied with this foundation and can’t wait to see how it holds up during a full day of outdoor activities (whenever outside opens back up again).

5 More Clean Makeup Products I Love

Beauty Director

Erin has been writing a mix of beauty and wellness content forBest Knockoff Luxury Clothing for over four years. Prior to that, she spent two and half years writing for Byrdie. She now calls Santa Monica home but grew up in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and studied writing, rhetoric, and communication at University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. She studied abroad in Galway, Ireland, and spent a summer in L.A. interning with the Byrdie andBest Knockoff Luxury Clothing family. After graduating from UW, she spent one year in San Francisco, where she worked as a writer for Pottery Barn Kids and PBteen before moving down to L.A. to begin her career as a beauty editor. She considers her day-to-day beauty aesthetic very low-maintenance and relies on staples like clear brow serum (from Kimiko!), Lawless's Lip Plumping Mask in Cherry Vanilla, and an eyelash curler. For special occasions or days when she's taking more meetings or has an event, she'll wear anything and everything from Charlotte Tilbury (the foundations are game-changing), some shimmer on her lids (Stila and Róen do it best), and a few coats of the best mascara-type product on earth, Surratt's Noir Lash Tint.