Welcome to Unfiltered, where we give our honest, no-B.S. reviews of the most buzzed-about beauty products, brands, and services on the market right now.
Launching a complexion line in 2019 no longer looks like five shades with one undertone and one standard finish. We expect the products on shelves to reflect the diverse, unique faces of the people wearing (and spending cash on) them. Thanks to O.G. makeup brands like MAC and Make Up For Ever, and new industry leaders like Fenty, we’re making progress.
In the past year, we’ve seen brands revamp existing complexion ranges to include more shades, or launch entirely new collections that meet or exceed the 40-shade mark. And Morphe — a newer buzzy brand that’s especially popular among beauty bloggers — is one of the latest. The brand recently released its "Fluidity" complexion range at Ulta, including a full-coverage foundation that comes in a whopping 60 shades, plus 31 shades of concealer and 15 shades of finishing powder.
The brand uses a level system to separates the shades into five categories from light (level 1) to deep (level 5). Within each level, there are 2-4 skin-tone options. Then, each of those shades are broken out by undertone (warm, cool, neutral, and olive). To help make things easier, every single shade on the site is represented by a real model with the same skin tone. "We just want to make sure you’re finding somebody you identify with as you’re trying to find your shade,” Myles McCormick, chief executive officer of Morphe, told WWD.
But despite its best efforts, Morphe still faced some social media backlash over the launch. Influencers like Jackie Aina and Alyssa Ashley critiqued the brand for releasing what looked like a lot of shades, but actually failed to deliver in the undertone department. "I don’t think there was enough attention to detail for the rich and deep category," Aina said in her review. "Quality is better than quantity. Just because you have a high number doesn’t mean that those shades will be useful." On Twitter, influencers called the launch disingenuous, pointing out that the brand (which has previously partnered with Jaclyn Hill and Jeffree Star) fails to regularly feature a diverse body of artists.
So when the new items made their way into the hands of the Refinery29 team, it was only right to give the divisive launch a fair shot. We had five staffers of color test out a handful of new Morphe products and share their honest, unfiltered opinions. Read their thoughts, ahead.
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The Tester: Carolyn Negri, Freelance Associate Project Manager
The Products: Morphe Fluidity Foundation in F4.90, Fluidity Concealer in C4.55, and Equalizer Foundation Primer
"I usually forgo primer, but when I used Morphe’s primer under my foundation, I had three people tell me that my makeup looked good. Prior to putting the foundation on my face, I swatched a few shades on my arm. It took awhile to find a color match and the shades dried down to a super matte finish, so I prepped my skin with a few layers of moisturizer just in case.
"I prefer a dewy finish over matte, which might seem odd since my skin is pretty oily, but I really liked the final texture of the foundation: It was right in the middle. The shade is a bit red, but overall, it was pleasant. The concealer, however, I could go without. Unfortunately, 10 minutes after I put it on, it started creasing under my eyes. It could work to highlight your chin or forehead, but I’ll skip in the eye area."
Morphe EQUALIZER FOUNDATION PRIMER, $12, available at Morphe Brushes
Morphe FULL-COVERAGE FOUNDATION, $18, available at Morphe Brushes
Morphe FLUIDITY FULL-COVERAGE CONCEALER, $9, available at Morphe Brushes
The Tester: Patia Braithwaite, Health Editor
The Products: Morphe Fluidity Foundation in F4.110
"I am a pretty dedicated fan of Nars All-Day Luminous Foundation, so Morphe had big shoes to fill. Though it provided adequate coverage — I have some hyperpigmentation marks on my chin and cheeks — this foundation was a lot thicker than what I usually go for. I wouldn’t call this ‘buildable,’ and I don’t think I’d wear it on a light day.
"As far as the actual shade — the color was a match, but the undertone was sort of grey and left my skin looking more ashy than dewy. It’s not as bad as other brands, but I was not extremely impressed. I might throw this in my gym bag as an emergency foundation, but this would not be my everyday pick."
Morphe FULL-COVERAGE FOUNDATION, $18, available at Morphe Brushes
The Tester: Ariana Romero, TV Writer
The Product: Morphe Fluidity Foundation in F3.30 and Concealer in C3.35
"I have a lot of acne scarring and dark spots and I fully appreciate just how much the foundation lives up to its promise of a full-coverage finish. I will say that from the moment you even pop the protective seal, the product smells intensely powdery — to say the least. However, my only real gripe is with the concealer. While it does its job well, the concealer goes onto my skin drier than what I’m used to. It was so dry, I thought I forgot to apply my daily moisturizer and primer. I hadn’t."
Morphe FULL-COVERAGE FOUNDATION, $18, available at Morphe Brushes
Morphe FLUIDITY FULL-COVERAGE CONCEALER , $9, available at Morphe Brushes
The Tester: Channing Hargrove, Fashion News Writer
The Products: Morphe Fluidity Foundation in F4.20 and Powder Filter in #11
"Choosing my shade was not intuitive to me at all; I had no idea how to decipher what shade was for those with warm undertones. It took a lot of trial and error, which could have been avoided if they didn’t use the level system. That being said, I wish the shade I selected was warmer. The powder is extremely full coverage, which is especially noticeable because it wasn’t easy to shade match and I selected one that was too dark. I had to use it sparingly, but it did a good job of setting the foundation."
Morphe FULL-COVERAGE FOUNDATION, $18, available at Morphe Brushes
Morphe FILTER EFFECT FINISHING POWDER – #FILTER11, $12, available at Morphe Brushes
The Tester: Aimee Simeon, Beauty Writer
The Product: Morphe Fluidity Foundation in F3.70 and Concealer in C3.25
"If you want to look like a dewy glazed doughnut , this is NOT for you. If you have hyperpigmentation, like me, and want your foundation a little thick, you’ll appreciate the coverage. A few dots — two to three per cheek — totally covered up my discoloration, but still looked like my skin. I highly recommend starting light and working your way up to your desired coverage, because OD’ing will make you look like you have a mask on.
"On the other hand, the concealer wasn’t really my jam. The color appeared super rich when I put it on, only to dissolve by the time I got to the office. It was also hard to land on my shade in both categories because sifting through all the Morphe letters and numbers felt like learning a new language. If you can get to a store to physically try the shades before you buy them online, do that."
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Source: Refinery29