Max Factor Pan Stik Foundation 13 Nouveau Beige 9 grammes

My father knew Max Factor Jr and I was sent a box of cosmetics from him every few months! This was a staple and - back in the 70’s - one of the few foundations out there. Fast forward to 2024 and I have rediscovered this gem! I’m 68 now and many foundations just look like crap. They’re developed for much younger faces. I got this off Amazon and thought, “how bad can it be?” I love it. LOVE IT! It actually works well on dry skin, blends like a dream and is super easy to apply. And, of course, the whole nostalgia factor doesn’t hurt either!

I adore this foundation, its cheap as can be and actually works with a high coverage long wear and great for dry skin. I wear shade 12 true beige and I have very pale skin with warm undertones. It works well, definitely recommend.

I really love this during the cold, Swedish winter months or whenever my skin is having a very dry period. It's the only thing that doesn't get dry when I'm outside in several-degrees-below-freezing weather. Working with kids, I'm outside a lot, especially when there's snow. Living in a small-ish town in Sweden, I usually walk everywhere, even when it's very cold. When it's that cold outside, I don't usually powder this unless I'm going to be inside more than outside. When I do powder, I like to use the Max Factor Creme Puff powder or Youngblood's rice powder. Coty Airspun works great too, but it breaks me out unfortunately. This is much too heavy for my skin during the summer months. This is also very versatile and can easily be built up as a concealer as well.

I was a long-time user of the original (14 gram plastic cylinder) Max Factor Pan Stik in shade 109 Medium, a medium coral beige shade. I still have the last one my husband bought on eBay in 2009. I have purchased numerous Kryolan TV Paint Sticks, trying to match close to this 109 Medium shade. The 4W shade is the same tone, but darker. The new Max Factor Pan Stik 56 medium shade is way too orange, so I will not buy that again. I had just about thrown in the towel on trying to match a Kryolan TV Paint Stick shade to my OLD Max Factor Pan Stik Medium 109 medium coral beige shade when a Kryolan representative suggested EF86.

There are definitely better foundations (even from MF), but this is a 5 stars concealer when you want to have a "no make-up" day! It's easy to apply, evens the skin tone and has good coverage. You can layer it, doesn't oxidize and wears well. Usually I need to touch up after 4-5 hours, which I think it's pretty decent for the price paid for it. It's great for covering small sun spots or blemishes. If you don't have too many wrinkles around the eyes (or over a primer), it also does a pretty good job for concealing the dark circles. I think it's working better for dry skin, though. One negative would be the limited shade range. Unfortunately, someone with a fair complexion would have limited options. True Beige (no 12) is perfect for my medium skin with golden undertones. No. 13, Nouveau Beige is darker and more suitable for those with a medium-pinkish skin (see the picture of my forearm where I compare these 2 shades).