Clinique Acne Fighting Foundation Dupe

 Foundation and concealer are almost always things I splurge on, because I am a huge believer in high quality basics, but I found a dupe that I really like for my everyday foundation. 

Clinique's Acne Solutions Liquid Makeup is my everyday foundation. It looks wonderful with a primer, but it doesn't exaggerate my pores when I don't wear one. The finish isn't overly dewy, so I can wear it everyday and only need to set it with a powder when I feel oily. I have applied this foundation with and without a sponge, and while I do prefer the finish of the sponge, I can also apply the product comfortably with my hands. Because it is such a low concentration of salicylic acid, I can use it when my skin is perfectly clear without it drying out or feeling abused, but it helps overall with my breakouts. 

Clinique's foundation in Fresh Alabaster
 (their palest shade at the time though they now
have an even fairer shade for those who are paler than me)
and Elf's foundation in Ivory ( also palest)

The dupe: Elf's Acne Fighting foundation. 

Exceptions:

- The color range is a little different and not as wide as Clinique's, and I think Clinique ultimately has a coloring to it that would work better on all skin tones. 

- Elf has a thicker texture than Clinique's, which is much more liquidy. I happen to like this, because I am into cream foundations. 

Here are my swatches (Clinique on the left, Elf in porcelain in the middle, Elf in Ivory on the right).

I did scan over the ingredients list as well, both foundations contain the same concentration of salicylic acid, and look to have very similar ingredients, some in a slightly different order though. 

These are the products blended into my hand, so you can see how they match and how the finish is exactly the same. 

Now, just to make extra sure that I had truly found a dupe, I wore both foundations on separate halves of my face for the entire day on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, that way I was able to get opinions from friends and see myself in different lighting during different parts of the day.  You can see the photos from two of the days on either side, in different lighting and during different parts of the day.