Can Exa High Fidelity Foundation Stand Up to Chanel?

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It’s been important to me to slowly make the switch to non-toxic beauty products. Last summer I discovered ILIA’s Skin Tint Serum Foundation (reviewed here) with SPF 40, which I love for everyday light-coverage, but doesn’t quite cut it for times I want fuller coverage or plan to be in front of a camera. I’d been using Chanel’s Ultra Le Teint Flawless Finish Foundation – a beautiful formulation with impeccable finish, but silicone-based, which makes me break out if I use it too often. Plus, it’s full of chemicals and has a cloying floral fragrance that I’m not keen on. I needed something with a similar finish, but healthier formulation. Enter Exa High Fidelity Foundation.

About Exa

Exa High Fidelity Foundation is made by Credo Beauty, the “Sephora” of green and non-toxic beauty. It comes in 43 shades and is described as a “buildable semi-satin foundation” that’s weightless and can be worn sheer or built up to full coverage for “a luminous glow that looks just like your skin on a really good skin day.”

Get $10 off your first Credo Beauty purchase here

With rave reviews from Allure and Who What Wear, I was immediately intrigued – the affordable $38 price point didn’t hurt either (point of comparison, my Chanel foundation is $60. As the Who What Wear review says, the Exa formulators were trying to create something that hadn’t been done before in the clean beauty space – create “a foundation that’s easily buildable in coverage, that doesn’t look cakey, and that looks as close to real skin as possible.” So how did it measure up?

Colors & Performance

For reference, my everyday makeup used to be Clinique Even Better foundation in CN 10 Alabaster, and NARS Soft Matte concealer in Vanilla 2. My Chanel Le Teint foundation deviates from my typical color matching because neutral/peach-toned B20 oxidized on my skin and made me look orange, while B22, the cool rosy-toned shade, looked almost like blush it was so pink. I landed on BD21, which is a little yellow on my skin, but I generally apply a thin layer that’s sheer enough to make it work.

Exa’s matching module makes it fairly easy to find your color but word to the wise – the photos and models they feature don’t accurately reflect the warm/cool undertones they’re trying to portray. With fair, cool-to-neutral skin, I found myself choosing between shade Joshua 520 (fair with subtle rosy undertones) and Liam 480 (fair to light with neutral or rosy undertones). Both read as more golden in the model photos, and the model for Joshua does not look like she has cool-toned skin at all. Despite the visual disconnect, I found the written descriptions more helpful and decided to go for Liam 480 since I didn’t want to go too rosy.

When I received my bottle of Exa foundation, I was delighted to find that Liam was a pretty on-point match. When I first pumped it out, I was worried it looked a half shade darker than my skin, but the undertone was such a good match it actually blended perfectly. A gel consistency with a lot of slip, the foundation applied easily with a damp makeup sponge and true to its description, a second layer built it up to a full coverage where I need it under my eyes and over acne scars on my chin. It left a dewy, natural finish that I didn’t set with powder so you can see what it looks like – pictured here in full sunlight.

After eight hours, the foundation still looked darn good, without oxidation or settling into the creases under my eyes. I did feel like my skin started to look a bit oily after a day out and about, but in subsequent applications I set it with translucent powder which fixed that issue.

The Verdict

For a clean foundation, I’m very impressed with how Exa High Fidelity Foundation performed. While it isn’t quite as impeccable as Chanel’s Ultra Le Teint Flawless Finish Foundation (it’s dewier and needs to be layered for full coverage), it’s still an excellent clean option. Personally, Exa will be fully taking Chanel’s place in my makeup drawer after I run out of my current bottle. While I love the flawless finish of silicone primers, it’s simply not worth the stress to my skin when such an amazing clean option exists.