'I've just found my new go-to foundation. And it's $9.'

Wandering through the chemist aisles always feels like a bit of a treat. It does! There's just something about it that makes me feel excited. Is it all the colours? The bright lights? The squishy aisles that fit approximately half a person at a time? The loud, discount tags? Hard to say. 

But whenever I'm waiting on my prescriptions, I trawl through the overflowing beauty shelves and have a nosy to see what's slinking around, say hello to some favourites, and see if there's any newness I've missed. 

And while I usually find myself wandering through the skincare section (my favourite place), I recently had a poke around the makeup aisles — and goodness, I ended up with about five things in each hand. And look, this might be why I still can't afford a house.

Watch: Speaking of foundation... remember that time I put 10 layers of it on my face? I do. Post continues below. 

One of the products clasped in my claws? Flower Beauty Get Real Serum Foundation. Heard of it? It's Drew Barrymore's brand — and there's some seriously good stuff.

I'm a big fan of the Flower Beauty Illusion Foundation (thanks to Leigh Campbell's recommendation), and I recently spotted people talking about its sheerer, skin-loving cousin in the You Beauty Facebook group (if you're not already part of the group, ya gotta join!).

It yelled at me from the shelf, so I tested a few shades and noticed it was $8.39, which is just a very good time. 

Here she is:  

You're coming home with me x

The range has a total of 18 shades — I'm shade 'Porcelain L1' in case that matters to anyone.

It comes in a 30ml glass bottle with a pump top and the formula itself is more on the watery/runny side. I also noticed there is a little separation business (kind of looks oily?) going on with the formula — so you have to give the bottle a good shake before using it. Mine seemed fine after shaking it, though!

Okay cool, but what's so good about Flower Beauty Serum Foundation?

Yes, sorry — the headline. The wild claims. Let me tell you about it. My favourite thing about this chemist foundation is that it's sheer, lightweight and wonderfully non-cakey on dry skin. 

It's one of those formulas that's perfect for everyday wear (dare I say, it may be even MORE perfect than Flower Beauty Light Illusion? Maybe). You can literally just slap it on with your fingers and blend out. It's pretty sheer (it says it's light to medium coverage, but it's leanin' hard on the 'light'!), but has a lovely smooth, buildable texture.

And, for the love of Harry Styles. I don't want to toot my own horn (jokes, I do), but it made my skin look like I drink lots of water and wake up at 4am to do Pilates.

See? An actual glowy little gumdrop!

I'm GLOWING, you guys!

I love how my skin still looks like skin (you can see freckles! quirks! normal skin things!) but the sheer formula just kind of evens everything out a little bit and adds a gorgeous natural, healthy glow to my face.

While I can't speak to other skin types, it worked well on my dry, sensitive face. It sets beautifully and I love how it doesn't leave the skin looking like a piece of bark, or get flaky and clinging and gross by midday. Don't get me wrong, I did have to touch-up for a podcast interview and an event in the afternoon — but all-in-all I thought the staying power was quite impressive seeing it's a hybrid formula.

When I first tried the OG Flower Beauty Light Illusion Foundation, I said I liked it better than my favourite $109 'going out' foundation — and honestly, this new formula is no exception. In my opinion, it's out-played many other expensive foundations I've used before and is such a great, affordable pick if you're looking for something easy to chuck on everyday.

Anyway, I really like it — and I think you might, too. So, if you're looking for a new go-to foundation that still lets your skin look like skin (and doesn't cost a bomb) I'd recommend giving it a whirl and seeing if it works for you.

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What's your favourite everyday foundation? Share with us in the comment section below.

Feature image: Supplied.