The shade range as a foundation is amazing and allows for easy shade matching for fair to light skin tones. Medium to dark skin tones may need to mix shades for the perfect shade and deep skin tones may be a hit or miss. Stick form foundations usually offers convenience. However, this foundation is much harder to blend and maneuver, so it is not recommended for starters. This foundation is heavy and if not careful, can result in the cakey appearance, so use a good primer, moisturizer, and foundation brush or your fingers to blend (sponges will give you a harder time to blend out this foundation, resulting in you literally pounding your face). If you do want to use a sponge, add some drops of oil to the sponge before blending. The formula is indeed drying and not recommended for drier skin types. A good moisturizer will help blend this product better. The heaviness and drying formula offers a medium to full coverage look and will stay put throughout the day, but like most cream formulas, it does need setting. Being in a stick form, the foundation is drip-free and portable.