My Complete Foundation Round Up !!

It’s only been 5 years, since I decided to take that voyage into the Beauty World. I am not saying that I never fooled around with makeup, I was just more of a Anti-Shine/Anti-Red POWDER girl with some sheer LIPGLOSS and it really began from there. At that time I believe I was only using the Covergirl Translucent Compact Powder, and it wasn’t cutting it for me. I needed something with a little more longevity and a friend (at the time) referred me to Benefit’s Get Even. That was my first trip to Sephora and the biggest mistake of my life…I then discovered MAC, another mistake just because I was buying every collection that was coming out at the time…and if you know MAC, it’s a weekly release of (sometimes) overhyped products…but I still love them! Finally came the death of my wallet, the discovery of a HUGE BEAUTY COMMUNITY on the INTERNET!!
Since then all my beauty advice and decision making has stemmed from so many different point of views, thanks to the WEB.

With that said, it’s safe to say that I have OVER-Accumilated too much makeup!! Most that I have given, donated, swapped and eventually tossed away…I have just recently become comfortable with my own limits as well; I know already the products that I use the most and the least or hardly ever and that helps me tame the shopping down, unless it’s a NEW FOUNDATION!!

Foundation is my chocolate, my kryptonite, that most NEEDED cup of coffee in the morning, MY ideal MUST HAVE product!! 

In addition to the long intro (really sorry), I’d love to give a quick description of my skin type; VERY OILY in the summer and Combination to Oily in the winter. Though I have a “pinkish” face, the rest of my body has a Yellow-Undertone. Some Acne, one or two during my period and I do have large pores around my t-zone area (my oiliest part of my face).


I think that I am just going to conclude this with a list of all the foundations including shades and whether they have met my needs…. and one more thing, as a reference I am a NC 30 in MAC’s Prolongwear Foundation.

Lets’s begin:

• Mac Studio Fix - NC30 - (Oxidized) First foundation, due to it’s popularity amongst the OILIES, but not me…the smell was a turn off, a heavy paint smell…and it was starting to break me out….
• Yves Saint Laurent Teint Resist Longwear - 5 Peach - (Too light, 6 would have been better) Very heavy for me and I broke out…
• Armani Luminous Silk - 5 - (too light) It’s a shame because I really liked this foundation, I would use the MUFE Mat Velvet + to mix to make my perfect shade…FLAWLESS!
• **Makeup Forever Mat Velvet + - 60 and 30 - I use them only for mixing my foundation (60 is used for foundations that are too light and 30 for foundations that are too dark or just shade darker) and they do the job and I notice a difference in the foundation once mixed….it kinda makes the foundation, dare I say, better…These are staples and I will repurchase for that purpose!
• Laura Mercier Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer - Bisque - (Perfect Match) Not too crazy about it, but I did love how it smelled.
• Nars Sheer Glow - Punjab - (Perfect Match) I was really upset about this one, I really wanted this to work for me, but it was a FAIL!! Separates, and slides into my laugh lines and collects around my nose within an hour…second WORSE foundation that I have ever owned. 
• **Mac Prolongwear - NC30 - (Perfect Match, on the button) Love this foundation, lives up to it’s name. Lasted all day on my oily skin…I just don’t think I would repurchase, but it’s good to have options…
• **Chanel Perfection Lumiere - B30 - (Perfect Match) I LOVE this foundation and I would repurchase! I think that says it all, besides how luminous yet matte my skin looks, the illusion of flawless skin it gives…Just love everything about this foundation….fair warning, it does darken a bit after applying…but it works for me… 
• Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua - B30 - Oxidized and melted within an 1 hour, I hated how it felt on my skin… Overhyped….complete FAIL!!
• **Dior Diorskin Forever Fusion Wear - 021 Linen - (Perfect Match) It’s ok, but it does not wear long at all. It starts to separate and cake up within a few hours. Does work well when mixed with a drop of Estee Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair…
• **Chanel Mat Lumiere - 30 Cendre - (Perfect Match) This was tricky, I had to play with it before actually stepping out the door with it on. My skin is oily, but I always prep my skin with primers and moisturizers and what nots…but for some reason, it never worked on my ‘prepped skin’, the result was a DRIED SPONGE…you could see ALL MY DRY PATCHES…Then I tried on with a heavy moisturizer and I also changed the primer, and it was slippery mess within an hour…so, I don’t know what to say…I’m still trying to figure it out, but I think I might just let this one go…somewhere far…
• Dior Diorskin Nude Skin-Glowing MakeUp - 021 Linen - (Perfect Match) I really liked this foundation, but only when it was mixed with Murad’s Essential C Day Moisture or Estee Lauder’s ADR…it reminded me of Nars Sheer Glow foundation when it was used on it’s own…
• **Nars Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer - Alaska - (Perfect Match) Favorite everyday, but for the colder months only…
• **Mac Face and Body - C3 - (Perfect Match) I really like this foundation too, but it’s more suited for the colder months…
• **MAC Mineralize SkinFinish Natural - Medium Plus - Not the greatest, I feel it can lean more pink on me, but it’s a great alternative to liquid especially during the hot summer days…I just top it off with Mac’s Blotting powder and it does last for a decent amount of time…***(I am looking for a new, better version of the MSF, would love any recommendations for a powder that controls oils but that’s not so matte on the face)**
• Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation - 52 - (Perfect Match) another Nars Sheer Glow effect, it melted off and starts to collect in my laugh lines, chin and nose area….
• **Revlon Colorstay Whipped - 320 Warm Golden - (Perfect Match) I love this foundation. I am happy that I gave into the hype, because I wasn’t going to buy this due to my bad luck with Drugstore foundations…but I have to say, drug store makeup isn’t what we remember growing up as teenagers…It’s long wearing, doesn’t slip or slide and it looks more and more beautiful throughout the day…would repurchase!!
• **L’Oreal True Match Lumi - W3 - (Perfect Match) Another drugstore find. I never thought I would be matched to 3rd lightest shade…but I am. Perfect match and a great everyday foundation, but I do mix it with Estee Lauder ADR or Murads Essential C Day Moisture, I feel that adding any of the 2 to the foundation really changes the application and the wear (in general to all my foundations, but…) for Lumi, it really makes my skin very glowy and healthy, almost perfect!!
• Jouer Matte Moisture Tint - Nude - (Perfect Match) Disliked it the minute it touched my face…there’s nothing MATTE about it, that was confusing for me….I will say that it was “light”, but not for me …not for my oily skin….
• Kat Von D Lock it - 54 - WORSE EVER!! (shade 52 would have been ideal) I think I am more angry at the fact that there’s a waiting period, because it’s always SOLD OUT..so once it was available I jumped on the opportunity to buy it…..but it is the WORSE thing on this earth!! Once I had it on, I wanted to wash it off right away. It had a heavy smell, reminded me of Mac Studio Fix..just a heavy “paint” smell… Overhyped, not worth the wait and definitely not long lasting or matte…I was a grease ball within minutes…FAIL….MAILED IT RIGHT BACK TO SEPHORA!!
• Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Tinted Balm - SB03 - (no picture/Perfect Match) I like this foundation, it held up really well on a night out..but a bit drying. I didn’t see anything special about this foundation…so I returned, because I felt I had (too many and ) similar foundations…but I already said, once I completely down size, I will definitely pick this up again!!!
• Armani Maestro Fusion Foundation - 5.5 and 6.5 - (no picture) 5.5 was too light and pink, and 6.5 was just a tad darker then my skin and looked pink too…I didn’t want both foundations. I just wanted one that matched, but neither did…so I just returned them…hopefully Armani will expand there shades for this line…with that being said, I really liked this foundation…just was UNMATCHABLE!
• Estee Lauder Double Wear Light - Intensity 2 - (PERFECT MATCH/no picture) I was given a sample of this, by a really good friend….mind you this is the old formula, (Estee Lauder has done a complete Overhaul of their Double Wear foundations,  removing the “SPF”[because it turns out that SPF 10 is really nothing and will do nothing to shield you from the sun], as well as tweaking old shades and adding new ones)…so back to the old formula, this was the PERFECT FOUNDATION…I thought that I was done looking until I found out about the changes they did…so that has changed my mind…eventually I do plan to get match, but I’m just going to hold off for now…. 

**foundations that I have kept

I know this may seem sick; why would ONE person have sssoooo many foundations? I DON’T KNOW…I’m just not satisfied, and if there is something else out there that promises me what I really want my foundation todo, then I am going to bite that bullet and get it! But I have been good…I have been returning any product that completely flunks …

P.S. The worst part is that I forgot to include 3 other foundations; Laura Mercier Silk creme in Bamboo Beige, Hourglass Immaculate Liquid to Powder foundation in Light Beige, and Makeup Forever HD in 123….but they are really new, so I’m just testing them out….but Hourglass is winning my heart in a big way, move over Double Wear Light and Perfection Lumiere!!!

That is it, my last thoughts, and this is the longest post I have done…I hope that I didn’t bore anyone…would LOVE to hear your feed back and any foundation recommendations…

Thanks Anna for the idea….

xo