To be perfectly honest I have never really ventured into the world of high end foundations but in my opinion I think there a plentiful of drug store offerings that can do the job. Partly that and being that I am still a student therefore budget is minimal but that is not a bad thing as I love a good bargain! So after many weeks of many work submissions with some on-the-go scrolling through beauty blogs and watching many a YouTube video before bed time I devised a little list consisting of some highly acclaimed bases and some old favourites. I'm sure we all want to know the offerings of these drug store base wonders so here is my own personal thoughts on them and a little comparison of all six.
Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid Foundation
Now here's a good old classic from when I first starting wearing make up, when my skin actually looked most delightful, hence why I thought I would give this a try again. Now what a shocker the bottle has a sticker on saying new formula so any only memories of this foundation are unlikely to be relived. However... Upon application it felt light and pleasant and I say with one pump covering the entire face it gave a light medium coverage. Another pump gave a high medium to full coverage and didn't leave my skin feeling cake-y or as though my make up was heavy. Although the coverage was not as I expected I must remember that back in my early teens my skin was a lot (emphasise on a lot there) clearer than it is now so I am happy to say this foundation offers decent coverage alone for acne and actually quite excellent coverage when paired with concealer.
As the name suggests it left a lovely satin finish; not matte yet not super glow-y. I must say though, airbrushed effect, I totally agree. My skin just had a little something to it with this on. My pores seemed minimised and my complexion just looked smooth and even. It was quite beautiful and left me feeling also quite beautiful.
A very, very minor thing was that it was slightly warmer toned than expected and did come off ever so slightly orang-y. However this blended out into a slightly lighter tone that I could get away with and with a light dusting of powder it helped to even things out a little and it actually gave me a lovely sun kissed glow, or in fact that I had a bit of life in me.
Applied at 12:30 in the afternoon this foundation held up pretty amazingly in the absolutely, all over, body sweating heat and glorious sunshine and even through a bloody bike ride at midday up until about 18:00. After this it started to sheer out in a couple of places and my delightful spots once again were able to make their appearance however not fully, there was still some coverage. I also must emphasize that this foundation did not disappear from my entire face, oh no, the only places it did sheer out were directly on spots! Almost six hours of excellent, just applied your make up coverage! Realistically I think that is quite good especially for a drug store foundation. I must say I have fallen in love with it and each day I love it a little bit more.
L'oreal Infallible 24hr Foundation
Now to my disappointment I was not impressed with this foundation. I have tried it on a couple of occasions; having tried it not more than a couple of times just goes to show how reluctant I was to use it. On application it was very hard to blend in, both with brush and fingers. With a brush it left me with a very streaky effect and with fingers it was extremely hard to get a smooth coverage and blend it as it was just so dry! After two pumps, which gave me two layers of coverage, my skin was decently evened out, but it didn't wow me for a foundation that claims to leave no visible imperfections. It was certainly not dewy, yet not a satin finish or matte. I just cannot explain it! On a more positive note though it was a nice match for my skin tone.
The product also claims no dry-out, no mask effect, no visible shine and no transfer. Even though dry on application my face did not feel dry or tight throughout the day. I also did not experience any shine or a mask effect and to my relief it didn't seem to transfer onto my boyfriend's black top (one of many black tops that I often smudge my make up on mid hug and have a small panic when I see the delightful foundation marks that are about to spark a "have you got make up on my top" moment). So there's another positive. However if your looking for good coverage I don't see the point in the "no transfer" as your just going to be adding concealer to those pesky spots that the foundation didn't cover in the first place,which will then rub off on to your assortment of white and black clothing.
For me this foundation wasn't the one. I think if your looking for a light to medium coverage this could be a nice foundation to try, especially for more oily skin, but if you suffer from drier skin or are in need of full blown acne coverage I wouldn't recommend this one.
Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation
My relationship with this foundation is like a person's relationship with a kitten that most probably wee's all over their house and pulls the curtains down yet it is just too cute not to love. What a strange explanation that was XD. Basically I love this foundation; it's not the best but it's small flaws don't hinder the love I have for it.
Never in my life, until now,have I ever found a proper full flipping coverage foundation. I'm pale, I have acne, I get a lot of redness. When I say full coverage I mean it and I want it and my goodness does this foundation give it! The formula of this foundation to put it simply is full coverage, thick and mousse-like. Perfect! Oh I did I mention, it matches my flipping skin tone! (I am now realising there is a lot of exclamation marks in this description).
I do absolutely love this foundation and if you want full on, "make me flawless" coverage then this is your guy. Despite all it's wonders though its lasting power isn't amazing and it does transfer, smudge and rub of quite easily. So naturally I tried it with powder but it was just too cake-y. For me though I can live with it as it's amazing coverage just wins me over.
Be careful with dry skin, the texture can seem a touch dry however it has never really clung to any dry patches for me. If you are oily to normal to combination skin then I would recommend this to all of you, bearing in mind if you want a very full coverage.
Basically I am going to repurchase this most likely as soon as it runs out. Definitely a go to product.
Rimmel Lasting Finish 25hr foundation
I can't make my mind up about this foundation, well to be honest this morning I absolutely hated this foundation with a passion and have done on multiple occasions. However now and again it seems to surprise me, but rarely can I clarify. For example, I came in today after work and thought my skin looked lovely in the bathroom mirror however the lighting could have been a bit deceiving. To be honest though I must say this foundation seems to have pretty good lasting power. More specifically I notice this when I wear it along with the matching primer, Rimmel Lasting Finish Primer. I didn't have to re-apply my concealer once! What a record, I say!
On the down side though when I apply this foundation I absolutely hate it. Although it blends well and leaves your skin looking like skin it is not for me, nor my array of acne scars. And for a foundation that claims to be skin perfecting, full coverage I'd say it's a light to medium coverage, yet with a slightly heavy feeling on the skin. Naturally I had to apply concealer as my aim is to cover the redness and this was not achieved with foundation alone. However when I applied my concealer my foundation went very cake-y in the areas I applied it. It looked like a horrible, curdling mess! Bearing in mind I was using my favourite concealer that I always use and love.
Once applied it also has a habit of accentuating every lump and bump of my face, which is not good for someone who is attempting to hide, banish and vanish their acne. Whilst shopping, midday, I caught a glimpse of my face in a mirror in New Look and thought to myself "oh gosh my skin does not look good". Although it stayed well on my skin I did notice quite a bit of shine later on in the day. Now I myself don't mind this as my skin tends to lean more towards the dry side however I don't think this shine factor would bode well with those who suffer from oilier skin.
Overall I don't think I will be repurchasing this foundation. Although the lasting power is good it just doesn't make me feel good in my skin when I have applied my make up and I would rather spend my money on other products that better suit my skin. Everyone's skin is different and this foundation just isn't a match for mine.
Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation
Delicate and beautiful are two words that spring to mind when I think about this foundation. When applied it leaves the most delightful, dewy glow paired with a lightweight, comfortable formula. However the coverage I'd say is light to medium, which is a bit of a bummer when it comes to my poor, red, glowing acne.
I really do love this foundation and you can definitely build it up to a decent medium coverage however it still calls for the coverage of a dip and dab of concealer here and there. The best way to apply it I find is with a foundation buffing brush, such as the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush, and in light layers. For me it takes three layers, half a pump each layer.
Although it takes a little more time and effort to blend to get a good coverage for my skin the effect it leaves is just beautiful. Glow-y, fresh skin that makes you feel almost princess-like.
Now a big down side to this product is that the lasting power hasn't been amazing on me and it wears of quite easily and does leave my redness a little prominent. This may however be because I don't wear powder. I don't really like to as one, it accentuates the dryness on my skin in some areas, and two, I don't want to lose the golden glow-y look this foundation gives. It is however a very dewy foundation and I mean DEWY so maybe a touch of powder here and there wouldn't be too detrimental to the glow. Despite this though it is not a terrible foundation in any way, shape or form and on days where my redness is a bit more minimal I will most certainly be rushing to use this foundation for that gorgeous glow. For this foundation I really would recommend it to all who are blessed with the gift of no acne or redness or even for those with very minimal acne as it's light, delicate coverage combined with it's radiating powers will just accentuate your skin so beautifully. If like me however your acne, redness or scaring is a little more stubborn I'd say it won't give you amazing coverage but paired with a well trusted concealer it really will make your skin look like something out of a fairytale.
Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Foundation
Ahhh, an old classic and one that I know some people are going to cringe at reading the name, thinking about there disasters with this foundation in their early make up years. Yes I hold my hands up, when I was about elven to twelve I use to wear the oh so famous Maybelline Matte Mouse in that oh so famous shade Sand. And yes it was oh so orange! Honestly I'm paler than a bottle of milk; why on earth did I think this matched my skin!? Anyway enough about the make up mistakes of the past. I have learnt from them and am now redeeming myself by repurchasing this shade in Light Porcelain.
For best application I think fingers is the one to use. I used to use a flat sponge with it which does still leave a nice finish however I feel like the sponge eats up the foundation and half the pot goes to your face and the other to the sponge. Upon application however the formula is light and dreamy, yet still with a good medium to almost full coverage. Now don't be scared my pale ones, yes it does look orange when blobbed on however once blended even slightly it soon evens out to a more truer "Light Porcelain". For me it takes about two layers for my ideal coverage but bare in mind a little goes a long way with this product and I would certainly recommend light layers.
Upon application my skin is left literally pore-less and it really does look smooth and velvety, which is why I just love this foundation just so much! Although it's not the palest in the worlds it's by no means orange and it gives me just enough colour to make me look a little more alive shall we say.
In terms of lasting power it is decent, bearing in mind I always wear a primer, which is usually a Rimmel one. In small places it does rub off over the course of the day however the colour remains and so does the coverage to an extent. For instance today I had a couple of smudges of my nose as my nose was getting slightly runny while trying to acclimatise to the ice rink after a summers break. However the coverage still remained around my face, meaning my spots and scarring where still decently covered and my nose still had a bit of life-full colour to it despite a little smudging.
Ok I've just realised I called this foundation dreamy and coincidently it's in its name however it really is true. Whenever I wear this foundation my skin is most certainly left velvety smooth in texture and in looks. I would most certainly recommend this to many a person out there however if you do have dry skin I'd be slightly weary as the velvet, matte-ness of this foundation can cling to dry patches a little.
Ok drum role pleaseee! The big question is which is my number one out of the six foundations. Ok lets round it up. I'd say out of the six there are three categories of similar formulas, the Rimmel Stay Matte and Maybelline Dream Matte in the mousse category, the Rimmel Wake Me Up and Maybelline Dream Satin liquid in the dewy category and the Rimmel Lasting Finish 25hr and L'oreal Infallible in the not so great coverage, doesn't work well with my skin category. Out of the Dewy ones I'm gonna give it to the Maybelline offering with the Dream Satin Liquid; it gives a beautiful glow yet with that boost of coverage and extreme lasting power that the Wake Me Up just doesn't seem to have. For the not so great coverage, doesn't work well with my skin offerings it's got to be the Lasting Finish; it's not the best but at least it is a lot easier to apply than the infallible and leaves my skin looking a little more decent. For the mousses it's hard to say, I love them both, however if I've got to make a decision I'm going to go with the Dream Matte Mousse as it's greater lasting power and hint of colour are a bit of a bonus. Ok so out of the three I'd say it's got to be.....
L'oreal Infallible 24hr Foundation
Now to my disappointment I was not impressed with this foundation. I have tried it on a couple of occasions; having tried it not more than a couple of times just goes to show how reluctant I was to use it. On application it was very hard to blend in, both with brush and fingers. With a brush it left me with a very streaky effect and with fingers it was extremely hard to get a smooth coverage and blend it as it was just so dry! After two pumps, which gave me two layers of coverage, my skin was decently evened out, but it didn't wow me for a foundation that claims to leave no visible imperfections. It was certainly not dewy, yet not a satin finish or matte. I just cannot explain it! On a more positive note though it was a nice match for my skin tone.
The product also claims no dry-out, no mask effect, no visible shine and no transfer. Even though dry on application my face did not feel dry or tight throughout the day. I also did not experience any shine or a mask effect and to my relief it didn't seem to transfer onto my boyfriend's black top (one of many black tops that I often smudge my make up on mid hug and have a small panic when I see the delightful foundation marks that are about to spark a "have you got make up on my top" moment). So there's another positive. However if your looking for good coverage I don't see the point in the "no transfer" as your just going to be adding concealer to those pesky spots that the foundation didn't cover in the first place,which will then rub off on to your assortment of white and black clothing.
For me this foundation wasn't the one. I think if your looking for a light to medium coverage this could be a nice foundation to try, especially for more oily skin, but if you suffer from drier skin or are in need of full blown acne coverage I wouldn't recommend this one.
Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation
My relationship with this foundation is like a person's relationship with a kitten that most probably wee's all over their house and pulls the curtains down yet it is just too cute not to love. What a strange explanation that was XD. Basically I love this foundation; it's not the best but it's small flaws don't hinder the love I have for it.
Never in my life, until now,have I ever found a proper full flipping coverage foundation. I'm pale, I have acne, I get a lot of redness. When I say full coverage I mean it and I want it and my goodness does this foundation give it! The formula of this foundation to put it simply is full coverage, thick and mousse-like. Perfect! Oh I did I mention, it matches my flipping skin tone! (I am now realising there is a lot of exclamation marks in this description).
I do absolutely love this foundation and if you want full on, "make me flawless" coverage then this is your guy. Despite all it's wonders though its lasting power isn't amazing and it does transfer, smudge and rub of quite easily. So naturally I tried it with powder but it was just too cake-y. For me though I can live with it as it's amazing coverage just wins me over.
Be careful with dry skin, the texture can seem a touch dry however it has never really clung to any dry patches for me. If you are oily to normal to combination skin then I would recommend this to all of you, bearing in mind if you want a very full coverage.
Basically I am going to repurchase this most likely as soon as it runs out. Definitely a go to product.
Rimmel Lasting Finish 25hr foundation
I can't make my mind up about this foundation, well to be honest this morning I absolutely hated this foundation with a passion and have done on multiple occasions. However now and again it seems to surprise me, but rarely can I clarify. For example, I came in today after work and thought my skin looked lovely in the bathroom mirror however the lighting could have been a bit deceiving. To be honest though I must say this foundation seems to have pretty good lasting power. More specifically I notice this when I wear it along with the matching primer, Rimmel Lasting Finish Primer. I didn't have to re-apply my concealer once! What a record, I say!
On the down side though when I apply this foundation I absolutely hate it. Although it blends well and leaves your skin looking like skin it is not for me, nor my array of acne scars. And for a foundation that claims to be skin perfecting, full coverage I'd say it's a light to medium coverage, yet with a slightly heavy feeling on the skin. Naturally I had to apply concealer as my aim is to cover the redness and this was not achieved with foundation alone. However when I applied my concealer my foundation went very cake-y in the areas I applied it. It looked like a horrible, curdling mess! Bearing in mind I was using my favourite concealer that I always use and love.
Once applied it also has a habit of accentuating every lump and bump of my face, which is not good for someone who is attempting to hide, banish and vanish their acne. Whilst shopping, midday, I caught a glimpse of my face in a mirror in New Look and thought to myself "oh gosh my skin does not look good". Although it stayed well on my skin I did notice quite a bit of shine later on in the day. Now I myself don't mind this as my skin tends to lean more towards the dry side however I don't think this shine factor would bode well with those who suffer from oilier skin.
Overall I don't think I will be repurchasing this foundation. Although the lasting power is good it just doesn't make me feel good in my skin when I have applied my make up and I would rather spend my money on other products that better suit my skin. Everyone's skin is different and this foundation just isn't a match for mine.
Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation
Delicate and beautiful are two words that spring to mind when I think about this foundation. When applied it leaves the most delightful, dewy glow paired with a lightweight, comfortable formula. However the coverage I'd say is light to medium, which is a bit of a bummer when it comes to my poor, red, glowing acne.
I really do love this foundation and you can definitely build it up to a decent medium coverage however it still calls for the coverage of a dip and dab of concealer here and there. The best way to apply it I find is with a foundation buffing brush, such as the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush, and in light layers. For me it takes three layers, half a pump each layer.
Although it takes a little more time and effort to blend to get a good coverage for my skin the effect it leaves is just beautiful. Glow-y, fresh skin that makes you feel almost princess-like.
Now a big down side to this product is that the lasting power hasn't been amazing on me and it wears of quite easily and does leave my redness a little prominent. This may however be because I don't wear powder. I don't really like to as one, it accentuates the dryness on my skin in some areas, and two, I don't want to lose the golden glow-y look this foundation gives. It is however a very dewy foundation and I mean DEWY so maybe a touch of powder here and there wouldn't be too detrimental to the glow. Despite this though it is not a terrible foundation in any way, shape or form and on days where my redness is a bit more minimal I will most certainly be rushing to use this foundation for that gorgeous glow. For this foundation I really would recommend it to all who are blessed with the gift of no acne or redness or even for those with very minimal acne as it's light, delicate coverage combined with it's radiating powers will just accentuate your skin so beautifully. If like me however your acne, redness or scaring is a little more stubborn I'd say it won't give you amazing coverage but paired with a well trusted concealer it really will make your skin look like something out of a fairytale.
Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Foundation
Ahhh, an old classic and one that I know some people are going to cringe at reading the name, thinking about there disasters with this foundation in their early make up years. Yes I hold my hands up, when I was about elven to twelve I use to wear the oh so famous Maybelline Matte Mouse in that oh so famous shade Sand. And yes it was oh so orange! Honestly I'm paler than a bottle of milk; why on earth did I think this matched my skin!? Anyway enough about the make up mistakes of the past. I have learnt from them and am now redeeming myself by repurchasing this shade in Light Porcelain.
For best application I think fingers is the one to use. I used to use a flat sponge with it which does still leave a nice finish however I feel like the sponge eats up the foundation and half the pot goes to your face and the other to the sponge. Upon application however the formula is light and dreamy, yet still with a good medium to almost full coverage. Now don't be scared my pale ones, yes it does look orange when blobbed on however once blended even slightly it soon evens out to a more truer "Light Porcelain". For me it takes about two layers for my ideal coverage but bare in mind a little goes a long way with this product and I would certainly recommend light layers.
Upon application my skin is left literally pore-less and it really does look smooth and velvety, which is why I just love this foundation just so much! Although it's not the palest in the worlds it's by no means orange and it gives me just enough colour to make me look a little more alive shall we say.
In terms of lasting power it is decent, bearing in mind I always wear a primer, which is usually a Rimmel one. In small places it does rub off over the course of the day however the colour remains and so does the coverage to an extent. For instance today I had a couple of smudges of my nose as my nose was getting slightly runny while trying to acclimatise to the ice rink after a summers break. However the coverage still remained around my face, meaning my spots and scarring where still decently covered and my nose still had a bit of life-full colour to it despite a little smudging.
Ok I've just realised I called this foundation dreamy and coincidently it's in its name however it really is true. Whenever I wear this foundation my skin is most certainly left velvety smooth in texture and in looks. I would most certainly recommend this to many a person out there however if you do have dry skin I'd be slightly weary as the velvet, matte-ness of this foundation can cling to dry patches a little.
Ok drum role pleaseee! The big question is which is my number one out of the six foundations. Ok lets round it up. I'd say out of the six there are three categories of similar formulas, the Rimmel Stay Matte and Maybelline Dream Matte in the mousse category, the Rimmel Wake Me Up and Maybelline Dream Satin liquid in the dewy category and the Rimmel Lasting Finish 25hr and L'oreal Infallible in the not so great coverage, doesn't work well with my skin category. Out of the Dewy ones I'm gonna give it to the Maybelline offering with the Dream Satin Liquid; it gives a beautiful glow yet with that boost of coverage and extreme lasting power that the Wake Me Up just doesn't seem to have. For the not so great coverage, doesn't work well with my skin offerings it's got to be the Lasting Finish; it's not the best but at least it is a lot easier to apply than the infallible and leaves my skin looking a little more decent. For the mousses it's hard to say, I love them both, however if I've got to make a decision I'm going to go with the Dream Matte Mousse as it's greater lasting power and hint of colour are a bit of a bonus. Ok so out of the three I'd say it's got to be.....
Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid.
It gives a really excellent coverage, with a hint of colour that gives my milky skin a bit of life without looking orange, the lasting power of a super foundation and a beautiful, lit from within, dewy glow.
I have to say if I'm perfectly honest I do love all of these foundations, apart from one *cough cough, L'oreal Infallible, cough cough*. Although the Dream Satin Liquid is my ultimate fav each one brings there own amazing offerings to the table that not only benefits a girl with a bit of scaring and acne but also one who is paler than butter cream with too much icing sugar in it.
Hope this is helpful, let me know your foundation favourites in the comments below!
Ellie x
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