Monday 29 August 2011

Top Foundations incl Holy Grail!

One thing you should know is that I try to be a “One at a time” kinda gal. I wish I had the finances to try everything out there and build a humongous make-up collection but hey, I have bills to pay and there’s a recession on! So these are the ones I’m either using just now, or have recently finished.


Benefit Playsticks

Image from benefitcosmetics.com


You don’t hear a lot about this foundation and that’s a shame cos it was my holy grail for years, a wee gem. It’s obviously in a stick format but don’t let that put you off, it’s really handy if you’re like me and due to sleeping in most mornings, have to do your make up in the car or on the train. You can either run it over the main areas of your face and blend with fingers or a foundation brush OR use the brush to pick up product from the stick and apply to your face. I would describe the coverage as medium to full and easily buildable. It contains green tea, chamomile and gingko biloba and as I struggle with oily/combination skin and breakouts, I feel like it’s kind to my skin rather than clogging it up. It has a lovely clean smell, slightly medicated.  The playsticks do not contain SPF, so obviously you would need separate SPF if you were going out in the sun. Although the staying power is quite good, I did find myself needing to top up my make up around mid-afternoon. I have used this in “Paper Dolls” and “Tea Party”.




Estee Lauder Double Wear

Image from esteelauder.co.uk
This bad boy is well-known for it’s coverage! If you want a foundation that covers everything – this could be the one for you. I think it was the first “full coverage” foundation I ever tried but as much as I liked it, I didn’t re-purchase. I loved the coverage and the matt finish but if there were any areas of dryness on my skin they would appear flaky and it was sometimes hard to avoid that “caked” look. It does offer some protection from the sun with SPF 10 but this can also have the effect of making your face appear pale and “ghostly” in photographs.  (This tends to happen with most foundations containing SPF but some are better than others). I used the shade “2N1 Desert Beige”.



 
Revlon Colorstay


A wee drug-store/ high street number for you now and it’s fab! I had heard a lot of good things about this one so I was keen to try it out and see how it compared to some of the more expensive brands. This one comes in two formulations – for dry skin and for oily skin. I use Oily in shade "180 Sand Beige". Again this is a full coverage matt finish and it comfortably lasts the whole day. Like the double wear, this only comes in a non-pump dispenser. I think that’s probably because the consistency is quite thick and dries quickly so would probably block a pump dispenser. Although it’s thick, it goes on really nice (I use my fingers and blend with a brush) and I’ve never had it go cakey. It does have a slight painty smell to it which I normally don’t like, but it wasn’t bad enough to put me off. For the £12 price tag I think this product is fantastic. I put it on a par with the next one from Chanel...




Chanel Matt Lumiere


This was a bit of an accidental find. I had a palaver earlier this year when I made the mistake of buying an expensive foundation without first asking for a sample. But that’s another story... This foundation is lovely; it’s what I've always been looking for. Beautiful matt finish, medium to full coverage, no “dewy” or shimmery finish, just flawless, healthy looking skin! The “dewy” look can be lovely on some people but it’s not for me so if you tried the Pro Lumiere and didn’t like the finish, you might like to give this a try. Again, I apply this with my fingers and blend with a brush. It has an SPF of 15 and for me, manages to avoid the ghostly look in photos. It comes in a pump dispenser which is great although it does tend to clog a little. A little pricey at £33 but I would say this one is my favourite although the Revlon is very very close.  It's great to see this product getting a bit more hype these days because in my opinion it really deserves it.



Unless I’m lucky enough to get a pay rise this year, there’s a good chance I’ll be re-purchasing the Revlon. But the Chanel is a nice wee treat if you can afford it! Between these two, I have finally found my "holy grail" and I can honestly say my foundation search is over! Happy days!

ssparkle
xo

6 comments:

  1. Great post, all of the foundations look great. I've heard lots of good things about the Estee Lauder one.

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  2. Great post, I've never tried those products before but I can only afford products under £10 (and I try to use mine all up before getting new products, ha!)

    Jules @ A Bit of Jules

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  3. Thanks Jules! If you see the Revlon on offer with a couple quid off then I highly reccommend it! xo

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  4. Fab post, I'm not really much of a foundation wearer but these sound great.

    Sadie xx

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