Every girl will know that finding the right foundation is tricky business but finding the right foundation on a budget, well thats just a plane old nightmare but after working my way through what seems like the entire boots and superdrug back catalogue from collection 2000 (fail) to bourjois I have finally settled on my five faves.
However when choosing a foundation it's not just all about picking the right colour, you need to find one that works well with your skin type too, you could be wearing mac but it may aswel be miss sporty if you pick the wrong blend for your skin type. These are just the ones I feel work well with my awkward oily combination skin.
In Sand Beige
£12.99
The really good thing about colorstay is that they make it for all ranges of skin types so it's so versatile for everyone to use, plus they have a good range of shades so its easy to find one that suits you, winning. The consistency of this one is fairly watery and not too thick, it works best applied and blended with a makeup sponge wedge or my beauty blender as it doesn't really need to be worked into the skin so much. It gives a full coverage look without looking 'cakey' and can be built up if needed. My no.1 thing about this foundation is that it is so much less transferable and doesn't rub off on everything you touch like some others... so I can go shopping and try on all the white shit i want and not leave that bokey orange stain then put it back on the rail (don't be that guy) The only down side to colorstay is the packaging, it doesn't come with a pump so has to be poured out each time which can be messy and you end up using more product than you need most of the time or have bang it out like a ketchup bottle when its almost finished.. not ideal.
In Vanilla
£9.99
Firstly I have no idea why foundations claim to last for so long, who the hell requires to wear foundation for 24 hours? ew. I'm gonna go ahead and call b.s on those claims but I do know this wont budge for a good 10-12 hours, actually a great thing about this foundation is I feel like it actually gets better with time, it goes on quite matte but after about 2 hours gives more of a satin finish without looking too shiny. I'd say this gives a more medium coverage which is great for everyday use but again can be easily built up if thats your thing. The only downside is that the shade range is pretty limited with alot of pinky/peachy undertones which i'm not a fan of, although this shade worked well for me because of its cool yellow undertones. I apply this in the center of the face and work outwards with a sponge wedge, foundation or buffing brush it works pretty well with all three.
In Natural Beige
£7.99
25 hours? settle down Rimmel. Everyone and their granny knows this foundation, it was probably one of the first 'serious' foundations you ever bought and usually the decisions we make when we are 15 (especially with makeup) don't work well in our favour but this little saviour is the exception. This is my hardcore foundation, I always go with this if i need max coverage that I want to last. It has a pretty thick consistency that you need to work a little harder into your skin but it covers all traces of blemishes and blotches without having to add loads of layers. I usually wear this for nights out (hence the darker colour) because it is 'sweat proof' well to a certain extent, i'm not recommending wearing it to run a marathon but it works pretty well at concealing any traces of sweat when I am out in a club, leaving me to fist pump and slut drop until my hearts content ha. This works best for me applied with a buffing brush.
In Nude
£18.00
This is one of my newest additions and probably least well known. I first bought this when I was in Paris and stumbled across it in a pharmacy and fell in love with it straight away. It feels alot lighter than my other foundations (doesn't even really feel like you are wearing any) but offers the same full coverage and is an absolute dream to blend and unlike the others it makes your skin feel amazing after you remove it because it has specialized moisturizing ingredients. It is so good for concealing enlarged pores, redness, spots, dark circles the lot! So it might be a little more expensive but it is the ultimate lazy girl foundation it does everything for you without adding in more products and i'm all about that haha. I was using this so sparingly because I hadn't seen it sold over here and I didn't want to run out but I found it the other day in Boots (in the Vichy skincare section) so I will 100% be re-purchasing, fave.
In Bronze
£7.99
Well my skin tone clearly is by no means 'bronze' but I picked this up in a bit of a rush and didn't double check the label and I guess someone had just put it back in the wrong section (you people belong together with the girls trying on white dresses that leave the bokey orange stains) So i just wear this when I have my tan on.. which lets face it is alot of the time. I like to think of this foundation as the more natural distant cousin of the 'rimmel lasting finish' (red lid) there are alot of similarities however this offers a lighter more natural coverage with a more dewy finish. It is also alot easier to blend as it has a lighter texture. I wouldn't recommend building this foundation up if you have oilier skin as it can tend to make it look a bit more shiny than normal urgh. I like to apply and blend mine with a makeup sponge wedge or beauty blender yay.
- In the past i've found it hard to match my foundation myself and testing it on your hand isn't alway very accurate in a shop, try going to a makeup counter and getting matched, ask to take away a sample of your colour and next time take that into boots or wherever and use it to compare and find the closest match.
- Always make sure your skin is prepped for foundation, if it is just for everyday moisturizer is a fine base, just wait 5 minutes before you apply the foundation on top of it, but if you need the makeup to really last, apply a primer which will smooth out the surface, minimize the size of the pours and mattify your face.
- Once I have blended my foundation I like to tap or 'stipple' all over to ensure i have covered all the nooks and crannies and it just give it a more airbrushed finish.
- Apply powders in downward motions over your face as this way it will sit better on the skin and flatten out those very tiny light fluffy hairs.
- Finish with a luminous powder to set the foundation, it wont suck the life out of your face like some matte powders do, translucent powder reflects the light helping the skin to glow and takes away shine without looking too yucky and dull.
There are so many ways of working with and applying foundation, everyone likes to do it differently and has there own ways that work for them. This is just mine, I hope it can be a little helpful and not too basic. I'd love to hear what works for you and any suggestions or recommendations.
Thanks again for reading x
