Foundations – Reviews, Swatches, Pale skin.

Who, like me, always has a problem of finding a decent foundation?  I’m sure I’m not the only one, but I’m glad to say have found my Holy Grail foundation which I will continue to use until it gets discontinued (which I hope never comes).  On my quest for the perfect foundation I picked up a few others and I will review them all today and swatch for you.

L-R - L’Oreal Paris Infallible Long Lasting Perfecting Foundation in Porcelain, MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC15, Revlon Photo Ready in 002 Vanilla, Boots Botanics Quench Your Face Foundation in 10 Almond

My biggest problem when looking for the perfect foundation is the colour.  I am very pale and most make-up brands have completely ignored us Caspers and haven't catered at all for us in the foundation department. 

What I look for in a foundation -

• COLOUR – It has to match my skin perfectly, meaning it has to be pale, I don’t want to look like a tangerine.
• COVERAGE – I want the foundation to even my skin tone out.  I don’t want to look patchy. (Not too worried about it being able to cover spots as that's what concealer is for, right! and I always use concealer.)
• FORMULA/finish – I do not want to look cakey.  A big no no.  Nor do I want to look oily.  I want my skin to look like skin – natural, silky and dewy in certain weathers.  The formula is a big deciding factor for me.
• PRICE – I don’t mind paying £25 for a foundation, but only if it really is the most amazing, perfect foundation ever.  If it has faults then I’m not blowing my hard earned cash on it. 
• SPF – I obviously would prefer a foundation with SPF.

I will review each foundation in each of these categories so that you know exactly what I think about each.

 

REVLON PHOTO READY

 

• COLOUR – I’ve actually been really surprised with this foundation.  When I first bought it I discarded it thinking it was too dark and orange, but since coming back from holiday with a bit of colour I’ve been using this everyday!  The colour is almost perfect for my skin after holiday and can always be lightened up with my powder.  You can see in the pictures above that this gives me a really healthy colour and glow!
• COVERAGE – Really good medium coverage, again, I’m impressed.  Evens my skin tone out and covers blemishes well, although leaves them looking a bit dry, so moisturize spots before hand.
• FORMULA – I really like the formula of this foundation.  Nice and creamy and quite silky, applies really well to the skin, sinks in nicely, doesn’t dry my skin out.  Makes my skin look glowing yet natural.  Many people have moaned about a sparkle in natural light, but I haven’t noticed this at all.
• PRICE – Retails for £12.99 in Boots.  When I first picked this up I thought it was quite expensive and didn’t realllly want to part with the cash, but I’m glad I did.  I’d say its worth the price and I guess its a lot more affordable than high end brands.
• SPF – The highest SPF out of the bunch, SPF20!  Fabulous!

L’OREAL INFALLIBLE

 

I’ll mention now that this foundation is my favourite.  I’m on my third tube of this and it just gives me everything that I want out of a foundation.

 

COLOUR – This matches my pale skin perfectly!  I was so surprised when I tested this out in store and I can’t express how happy I am with it.  Its pale but it doesn’t make me look ghostly or colour-less.  Perfect for winter and spring for me.  I can always add bronzer to add colour!

COVERAGE – If you have lots of pimples and are looking for a heavy coverage foundation, you won’t like this.  The coverage evens my skin tone out perfectly but isn’t thick enough to completely banish red spots, which is why I always use a concealer with it, just on the areas that need it.  Its has a nice light coverage which is perfect for smoothing out.  (No concealer used in the pictures above though – just foundation in those pics!)

FORMULA – I ADORE the formula of this foundation, it is so silky and thin and just perfect, I can’t really explain it.  It isn’t at all thick or runny, its feels like a very light cream silk that blends really well into the skin, whilst also leaving me feeling moisturized but never greasy or oily.  It almost dries as a powder which feels really nice.  I can’t find any faults with it.

PRICE – Such a bargain at around £12, I can always afford to grab this when I run out.  Great price, affordable for a great foundation.

SPF – Includes SPF15, what more could I ask for!

On the bottle of this foundation it states that it is a ‘Long Lasting Perfecting Foundation’ that ‘lasts 16 hours and fights the signs of make-up meltdown’.  I never bought it for this reason and only just noticed that it stated this not long ago, but I don’t agree with it.  This foundation is perfect, but I’ll admit it doesn’t last all day, which is why I always carry around a tiny concealer and powder for top ups.  I kind of wish that it didn’t state this on the packaging so that people wouldn’t be let down by that statement.  It lasts well, but not all day.

MAC STUDIO FIX FLUID

 

 

COLOUR – SO disappointed with this foundation. Its such a shame and it angers me that my NC15 concealer matches my skin perfectly – whereas this is the SAME number, but SUCH a different colour.  Such a letdown.  This makes me look like I’ve been tangoed good and proper.  Foundation line is clearly noticeable no matter how much I blend.

COVERAGE – Maximum coverage.  If you have lots of pimples and uneven skin tone this would be perfect for you.  It covers all blemishes really well and almost makes the skin look airbrushed.

FORMULA – Very thick and creamy and almost cakey once on the skin.  I guess you’d expect that from a high coverage foundation.  If this foundation was the correct colour for me, I’d wear it on special occasions where I wanted perfect, almost fake looking skin.

PRICE - £19.  I think this is very expensive for a foundation, but maybe I’m saying that cause I'm biased because of the colour.  This is definitely worth having if your going to get your moneys worth and use it everyday but it was a waste of money for me, personally.

SPF – SPF15. 

I’ve included this extra to show how dark it is, in natural light.  You can clearly see a orange line but my hair/ear.  Covers blemishes well though.  For the palest foundation in MACs huge collection, I think this is totally unacceptable!

BOOTS BOTANICS

 

 

I picked this up in Boots Clearance a while ago ( I think it may have been discontinued or repackaged?) as I couldn’t believe that it was so pale and needed it, impulse buy, and I’ll admit that I haven’t used it much as although the colour is perfect.

COLOUR – Great colour, lovely and pale, suits me well.

COVERAGE – The coverage of this is quite light, I’d compare it to that of a tinted moisturizer.  It gives a natural coverage, but you can still see your skin underneath in – I think it just evens the skin out a bit.  I actually quite like this as a beach/holiday or uni/work foundation as its natural and light and affordable for everyday use.  You can see in the pictures above there are a few areas around the chin/cheeks/forehead where you can still see red blemishes.

FORMULA – The formula of this is weird! Not weird, just quite watery and runny, which I presume is down to the natural ingredients in it.  Its very runny and finishes quite dewy, which is very nice but I feel as if it sits on the skin quite a bit because of its formula.

PRICE – I have no idea what this retails for in store but I picked it for about £2, which is good but probably no good if its been discontinued! (I apologise if it has!)

SPF – SPF 12! This foundation has added ginger and jojoba to help moisturize.

There you have it! My four foundations.  After doing this whole post I realised I have a GOSH Velvet Touch foundation as well which I completely forgot to include, so if anyone would like to see that then comment below and I’ll write it up in a separate post!

What do you think?

Are you disappointed with MACs colour range?

What do you personally think looks the best?

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