Of all types of foundation, it’s my personal favorite as I find it the most forgiving and easiest to apply. The most annoying thing about liquid foundation is when they don’t dry down or when they’re prone to settling into fine lines.
— Christine
We're here to help you make better beauty purchases that you'll enjoy and love! We recommend signing up to take advantage of personalized features like tracking products you own, viewing dupes that you already have, and more!
Here are some useful resources for you:
Curious how two shades compare to each other? Type in the shades below to get instant side-by-side swatches!
Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!
Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).
We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!
We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!
Rave: I generally prefer liquid foundations and find them the easiest to apply with usually a variety of methods. I have found powder foundations to appear more cakey on the face. I also find that it is easier to determine what products are going to work with a particular foundation where as other forms of foundation can be difficult to get products to apply over them.
Rant: My biggest complaint about liquid foundations does not have anything to do with the foundation but rather the packaging. I like the Marc Jacob Remarkable foundation but hate the dropper format. It is really terrible how much product you waste and how unsanitary it can be.
For me, it’s the best way to get a flawless looking complexion fairly quickly. Now that I’ve finally switched over to using a brush to apply it, I can really see a very noticeable difference between it and a heavier cream foundation. Yes, I do love liquid foundation, especially long wearing formulas like Lancôme Teint Idole 24H.
My only dislike would be more brand formula related. Like; how some oxidize once on, wind up settling into lines, or drying out the skin in a very unappealing way (MAC Studio Fix).
I prefer liquid foundations. I have not mastered how to use powder foundations and am not particularly in love with powder. The best thing about liquid is it’s coverage. I dislike all the different kinds and tones. It’s so daarn hard to find the right color and that can make the entire idea of looking for foundation exhausting.
I too prefer a liquid foundation. Deal-killers for me are oxidizing, looking chalky or too matte, “lift” foundations that make my skin look crepey. Faves include MAC F&B, MAC liquid mineralize foundation. I mix foundation with moisturizer in my hand for each use, for more dewiness and luminosity, then apply with fingers, followed by concealer as needed.
I really like liquid foundations also because I think that they tend not to settle into fine lines as much except for Bare Minerals it is the only foundation I will use that isn’t liquid. I will use a beauty blender or just my fingers for liquid foundation and they both tend to work the best.
I usually like them the best! But as with all foundation, pores.
I love liquid foundation. Dry/powdered leaves my skin dry and settles in fine lines. Liquid is so easy to apply with either your fingers, palms, brush or BB. After applying primer it goes in so smoothly and doesn’t enhance fine lines.
It’s my preferred formula of foundation. It’s pretty forgiving and really what I’m most comfortable using.
Some formulas I find apply better with fingers (Chanel vitalumiere aqua, or the geurlain lingerie de peau) but i really don’t like applying it with fingers. It gets your hands all dirty etc.. I know I can wash my hands but who has time for that! Lol. I just end up applying and rubbing it in with fingers and finishing with a wet sponge.
Rave: love liquid foundation and I don’t use anything else. I only buy the ones that come in a pump pack, as that gives you an indication of how much to use, otherwise you could waste the product. I like the way it smooths out my complexion.
Once you find your shade, then you are set.
Rant: Only those that don’t have the pump and you have to guess the amount you need.
Other rant is that most brands don’t really cater for the very pale or very dark skintones – particularly the less expensive drugstore brands.
The third rant is the colour system. Each brand has its own and even within brands, different lines have their own. It is very difficult to work out what to purchase. And sometimes the names are not indicative of the shade.
Fourth rant: discontinued lines/shades. I really dislike it when my favourite foundation is discontinued and the new line doesn’t have my shade (here’s looking at you Clarins – getting rid of the Linen shade – their lightest and best for the very pale in their Super Restorative range).
It’s very difficult, imo, to find a suitable foundation because it involves 3 considerations: formula, coverage and color. I don’t own one that meets all three. I have to lighten them all. Has anyone tried the new Ordinary foundations? Recent Goss video raved about them. They’re inexpensive and come in 21 shades.
I only use liquid. It’s easy for me to adjust the coverage depending on how much or how little I use.
I like liquid foundations with a pump bottle. A few drops on the foundation brush is all that is needed. I do have to use a primer and/or moisturizer below it. I do find I use less blush with liquid foundations. They stand out more than if a powder foundation is used. I do not apply with a few drops on the hand and dip the brush in. It wastes too much liquid.
I do have to clean my brush weekly if I use a liquid foundation daily because more and more of the product remains on the brush over time causing brush marks on the face but once dry are no longer visible. Oxidation can be a problem if the incorrect shade (too dark) is worn. To find a good one, it takes a while to find the shade that works best with your skin tone. Always ask for a sample to take home — natural lighting differs from the department store fluorescent lighting. So those are my pros and cons. Your skin looks uniform in color with foundation.
Rave: They’re easy to use, and available in a wide range of formulas and prices.
Rant: They’re very likely to oxidize on me, even over primer. This makes my options limited and forces me into high end foundations to even have a chance. (E.l.f.’s Flawless Finish is the only DS liquid foundation that doesn’t oxidize on me.) Most lines do not have shades light enough for me, and/or don’t work with neutral undertones. I hate that so many full coverage foundations feel heavy and mask-like.
Of foundation formulas, I do like liquids the best, but typically find more fail than love in finding a product which combines all my key choices in terms of coverage, texture and most critically, respectable colour match. More and more I turn to BB or CC creams which I combine and tweak with MAC pro concealer. They tend to sit better on my face. Maybe it’s an aging thang.