Guerlain tends to have really well-done formulas (historically, my favorites are from this brand), though the shade range leaves a lot to be desired. I also think that Make Up For Ever, NARS,
Giorgio Armani, Dior, and Lancome tend to produce pretty good formulations, too.
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None of them, really. There are Dior foundations I really love (the ones they keep discontinuing!) and some from Clarins, Guerlain, etc. IT CC cream is pretty much my “go to” but there isn’t one particular brand that I can really count on across the board.
MAC and MUFE. Both have the exact shade match for me and they do what they claim .
So many, I see a lot of tutorials and ones you review that look great. In my 30’s I’ve gotten really sensitive skin, and sometimes I find a GREAT foundation that can sometimes (sometimes not, depending on the day) trigger a reaction, like Wet N’ Wild PhotoFinish foundation, which looks fantastic on me. But one that I have relied on that looks great and doesn’t break me out is Makeup Forever HD Foundation! I’ve only gone back to liquid foundation in the last few years. (I used it as a teen, but stopped in my 20’s half out of laziness and half out of the fact I had GREAT skin, so why cover it?)
Shiseido. Nothing else really worked well for me.
Giorgio Arnani, MAC, Tom Ford, Shiseido
NARS and Hourglass have never done me wrong when it comes to foundation shades. Armani, Bobbi Brown, Lancôme and Clinique also have great shade ranges. Makeup Forever’s deeper shades tend to be ashy and Dior’s go super red.
Clinique and MAC. They have coverage I like and look decent on the skin. They last on my oily skin and don’t break me out. I don’t typically try a lot of foundations though.
None; as soon as I find one I absolutely love, 1 of 3 things happen: it gets DCd, reformulated, or the shade range gets revamped. At this point, I primarily take shade into consideration, and work around the formula, but I also don’t expect to be able to repurchase any given product/shade, so I’m constantly playing around with different combinations…
None of them. I have a light skin tone and have tried most of the major brands. They are either too light or too dark or the wrong undertone. I go long stretches of time without wearing foundation due to this problem. Evidently my skin is abnormal. In the distant past, Prescriptives could match me but they have been gone for a long time. I have recently tried the Lancome Teint Idole and it comes very close.
I feel your pain. Prescriptives was the best and spoiled me for any other brand of foundation. The shade range was the best. I have very fair but yellow toned skin so lack of a match automatically counts me out of trying many brands
My HG foundation is from a brand that isn’t available here in the US but I wouldn’t necessarily say that that brand is one I would always rely on since I have only tried one of their foundations. Having said that, in the past, I have had very good luck with YSL, Nars, Cle de Peau and Dior.
Dior makes consistently good foundations.I really love the Air Flash. I always have a bottle on hand. Diorskin Forever Perfect Foundation was my go to for awhile when it first released before Jaclyn Hill hyped it up and I’m testing out the Forever Undercover right now so far I like how it wears I’m just trying to get a good shade match though samples from Sephora before I commit to a full bottle. YSL,Giorgio Armani,Hourglass,and Make Up For Ever all have several good formulas. I wore the Lancome Visionnaire and then Teint Idole a couple years ago and both wore well.
Lancôme, Fenty and MAC! These 3 brands have very successfully captured olive undertones in their foundation lines. Not an easy feat, as one can imagine! Because an olive undertone does not automatically mean a warm-toned complexion. There is neutral olives galore, even cool olive! I myself am a more neutral olive. Appearing more peachy or golden, rather than what many assume I’d have; a true yellow overtone. Yet, there is still that distinct olive greenish undertone.
I sincerely *wish* that MAC would expand their “C” range of shades found in their liquid Studio Fix foundation into their Studio SCULPT and Mineralized foundation formulas. Those “C” shades DO have the olive UT w/ golden overtone down pat!
My favorite foundation brands are Nars and Marc Jacobs. I also think these brands are very good and reliable: Hourglass, Estée Lauder, Lancôme, Makeup Forever, Bobbi Brown, MAC.
Lancome has been my long-time HG for foundation as the range accommodates my pink-beige undertones. I can count on Bobbi Brown foundations (though some formulations lean a little yellow for my liking). Charlotte Tilbury’s Light Wonder beautifully pairs with my undertone.
My skin is very fair with neutral undertones, and is usually oily, with bouts of being combination with oily T-zone.
High end: BareMinerals has the widest range of foundations that I can wear and are a color match and don’t oxidize on me. Kat von D is great for having shades for very fair skin tones, and it works well with oily skin.
Also, Lancome Teint Idole 24H Long Wearing Foundation, but I haven’t tried other Lancome foundations because they’re not CF. I just haven’t yet found a CF full coverage foundation for my cystic acne attacks as good as Teint Idole 24H.
DS: E.l.f. does the best at having light enough shades (barely) that don’t oxidize on me. I can get away with their Porcelain and Light Ivory shades. BH Cosmetics Naturally Flawless Foundation is the only non-e.l.f. one that works for me.
Estée Lauder and Bare Minerals are the two brands of liquid foundations I’ve found that give me beautiful, long-lasting coverage without oxidizing on me. Just about every other foundation I’ve tried has turned me into an Oompa Loompa after a couple hours!
Makeup forever, nars, and Mac for the vast number of shades. Although I haven’t used a Mac foundation in years.
I have a few reliable formulas like Giorgio Armani LS, and the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua. I’ve bought numerous bottles and will continue to do so.
I’m constantly trying new foundations so will forever be on the hunt for the one that hits all the marks.
Have to eliminate chem sunscreens, so that leaves out most. Then you arm swatch, and 3/4 of the remaining look yellow. Not too warm, yellow. Swatched the pinkest hourglass hl yesterday, and it’s yellow, too. Idk. Koh Gen Do and the Ordinary are ok. Mufe HD is ok on the red numbered side, but don’t want that much coverage. Waterblend has Benzyl Salicylate, so forget it, even though it matches well enough. The Jouer TM in blush is ok, too. It took >2 yrs to figure this out. 3 is good. No more stalking.
Lancôme and YSL always worked for me but I have stopped wearing them because they are not cruelty free.
Clarins / Dior / Maybelline / MAC / Revlon
I would love to try the foundations from the brands you suggested Christine, but they are so hideously expensive here in Aus – around the $90 -100 mark for most of them. And we don’t really get the entire shade range either.
For HE foundations I love the Clarins Everlasting formula – hopefully, crossed fingers, they will bring back their lightest shade.
Chosangh 22 – has a really good porcelain with pink undertones
DS – far more tricky – Elf Flawless in Porcelain is really good, Rimmel Match Perfection in porcelain is good – but not long lasting and I am going to try the Designer Brands foundation in porcelain to see how that goes.
MAC, Lancome, and Loreal.
MAC’s are a little on the red side for me. Laura Mercier is awesome as well as Covergirl 3 in 1 and Clinique Matte. I’m lookining forward to trying Fenty but I have several foundations I have to get through first.
MAC – for Face & Body, and liquid mineralize foundations.
Giorgio Armani’s foundations have never disappointed. I would like to give the new Nars foundation a try though. If that works out, then Nars, too. (I’ve been loving their Asia-exclusive cushion foundation.)
Cle de Peau makes the most gorgeous, effortless to apply, beautifully wearing, flawless looking foundations on the planet. (Of course, you are going to pay $$$s for them though!)
After that, I love IT Cosmetics, Tom Ford, & Hourglass for my dry/combo mature skin.
Honestly my go-to these days has consistently been some form of a NARS base. I still have my Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation which I expect will come out in spring/summer (maybe) but otherwise it’s always been NARS for like the last…6-7 months?
Dior foundations are hg and just work best for me but I like a few ones from other brands too.
Cle de Peau and Armani are my consistent go to brands. I’ve had recent luck with La Mer and Tom Ford (though I’d love to see them go a bit lighter in the stick foundation).
MUFE HD is the one that is my go to right now, as long as my skin doesn’t change on me!
Mac. I tried many foundations, but my all time favourite foundation is the Studio fix fluid from Mac. I think Mac’s shade range is the best.
Nars, Loreal, Maybelline Fit Me!, and Cover Girl actually makes decent ones and so affordable. Also they have many on the pink side side coverage which if not applied ever so lightly can become too pink on me. I have clear skin and wear very light foundation just to even out skin tone a bit. Prefer not to cover freckles or future developing wrinkles with heavy ones.
I was going to say that. Truthfully, my faves are at the Drugstore. Maybelline Fit Me! and Better Skin, although Better Skin has been rebranded as SuperStay and I haven’t tried it yet. I did buy a backup of Better Skin when they got marked down. Runner up is L’Oreal Lumi, and lately I’ve been using L’Oreal Pro-Coverage, the one that’s in the tube. It’s neither matte nor dewy, almost concealer like in texture. I definitely lean towards dewy foundations, Pro-Coverage is as matte as I like to go.
Oh, and I forgot Cover Girl. While the brand itself tends to run a little on the pink side, I really like the old-school clean makeup in the bottle, the green cap formula for sensitive skin.
I do like that clean line from Cover Girl nothing wrong with it. So affordable! No breakouts. I tried a long time and finished the bottle and recently repurchased is so good! It covers and goes on so creamy and light. I don’t even mind it doesn’t include a pump is ok. it works great.
Laura Mercier, MAC & Dior.
Lancôme, Urban Decay liquid foundations are good. I also like the Bare Minerals Pro pressed powder foundation too. Lancôme Dual Finish powder is equally as good as the Bare Minerals. I use mostly the liquid foundations for the cooler months: using the powders in the summer months.