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Hit List: Worst Foundation for Combination Skin
What’s the Worst Foundation for Combination Skin…?
What brand/products win this category? What makes it so terrible?
Thanks to Halee for today’s topic!
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In my experience MUFE Matte Velvet Plus is the worst. I have combo skin that is more oily in the summer and more dry in the winter but can get dehydrated very easily any time of year. I tried the MUFE Matte Velvet+ over the summer hoping it would control my oilies better but instead it dried out my entire face. I returned it and went back to my tried and true Bobbi Brown.
I second MUFE MAT VELVET. I used to have oily skin, but its changed to dry/combo (more emphasis on the dry though.) I never really upgraded my foundation routine until recently because the mat velvet made the flakes on my skin worse. Ughh great foundation, but for OILY skin only as it will dry out your skin and stick to every flake on the surface.
I found with this foundation, it made the oily parts of my skin more oily and the drier parts more dry. Weird.
I love MUFE and I have combination skin. Never had a problem with it.
Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation.
It’s too bad because the color I bought was the most perfect match I’ve ever found for my skin. But BB’s website this foundation is suitable for all skin types….definitely not! I have combination skin with dry cheeks and oily T-zone. 1 hour after I put this on, my T-zone was like an oil slick. Plus the coverage had faded. I tried using different primers, different powders to set it, different application methods (sponge, brush, fingers). Nothing worked. So back it went. Too bad because it looked beautiful when I put it on.
I experience the opposite, i have Normal/ combination skin and this foundation looks lovely on me!
The color, it doesnt fade , good coverage
I use moisturizer underneath + sunscrean+ primer ( laura mercier oil free)
And set it with loose powder (Chanel)
I guess not all combination skin are the same..
I was just going to comment the same answer! It made me look like a grease ball after an hour!
Tricky question, everyone’s combo skin is very different. So many didnt work for me but id have to say the worst one for me was mufe hd, most foundations ended oily by mid day but this one settled on the surface of my skin. I could actually see the foundation separated from my skin and it broke me out.
It broke me out as well! I hadn’t heard of this foundation breaking anyone out before.. I thought it was just me.
I think the worst foundation I’ve ever tried was Maybelline’s Dream Matte Mousse. Honestly, I’m not sure if it had anything to do with my combination skin or the fact that the product was just terrible. I’m sure some people like it, but I know of many who loathed it.
Reasons I hated it:
1. It oxidized like crazy. I kept trying to find the right shade with the thought that I was just getting it wrong, but no, every shade I tried turned the same ugly orange color on me, lol.
2. For something with the word “matte” in the title, it did not keep me matte at all, but ended up making my entire face a complete greaseball. Once it did that, the texture of my face felt so weird that I wanted to scrape my skin off. It just felt like a gross layer of crap on my skin.
3. It broke me out with cystic acne.
Secont that!
In fact, everything drug store-ish (Maybelline, L’oreal, Isadora, Max Factor + + ) is a disaster for my skin and makes it much, much worse.
I’ve got normal/dry skin and it shows up all your dry patches and flakes like crazy! Not a very good foundation at all.
I agree! This was the absolute worst foundation for me. It made be break out pretty badly and oxidized by early afternoon. Dream mousse? More like a nightmare…
I really think that particular foundation is more for “normal” skin, because I can see it getting too much slip easily on someone oilier than I am, and it’s easy to get too much product on dry areas, which doesn’t look good.
It’s also full of silicones, which might explain your acne. Some people can’t wear any dimethicone, but that foundation has a good amount, so even if you can wear a little normally, it might still be too much.
I also found it stayed put and didn’t oxidize if I wore it over primer, but oxidation is so different from person to person! I think it’s a love it/hate it sort of product.
I completely agree with Amber. I have oily/combination skin(mostly oily) and MUFE Matte Velvet+ also dried out my face. It even showed dry patches in my skin I never knew I had (Ha! Didn’t even know I had those!). Still searching for my HG foundation…sigh…
you have to wash your face with a clarisonic brush or exfoliate before using mufe’s foundation (or any foundation really). i love MUFE’s foundations. I have very dry skin but have a lot of redness sometimes and they even out my skin tone and last all day.
Hi Madison! 🙂
Yup, I use my clarisonic regularly, but it never helped with this foundation. I get better results with either MUFE’s face and body foundation or Chanel’s Vitalumiere Aqua. The Matte Velvet+ just isn’t for me. Thanks for the reply. Have a great day!
I think Illamasqua’s Rich Liquid foudation was the worst ever, and I have tried it all!! The coverage was perfect, what I have been looking for to cover my frecklies. But when it came to my T-zone…. within an hour it was caked and was just horrible. The foundation caused my concealer and powder foundation to slip, just an absolute nightmare. I couldn’t redo my make up because I was already running late for work. It sucked that I had to return it because I fell in love with the coverage, but we were not compatible because I’m a combination 🙁
Illamasqua rich liquid foundation. Goes oily and clings to dry patches. Great if you’ve neither dry nor oily parts though!
MUFE’s HD foundation. No matter what I do that stuff looks like crap on me. Oily in some places and dry as the Sahara in others.
MUFE’s HD here too. Never understood the hype :/ For my skin anyway.
Same here, wanted to love it like everyone else but i had similar results as you.
I fourth this. Accentuates dry patches and made just disappears on oily patches.
However, I get a beautiful glow. Still not worth it though.
MUFE HD was a super weird foundation for me. I would have really good days and really bad days wearing it. On good days, it would look like I was airbrushed and had lights on my face blurring it and creating that soft-focus effect, so flaws would look diminished. Then there were the weird, inconsistent, bad days where it would either look too shiny all over or too dry and flaky all over. RANDOMNESS. Haha. I had to give it up, and stick to what works for me the best.
I agree with you and the others as well, in regards to MUFE HD. I love the color selection but on some days it was really good and some days would give me oily spots after a few hours. I put primer, even the finishing powder but it didn’t do much. Needless to stay, it’s still somewhere in my bathroom, waiting to be used and finished up. I’m still on the search for a good foundation. Oil free without any allergens or dimethicone, carcinogens, talc, bismuth oxychloride, etc… WITH good color choices. If anyone knows any, please share your choices with us 🙂
@ Ava, I have been using Estee Lauder Double Wear Light with much success. It still doesn’t stick to my nose (I doubt any foundation will) and it does look very matte upon application but about 30 minutes after that it just melts into your skin.
It does lack slip so I mix it with moisturizer, but for the price it is a great foundation. Poor colour selection though.
I had the exact same experience with MUFE HD, thought I was the only one! So bizarre, and a shame because it was the best color match I’ve found.
Yes! I’ve had the same experience. That’s so crazy! I still can’t understand why everybody loves this foundation.
I have to say Nars Sheer Glow in Siberia – this stuff for me, just clung to dry skin and pores like crazy. I think its a shade thing though rather than a foundation thing, I’m in Siberia and I have seen a lot of people say they haven’t had a good result with it at all. It just looks awful on my combination skin.
You should get the Oil Free pore refining primer from Nars. I have combo skin [oily tzone, dry everywhere else] and without the primer, the founation looks horrible but looks 100% better with the primer. I love the primer+foundation combo:)
I completely agree with Carina with Nars Sheer Glow foundation! I thought this would suit me cos a lot of make-up gurus love it, but it just doesn’t work for me! Its dries out my skin and accentuate my pores like mad! The finish is quite powdery so it feels SO dry and I can’t powder my skin after I apply! 🙁
Wow. This is saving me. I was going to purchase MUFE AND NARS Sheer glow foundations, but after this I may reconsider. I’ve stuck to Prescriptives Virtual Skin for as long as I can. Maybe using a mattifying gel first for some of these products may work. It’s tricky in the winter for combination skin. I end up sticking to oil free products but using a heavier lotion.
Hey Naz,
Like what some of the readers said above about “combo” skin, this skin type is vastly different from person to person, so what may not work for someone, may work for you. I think the NARS and MUFE foundations are fantastic with elegant textures and great finishes! I have very oily skin that’s occasionally flaky. I’d suggest at least going into Sephora and getting samples of the foundations. There’s no need to rush and buy a full bottle yet.
And if you’re worried about foundation clinging to dry flakes, just make sure to exfoliate regularly with a glycolic or lactic acid product. If you’ve never used chemical exfoliants before, you’ll be AMAZED at what they can do for the appearance and feel of your skin.
So the lesson is to never let someone else’s advice completely dictate your actions. Consider them, but you need to make the final say. So go pick up samples! They’re free of course! 🙂
Right on, John. Right on! 😀
Wow, that’s really good advice! I have the same issues with flakes and dry patches when using foundation. (I avoid it for this reason 🙁 ) … I’m gonna definitely try this and see if it might work for me too. 🙂 Thank you for posting this!
As a complete side note to this topic, I’ve been using Paula’s Choice 2% BHA gel and I haven’t been amazed to tell you the truth. Still have blocked pores, oily skin, acne etc. What other acid would you recommend?
Hey Lucia,
Sorry to hear that you aren’t getting great results. The 2% BHA is a salicylic acid product, which I didn’t refer to in my comment above. Salicylic isn’t as efficient as glycolic acid in making the surface of the skin smooth. And since exfoliation is limited to the pores with salicylic acid, it’s not going to change the texture of your entire face.
Try glycolic acid!
As a side note, the BHA gel may be a bit too thick for your skin type since you’re complaining about oily skin, acne, etc. Try the 2% toner, either the regular or extra strength versions.
I think that if you use both glycolic acid and salicylic acid together in your routine, you’ll be a lot happier with your skin! Check out my first Temptalia post on why I think hydroxy acids will help your acne condition.
http://www.temptalia.com/johns-journey-to-fight-acne
Although… I think you commented on that post, so you’ve obviously already seen that. Let me know if I can help you any further.
If you are able to, get a sample and try the MUFE and NARS to see how they work for you. I love, love, love my NARS Sheer Glow, but I do agree with the post that says it clings to any dry patches and creates flakies. I notice this emphasizes the flakes more in winter than any other time, so I just use a thick moisturizer in spots and use some MAC Fix+, but in spring and summer that problem doesn’t happen. I find this one for me doesn’t make me too dry in dry spots or too oily in oily spots. It goes on as a nice satin finish on me then as the day goes on looks a little dewy (not oily, really, just less satiny) in the spots where oil breaks through more.
My favourite is probably Bare Minerals just because it didn’t cling to dry patches the way liquids do,. It was a little shiny on my nose after a few hours but overall it gave good coverage w/o looking like a mask
Illamasqua light liquid foundation! It is so hard to blend and even out on the face and it is so dry even with my combination skin.
I’m probably alone, but I can’t wear Mac foundations. My face is not happy!
Not alone at all! Many people have an issue with MAC breaking them out. I’ve tried a number of foundations from them (Full Coverage, Studio Fix Powder & Fluid, Hyperreal, Select SPF, another discontinued one, etc.). They all broke me out to some degree. I think the formulas were just too heavy on my skin or something. I could wear them once in a while, but never could use them everyday.
Same here, all MAC foundation doesn’t works on me. Everything looks horrible and breaks me out like crazy!
Same here, instant oil slick, makes me break out, and it just looks like foundation. There are so many foundations that look like skin, just not theirs. I’ve seen women use MAC with great success, but it’s possible they had great skin to begin with and just used a very light application for color control. (I’m head-over-heels in love with Guerlain’s Lingerie de Peau)
I don’t really have combo skin but I would have to say black opal foundation sticks are the worst for combo skin, mainly b/c it is so greasy! I couldn’t imagine someone with this skin type enjoying it. Then again I’m pretty there are ppl out there that do.
I’m seeing a lot of people saying that this and that doesn’t work and that they show oily or dry patches and i think a lot of people make the mistake of oh my skin sucks right now so i’ll just cover it up with foundation. All foundations are for evening out skin tone. Not perfectly hiding skin types. I have extremely dry skin and i have to exfoliate a lot to keep my skin clear and clean and also to be able to use foundation. Your perfect foundation starts with a clean face. Try using tea tree oil if you have extremely oily skin. Don’t forget to exfoliate even with a chemical one. And always use a hydrating or moisturizing lotion.
I agree with what you’re saying. Makeup corrects tone, not texture! I deal with women everyday who blame the makeup for not being to smooth out bumps and cracks, but the truth is, it’s cosmetics, not plastic surgery!
I think this thread is more for formulas that aren’t best-suited for combo skin types though, and just like some skincare is better or worse for a skin type, makeup can work the same way 🙂 As a combo/dry type, I can attest to some formulas just not being suited to what I call “the best of both worlds,” regardless of my skin regimen.
I also have really dry skin, what foundation do you recommend? And what exfoliate do you use?
Madison, you’re right, no foundation is going to make bad skin magically turn to good skin, but the wrong foundation definitely can take someone’s good skin and make it look bad.
MUFE Mat Velvet+: Drying, yet somehow felt that greasy slip start to buildup. I could see how this would work for true oily types, but not for combo/dry-normal.
MUFE HD: Worst. Hype. Ever. I don’t understand how people like this. It was just so greasy and shiny, it never stood a chance! I always looked like I had hot-on-the-verge-of-sweaty face.
MAC Studio Sculpt: Amazing for dry types only. Again, it starts to go that greasy slip way.
I had an allergic reaction to Studio Sculpt, the moment I put it on my skin began to burn and I always got the worst cystic acne after using it to, not to mention the red, sore bits.
It was a great foundation other than that though, I’m terrified to try any other MAC foundations because of it, which is a shame because SS NC-42 was my exact shade, like my skin in a tube.
MUFE HD is close but it’s just a tad yellow that has me disappointed.
pretty much all the drugstore brands imho Max Factor Loreal Rimmel etc.
Revlon and Manhattan (German brand) are okay-ish but I rather use my bb-cream.
I had a horrible experience with Bobbi Brown’s foundations. My combo skin gets oily in the Tzone and super dry in the cheeks. I use a Clarisonic and hydrate my skin well to keep it supple. A lot of MAC’s foundations will cake up and look really powdery on my face but Bobbi’s was A LOT worse. If you didn’t get close to my face it looked really nice, but if you got near me you could see how powdery it was, it was like it all balled up into little beads and didn’t want to blend. The previous Bobbi foundation I tried dried out my skin and made it peel.
In general my combo skin is REALLY picky with foundations. Nars wore really well but broke me out. Chanel wore really well but didn’t match. Dior wore well but, again, didn’t match. I’ve actually stuck with BB Creams (Asian) for the last year because they give that smooth coverage I’m looking for all day (minus blot times in the T zone) and match my skin pretty well. I think it has to do with the texture of those BB Creams as opposed to foundations here in the States.
MAC Matchmaster was dreadful but in hindsight it was promoted for oily skin so my bad XD.Studio Fix powder worked rather well, I have to admit I haven’t worn it alot lately and my skin is a roller-coster, and its gotten more normal-dry.
The Laura Mercier tinted moisturiser works well for me (I have the regular silver-tubed one) 🙂 I’m sad to see no love for NARS, I wanted to buy but I guess my money’s saved now, thanks ladies!
The Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse by far has been the worst. I love the Dream Smooth Mousse for the winter because it’s moisturizing and doesn’t oxidize yet lasts all day. The liquid mousse is another story. Within an hour I had a shiny t-zone, and that’s using a powder! It might be the fact that I live in Florida, but still. The coverage wasn’t even that great. Just bad all around. So happy the Smooth Mousse one is the exact opposite of this mess.
any and all bobbi brown foundations. Leave my skin oily and cakey.
MAC mineralized satin finish- OMG!! The worst foundation for me. My face(T-zone) was so shiny and it broke me out so bad.
Revlon colorstay- So overrated!! made my oily parts more oily and flaked and caked up my dry parts.
Mac’s Mineralized Foundation & MUFE’s HD Foundation. Worst. Foundations. For. Oily. Skin. EVER.
maybelline dream matte mousse and ud surreal skin cream 2 powder.
Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation – goes on like a dream, looks flawless on, but after 10 minutes starts separating and beading on the skin, and settling into any pore or line going. If LM could make this foundation suitable for all skin types it would be the nicest foundation ever 🙁
Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse. It feels like you’re putting oil on your face, doesn’t mattify anything for me. Plus it doesn’t work on the dry parts of my face either.