I’m a big mixer! I’ve been known to mix shades within a formula for years, and I’ll definitely mix a dewier finish foundation with something more matte or higher coverage. I love Natasha Denona Face Glow mixed with La Mer Soft Fluid. Giorgio Armani Power Fabric + Luminous Silk is also a fantastic mix.
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!
Omg yes!
Because it’s so difficult for me to find the perfect colour match (and by find, I mean have the money to try endless amounts of foundations) in foundations that actually like the formula of, I am a well practiced foundation.
Recently, the ABH heavens opened and gifted me with their luminous foundation – which is so lightweight and wears lovely on my skin. It’s also a 98% perfect colour match, probably because they run on the yellow side.
Anyway, my fav combo before that was mixing smashbox hydrating foundation (which by itself is a tad too dry but has amazing lasting power & is one of the only foundation that doesn’t crease) with cyo lifeproof as this gives it a more lumious, silky finish.
It’s like you said Christine, if something is too matte, just add a little lumiosity. I actually also enjoy seeing what type of foundation I’m going to get as like I said, finding a foundation that has everything i’m looking for is a real science now – literally.
I mix everything because I have aging skin and I have very neutral toned complexion with slight olive u/t. Currently my favourite mix isn’t very exciting in terms of creativity, but I like the finish of mixing iT CC regular (grey tube) with iT CC Illumination (pink tube). I tweak pretty much everything with Fenty (hydrating) in shade 150. I have to say iT cosmetics CC has been in my arsenal for.. a decade? It’s been around for some time now. I think I had to buy my first tube from The Shopping Channel.
Hi Wednesday,
Fyi, (If you’re not on their mailing list), they’re having a 25% off everything sale on the IT Cosmetics site. I’m thinking about stocking up myself……..
Thanks for the heads up, Gilad!
How funny, I’ve been mixing IT CC with Fenty in 150! I’ve not tried the CC illuminating so I might look into that.
Ha, we’re both on the same foundation and company for about a decade? Well, I switched to Bye Bye Foundation spf 50 mixed w the concealer in the black tube since the pink one seems drier on me. I always find your foundation recommendations so helpful. Thank you.
Well then we can enable each other! I have not tried iT BBF.. you evil VVitch of Temptation.
I tend to do that. ? But I like the dewy almost sweaty look. It dries down though. Oops… I feel like I’m practically pushing IT Cosmetics. ?
I feel bad doing this to ya… Bye Bye Foundation (spf 50 flexible ? formula) is on sale on their site. I saw it for a lil’ bit more with a good brush on QVC. Damnit, now I have to grab it since this BB Under Eye Concealing Pot is way drier than I expected and I’m about to cut my foundation tube open to get the rest on my face. ?
Still trying to decide what colors to choose for your Armani recommendations. Thanks!
I mix all the time. I don’t have too many foundations, but I find that I can mix any combination of them and I like how my skin looks.
Same – I’m happy with the coverage and finish with my mixes.
I’ve only mixed shades from a single brand to get a better shade match but lately I’ve tossed majority of foundations I had in my collection since I don’t really like much coverage anyway. I’m always amazed at those than can mix up a foundation cocktail and have it look so good on their skin.
I am fortunate to be able to find my shade in most brands.I look best in matte foundations but every so often I am swayed by a description of something as being not matte but “like skin” and then I have something it too luminous for my skin texture. PMG Sublime Perfection is one of those and I mix it with a matte for a better finish. I also have mixed KGD Aqua with a matte for more coverage.
Not since switching over to Fenty Hydrating Longwear foundation in 260. Because it’s absolutely perfect. But I sure did back while I was still using Lancome Teint Idole! I would mix in some MJ Dew You Dew Drops to give it a less flat look, giving it a satin finish instead. During winter, I would add a tiny bit of a lighter foundation to my shade (N360) in order to better match my skintone during that time.
Nancy, how hydrating is the Fenty? I saw some mixed reviews on the Sephora site.
On my combination skin, it is just hydrating enough to where it looks like “my skin but better” but without causing me to to breakout. Quite the feat considering how oily my t-zone can get! My only complaint is that it isn’t 100% transfer proof with my face masks.
Other than mixing Manic Panic Virgin into a too dark foundation, no. For me, I never saw the point, and I worry about foundations not working well together. It’s easier for me to just get a few different formulas that suit different skin days. I will use different foundations on different parts of my face on the rare occasions that’s warranted, such as when I was peri-menopausal and had days here and there where my cheeks were really dry, but the rest of my skin was oily.
I buy matte foundations as a rule and then add in MAC Prep and Prime BB cream in either light plus or medium depending on my other foundations and that gives just a touch of that natural finish that I like. Matte foundations have come a long way in that they don’t look like that dried, dusty, chalky, cakey business anymore but I still like to zhooj anyway.
My go-to mix is Charlotte Tilbury +Chanel Les Beiges Water Fresh Tint. Match made in heaven. Dewy, fresh, lasts all day.
I haven’t in the past but I had combination skin. Now that I have hit 60 the t-zone has dried up and I’m now officially normal/dry so I’m finding foundation caking in my fine lines and basically going patchy all over my face. I just finished my Bobbi Brown foundation so I will be looking for a new one now. How I will do that when I can’t go to a store will be very interesting. So I think I will end up mixing foundations at home.
I mix my foundation with a bronzing gel to give my face more color, but not too much! I’ve also mixed two foundations or a highlighter with a foundation.
I usually have a winter shade and a summer shade within the same brand and formulation. As my skin tone changes with the seasons, I mix to maintain the perfect shade.
No, I don’t mix any foundations as I have no need to. The L’Oreal True Match foundation in porcelain rose is my perfect shade.