I love the concept of it, especially the coverage levels, but I tend to find them harder to blend and less forgiving on dry areas.
— Christine
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I have no love for stick foundation. I’ve tried a few and they wind up cakey and unnatural on my skin. I am just uncomfortable with the whole concept of stick foundation!
I have yet to find a stick foundation that doesn’t look textured and heavy on me. The best one that I’ve used is the Tarte Amazonian Clay one and I apply it with a brush in very thin layers. I’ve found that applying it directly to the skin just looks bad no matter what formula it is.
Really curious about this, I am trying stick foundation (Bobbi Brown) for the first time after years of liquids. My nose can get a little dry in the winter, although my skin is generally slightly oily, so it will be interesting to see what happens.
I used to use the BB stick foundation and had dry skin issues in winter, but always found it applied nicely over a face oil. You could try that in your drier areas and see if that helps at all.
Not a big fan of stick foundations. They tend to look cakey on me regardless of how I apply or how much or little I use. I do have a stick foundation from Ulta that I occasionally use over hyperpigmentation so more of a concealer than a foundation.
Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick is my go-to foundation. I like that it applies and blends out quickly with either a brush or a sponge. It gives good coverage with a very skin-like finish. The shade range is also wide. I don’t have anything bad to say about it.
Not a fan of the stick foundations.I don’t like the fact that they are too thick, harsh when applied on the skin and that they don’t let the skin breathe.
I love that they’re travel friendly if, like me, you prefer to travel just with carry-on. I don’t like pretty much everythign else including the idea that I’m putting waxy “stuff” (the stuff that keeps it in the stick) on my face. Maybe I need to try a few more but so far, most of the reviews I’ve read for some of the higher end ones don’t have me rushing out to buy them.
As I don’t use them at all, at least thus far, I have no concrete opinion on them one way or the other. My Mom did use one for many years as she found her perfect shade within a specific brand’s range way back then. It looked okay on her, but she had combination skin?
I have been using stick foundations like CRAZY lately!!
I’m on my second tube of ABH’s stick foundation, and I really enjoy it!
But I also have oily skin, with ZERO dry patches. So it doesn’t cling to anything for me!
I’m not a fan.. tried numerous formulas. The coverage can be fantastic, but at the expense of looking makeupy. No matter what I do my nose and chin repel stick foundation and I can get maybe 3 to 4 hours of decent wear tops. Still, portability cannot be beat and I do carry a Bobbi Brown in my purse for OTG touchups from time to time.
I don’t use stick foundation because I think it would be tricky to blend and end up looking cakey. I would also think the stick might break or degrade in some way during hot weather.
Agreed. I find it harder to blend but I do have the TARTE Clay Stick and I love it for travel. I’m in the air a lot for business (carry-on) and the less liquids I have to carry, the better. So I use it strictly for trips.
I like the idea of a completely mess-free foundation in a stick form. But it can go very wrong, especially on dryer skin. It can look cakey, heavy and texture very easily on me, and it’s often harder to blend than a liquid foundation.
I find that the less expensive stick foundation work so much better with my skin. I have tried the MUFE, Tarte, Ultra brand, and Maybelline. The ulta one works SO well for me. Beautiful finish. Satin/natural finish that doesn’t break up on me. The fit me from Maybelline is pretty good just not the right color. The MUFE looked so bad on me after a couple of hours. So. Bad. Tarte was meh. I have gone through two whole sticks of the Ultra one though. Shade range ducks but if you find one that fits I feel like everyone should try it at least once.
Not going there. Between reactions to ingredients and oily/dehydrated/aged skin, not even considering them. It took me 2 years to find a suitable liquid!
I have Cle de Peau’s stick foundation & TomFord’s. I use them for travel as I try to avoid carrying any liquids through security. CdP has very light coverage but feels cooling & nice on casual days. TF’s is almost full coverage & wears & applies beautifully on my dry/combo skin.
I own the same two and enjoy them both on my normal skin. I tend to wear the TF more sheeted out since I don’t want or need full coverage, but it’s nice to know I could.
I don’t have much experience with these and do not need full coverage, so not an expert here. I think the concept is as legit as can be, so the more variety the better IMHO 🙂
That said, I do own MUFE Ultra HD stick and I love it! Blends wonderfully, keeps my skin looking plump and moisturized, do not need much to get the coverage I want. I use it with either with MUFE nourishing primer or Smashbox Primer Oil, works great. No rant on this one, happy camper here!
Right after I submitted the reply I thought of a rant. The price. They usually ran for the same price as the liquid ones, but considering the amount of product you get, works out more expensive per gram. Mind you, I do not know how long they last with regular use, smth tells me that it’s less than the bottle of the liquid foundation.
I have not tried a stick foundation yet and don’t think I will if it leaves a heavy film on face. I don’t like even the pressed ones I tried many years ago while traveling never found a perfect shade and were rather cakey yellowish/reddish toned or brownish. I do like however, stick blushes they govin very natural and my skin seems to absorb it well being on the drier side. I also dust a bit of powder blush on top to make it last longer.
I like stick foundation a lot. It’s easy to use and great for travel. I have oily skin, and I don’t have problems with blending it or having it look cakey.
The only rant I have is that it’s harder to find stick foundation, especially in a shade match for me.
Yeah, I have to agree with you, Christine. I do like the idea of a stick foundation – they’re portable, they’re neat, you can’t spill them – but I’ve never been able to make one work on my dry skin. I had high hopes for the Hourglass one that came out earlier this year but it was disappointing. Oh well. At least I have fond memories of being a child and watching my mom apply PanStick makeup, which always looked good on her!
I love travelling with stick foundation. I use Bobbi Brown. I have combo skin. I usually apply a few streaks on my face and then blend with my hands. Quick and easy.
currently using the lancome foundation stick, it’s the first one I’ve tried and I really like it. I blend it with a brush and I don’t find it clumpy or makeup-y at all. I have combination skin with no dry spots, and I always put moisturizer on first (with SPF.) I want to try the Bobbi Brown one next.
ABH Foundation Sticks changed the foundation game for me. They are easy to apply and store. They work great in a hurry and work well for coverage. I stick with three shades (coverage, contour and highlight). Their artist for the darker shades is awesome.
I agreed with you – until I tried a sample of Hourglass from my Play by Sephora bag. That seemed to melt right into my skin. Never would have even tried it had I not gotten the sample, but I really liked it.
I agree with you! I do like using them as concealers over a sheer foundation though!
I just use the samples I’ve acquired as concealer for acne around my chin area, where I need a heavier product.
I prefer liquid foundation, but for contour I love Revlon PhotoReady Insta-Fix Makeup in the shade Rich Ginger. It’s very creamy and blendable!