Archived Post
The Hit List: Worst Full Coverage Foundation
What’s the Worst Full Coverage Foundation…?
What brand/product wins this category? What makes it so terrible?
Thanks to Yvette for today’s topic!
Explore Temptalia
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:
Compare Any Two
Curious how two shades compare to each other? Type in the shades below to get instant side-by-side swatches!
103 Comments
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!
Comments on this post are closed.
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!
I personally don’t like Mac foundations. They oxidize on me and I can’t get the right color. Nc/Nw 15 is too light, and nc/Nw 20 is too dark.
I have to agree, MAC studio fix did not suit my oily skin at all.
It actually melts off after hardly any wear.
I also have the same issue with skin tone – NC15 is too dark.
Furthermore, a last note on the bottle for studio-fix…it’s a pain! The liquid comes out slowly because it’s so thick, so I always pour out too little or too much.
Having said this, I imagine if you have normal skin, small pores and yet you want full coverage it would probably make you look flawless. But if you’re like me, with oily skin, large pores and in desperate need of full-coverage to sort out my reddish skin, avoid it!
I have super oily skin and swear by MAC pro-longwear- it might not be the heaviest coverage, but you can build it and it doesn’t go anywhere.
I totally agree! I have oily skin and HUGE pores…pro-longwear works like a dream! It’s a nice natural finish that lasts all day!
Yes! Pro-Longwear is the best foundation!! lol. I have combo/oily skin,and it gives decent coverage that actually does look natural, and it is not cakey at all…don’t even get me started on how long it wears!! It’s great. =)
Yeah I do like Pro long wear but it just feels too light for me sadly because my skin tone is pale but reddish with red marks from mild acne which are taking ages to fade…but when I feel happier with my skin tone, I am definitely going to give pro long wear another try!
Same problem! They dont have light enough shades and I get really oily on my t-zone…
use a foundation pump?
I have skin like your with big pore etc….what foundation did you find works for you? I could not get on with Mac studio fix either….its just slid off my face and made me look shinier than any other foundation ive tried. I have heard a huge amount of positive things about it though.
Hey, I’ve been alternating between Estee Lauder Double Wear, which I really like for oil control, and Laura Mercier is a great brand too. But if you’ve tried MAC and dislike it, then I’d say go to Estee Lauder and then fingers crossed it’ll work for you!
Agreed! Way too dark. I liked the finish it left, but I looked like an oompa loompa and was mortified when I left the house with it on and realized how terrible it looked. Funny thing is I got the MUA to match me and I even looked in the store and it looked fine between my jawline and neck! Very strange indeed. Also clogged my pores. Gross gross gross.
Exactly the same happened to me – they applied it on my jawline and I was really happy with the colour match, but in a more natural light it looks heavy, accentuates my pores and melts off my face (studio fix).
For those who have oily skin, large pores and redness to cover, you can’t beat Cle de Peau’s foundation in the tube. It makes your skin look perfect and flawless. It doesn’t cake or slip. It’s pricey, but you’ll be amazed at what your skin can look like. Go to the store barefaced and try it on all over your face, not just some little swipe on your jaw. A little goes a long way so use it sparingly. You deserve it!
Totally agree with you!! Bad foundations for lighter skintones. Everything in the lighter range is orange.
About 80% of foundations out there don’t have a light enough blend for fair skin tone. Most fair foundations run VERY pink which is horrible for yellow/olive based fair skin individuals. I’ve spent over 6 years cursing most manufactures for this until I was introduced to mineral make 4 years ago.
NONE of Mac Foundation work for me for that reason.
I personal only use Full Coverage Foundation because I have redness/reactive skin being fair and my first and final goal it to get rid of it. My biggest complaint is most marketed Full Coverage foundation is not full coverage but medium build-able. I need something that conceals large parts of my face considering I’m red from my cheekbone to the jaw line when I get flushed. >_< Stupid skin.
Have you tried Cover FX Cream? It’s very full coverage with TONS of shades. I go through bad phases where I have redness all over my face and this is what I use. I personally find that it soothes my redness after a day of wear as well. Only thing, is you must use a brush and it takes practice to apply/blend because it is so full coverage.
I tried Face Atelier, you can order samples for $1., I ordered the shade I thought I was and two darker and two lighter, it’s so hard to tell on the screen. Good bye pores, redness and freckles oh yea and wrinkles (I’m 47) did I mention my circles?? all gone. Left behind is a dewey finish that controlled the t-zone oil. I am so fair but yellow toned and I turned out to be a 4 don’t let the numbers fool you. The only difference between the 3 & 4 is tone not depth. I’m not with the company BTW, just a fan. http://www.faceatelier.com , good luck, hope you love the FULL coverage.
i actually use Face Atelier in Zero Minus and #2 to mix my shade. It’s not going to correct my redness on it’s own but it’s a lovely long wear liquid foundation.
Thanks Cynthia, ive never heard of Faceatelier but now im gonna give them a try. Always looking for a better coverage foundation for fair skin.
The fairest shade still runs a bit pink on my olive fair skin tone (boo me since Olive family is even harder to find then yellow. Every looks more pink on a green undertone)
I am however finding a good match with the Eve Pearl palette to got now that I’m starting to get some colour back to my skin.
worst high end- Mac, because it turns orange and doesnt blend smooth. drugstore: all of them lol, but maybelline fit, its really oily and pills up on my skin.
Ditto! Doesn’t matter with MAC, I’m a pumpkin.
I know I’m gonna get thrashed because of this, haha, but I HATE Estee Lauder Double Wear. It’s just not appropriate for my skin because I have majorly MAJOR acne marks. They resemble deep ice picks and craters and everything. ARG I know! And because DW dries to such a strong super matte finish, it accentuates every single thing on my face, which is never a good thing. I know that many guy and girls love DW, but honestly, you need to have a relatively flawless face, as in it’s relatively smooth. It may have a ton of discoloration, sunspots, etc, but hey, foundation can cover that up. My HG full coverage foundation is definitely Laura Mercier Silk Creme foundation. Plus the silk creme looks much more natural than the DW. In order for the double wear to look natural, one would have to apply some kind of all over highlight to add back skin’s natural luminosity because DW is so matte. FYI, I can get about 10 hours of full coverage with the Silk Creme, before getting too greasy. Works beautifully for me.
I agree with you about double wear! I have some larger pores on my nose and across the tops of my cheeks and its like “OH HELLO PORES LET ME SIT INSIDE YOU AND ACCENTUATE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU AND MAKE YOU LOOK THREE TIMES AS MANY AND AS LARGE!” don’t want.
will LM silk creme clog pores??
I’ve been using it consistently for about a month and I’ve never broken out from it. And my skin is intensely prone to acne. If I don’t exfoliate with BHAs/AHAs and/or use Benzoyl Peroxide, my skin goes CRAZY! So yeah another reason I <3 the Silk Creme.
Thanks John!! I am the same way, without glycolic acid I have the face of a hormonal teenager haha! I’ll have to try it!
Totally agree. I feel it looks “cakey”. At least on my skin it does.
i don’t like DW either! =)
brilliant, i ordered silk creme a few days ago. i’m excited to try it!
I hope you love it! I find I get the best finish and coverage when I apply with my fingers, and because it’s so intensely pigmented, you really need very little.
doublewear foundation works best with the estee lauder skincare, if you use the idealist and daywear they take care of the things the foundation doesn’t
I hear so many bad products excused by saying you need to use a company’s whole product line to get it to work (And I’m not saying that ELDW is necessarily bad). Personally, I think a product needs to work reasonably on its own, or it’s not worth it. There are plenty of products out there that work fine no matter what, so why spend your money on one that won’t?
eeek! double wear is awful, too dry, too mat.
it broke my skin like crazy and it took me 6 months to get rid of all the damages 🙁
MAC studio sculpt foundation was the worst for me. Colorwise nc15 was perfect but I hated the texture. It was the heaviest and most uncomfortable foundation I’ve ever used and never blended nicely.
totally agree!
Mac! No matter what color i use i always look slightly orange. And it makes my skin feel so oily nd dirty
Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse.
Just thinking about it make me nauseous…
It just melts on the skin, looks terrible!
I agree about the dream matte mousse!!!!
Me, too! Terrible…pore clogging, pore-accentuating. Just all around bad. And the colors were a bit orange, IMO.
Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse work for me having normal/dry skin but it runs very pink in the fair tones.
I agree 100%!
Thanks John!! I have the same issues with my skin and DW. I am gonna have to try your HG foundation!
I definitely hope it works out for you! I find applying with fingers nets the best coverage and finish.
I’m gonna go ahead & say any mineral powder makeup. Despite claims to the contrary, it’s simply impossible to get true, full coverage from a powder foundation. Even building to medium coverage emphaszes
lines & dryness. My guess is that most people that would even consider using powder foundation daily probably have pretty decent skin to begin with, so their idea of “full cover” isn’t quite what the rest of us need 🙂
I have fin under eye line that if I use my Full Coverage foundation their would not look so hot. I use a Amazing Concealer int hat area.
I also have dry skin during the winter so I take extra steps to make it work with a dimethicone primer. I also have sever redness and the reason why I started using mineral foundation is to cover that. I also use FIX+ a sprite with each layer to help it blend amd smooth out.
But not ALL mineral makeup is full coverage and most in store brands are medium at best. 2 that still work for me is Meow Cosmetic Flawless Feline and Sassy Minerals Concealer Foundation. The Sassy one replace the old Everyday Minerals foundation in Intensive I use to love until the messed with the formula making I medium coverage at best.
I also exfoliate once a week during the winter to remove dry patches during the winter.
GAH i totally agree!!! hello cake-face is all i gotta say about that! The dinair airbrush is what i swear by; it’s rub & sweat resistant with awesome coverage!!!! i usually start out concealing my most problematic areas (dark circles, and discoloured hormonal area) with bobbi brown’s corrector, creamy concealer kit (for under my eyes) and MUFE concealer (discoloured hormonal area) THEN airbrush over it. It’s fool proof and lasts ALL day!!
I totally disagree! I found BE to be heaven-sent. Buildable full coverage…but you MUST use a kabuki brush in application (not the more fluffy, long-handled foundation brush). The brush is the secret to getting full coverage, but a light touch can still provide a simple evening out of tone and redness. I have large pores, oily skin and much redness and nothing has ever worked so well or looked so natural. I’m thankful for the sales assistant who steered me to the Chanel kabuki brush the first time I ever tried BE. Had she not done this, I may also be thinking mineral makeups are less than brilliant. I wish I could pot before/after photos for you!
I’ve had great luck with MAC, so I’m not sure what’s worst.
I’m with you on this. I feel like MAC has so many great foundations, but it’s all about knowing which formula is right for you and how to apply it. If someone with oily skin wears a foundation meant for dry skin, of course they are going to get bad results. And there is a HUGE difference in how a foundation looks based on which type of tool you use to apply it. Just my 2 cents.
I agree with both of you completely! There are some MAC foundations that I can’t use simply because of my skin type, but as an artist I use on others and it’s amazing. It’s all about choosing the right formula and the right tool to apply.
Agree with the above. Ive tried studio fix fluid(powder and liquid), select sfp, studio sculpt foundation.
None of these gave me problems.
Dont blame on the foundations if it doesnt work for you. Just too bad it doesnt work for you keep trying.
As for ercxx: i think you applied too much foundation i applied a little bit by a little bit cause it works perfectly fine for me.
For me i judge a foundation base on its ingredients. Any horrible and bad ingredients which is harmful to the skin is a bad foundation. (:
My most recent adventure turned bad with foundations was Revlon Colorstay Aqua Mineral Foundation. I was just about to throw in the towel with drugstore brands and try out MAC but looks like I won’t be going there either! lol
Honestly id say makeup forevers hd. Its $40 and the coverage is far from great…just sayin!
+1
i’ll second that!
Agreed! I bought it and was so disappointed. I would call it sheer to medium at best.
I agree completely. Spent 40 dollars and was very disappointed. My 2 favorite full coverage are Mac Studio Tech and Illumasqua Rich liquid foundation. Illumasqua has some really good color range. Including very very light skin. They have a pure white an a white with pink undertone that u can mix with foundation to get the right porcelain color
Any of those “cream to powder” foundations. They cake up the sponge, settle into my acne scars and pores, and streak all over. Its just gross! Its liquid or powder all the way for me.
Cream to powder once are awful coming from someone that uses powder foundation. It’s just a gimmick and the ingredient that make it a cream doesn’t help with longevity of the product either. >_>
I’ve only tried a handful of foundation, and none of them have been horrible, but I guess the worst is Clinique’s perfectly real makeup. It went on fine, but it was completely gone within an hour of putting it on, no matter what I tried, and left a weird residue. I noticed in the summer, it kind of melted on my face too.
Estee Lauder Double Wear… is like wear a plastic coverage on your face, absolutely unconfortable for me
MAC Studio fix… I turned orange in the sunlight. Love NARS Sheer Glow & MUFE HD.
i dont like MUFE foundations — theyre thick and clumpy and not that easy to blend out.
NARS sheer glow broke me out.
The worst one is Mary Kay full-coverage foundation. It goes on thick, and oxidizes orange. The foundation is supposed to hydrate, but after a few hours of wear it makes dry places on your skin more patchy and your t-zone oily. Luckily they are discontinuing this product.
Revlon Color Stay, either version
I LOVE Mac..but there foundations SUCK! Can’t find the right shade always looks orange and breakouts!!! 🙁
I’ll stick to my Revlon Colors-stay..it’s been GREAT for me!
It has to be every mac liquid/gel foundation i tried. Evem pro longwear, i have HUGE pores, and a few adne scars, and THEY STILL come through the foundation, ive been to mac so many times to try and sort this, first she said it was my brush, so i bought the 109, then she said it was my base, so i bought the base she recommended. Ive yet to try the fix fluid, but im not hoping for much. If anyone has any tips and tricks to help with pro longwear or any other mac foundations im open to suggestions.
I like to use the 190 brush with prolong wear. I wasn’t really into that brush before but I found that it works well with that foundation. Also, have you tried their Skin Refined zone treatment? it helps with large pores. I personally think that prolong has a much better smoothing effect on skin than fix fluid does. Trying to correct texture is really hard, no matter what brand of foundation. I struggle too when my skin is having a bad phase.
Any powder foundation similar to Studio Fix does not suit my skin at all. I have used clinique, chanel, Lancome, and MAC. However, I will say that I do not think it’s the actual foundation, I just think it’s my skin. I am a very dry skinned person, and powder foundations do not suit my skin type. But on that note, I must say that MAC Studio Careblend powder (technically not a foundation) is the first powder I have found that works on my dry skin without making it look drier!
Most people adore this foundation and swear by it but I honestly hate it: Revlon Colorstay. Horrid if you have dry skin and redness. Redness shows through regardless of how much product is used. Too much product obviously results in being cakey. It’s heavy and clings to any dry patches. I finally threw it in the trash last week. After exfoliating and using double the amount of moisturizer I normally would, it still didn’t work. Definitely not worth the 20 minutes I was spending on foundation alone, just to get this product to work. Awful.
Seconded. It was so heavy, cakey and made my whole face itch in 5 minutes after application. Tried sheering it out with water, moisturizer etc – same thing. Brush, sponge, nothing made a difference. Made my T-zone oilier and my dry spots drier. And NEVER go outside with this foundie unless you wanna look like you’re wearing a mask. Also it’s very scary to find SO much on the tissue when you’re doing your cleansing routine at night. Never again.
studio fix fluid!
I don’t like LM silk creme foundation.. I got the lightest shade and it is wayy too orange for me and it also melts off my face after just 2 hours.. I was very disappointed.. I’ve heard alot of good things about this foundation
Sorry to hear that you can’t find a shade. You must be super pale if Soft Ivory doesn’t work for you. I’d guess you’re like NC10 or something. As for the foundation melting off your face. This is a foundation that you must set with powder for the foundation to last. Also, it shouldn’t be worn in super hot weather because it is so creamy. Again, sorry to hear you didn’t like it.
I had the exact same problem. I wanted to love it, I really like the finish etc but the color was horrid. They need to make lighter shades!
$60/can Dior Airflash omg awful coverage, masque-like, uggh
it’s probably fine for min coverage but NOT full
personally, I would say for me, this is the best I have bought but, alas, for the cost I can only justify getting it for special occasions. I almost cried the last time I ran out about three months ago.
The trick for me was to make sure my face was moisturized correctly and then to keep about 12 inches (as recommened) from the face while spraying.
The biggest issue with this is, is afterwards you dont want to use a eyeshadow with too much fall out with out prepping with alot! of powder before hand.
On a regular basis I use a Mineral foundation as they have tones that fit my pale complexion without making me look like a ghost.
I agree that MAC has the worst foundations, they are not my favorite ones. They clog pores and with time, if you are acne prone, it will make it worse. I LOVE buildable foundations, like Stila, Laura Mercier and my favorite, Lancome Teint Idole Miracle! I really recommend it, you can use as much as you need on those problem areas (redness, dark circles, acne spots, etc) and it won’t look cakey. It looks very natural. I combine it with benefit’s erase paste for my dark circles, my foundation on top and then a dot of stila concealer, I set it with korres powder and my skin looks perfect after that.
Mac studio sculp horrible what a waste of money im now using the studio tech work good !!also hate the colorstay drys off so fast u cant even blend and the smells is so bad!
L`oreal infallible, on the t zone it just melts into an oily mess, high end wise I would say benefit, they are far too orange and leave a definite mask look 🙁
Two come to mind. (1) Clinique Repairwear. Horrible, thick, like frosting that never dries down. (2) Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse. Ack! Terrible pinkish shades and oxidizes.
I do like Revlon Colorstay even though I have dry skin. If I moisturize well, it wears like a dream Good color-match, too.
Best foundation I have used to date is MUFE HD with a slightly damp Beauty Blender. Worst would have to be Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse. Cakey, terrible wear, and every shade had an orange undertone!
Studio Fix Fluid is horrible. After 2 hours it starts to melt off my face. I much prefer MUFE mat velvet.
I disliked the Mac studio fix fluide , I am nw/nc 15 but the colour of the nw/nc 15 shades were so Orange ! horrible.
It felt really heavy and waxy on the skin and dident look natral at all.
Really would not recommend for normal/dry skin but may suit normal/oily skin types better.
Anything that oxidizes. UGH.
Bare essentual mineral makeup. Sucks. Not enough coverage and hate the finish on me.
I recently tried the Maybelline Fit foundation. I could not get it off fast enough, it was horrible! It magnified every bad spot on my skin! It was crazy bad!
I totally agree
I’ve tried all of the MAC foundation, and even though I’m a total MAC junkie, I hate all of their foundations. The colors are always wrong, the wear sucks, it oxidizes, the coverage stinks…I never have any luck with them. I also really hate the Revlon Colorstay. It didn’t cover well and it turned orange on me. I’m currently using EL Double Wear full coverage. Its ok. Definitely having the same problems mentioned below by other users, but I haven’t found anything else full coverage that I like better. I’m pale, I have acne, dry skin, and redness…its hard to find something great that works for me 🙁
My 1st and last!Mac was studiofix powder f.looked like Im a walking dead.Dream matte mousse&matte morphose caked..awful.I dont need full coverage,sometimes I just thought I did:)(.and made many wrong choices.If applied correctly mufe f&b&hd are good,now I prefer SG over hd.MFs lasting performance or facenity compact are full enough for me and I have more dry skin.Sometimes I use Joe Blasco,need to use less or its awful too:).The Balm is also very masklike,terrible colourchoices..
lo’real true match, it is sheer oily and once u gey a some what nice coverage you can honestly sit there and watch it melt off your face!!!
Totally agree! After just three hours it was gone and I was left with a patchy / shiny face. AWFUL!
I got a sample of MUFE HD and I hate to admit that it felt like I was wearing cake mix on my face! Also I Dont think its suits more oilier skin types like mine
Revlon colorstay and MAC studio fix. Enough said.
MUFE face and Body, MUFE HD, Mac (all of them). Maybelline mousse is awful too. Max Factor Colour Adapt and long lasting performance. Bobbi Brown oil free…
All can be merrily skipped!
Wow i love d reading all these reviews! I feel the same way, didnt like MAC -ok on the color but horrible coverage & wear. So hate minerals even those its all the rage and its now harder to find any type of makeup that doesnt have minerals in it. Disappointed in Clinique their foundation shades are too dark and peachy for my fair skin. But i do have to praise Shiseido foundation, its moisturing,good coverage and not cakey. The only bad thing is their lightest shade isnt fair enough for the winter during the summer with a little bit of a tan i can wear their foundation.
I have a very fair skintone, freckles, and large pores on the tp of my nose so i find it very hard to find a good full coverage foundation…MAC pro longwear is good, but i think they need more colors. Revlon colorstay is awful, it looked so cakey and accentuated all my pores. Yuck. I personally like mineral foundation now. Much less of a hastle
MUFE HD is the worst ever. Tried it a few times on different occasion and it;s just terrible on my skin. Thank goodness for samples.
I don’t like any of the MAC foundations. Not even Pro Longwear worked out! 🙁
Most of the time my skin looks quite decent but during or after breakouts I have to wear full coverage foundation to make face look even. I’ve tried a lot and the ones I hated the most are EL Double Wear, Clinique Stay True and Maybelline Dream Matte Mouse.
Double Wear was way to dry, hard to apply and it looked very unnatural on my skin. The color oxidized and turned orange during the day… Pretty horrible.
Stay True was just as horrible as it gets. Dry, orange, patchy… I tried everything to make it work but it just didn’t do the job for me.
Dream Matte Mousse just melted of my face. As I’m fair, I looked like a pink piggy wearing the light colors. The darker colors looked muddy on me. I still don’t get all the buzz on this foundation.
My HG is MAC Studio Fix Fluid, works perfect for me. I don’t wear it every day but it covers op redness, veins, blemishes and acne scars :).
The worst: Revlon Color Stay foundations. Rash & acne city. No thank you.
Despite it might works on other people (other skin type), but for my very oily skin, these all sucks:
• Kryolan Supracolor
• Dermablend Cover Creme
• MAC Studio Sculpt
• Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick
• Naturactor
I know heavier coverage tends to look cakey, but those are super cakey when I get sweaty & my face starting oily. They literally like melting, cakey & blotchy! Well, again, this may be due to my very oily skin, it might perform better on the drier skin though!