Foundation can be a difficult make up product to shop for. For starters there is the color range, which is always a challenge. What undertone should you get? And do they sell a foundation in my shade? Won’t I look to orange? Then there is coverage, consistency and texture: from creams to liquids, and from sheer to full coverage: there is so much available that it can be difficult to find the one that’s best for you. Out of all of the foundation I’ve tried, I have three in my collection that I use most and like the best. And luckily they fall in three different budget categories as well. There’s a high end brand, a mid range brand and a budget brand all part of the mix.
And this is them: the three gems that work for me foundation wise. It is these three by Dior, Catrice and Bourjois that I use the most and reach for whenever I feel like doing my make up. All three have decent coverage, but aren’t too matte or full coverage and all three are a liquid foundation. At €45, Dior is the priciest, at €14.95 Bourjois isn’t too expensive, yet not entirely budget proof and lastly, Catrice’s foundation is only €6.95, which makes it the cheapest in the bunch. I have reviewed all of these before, so I will be linking to those older blog posts so you can have a look at swatches and a full make up application.
Dior DiorSkin Nude foundation in 010 Ivory
We’re starting off with the most expensive one in the bunch. This foundation was the first high end foundation I bought. Mainly because I wanted a foundation that was light enough for me. Unfortunately my skin is very light, almost snow white white with a fair bit of redness to cover up. So finding the right shade can be difficult. However, when I tried this, I knew this was the foundation for me.
It is a light to medium coverage foundation that hides everything I want gone, blends very easily into the skin and it feels like you’ve got nothing on. It was this foundation that got me to try more different one, but it is also the one I keep coming back to. I love this stuff. Too bad it is so expensive, which is why I was glad to find some cheaper alternatives at the drugstore. A full make up look using this foundation can be found in this blog post.
Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation in 51 light vanilla
One reason why none of the drugstore foundation I had ever tried before worked for me was mainly because they were too dark. I tried a Rimmel one that mostly just made me look like an oompa loompa as the color was way off. So when I found this Bourjois foundation in the lightest shade on a deal one day, I decided to give it a go. Bourjois falls into the mid range category (just like I would put L’Oreal, Max Factor and Maybelline into that slot), and some of their products can be a tad expensive.
But if the product is nice it is well worth it. This foundation works as it is light weight and luminous and for my dry to normal combo skin with dehydrated patches this works wonders. The texture is quite wet, but I think that is why this works so well. It makes my skin look glowy and natural and it’s quite possibly my favorite drugstore foundation. For my New Year’s Eve make up look, I decided to wear this.
Catrice All Matt plus foundation in 010 light beige
Finally there is a true budget gem from the drugstore. Unfortunately this foundation, no matter how lovely it is, is a tad dark for me most of the year. So I tend to wear this mostly in September/ October as I am then a tad more tanned and thus the shade is just right then. For the rest of the year, this doesn’t work for me color wise despite it being the lightest shade in the range.
However, what does work for me about this is the formula. This is a thick and creamy consistency, so prefect for fall. The finish is a soft satin matte finish, meaning it is mostly matte, but leaves a hint of glow. It can easily be build up to make for a more full coverage look and it blends like a dream. That is exactly why this foundation still falls into the top 3. I love the look it gives and for a foundation that costs no more than 7 euros, this is one of the best drugstore finds. I wore this foundation in my smokey eye make up look.
What is your top 3 foundation?