DISCLAIMER: I am not paid or affiliated with any of the companies that I am mentioning. I bought all the products with my hard earn money. All opinions on the products are my true feelings upon weeks and months of trial.
Hey guys! So for today's blog post, I'd be listing down my foundation shades for comparison. Just a little bit of back ground info, I am a dark NC42 and a light NC44 in MAC so I'd say I'm right in between. I own 2 MAC foundations which is the Studio Sculpt, in NC42 and the Studio Fix Powder Foundation in NC43.
Most of the time, I apply my foundations with a beauty blender or the Zoeva #102 Silk Finish brush or the Zoeva #124 Grand Stippling brush. And as for primers, I use the Smashbox Photo Finish oil free Foundation Primer or the Benefit Porefessional. And I do have combo skin. I have a few dry areas on my face, a few oily spots and some normal spots so basically, I'm everything. Oh yes and no matter what type of finish the foundation is, I always spritz my face with MAC's Fix Plus at the end.
Notice that most of my foundations are high end only because it's very hard to find my shade in drugstores especially in Singapore and high end foundations usually have a wide range of color.
High end foundations:
MAC Studio Sculpt NC 42, I found that it was slightly too light for me so this is the foundation that I would wear if I decide to do a really heavy bronzing and contour look and I wouldn't usually highlight if i have this on. This is definitely the type of foundation where you can feel and see that it is on your skin as it is on the heavier side even if you use a beauty blender to sheer it out. Coverage wise, I'd say this is a medium buildable coverage. And as we all know, MAC has a huge color selection so you are bound to find a foundation shade for you.
MAC Studio Fix Powder NC43, I normally just use this lightly to set my liquid foundations. But on my lazy days, I would use this foundation with a large brush. What I would do is I'd do a couple of spritz of MAC's fix plus on my brush and then I'd swirl the brush into the foundation and go all over my face with it. Coverage wise, depending on how and what you use to apply this with, it is a light to full coverage foundation.
Estee Lauder Double Wear 4N2 Spiced Sand. Now, this was my very first high end foundation and it is one of the best, highly recommended, full proof foundation in my opinion. This is super full coverage, it dries down to a VERY matte finish, you don't even need powder for this. As much as I love love love this foundation, I find that the texture is just a tad bit too thick for certain areas of my face especially my nose. I'm not talking about the sides but on the top of my nose itself. It gets all weird and separated when it settles on my nose and when I try to fix it by gently rubbing or tapping, it gets all ashy and weird and it comes off. It basically clung on to my nose and made it super dry even though that is my oiliest part. But other than that, the foundation is super amazing and I get a lot of compliments when I have it on. As far as color wise, this was the darkest shade I could find in my Sephora which was still a tad bit too light for me. And this foundation, literally stays on ALL day.
Urban Decay Naked Skin 8.0. Out of all the foundations that I own, this would be one of my favorite if I decide to go for a light feeling, medium coverage foundation or on days where I have pretty good skin. The shade 8.0 matches me PERFECTLY for a period of time this was my holy grail and I still think that it may be. Most of the time, you can barely feel it on your skin which is one of the reasons why I love this foundation to bits. Not to mention, this line of foundation has a lot of variation so you're pretty much bound to find your shade!
Tarte Amazonian Clay Tan Deep Sand. This is a great foundation but in my opinion, there's not much of a wow factor coming from this. The coverage is medium buildable, with specs of gold reflect infused throughout the foundation which doesn't make you look like a grease ball in any way since the gold is barely noticable. It gives a very pretty finish upon setting it with powder. Your face would be matte, but not flat because of the specs of gold. Not my go to foundation tho if I just wanna slap it on and go out the door. I feel like with this foundation, I have to properly set, highlight and contour to make it look like perfection. It's definitely a foundation which requires a bit more effort. If you're looking for something that is not completely matte but not super dewy, this is the foundation for you!
Hourglass Immaculate Foundation Honey. This foundation I've got to say, is worth the hype! I felt that with this foundation because it is so matte, I have to really moisturize, prime and add a little bit of MAC's Strobe Cream to my face first before applying this foundation. I find that it applies way better with a brush rather than using the beauty blender. Using your fingers would be a good alternative too but personally, I don't really fancy using my fingers but it does look beautiful nonetheless. The coverage for this foundation is medium, slightly buildable. And because it dries down to a powder finish, I don't find it necessary to powder as it starts to look cakey. This is another foundation that will last on your skin until you decide to take it off. Like literally, from the moment you apply it to the moment you decide to take it off, it looks the same! Color wise, I find that it's ever so slightly orange when I apply it on but it still works out just fine.
Drugstore Foundations:
All of my drugstore foundations are bought online because here in Singapore, the line is either not available or the shade selection is pathetic. Like literally maybe about 4-6 shades available.
Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless 322 Warm Honey. This foundation as the name suggest is matte and I really love the formula of it. The coverage is medium buildable and the finish is almost close to MAC's Studio Sculpt but it is slightly more lightweight. I wouldn't say that the shade of this foundation matches me quite well maybe just a little bit lighter than my skin but again, after bronzing and contouring, it all comes together beautifully. Most of the time I apply this foundation with my beauty blender and set it with my MAC Studio Fix powder even though it is matte I still like to give it a little dusting of powder for added coverage.
L'Oreal Infallible Pro-Matte 109 Classic Tan & Fresh Beige. Now, Classic Tan is little darker than my own skin tone but I could pull it off with a lot of highlighting and very minimal bronzing and contouring. Because this was a tad bit darker with a slight orange undertone, what I do is that I place this on the outer perimeter of my face to give it a little depth and dimension as well as warmth for my face. For Fresh Beige, I feel like this is a way better match. As usual, I'd apply them using my beauty blender. Coverage wise, it is medium to full buildable coverage. The finish is demi-matte but on my skin, it is a little bit drying and it does settle a tiny bit into the lines around my mouth when I smile and it appears completely matte, almost comparable to the Hourglass foundation.
If I had to choose between the Maybelline and L'Oreal, I think I prefer Maybelline a bit better. Only because it's not as drying. But both performs exceptionally well.
L'Oreal True Blend W7. This is my drugstore to go foundation because this is so fast and easy to apply even with your fingers it still looks beautiful and never streaky.This is one of the foundation that fits me perfectly. This foundation also have specs of gold in it similar to the Tarte Amazonian Clay ones too but both gives a really healthy glow to your skin. I don't really mind that it doesn't have a pump but most people don't like that factor but hey what matters to me is the product. This foundation has medium to full buildable coverage. I usually apply this using my beauty blender as per normal. Shade wise if you guys have seen the color range you would know they have a wide selection of shades for everyone of different skin tones and under tones. This is my drugstore holy grail foundation.
As you guys can see, I don't have much drugstore foundations only cause it's really hard to find them even online in Singapore. I'm on a foundation kick this few weeks so I'm definitely expanding my collection so look out for more comparisons and review!
Thanks for reading guys, love you!
Hey guys! So for today's blog post, I'd be listing down my foundation shades for comparison. Just a little bit of back ground info, I am a dark NC42 and a light NC44 in MAC so I'd say I'm right in between. I own 2 MAC foundations which is the Studio Sculpt, in NC42 and the Studio Fix Powder Foundation in NC43.
Most of the time, I apply my foundations with a beauty blender or the Zoeva #102 Silk Finish brush or the Zoeva #124 Grand Stippling brush. And as for primers, I use the Smashbox Photo Finish oil free Foundation Primer or the Benefit Porefessional. And I do have combo skin. I have a few dry areas on my face, a few oily spots and some normal spots so basically, I'm everything. Oh yes and no matter what type of finish the foundation is, I always spritz my face with MAC's Fix Plus at the end.
Notice that most of my foundations are high end only because it's very hard to find my shade in drugstores especially in Singapore and high end foundations usually have a wide range of color.
High end foundations:
MAC Studio Sculpt NC 42, I found that it was slightly too light for me so this is the foundation that I would wear if I decide to do a really heavy bronzing and contour look and I wouldn't usually highlight if i have this on. This is definitely the type of foundation where you can feel and see that it is on your skin as it is on the heavier side even if you use a beauty blender to sheer it out. Coverage wise, I'd say this is a medium buildable coverage. And as we all know, MAC has a huge color selection so you are bound to find a foundation shade for you.
MAC Studio Fix Powder NC43, I normally just use this lightly to set my liquid foundations. But on my lazy days, I would use this foundation with a large brush. What I would do is I'd do a couple of spritz of MAC's fix plus on my brush and then I'd swirl the brush into the foundation and go all over my face with it. Coverage wise, depending on how and what you use to apply this with, it is a light to full coverage foundation.
Estee Lauder Double Wear 4N2 Spiced Sand. Now, this was my very first high end foundation and it is one of the best, highly recommended, full proof foundation in my opinion. This is super full coverage, it dries down to a VERY matte finish, you don't even need powder for this. As much as I love love love this foundation, I find that the texture is just a tad bit too thick for certain areas of my face especially my nose. I'm not talking about the sides but on the top of my nose itself. It gets all weird and separated when it settles on my nose and when I try to fix it by gently rubbing or tapping, it gets all ashy and weird and it comes off. It basically clung on to my nose and made it super dry even though that is my oiliest part. But other than that, the foundation is super amazing and I get a lot of compliments when I have it on. As far as color wise, this was the darkest shade I could find in my Sephora which was still a tad bit too light for me. And this foundation, literally stays on ALL day.
Urban Decay Naked Skin 8.0. Out of all the foundations that I own, this would be one of my favorite if I decide to go for a light feeling, medium coverage foundation or on days where I have pretty good skin. The shade 8.0 matches me PERFECTLY for a period of time this was my holy grail and I still think that it may be. Most of the time, you can barely feel it on your skin which is one of the reasons why I love this foundation to bits. Not to mention, this line of foundation has a lot of variation so you're pretty much bound to find your shade!
Tarte Amazonian Clay Tan Deep Sand. This is a great foundation but in my opinion, there's not much of a wow factor coming from this. The coverage is medium buildable, with specs of gold reflect infused throughout the foundation which doesn't make you look like a grease ball in any way since the gold is barely noticable. It gives a very pretty finish upon setting it with powder. Your face would be matte, but not flat because of the specs of gold. Not my go to foundation tho if I just wanna slap it on and go out the door. I feel like with this foundation, I have to properly set, highlight and contour to make it look like perfection. It's definitely a foundation which requires a bit more effort. If you're looking for something that is not completely matte but not super dewy, this is the foundation for you!
Hourglass Immaculate Foundation Honey. This foundation I've got to say, is worth the hype! I felt that with this foundation because it is so matte, I have to really moisturize, prime and add a little bit of MAC's Strobe Cream to my face first before applying this foundation. I find that it applies way better with a brush rather than using the beauty blender. Using your fingers would be a good alternative too but personally, I don't really fancy using my fingers but it does look beautiful nonetheless. The coverage for this foundation is medium, slightly buildable. And because it dries down to a powder finish, I don't find it necessary to powder as it starts to look cakey. This is another foundation that will last on your skin until you decide to take it off. Like literally, from the moment you apply it to the moment you decide to take it off, it looks the same! Color wise, I find that it's ever so slightly orange when I apply it on but it still works out just fine.
Drugstore Foundations:
All of my drugstore foundations are bought online because here in Singapore, the line is either not available or the shade selection is pathetic. Like literally maybe about 4-6 shades available.
Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless 322 Warm Honey. This foundation as the name suggest is matte and I really love the formula of it. The coverage is medium buildable and the finish is almost close to MAC's Studio Sculpt but it is slightly more lightweight. I wouldn't say that the shade of this foundation matches me quite well maybe just a little bit lighter than my skin but again, after bronzing and contouring, it all comes together beautifully. Most of the time I apply this foundation with my beauty blender and set it with my MAC Studio Fix powder even though it is matte I still like to give it a little dusting of powder for added coverage.
L'Oreal Infallible Pro-Matte 109 Classic Tan & Fresh Beige. Now, Classic Tan is little darker than my own skin tone but I could pull it off with a lot of highlighting and very minimal bronzing and contouring. Because this was a tad bit darker with a slight orange undertone, what I do is that I place this on the outer perimeter of my face to give it a little depth and dimension as well as warmth for my face. For Fresh Beige, I feel like this is a way better match. As usual, I'd apply them using my beauty blender. Coverage wise, it is medium to full buildable coverage. The finish is demi-matte but on my skin, it is a little bit drying and it does settle a tiny bit into the lines around my mouth when I smile and it appears completely matte, almost comparable to the Hourglass foundation.
If I had to choose between the Maybelline and L'Oreal, I think I prefer Maybelline a bit better. Only because it's not as drying. But both performs exceptionally well.
L'Oreal True Blend W7. This is my drugstore to go foundation because this is so fast and easy to apply even with your fingers it still looks beautiful and never streaky.This is one of the foundation that fits me perfectly. This foundation also have specs of gold in it similar to the Tarte Amazonian Clay ones too but both gives a really healthy glow to your skin. I don't really mind that it doesn't have a pump but most people don't like that factor but hey what matters to me is the product. This foundation has medium to full buildable coverage. I usually apply this using my beauty blender as per normal. Shade wise if you guys have seen the color range you would know they have a wide selection of shades for everyone of different skin tones and under tones. This is my drugstore holy grail foundation.
As you guys can see, I don't have much drugstore foundations only cause it's really hard to find them even online in Singapore. I'm on a foundation kick this few weeks so I'm definitely expanding my collection so look out for more comparisons and review!
Thanks for reading guys, love you!
