The transition from summer into autumn is typically when most people really make changes to their base makeup products – the weather is colder and natural tans are starting to fade. My colour is pretty much always the palest of pale; but I do like fuller coverage foundations with more hydrating formulas in the colder months of the year. I’ve been trying out five new releases, so I can share them with you.
The swatches above, from left to right, are – YSL Beauté All Hours Foundation* (£33.50 from YSL) in B20, bareMinerals BAREPRO Foundation* (£29 from Bare Minerals) in Fair 01, Sleek MakeUP Lifeproof Foundation* (£8.99 from Superdrug) in LP01, Clarins Everlasting Cushion Foundation* (£31 from John Lewis) in 103 Ivory, and Nude By Nature Flawless Foundation* (£25, but currently £20 from Feel Unique) in W2 Ivory. I find it really difficult at times to find foundation shades light enough for my skin. I typically gravitate towards cool-toned shades, but I was very surprised at how well a couple of the warmer ones worked on me. I would wear all but one of these foundations again.
YSL Beauté All Hours Foundation in B20
YSL describe this as being ‘night-proof’ i.e. it stays on all hours of the day and night. It’s matte and comes in 22 different shades. I thought that this would be too yellow for my cool-toned skin, but it actually suits me really well. I love this foundation and I have normal to dehydrated skin. It’s not completely matte in that it does allow some of your own natural glow to come through, and I like this. It’s oil-free, has a medium to full coverage and helps to minimise the appearance of pores. It also has anti-oxidant benefits, and has skin conditioning and sweat/water absorbing ingredients. I’ve applied this with a damp beauty blender (like I always do), so the coverage here is more of a medium. It’s not as budge-proof or full coverage as Urban Decay’s All Nighter, but it does stay put for a full day or night out.
bareMinerals BAREPRO Foundation in Fair 01
I like this foundation, but I don’t love it. It definitely wouldn’t be one of my first choices from my collection. I actually applied this with the brush that bareMinerals suggest goes with it, as when I used a damp beauty blender on a previous day, I couldn’t get the full coverage it promised. Even with the brush I would describe this as only being a medium coverage. It evens out my skin and hydrates it, but you can still very much see all my freckles and pores clearly. This shade is a tiny bit too pale for me I think, but it’s definitely still wearable. It has a matte finish, but because of the coverage level, your own natural skin will affect how matte it actually is. It’s sweat-proof and heat-resistant and comes in 30 different shades. It looks very natural on me and it does stay put pretty much all day – it just doesn’t give me enough coverage or a flawless enough finish.
Sleek Lifeproof Foundation in LP01
I swatched this and immediately thought ‘no, no, no’, but surprisingly, this wasn’t too warm for me and actually worked really well. I really like it and i’ll definitely reach for this one again. It has a medium to full coverage, but sits more towards the medium end of that spectrum. It’s long-lasting and really doesn’t budge. It evens out my skin nicely, covers up any imperfections and has a pretty soft-focus effect on the skin. I like its natural satin finish too. Definitely great quality – especially for the low price point!
Clarins Everlasting Cushion Foundation in 103 Ivory
I really don’t think I could hate a foundation more than I hate this one. It’s not just a shade issue either (even although this one does make me look like I have jaundice and is the lightest available). It also clings to any vellus hair and dry patches and doesn’t blend well at all. Also, this stuff is so sheer you may as well not wear any foundation at all – not what I would expect from such a premium product. Everything about this was just a disaster for me as it wasn’t even wearable. I have no more to say on it. Over and out.
Nude By Nature Flawless Foundation in W2 Ivory
This is my favourite out of all of these 5 foundations. This stuff is just wonderful and it has made me wonder why I never tried this brand sooner?! It’s oil-free and fragrance free and gives a good full coverage even with a damp beauty blender sponge. There are 20 shades available and it has a beautiful natural satin finish that makes it look just like perfected skin. There’s now a new rival to my love for the Dior Forever and By Terry Terribly Densiliss foundations! Like the brand name suggests, this foundation has been created without any synthetics – just ‘good for you’ natural ingredients. Bamboo Powder gives a soft-focus finish, and it also has conditioning, brightening and antioxident ingredients in there too.
Have you tried any of these foundations? What are your thoughts?
This post contains press samples, but all opinions are my own.
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