2015 Foundation Friday Year-End Wrap-Up

In 2015 I started a new series called “Foundation Friday for Over 50” to find a ‘holy grail’ foundation for mature skin. Over the course of the year I tested and reviewed 16 foundations and did manage to fine ONE holy grail!! Here’s my year-end wrap-up of how each foundation stands with a brief synopsis of pros and cons. Click on the foundation name to see the full review.

Just Didn’t Work For Me:


Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream ~ $29 for 1.18 oz.

Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream Applied with Fingers

Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream

Pros:

  • Works well under a powder foundation
  • Nice ingredients, moisturizing, non-irritating
  • No settling into wrinkles
  • Might be good for people with dry skin

Cons:

  • Shiny
  • Accentuates pores
  • Very sheer coverage
  • Sunscreen doesn’t provide full UVA protection

Dior DiorSkin Nude Air Serum Foundation ~ $53 for 1 oz., comes in 8 shades

Dior Nude Air Brush B&A

Dior DiorSkin Nude Air Serum Foundation

Pros:

  • Lightweight fluid
  • Easy to apply
  • Good coverage of tonal issues
  • Looked nice for a few hours

Cons:

  • Price
  • High alcohol & fragrance
  • Looked shiny and waxy
  • Short wear
  • Settled into pores & wrinkles

Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Cover Foundation ~ $43 for 1 oz., comes in 26 shades

IMG_7870

Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Cover Foundation

Pros:

  • No sunscreen or alcohol
  • Sheer weightless coverage
  • Looks nice in photos

Cons:

  • Settles into pores & wrinkles
  • Shiny
  • Drying
  • Short wear time

The Mixed Bags:


Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum ~ $13 for 1 oz., comes in 6 shades

It Looks Great Right Out of the Tube when First Applied

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum

Pros: 

  • No sunscreen
  • Looks nice when first applied
  • Has a youthful soft radiant finish

Cons:

  • Lots of alcohol & fragrance
  • Settles into wrinkles & pores
  • Gets shiny over time
  • Short wear time

Maybelline Fit Me! Matte & Poreless ~ $7.99 for 1 oz., comes in 16 shades

Maybelline Flash Photo

Maybelline Fit Me! Matte & Poreless

Pros:

  • No sunscreen or fragrance
  • Good selection of shades, natural looking
  • Very nice matte but not mask-like finish (temporarily)
  • Diminishes pores a bit (temporarily)
  • Minimal settling into wrinkles
  • Blends easily
  • Medium to full coverage.

Cons: 

  • Alcohol content
  • Very poor wear (4 hours is all you get before it looks bad)
  • Gets shiny quickly
  • Settled into wrinkles and pores after 4 hours
  • Became an aging drying mask

Rimmel Lasting Finish retails for $6.99 for 1 oz. at drugstores and comes in 11 Shades

The Verdict: Worth a try, but use sparingly and apply with blending sponge

Rimmel Lasting Finish

Pros:

  • Low alcohol & fragrance
  • Medium to full coverage
  • Flattering diffused glowy finish
  • No settling into pores

Cons:

  • Heavy to wear
  • Slightly drying
  • Accentuates wrinkles
  • Needs primer & setting powder to last all day

L’Oreal Infallible Pro Matte ~ $13 for 1 oz., comes in 12 shades

L'Oreal Infallible Best

L’Oreal Infallible Pro-Matte

Pros:

  • No sunscreen, fragrance, or alcohol
  • Looked nice for 5-6 hours
  • Improved the look of pores
  • Demi-matte finish
  • Could work really well for people with oily skin

Cons:

  • Dried out my skin
  • Magnified wrinkles
  • Can be difficult to apply
  • Heavy to wear
  • Can look mask-like

Jane Iredale PurePressed Base Foundation ~ $52 for .35 oz., comes in 22 shades

FF #7 CFX vs JI

Jane Iredale PurePressed Base

Pros:

  • Easy to apply
  • Good coverage, evens out skin tone
  • No settling into wrinkles

Cons:

  • Drying
  • Gets very shiny
  • Short wear time

Cover FX Pressed Mineral Foundation* ~ $36 for .42 oz., comes in 24 shades

Day 1 JA

Cover FX Pressed Mineral Foundation

Pros: 

  • Looks very nice when used over tinted moisturizer
  • Good color range

Cons:

  • Settled into pores & wrinkles
  • Hard to apply/blend
  • Very sheer
  • Short wear time

Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer retails for $27.00 for 1 oz. and comes in 20 Shades

FF #12 Clinique Beyond Perfecting

Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer

Pros:

  • Fragrance & alcohol free
  • Best applied sparingly with a sponge
  • Good medium to full coverage
  • Looked nice & skin-like from a distance
  • May work for those who like full-coverage and have sensitive skin

Cons:

  • Shiny
  • Heavy to wear
  • Looked waxy & mask like up close
  • Settled into pores & wrinkles

The Pretty Good


Temptu Air retails for $195 and includes the airbrush unit and charging cord. The pods of foundation sell for an additional $45 12 shades

FF #10 Temptu Air

Temptu Air Cordless Airbrush Foundation

PROS:

  • Easy to use
  • Smoothes pores & wrinkles
  • Youthful, luminous finish (best with a little setting powder)
  • No mess, no cleaning device
  • Hygenic
  • No alcohol

CONS:

  • Learning curve
  • Cost
  • Very shiny and stays tacky

Guerlain Lingerie de Peau $63.00 for 1 oz. and comes in 10 Shades 

FF #13 Guerlain LdP

Guerlain Lingerie de Peau

Pros:

  • Foolproof to apply
  • Doesn’t settle into pores
  • Lovely, youthful radiance

Cons:

  • $63 price tag
  • Alcohol & fragrance
  • Settles into wrinkles
  • Flashback
  • Short wear time

The Best:


Too Faced “Born This Way”* ~ $39 for 1 oz., comes in 18 shades

FF #6 Too Faced

Too Faced Born This Way

Pros:

  • Natural, youthful look
  • Mattifying primer and setting powder elevated this to a very good foundation
  • Very moisturizing
  • Doesn’t cling to dry patches
  • Makes larger wrinkles look more supple
  • Women with dryer skin could be very happy with this foundation
  • Long wear
  • Weightless & comfortable to wear

Cons:

  • Not good on it’s own – settles into pores & wrinkles
  • Gets shiny

Becca Perfect Skin Mineral Powder Foundation $40, 12 shades

Becca Perfect Skin Mineral Powder Foundation

Pros:

  • Mineral powder is great for sensitive, acne-prone, or rosacea skin
  • Lit from within diffused glow
  • Smoothes pores slightly
  • Easy to apply
  • Skin-like finish
  • No settling into pores or wrinkles
  • Long-wearing
  • Not drying

Cons:

  • Can look cakey if applied too heavily
  • Looks best over tinted moisturizer

The Holy Grail:


Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet Smooth-Effect Makeup ~ $47 for 1 oz., comes in 9 shades, SPF 15

Hands down the BEST so far in the Foundation Friday series. This is an awesome foundation that improves the look of older skin in a natural way that’s neither dry looking nor overly dewey and never cakey. This is the Holy Grail foundation for me!!

FF #8 Chanel PLV

Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet

Pros:

  • Easy to apply with fingers
  • Doesn’t need primer or setting powder
  • Looks natural
  • Covers well
  • Doesn’t settle into pores or wrinkles
  • Youthful skin-like finish
  • Long wearing
  • Makes my skin look better than it is!!

Cons:

  • Contains some alcohol & fragrance (both low enough that it’s not a deal breaker)
  • Doesn’t play well with silicone based products

Stay tuned for more “Foundation Friday for Over 50” in 2016!

 

 

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