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:

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

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

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

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

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

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:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pros:

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

Cons:

• Drying
• Gets very shiny
• Short wear time

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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:

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

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

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Becca Perfect Skin Mineral Powder Foundation $40, 12 shades

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:

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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!!

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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