Testing 4 Liquid Foundations for Mature Skin

The search for my “holy grail” foundation for mature skin continues with four more liquid foundation tests.

My “holy grail” foundation would offer a good color match in a light formulation free of harsh chemicals that goes on easily with my fingers, covers age spots, and evens skin tone. It would not cause breakouts, accentuate wrinkles, be shiny, or sit in pores. So, here’s how these 4 products performed:

Paula’s Choice Barely There Foundation

Spf 25 ~ $14.95 ~ 4 Shades

I got this in “Best Linen” which is the 3rd darkest of the 4 shades it comes in. It goes on really shear, and really light making me look like I was wearing a grayish spotty mask. This did not blend well, or build up for more coverage. It was smeary and streaky on my forehead and filled my pores in a bad spotty way. It did wear well though and kept my forehead oil and shine free for 10 hours. Not Good.

Hourglass Immaculate Liquid to Powder Foundation

No Spf ~ $55 ~ 9 Shades

I got this in “Natural” which was a good color match for me. This sets up quickly and is not slippery so it’s a little difficult to spread. It feels soft like a powder going on. Coverage is lighter than I thought it would be and it didn’t cover age spots. This accentuated fine lines and wrinkles and looked like a powdery old lady mask. It wore for 6-7 hours before I had some shine on my forehead. Ugh.

Giorgio Armani Designer Lift Smoothing Firming Foundation

Spf 20 PA+++ ~ $65 ~ 13 Shades

The Armani salesperson “color matched” me with #55 which is way too dark and orange for me. But in spite of the unflattering color, I really liked this one! It’s a thin runny liquid that applies easily with fingers or sponge. It’s so highly pigmented that it covers everything in one coat. It does not accentuate wrinkles or pores and has a really nice satin finish. While it doesn’t live up to it’s claims of giving me a “virtual face lift” with 87% reduction of fine lines, it did look good all day with no oily breakthrough after 10 hours. Yay!

Estee Lauder Invisible Fluid Makeup

No Spf ~ $35 ~ 16 Shades

This formula needs to be shaken up thoroughly before use, so it’s air-infused. I got this in color 2WN1 which I think is slightly too warm for me. I was able to apply this with just my fingers with no primer and it went on easily and flawlessly! It’s like the Armani in the level of pigmentation, so it covered over everything with one thin coating. It has a nice satin finish that is very skin-like. It wore very well all day without accentuating fine lines or pores and no shiney forehead. It looked good all day with no touch ups. It’s a tie between the Armani and the Lauder, but for half the price, I’ll be buying the Estee Lauder!