Testing Foundations for Mature Skin

I have to confess… I’ve never worn a liquid foundation. I’ve really never worn any foundation, except on the rare special occasion when I’ll put on Bare Minerals powder to even out and mattify my skin.

So why am I testing them now? Sadly, it’s because my skin is showing it’s age, and I’m hoping there’s a makeup out there somewhere that can help. There are a ridiculous number of brands, formulations, and claims, so it’s hard to know where to start, and reading reviews on the makeup sites is just confusing. Most of the beauty gurus out there are younger and the foundations they swear by as their “holy grail” just don’t cut it on skin that’s been around for 50 years.

So I decided to put 10 foundations to the test and see how they perform on actual mature skin complete with wrinkles and age spots (mine). I’m trying out both high- and low-end formulations, liquids, powders, creams & tinted moisturizers.

So far, I’ve tried:

Bobbi Brown Luminous Moisturizing Foundation ~ $47 for 1 oz.

Estee Lauder Double-Wear Light ~ $36 for 1 oz.

Neutrogena Healthy Skin ~ $12 for 1 oz.

Bare Minerals Matte ~ $27 for .21 oz.

Urban Decay Naked Skin ~ $39 for 1 oz.

Revlon Nearly Naked ~ $10 for 1 oz.

Hourglass Veil Fluid Makeup ~ $60 for 1 oz.

Laura Mercier Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer ~ $43 for 1 oz.

L’Oreal Visible Lift Serum Absolute ~ $15 for 1 oz.

Mac Studio Fix Powder ~ $27 for .52 oz.

For obvious reasons I didn’t purchase all of those… mostly, I went to the makeup counter and had a sales person apply it and give me a sample to try at home. Most of the drugstore brands, I bought and then returned. I’m still working my way through a few of the samples, so I don’t have the final opinion yet, but I have to say, out of the 8 I’ve used already, most are fails, but there are a couple that actually seem ok.

I’m taking pictures of each one so I can show you how each one looks, and taking notes on how they feel, smell, and wear. The full review should be ready next week!

I’d love to hear if you’ve found  a great foundation for mature skin, so I can try yet another… because so far there isn’t a “holy grail” for me…