One True Base

 

(L-R Estee Lauder Double Wear Maximum / Laura Mercier / YSL / Bourjois)

 I have given up trying to find my perfect foundation, I now have one of four which I go to depending on situation or what type of day I have ahead. One is pefect for a night out, no SPF so no dreaded ghost face but others have amazing staying power. I have blemish prone dry skin, I am always the lightest shade of "drug store" brands, Ivory by Rimmel for example is always too orange but am not the palest of skin tones. My boyfriend describes me as "porcelain"

YSL Le Teint Touche Éclat foundation BD20 - This was all over the blog world a while ago, so I hopped down to Boots and got myself colour matched and picked up a sample. The sales assistant matched me to B30 which was far too dark. A few months ago my skin was especially dull and I needed a foundation to give me a boost so was colour matched again and an amazing lady in House Of Fraser spent ages with me picking the right shade. I was bang in the middle of BD10 and BD20 so opted for the darker shade as I can sometimes look ill when wearing an exact match! It applies beautifully and is my foundation choice for a night out.

Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation Cream Ivory - Another hyped product, but it was Rebecca's glowing recommendation which made me shell out. The first time I applied it I felt a little disappointed as it looked a little caked on. However a few goes and I realised a little went a long way. The colour is a little off, I think I could easily go down a shade. As you can see from the swatches it is a lot thicker than the rest of the foundations and really important to work it into the skin. 

Estee Lauder Double Wear Maximum Very Light - First thing first, this isn't very light. It is fine for my skin, but the main amazing thing about this is the coverage! Oh my gosh. I have quite a few scars from acne and have to apply concealer and then foundation every day, this helps me skip that step on placement mornings. It also lasts and lasts through a 12 hour shift and does not move until I remove it in the evening. This isn't for the light hearted. 

Bourjois Healthy Mix 51 - Bourjois have recently changed the formula of this slightly to "provide more radiance". This is my ulitmate slap it on and go foundation. I just wish it lasted longer on my skin, even setting with powder doesn't seem to help. It also doesn't provide me with quite enough coverage but is perfect during the summer months when I can imagine the ones above making my face feel very full of make up. I don't need to say more as this is a well loved foundation all over.

So which will I buy again? Estee Lauder Double Wear Max for those full coverage days and my make up bag will never be without Healthy Mix. This must be around my 8th bottle. I'm trying more and more to improve the state of my skin under my foundation these days in a hope I won't feel I need as high coverage.

Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation

Still on the hunt for the perfect foundation I stumbled accross Vichy Dermablend when watching Lisa Eldridge's youtube video on covering acne.You may have heard of Dermablend after watching the fabulous "Go Beyond the Cover" with the gorgeous Zombie Boy. The Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation promises to give "total coverage" with twice as much coverage as a traditional foundtion. So off I went to Boots and found the foundation amonst the skin care, the lightest shade is "Opal 15" which is a little darker than I usually go for but the model in Lisa Eldridge's video seemed to be of similar shade to my skin so bought it anyway!

 

I have been using Double Wear religiously, it's staying power is unbeatable. It can look a little cakey and of course causes serious Ghost Face. So how does it compare? Well the coverage is the same, you can either apply it as a concealer as in the youtube tutorial, or buff into the skin as with a normal foundation. It blends beautifully into the skin, you don't have to work as fast as you do with Double Wear. You can also build on the coverage easily without it going to cakey. Now the shade is a little darker than I am used to, however I have had more compliments on my skin looking healthier instead of being the same me colour as paper.

It is currently my go to foundation, my skin is worse than in the Blemish Balms post to give you some idea of what it is covering beneath! 

Without flash / With Flash

The flash photograph has no blush on for some reason, I took these photos as I was curling my hair so did my make-up in-between letting the curls set! I am pretty impressed with the foundation, it is aimed at people who feel the need to cover up blemishes / scars and does the job perfectly for me. At £15.50 it is more than your average high street foundation but still cheaper than a high end one. It works with my skin, which is oily in places and dry in others. However the limited choice of shades will put many people off. I do have to be extra careful to blend it into my neck so no clear foundation line, but with my normal pale powder on top it is fine.

Zoey xox