Creating the Perfect Canvas: Foundation Before and Afters!

A couple of months ago I felt to the urge to hunt for a new foundation. I've been using and loving Revlon ColourStay liquid foundation for years, but still get that "grass is greener" feeling once in a while- there must be a better, more luxurious, ultra-miraculous foundation out there somewhere! 

On my quest, I was lucky enough to score a myriad of samples. Since my skin is so picky, samples are a godsend. If my face doesn't like it, I'm not stuck with an expensive, non-returnable bottle of makeup. Never a fun predicament. 

While in the process of this thrilling hunt, I thought I'd take a moment to photograph and review each of the foundations I tried, since I know reviews can be super informative for others on a foundation pursuit of their own. And what's more fun than before and afters!? 

For each foundation below, I've taken a photo of my bare skin (eek!) with a bit of moisturizer on top (Marcelle MultiDefense Oil Free Lotion). I should also note that I applied all of these foundations with my fingers rather than a brush. While some formulas may have applied more evenly with a brush, I wanted to keep my application method consistent!

My skin was experiencing a minor breakout at the time, which makes the "before" pictures somewhat cringe-worthy (at least for me); the upside, though, was that if my skin were totally clear at the time, it would be a lot more difficult to gauge the coverage these foundations have to offer. After each "before" shot is a photo of me wearing the foundation only, followed by a picture of me wearing the foundation in the context of a completed makeup look. 

I hope everyone finds these to be informative- let's get to it! 

1) Estee Lauder Invisible Fluid Makeup 

• The Promise: "See no makeup. Feel no makeup. First-ever IntuiTone™ technology guarantees your true-to-life shade and keeps it real in every light. Fresh, flawless, radiant. Ultra light, ultra breathable, oil-free. It will change how you feel about makeup forever. In long-lasting shades for every beautiful skintone. Weightless, buildable coverage. Air-infused with every shake. Blends so perfectly for the look and feel of bare skin-only better. Lasts all day. Controls excess oil. Won't clog pores." (from www.esteelauder.com)

Wow- that's a mouthful! Essentially this foundation touts lightweight, undetectable coverage that is suitable for all skin types while still working to hide minor flaws.

Before

Estee Lauder Invisible Fluid Makeup, Shade 1N1

• Shade: 1N1 (lightest in the neutral colour range)
• Colour Match: Perfect! Not too yellow or pink, light or dark. Became invisible on my skin.
• Application: Smooth application, melts into skin, dewy finish. Took a while to "set" into skin, but did become less moist after several minutes.
• Coverage: Light to moderate, buildable
• Wear: To be honest, I didn't give this foundation a fair shake in terms of assessing its long-wear potential. I applied it a couple of hours before going to the gym, then proceeded to sweat and wash it off. My sense, however, was that this wouldn't have gone the distance on my combination-oily skin. The finish was a bit too dewy.
• Verdict: Overall, this foundation offered natural looking coverage and the shade I was given was an excellent match for my skin tone. This might be a suitable option for someone with normal to dry near-perfect skin, but was not quite right for me!

2) Chanel Perfection Lumiere Liquid Foundation 

• The Promise: "PERFECTION LUMIÈRE controls every detail of a perfect complexion to offer a tailor-made result... Its light, fluid texture glides on seamlessly with adjustable yet lightweight coverage for perfect results. The skin-embracing texture becomes one with the face, following its every movement. Its Perfect Skin Affinity complex ensures a second-skin effect and perfect foundation hold for 15 hours. Its universal shades are easy to wear, so that each woman can find her ideal colour. The result: “Multi-faceted” radiance, colour, comfort and matte finish. Perfect correction of all types of imperfections: redness and dark spots, complexion evenness. Optimal radiance created by the patented Perfect Light Control complex for an even, luminous complexion all day long" (from www.chanel.com)

An even bigger mouthful! For a high-end foundation with all of these promises, my expectations were quite high. I was definitely intrigued by the claim of lightweight coverage and a flawless finish. Could it be possible? 

Before

Chanel Perfection Lumiere, Shade 10 Beige

• Shade: Beige 10 (lightest of the neutral shades)
• Colour Match: A touch too dark/yellow (as you can tell from the middle photo), but luckily did not oxidize further (darken or orange) over the course of the day. This might be a better shade for summer time when I'm slightly more tanned.
• Application: Thin texture, a bit more effort to blend, dried quickly to a powdery finish.
• Coverage: Moderate to full
• Wear:  Left me relatively shine-free for 8 hours- no blotting! Settled into dry patches somewhat, but it didn't highlight pores or cake up
• The Verdict: Impressed with the wear and the coverage (albeit slightly heavy-feeling), but there was nothing unique or luxurious enought about this to be worth the money (more than $50 CAD)! 

3) DiorSkin Forver Flawless Perfection Wear Makeup

• The Promise: "A liquid foundation that provides SPF 25 protection and a flawless, second-skin finish. Infused with Dior's smart skin-shaping Skincare Essence, this formula becomes one with the skin for a flawless complexion all day long. The soft and velvety fluid melts weightlessly into the skin for an ultra-smooth, even complexion and visibly perfect skin day after day." (From sephora.com)

I was drawn to this Dior offering for similar reasons as the Chanel foundation above- the promise of a lightweight texture combined with long-wear and flawless coverage is like music to my ears! 

Before

Dior Skin Forver Liquid Foundation, Shade 010 Ivory

• Shade: 010 Ivory (the lightest colour offering)
• Colour Match: Quite good! The photos make it appear slightly orange on my NC15-20 skin, but I did not detect this in real life.
• Coverage: Moderate to full
• Application: Smooth, easy to blend, velvet finish that soon dries down to semi-matte.
• Wear: The shade didn't oxidize, but my face was quite shiny after 6 hours. Also felt rather heavy on my skin by the end of the day.
• The Verdict: Great formula, coverage, and colour match, but not enough oil control! The eventual heavy feel was also a turn off.

4) Chantecaille Future Skin Foundation

• The Promise: "Innovative, oil-free gel foundation with refreshing, lightweight texture. Light-reflective circular pigment provides adjustable coverage. Contains 60% charged water and seaweed. Protective field prevents water evaporation, blocks environmental oxidation" (from www.chantecaille.com)

This was certainly the most expensive foundation that I tried (thank goodness again for samples!) and the one that surprised me most! Read on... :)

Before

Chantecaille Future Skin in Alabaster

Under artificial light

• Shade:  Alabaster (third lightest shade, neutral undertone)
• Colour Match: Slightly pale on my NC15-20 skin, but setting powder and a touch of bronzer remedied this!
• Application: Creamy liquid that melts into skin with a watery feel. More glowy than dewy; didn't take long to set.
• Coverage: Light to moderate, buildable. Concealer definitely needed on blemishes, redness, and other discolourations
• Wear: Started to fade and cling to dry spots slightly after 6 hours, but no shine! Faded "gracefully". (i.e., did not get blotchy or spotty, and did not oxidize throughout the course of the day).
• The Verdict:  I kind of fell in love with this foundation. Because my skin struggles with breakouts and redness, my comfort zone has always been with fuller-coverage foundations. This is the first light-coverage base I've tried that gives my skin a healthy glow without quickly fading or a greasy finish. My sense is that it might not hold up to Toronto's hot, humid summer weather, but if I have a few dollars to spare when the colder months arrive, I might eventually pick this up!

5) Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet Liquid Foundation

• The Promise: "A shine controlling, oil-free, water-resistant, complete coverage liquid foundation. Hides imperfections, evens out skintone, and mattifies with a non-oily, perfectly powdered finish. The result is flawless and lasts for hours." (From www.sephora.com)

This foundation has been a best-seller for oily-skinned gals for quite some time, so I thought I'd finaly give it a shot! Some have touted this as a more sophisticated version of my old standby, Revlon Colourstay, which propelled me further to try this!

Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet Liquid Foundation #25

• Shade: #25 (#20 would have been a more ideal match, but Sephora was out of that shade at the time)
• Colour Match: Too pinky/grey-ish on my NC15-20 skin, which you can tell from the photos (wish I could have tried #20!). Setting powder and bronzer helped this, though!
• Application: Thick liquid that dries down to a powdery finish- somewhere between semi-matte and matte. Sets quickly.
• Coverage: Moderate to full; barely needed concealer over top!
• Wear: Several hours shine-free, but gets slightly cakey and heavy by the end of the day (which may be hard to avoid with fuller-coverage foundations). 
• The Verdict: Overall, there was a lot to like about this foundation- particularly the excellent coverage and oil control. Despite the aforementioned claims, however, this still did not surpass Revlon ColourStay in my books. The application may have been to blame (using a brush may have sheered things out a bit), but I did not appreciate how heavy and mask-like this began to feel as the hours passed.

Phew! So that was an incredibly long post! I wont extend it any further, except to say that this quest only reiterated that the grass isn't always greener- Revlon ColourStay still reigns supreme in my books. The process of testing these foundations was still fun, though, and if I win the lottery come winter (or, let's face it, just get a big enough hankering), Chantecaille Future Skin may make an appearance in my makeup bag :)


Thanks for reading!