Covering all of My Bases

Hey, everyone! Despite my makeup madness being in full effect for nearly two decades (geez, I'm old), until quite recently I was the kind of girl who only had a single foundation in her stash. Maybe two. While my lipstick, blush, and eye shadow collections have always been bountiful, my selection of base products was typically quite sparse. Over the past two years, however, my foundation stash has grown exponentially. With so many incredible formulas in the market, it's been hard to resist!

My current foundation lineup consists of 10 products, ranging from sheer to full-coverage, dewy to matte, and $5 to $70 price tags. The full gamut! Here's a peek at them:

For today's post, I thought I'd provide a description of each foundation, including the finish, coverage, undertone, and closest MAC shade (as it seems to be a universal reference point). Hope you find it helpful!

For reference, I have a fair skin with neutral to warm undertones (MAC NC15-20). My skin type is combination/oily and acne-prone and I generally prefer bases with medium to full coverage.

By Terry Cover Expert Perfecting Fluid Foundation
Shade: #1 (neutral-cool, ~NW20)
Coverage: Medium-Full
Finish: Semi-Matte
The newest addition to my collection and one of the most expensive. It has a lovely matte-but-not-flat finish and gives beautiful coverage. Very little need for additional concealer and powder! Wears evenly with minimal shine for 7-8 hours. To see me wearing it, click here!

Shu Uemura Face Architect Smoothing Fluid Foundation
Shade: #784 (warm, ~NC15)
Coverage: Medium
Finish: Satin-Matte
Had high hopes for this when I purchased it, but have reached for it rarely. The initial finish is even and mildly glowy, but unfortunately this doesn't have the best staying power. Plus the shade is a bit too pale for my skin, except for during the depths of Winter. To see me wearing it, click here!

Clinique Perfectly Real Makeup
Shade #1 (neutral, ~NC/NW15-20)
Coverage: Light-Medium
Finish: Natural Matte
I used to wear this ages ago and am happy to have it back in my stash. This offers lovely natural coverage (not too dewy, not too matte) and the colour match is pretty spot-on. The coverage can be built up to medium and it wears 5-7 hours with minimal shine. To see me wearing it, click here!

Wet N' Wild Coverall Cream Foundation
Shade: 815 Fair (neutral-cool, ~NW15-20)
Coverage: Medium
Finish: Satin
This was a pleasant surprise, especially given that it cost only $5! Evens out skin nicely with a glowy, but not greasy finish. The shade is slightly light on me, but wearable during the Wintertime. Unfortunately the wear time isn't the greatest, as there is significant breakthrough shine after 4-5 hours. To read a full review of this, click here!

Laura Mercier Mineral Powder
Shade: Real Sand (warm, ~NC20)
Coverage: Light-Full
Finish: Satin Matte
This was a staple in my daily routine a few years ago and I recently picked up a new tub in a makeup swap. This is the best mineral foundation I've ever tried- the coverage is impressive and it leaves a heavenly glowy finish. The wear time is good, but not phenomenal- it starts to get a bit cakey on my oily skin after about 5-7 hours. To see me wearing it, click here!

Revlon Colourstay Makeup Combination/Oily Formula
Shade: 150 Buff (neutral-warm, ~NC15-20)
Coverage: Medium-Full
Finish: Matte
My all-time favourite foundation. Hands down! Leaves skin looking matte and flawless for over 10 hours without looking cakey or feeling heavy. If you like fuller coverage and are on a drugstore budget (or just want to try something awesome), you have to check this out! To see me wearing it, click here!

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Ultra-Light Skin Perfecting Makeup
Shade: B10 (warm, ~NC20)
Coverage: Light-Medium
Finish: Satin
This foundation is quite out of my comfort zone, but I love it! The coverage is sheer, but buildable and it leaves a wonderful glowy finish that feels weightless on the skin. It looks like my real skin, but better! The wear time is impressive given the sheerer texture, but is not one to reach for when you need a foundation to wear all day. Looks it best for the first 5-6 hours. To read a review, click here!

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream Combination to Oily Skin Formula
Shade: Light (warm, ~NC20)
Coverage: Medium
Finish: Semi-Matte
Another new-ish addition to my collection, I'd heard great things about this! This leaves skin looking ah-mazing upon first application. It covers most imperfections and gives a completely non-greasy glow. Unfortunately, this tends to get shiny and a bit cakey after 5 hours or so, but for the first few hours, it's perfection! To see me wearing it, click here!

Chantecaille Just Skin Tinted Moisturizer
Shade: Bliss (warm, ~NC20-25)
Coverage: Sheer-Light
Finish: Dewy
I was lucky to score this in a makeup swap, as it's quite pricey. This is the best tinted moisturizer I've tried, hands down! Makes skin look natural, but perfected and gives a dewy, not oily finish. Bliss is a bit too dark for my complexion, so I generally use this to sheer out and add a glow to my fuller-coverage, matte foundations. To see it mixed with ColourStay, click here!

Too Faced Beauty Balm
Shade: Vanilla Glow (neutral-warm, ~NC25)
Coverage: Light-Medium
Finish: Satin
I also scored this in a makeup swap because I'd heard great things! This blends beautifully into the skin and evens skin out nicely. It wears reasonably well on my oily skin (6-7 hours, which is better than many BB creams I've tried), but unfortunately, Vanilla Glow is noticeably too dark for me. Even in summer! Contemplating whether I should buy the lighter shade, Snow Glow, and mix the two.


And here are all 10 foundations swatched on my inner arm (MAC NC15 skin tone). I tried to arrange them from lightest to darkest and have labelled each:

And one final shot of all my bases:

So there you go! I hope you found it helpful to read a bit about all of the foundations in my collection and take a peek at them swatched side-by-side. I'm definitely going to make an effort to use some of these up over the coming months and perhaps swap away the few that just aren't my favourites. There are a few foundations I've been super tempted by lately (for instance, Tarte's Amazonian Clay options and BeneFit's new BB cream offering), but I must finish others up first!

Have I tempted you with any of the foundations here? How many bases do you have in your stash? What are your all-time favourite base products?

Thanks for reading! xo