Powder
Powder foundations are best for oily skin. Using a powder foundation with a mattifying primer is one of the best ways to stay shine free. You can get them both loose and pressed. Loose tends to be sheerer, whereas pressed can be heavier. Pressed gives you the added advantage of being able to pop it in your bag to take with you. Powder foundations range from sheer to full coverage, and are usually buildable. Most of the loose powder foundations on the market at the moment are mineral foundations. These boast ingredients which a better for you skin, such as titanium dioxide which is a good for sun protection. However, if you know the foundation has to stand up against flash photography, you'll want to avoid anything with titanium dioxide in, as it reflects light and will make you look really pale in photos! The brush and method you use can determine the opacity. Personally, I like to use a large fluffy powder brush to dust the foundation on for sheer coverage. For slightly fuller coverage, I'll press the powder onto the skin. Be careful as you do increase the coverage, as some powder foundations can start to look cakey. If you do over-do it with the powder, or you prefer a finish that isn't quite so matte, try spritzing your face with a facial mist, such as MAC Fix+. If you have dry skin, I would tend to recommend avoiding powder foundations, as they can cling to dry patches.
Recommendations
Benefit “Hello Flawless!” Custom Powder Cover-Up With SPF15 is a pressed powder with medium to full coverage with a satin finish. They include a little brush with this, but I'd recommend skipping using it, and instead opt for a nice large powder brush.
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Bare Minerals Original SPF15 Foundation is a loose mineral foundation which gives sheer to medium coverage. As with most mineral foundations, you'll need to take the time to really buff this into your skin with a kabuki brush.
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Cream
There's a lot of variety when it comes to cream foundations. Regular cream foundations can offer a nice dewy finish, which works well on dry and mature skin. Coverage is usually quite buildable. I like to use a stippling brush to apply it, as it allows you to apply it in thin layers at a time. It can then be buffed into the skin. Cream to powder foundations offer a matte powder finish, making them better for oilier skins. I apply these in the same way, with a stippling brush. If you prefer a heavier coverage straight away, rather than building it you can use a flat foundation brush.
Recommendations
Urban Decay Surreal Cream To Powder Foundation is a cream that turns into a soft, buttery powder once it touches your skin. It has medium coverage with a satin-dewy finish. It comes with a little brush, but best results are achieved with sponge. Careful not to use too much, as it can appear cakey if applied to heavily.
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Illamasqua Cream Foundation - at the time of writing, this is on sale on Illamasqua's website for £10. This may mean it is being discontinued. I'm not sure why, as this is a nice cream foundation. It has a dewy finish, without buildable coverage. It comes with a sponge, but I prefer to apply it with a stippling brush, and then buff it in with a buffing brush. This allows you to build the coverage slowly to avoid cakey-ness.
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Liquid
Liquid foundations are probably the most popular type of foundation, and there's a lot of variety when it comes to choosing one. They range from sheer to full coverage, from matte to dewy in finish. These work well on dry and combination skin. If you have oily skin and want to use a liquid foundation, opt for an oil free foundation. As with cream foundations, I like to slowly build up coverage with a stippling brush, and then buff it into the skin with a buffing brush. Again, for heavier coverage you can use a flat foundation brush.
Recommendations
Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation - Illamasqua say that this was inspired by the Asian beauty balms, and I can see why. It doesn't have the skin benefits or whitening effects, but it has the coverage and feel of one. It's medium to full coverage with a satin-matte finish. You only need a tiny amount of this, otherwise it'll look cakey. Dot it on with your fingers, then blend with a buffing brush. This is my go-to foundation for shoots and weddings, as it's photographs beautifully. For perfect skin without the need for concealer or powder, this is my number one foundation. If you have dry skin, make sure you prep your skin with Illamasqua's hydra-veil.
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YSL Touche Eclat Foundation is probably my favourite every day foundation. It gives light to medium coverage with a natural dewy finish. Buffed into the skin, it looks like you're not wearing foundation at all. Oilier skins will want to make sure they use a primer and setting powder.
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Tinted Moisturisers
Tinted moisturisers are moisturisers with a hint of colour. These offer the lightest cover, as their main job is to moisturise. These are great if you're on the go, or new to foundation as they are very difficult to apply wrong, and they can be applied with your fingers if needs be. These are good for dry, mature and combination skin types. If you have oily skin, you'll need to top a tinted moisturiser with a powder. Most tinted moisturisers also offer low SPF protection. The shade selections tend to be very small (usually light, medium, and dark), but that's because they're so sheer. A handy little artists tip, is that you can mix your liquid foundation and your moisturiser together to make a tinted moisturiser.
Recommendations
Clinique Moisture Surge Tinted Moisturiser SPF15 gives a lightweight coverage. It's not as moisturising as those with really dry skin may want, so they may want to moisturise before using this. It's oil free, so it's one of the better tinted moisturisers for oily skins, although you'll probably still want to use a powder.
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No.7 Triple Protection Tinted Moisturiser is another light weight product, which sinks into the skin fairly quickly. You can build this up to light-medium coverage. This one isn't as great for oily skins, but those with normal/combination skins will get along well with the dewy finish.
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BB Creams
BB Creams can be where things start to get complicated. BB Creams originated in Germany, and quickly gained popularity in Asia for being a 'one product does all'. The BB stands for 'Blemish Balm' or 'Beauty Balm'. Traditionally, a BB Cream is a moisturiser, blemish treatment, anti-age treatment, primer, sun block, foundation, concealer, and skin whitener. The western versions of BB creams tend to be very different from the Asian creams, offering less coverage, often seeming like more of a tinted moisturiser. As there is no desire for lighter skin, the whitening affect has also been removed. It can be very difficult to tell the difference between tinted moisturisers and BB creams, and the boundaries a very blurred, although, technically, BB creams have more coverage (however, this is not always the case). The main difference is the added extras that care for your skin. It's also possible to pick up BB creams that have a more matte finish.
Recommendations
Clinique Age Defence BB Cream has a nice SPF of 30 (which is fairly high for western bb creams). It's lightly hydrating and absorbs easily into skin, making it work for mildly oily and dry skin, as well as normal and combination. It has light coverage with a dewy finish. My only complaint with this is that it doesn't actually contain any anti-aging products. The SPF protection is what give it it's 'age defence' properties.
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Diorsnow BB Cream offers a whole host of skin care benefits. It has a fantastic SPF50, as well as containing lighteners which reduce dullness with prolonged use. It has the sheer coverage associated with western BB creams, but does still even out skin tone, and give healthier looking skin. This one can be hard to track down, with the only UK stockist being Selfridges.
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CC Cream
CC creams are colour correcting creams. They're similar to BB creams, but they're designed with more focus on correcting uneven skin tones. They are have a lighter coverage than BB creams, making them even easier to blend into the skin. Jury is out on coverage though. Some are sheerer than BB creams, some more opaque. They still have the added bonus of UV protection, and added skin care benefits which help improve issues such as dark spots and wrinkles over time. It's pretty much an amped up BB cream.
Recommendations
Another appearance from Cliniquewith their Moisture Surge CC Cream. This is a CC Cream at the higher end of the coverage scale. This is super moisturising, so great from people with dryer skin tones. It has the bonus of being SPF 30.
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L'Oreal Nude Magique CC
Cream. L'Oreal's offering of a CC Cream is a little different. They offer three colours; green for anti-reddness, lavender for anti-dullness, and apricot for anti-fatigue. These are super sheer, and don't really offer coverage like you'd get from a tinted moisturiser or bb cream, but if all you're looking to do is even out your skin tone without looking like you're wearing make up, this might be the product for you |
Pan Sticks
I've left this one till last, as I'm a little biased against them. Pan sticks used to be associated with theatre make up due to the full coverage they provide. You wouldn't wanna wear those out though!My first experience with pan sticks was when I worked for Benefit cosmetics. Their playsticks were the one product that I actively avoided trying to sell to people, as they were thick and cakey. Foundation sticks have progressed these days though, and although they tend to offer the heaviest coverage, they can now be applied sheerly. They're best applied onto the back of your hand, so as to heat the foundation up a little bit before applying it with a brush. If you're looking for full coverage, it might be worth checking these out, although there are a lot of brands that don't produce anything like this.
Recommendations
Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick is one of the better foundation sticks about, as it doesn't look cakey one. It has medium buildable coverage, depending on how you apply it. Bobbi Brown don't recommend this for super oily skin.
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