Beauty

[Nonametoday]

On 1/29/2015 MarLoCat said:

Lancome Photôgenic Lumessence

Ditto.

[moonwmn]

You all are awesome!

I've written up a list and I'm excited to find a winner. I love having an option of a less expensive brand and a 'prestige' brand.

At 47, I find my weird skin is the lotto winner of skin issues (little oily, but little dry too, sun damage plus a tad of rosacea) It's a skin party. I have light-ish olive skin (trying to stay out of the sun so I don't add to the sun damage from being a kid/teen.

For those buying in drugstores: How do you color match? The times I've tried, I find that I'm not great at comparing my skin tone with a bottle in the store.

[OkeyDokey]

Another vote for Merle Norman Total Finish. This product is a steal considering how much you get and how little it takes to make a perfect complexion. I sometimes use a brush, but I also like using the flocked sponge that comes with it dampened to apply a more sheer layer. I use it over Tarte primer. A word of caution: this foundation looks darker in the compact than it goes on your skin. Also, Merle Norman makes a wide range of colors, both warm and cool, with a couple of true neutrals thrown in. Be sure to take your time in finding the right shade. If it doesn't work, studios will exchange it for you. That is company-wide policy.

[doglover3]

I have been using the L'Oreal visible lift serum absolute since it came out and love it for my dry mature skin.

I just watched a few videos though on one of the cover girls foundation, 3 in 1 which says it is a primer, concealer and foundation all in one. I would like to try that sometime but I do really like my L'Oreal visible lift serum absolute and applying it with my real techniques expert face brush.

[inGeorgia]

For full coverage... Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay in Place.

[Madisson]

Make Up For Ever at Sephora. It comes in a few formulas...including full coverage, which is what I use when I want to look flawless. It does not get cakey, and it comes in 26 shades!! (Costs $42 and worth every penney.)

[geranium]

I really like the bareMinerals bare skin Serum A257446. I have allergies to silicone as well as other things...this works beautifully. Great coverage. I can not think of a thing I would change about it.

Geranium

[River Song]

On 1/29/2015 moonwmn said:

At 47, I find my weird skin is the lotto winner of skin issues (little oily, but little dry too, sun damage plus a tad of rosacea) It's a skin party. I have light-ish olive skin (trying to stay out of the sun so I don't add to the sun damage from being a kid/teen.

For those buying in drugstores: How do you color match? The times I've tried, I find that I'm not great at comparing my skin tone with a bottle in the store.

When buying drugstore foundation, I take a sample of a foundation I have that I know is the right color (put a dab in a Ziploc sandwich baggie) and try to find a match by eyeballing the color in the bottle/jar cap (if the bottle/jar isn't factory sealed up). If it's sealed up, I buy it someplace like Ulta that will exchange or refund if the color is wrong.

The Maybelline Dream Wonder powder runs dark and I had to exchange it for a lighter color. The Revlon Colorstay Whipped Crème makeup didn't have my exact color so I ended up buying two colors and mixing them to achieve my perfect match. I have a neutral skin tone and drugstore foundations are usually pink or yellow, rarely neutral, and I have to buy two colors and mix them.

And, honestly, I've tried many of the brands mentioned on this thread and the prestige brands are not always better than the drugstore brands, they just cost more money. If possible, always try a sample of a prestige brand before plunking down your money. It's really a matter of finding the right color match and the finish/coverage that you personally prefer, a trial and error process.

[beckyb1012]

On 1/29/2015 motherinlaw said:

On 1/29/2015 Lannie said:

Two lesser known ones that work great for full coverage and I've tried a lot of them out there.

Merle Norman Total Finish compact makeup. I use a Techniques foundation brush to apply.

The other is Illuminare concealing mineral foundation. I use the pink beauty blender sponge to apply this one.

I hardly need concealer with these, they're that good! Good colors also, not too yellow for me. More neutral.

I was a Merle Norman beauty consultant for twelve years. The Total Finish compact you mentioned is an excellent full coverage foundation. It is oil based but comes or did come with a sponge applicator. Use either that or a foundation brush or Merle Normans wedges are wonderful to apply a perfect finish as well.

Love my M. Norman total finish with a sponge then translucent powder. Wish Max Factor Pan Stik would come back to the states at a reasonable cost. On eBay my color sells for $65.00 a stick.

[HerRoyaLioness]

On 1/30/2015 beckyb1012 said:

On 1/29/2015 motherinlaw said:

On 1/29/2015 Lannie said:

Two lesser known ones that work great for full coverage and I've tried a lot of them out there.

Merle Norman Total Finish compact makeup. I use a Techniques foundation brush to apply.

The other is Illuminare concealing mineral foundation. I use the pink beauty blender sponge to apply this one.

I hardly need concealer with these, they're that good! Good colors also, not too yellow for me. More neutral.

I was a Merle Norman beauty consultant for twelve years. The Total Finish compact you mentioned is an excellent full coverage foundation. It is oil based but comes or did come with a sponge applicator. Use either that or a foundation brush or Merle Normans wedges are wonderful to apply a perfect finish as well.

Love my M. Norman total finish with a sponge then translucent powder. Wish Max Factor Pan Stik would come back to the states at a reasonable cost. On eBay my color sells for $65.00 a stick.

Yikes - $65.00!! But then that's what some of the high end ones are now.

The Total Finish may be oil based, but I wanted to make sure everyone knows that it is not greasy at all, there is not that much oil in it. Besides, we are finding out how beneficial oils can be for your face and I think this is what makes the foundation go on so smoothly. You really only need a very small amount and the coverage is fantastic. The sponge that came with it does not work well for me, but the fuller foundation brush (not a flat one) works perfectly to give an almost airbrush finish.

This is my daily go to foundation. It's fast and looks good and covers very well. Some of these so called "full coverage" foundations just don't work. This one does.