Why is it that foundation is the blight of my life? Don't get me wrong, I love it, in my own way. I have at least eighty, yes, you read right, eighty bottles of the god forsaken stuff knocking around various draws and hiding in boxes, quietly going past their sell by date. There's always, ALWAYS an issue. I am very pale, I have an uneven, patchy complexion with large pores, and super oily t zone. I need foundation to see me through an entire nights dj'ing, or a gig, where I will sweat tons, and go really, REALLY red. I go so red when I get hot I nearly go purple, it's horrific. I also get lots of pictures of me taken with a flash, what with clubs running at night, so I really don't want an SPF in my foundation either. So I need the following attributes for my foundation.....
Pale enough, water/sweatproof, NO SPF, medium coverage, satin finish, oil control.
It's not THAT much to ask is it? You see, for years, if a claim has been made on a product, I just went 'ooooh okay i'll buy that because they're not allowed to lie'. Well they are, it seems. Not out and out lies, but when you get told something is going to 'superstay' for six months or whatever, it's most probably not. I don't know the exact facts behind the legality, and obviously companies can't tell you a bare faced lie, like 'this will never come off, beauty FOREVER AND EVER!111!!!', but they can make a load of women test a product for a day and come back with a report that may not necessarily be based in reality.
Anyway, enough of that. So I search and I search, and these are the current foundations I use for long sweaty nights, their pro's, cons, and what I wish they'd do.
Smashbox Studio Skin SPF 15 in Shade 1.1
So, i'm starting with my favourite. There are many problems with the foundation for me, but it's STILL my favourite for long nights out, and I shall tell you why. It's an incredible formulation. INCREDIBLE. The coverage is medium to full, and truly build able without going cakey, and it covers everything.
Once it's on, it pretty much sticks if you make sure you prime and powder, just to make sure. However, the downside, and it's a pretty big one. the colour is so insanely BROWN in the palest shade, it's basically like fake tan on me. To wear this I have to mix it with
Illamasqua Skin Base in white, then add a dash of
Make Up Forever Face and Body Foundation in 38 to give it a less yellow tone, then finally I can use it. Sadly for me, this detracts from the amazingly great formula.
However, if you ARE of a more medium skin tone, and you need a hard working foundation on your chops, this guy is for you, and you can purchase it for £27.50
HERE
Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation in BONE
Okay, it's an old one, and goodness, I have SO many issues with this foundation, but for all it's cons, there are A LOT of pro's, depending on your skin concerns. Let me be honest, I don't like this foundation for many reasons, but basically, if you want a foundation that is going to last and last and not come off and cover ALL flaws, you can't go wrong. However, the finish is unsophisticated, flat, and the flash back in photos is legendarily terrible. I remember wearing this to work once and even WITHOUT a flash, my complexion looked that of a jaundiced poorly oddball.
The shade selection is great though, and they have just introduced even more new shades, so there should be something for everyone, including us pale girls. I would recommend this foundation for ladies who have acne, and need to cover imperfections without much bother, who have very oily skin, or are going to be in sweaty situations, and will NOT be getting any flash pictures taken. You also must be ready to add dimension.
The last time I wore this foundation was to the All Tomorrows Parties Pavement weekend (it's a festival in the UK, curated that time specifically by Pavement), and what I did was use
Estee Lauder Illuminating Primer initially, and then also mix a quantity of it with the Double Wear, to give dimension and a more natural finish, and then popped
Posie Tint by Benefit on my cheeks with a little
High Beam on my cheekbones, and I had a fresh, summery look that would NOT budge, that I didn't have to powder, and I could sweat through and it lasted all night. As I said though, any photos, I looked ruddy AWFUL.
So in summary. If you want something that LASTS and you care no for trend based skin finishes, and you want high coverage, this is your guy.
Available for £27.50
HERE
MAC Pro Longwear Foundation SPF 10 in NC15
When this foundation was announced a couple of years back, I virtually camped outside Mac to get my hands on it. It was released paired with
Mac Pro Longwear Concealer which is a product I use virtually every day, so fantastic it is, but
Pro Longwear Foundation and me never got on that well, certainly not the roaring loving friendship I predicted when I saw the early press releases.
First problem, which I find with a lot of Mac foundations, is the shades are wildly different between each formula. NC15, which, despite not being yellow toned as such. is always my go to as it's the palest. However, Pro Longwear NC's run REALLY yellow, which is okay for covering redness, but I don't subscribe to this idea of wearing yellow based foundations to cover redness, because when the eventual foundation breakdown occurs, you look dreadful, whereas if it's actually closer to your skintone, it looks much less conspicuous.
So, regardless of the tone based problems, this does have a nice finish, if you prime well and work quickly with it. It also does last, but the problem is, once oil starts to break through, the foundation will cake in creases, and separate, leaving you greasy and sticky. Initially it's a satin finish, which looks lovely, it fills in pores etc, but sadly, longevity wise, it doesn't cut it if you have actual oily skin. I would recommend this for long wear for a normal/dry skin whole heartedly though.
Available for £24.50 online
HERE
