On a daily basis, I can take or leave foundation—or any makeup really. But when I do put my best face forward, each one of these champs can be relied on.
1. Chanel Vitalumiére ($50-ish)
Pros: Radiance! My skin is on the dry side, and even with alpha-hydroxy exfoliation, I combat dullness. This foundation blends smoothly and seamlessly with a blender sponge, or the fingertips. It leaves a “my skin, but glowing” finish that is unsurpassed, is moisturizing, and contains SPF 15.
Cons: It costs over $50, which is prohibitive for many people, and it takes time to apply. Not much, mind you, but I’m a five-minute-or-less face kinda gal most days, so this foundation is for days when I’m loitering in the beauty ritual.
2. L’Oréal Magic Smooth Soufflé ($16-ish)
Pros: Easy, effortless blending with the fingertips, the soufflé texture melts into the skin for a perfect velvety finish. I’ve tried three colors, and each color blended really well into my skin, so it would be hard to go wrong on that score. Takes less than two minutes for a flawless application, so has been getting plenty of face time.
Cons: Matte finish isn’t something I love, and I can’t wear this one on days when I’m feeling particularly dry. It isn’t drying, per se, but it’s not moisturizing either.
3. Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse ($10-ish)
Pros: Quick, easy application with a blender sponge (<2 minutes), moisturizing, with a slight radiance boost, although not as good as what I get with the Chanel foundation.
Cons: Color matching is a little bit more difficult**. Both the Chanel (obviously, the Chanel rep matches you!) and the L’Oréal are easier.
I use each of the three about equally, and am not faithful to one over another: depending on how I’m feeling, how much time I have, and what my skin is telling me, one of them will get the job done nicely!
** A quick note on the photos below: On my arm, the Maybelline looks like the best color match, but on my face, it’s the least well-matched of the three.
beauty on the outside 
I like Chanel foundations too, the best I have found to date though is Guerlain Parure Pearly White (only available in Asia, just my luck), because I am so pale I never found a better color match. Thank you, eBay! 🙂
With a skin tone that is “Pearly White,” you must be an expert on sunscreens! Hopefully you’ll divulge your secrets…
I have not tried the Guerlain foundations, although I was tempted by the meteorites this year. I wear makeup only sporadically—sunscreen is my holy grail daily product!
I’m constantly on the look out for an SPF mosituriser (not foundation) that is inexpensive and does not smell like sunscreen, or which has not had lots of fragrance added to cover the smell of sunscreen. The thing is, I’m not willng to shell out lost of money to try this and try that, and so on and on. (It’s not exactly a life quest, afer all.) At the moment I’m using a good cheap SPF moisturiser by an Australian company, but I don’t like its scent. Sigh.
In my past life, I was a live-in nanny for a dermatologist, which led to some great benefits… including skin care recommendations. When I was with the family, I began to use, and continue to use:
1. Neutrogena Dry-touch SPF 55 (now comes up to SPF 99), which I use during the summer, on my face and everywhere else, for about $10 USD,
and
2. CeraVe products: I use the AM everyday. It’s cheap, doesn’t smell weird, absorbs nicely, and is SPF 30—for under $15 USD.
Thanks for the recommendations. I’ll check them out, although in Aust. you cannot anything with an SPF over 30 (higher than that has not had approval from the relevant authority). Might be able to find similar tho’.
Really? That’s fascinating! I wonder why that it, about the SPF restriction? Is it because they favor physical barriers (hats and such)? I know that Aust. has a reputation for educating the public about UVA/UVB, and protecting school-aged children…
I’ll see if I can locate a sample size to send in your package 🙂