Foundation

Am I asking too much?

Every few months I revisit my foundation choice, usually because one day I get home and my face resembles that of an oily fish. I had one of those days recently and decided it was time for a rethink. My initial thoughts were that I should purchase a powder to ‘set’ my foundation. Then I thought, maybe I’m going about this all wrong. Maybe, instead of adding yet another product to my makeup routine, I need to go back to basics.

A few months ago you may remember I discovered L’Oréal Infallible 24H Matte foundation. Just to recap, this foundation is affordable, feels great on my skin and surprisingly it kept my oily skin at bay. The only downside was the shade range but it wasn’t enough to stop me using it. It even replaced my long-standing, trusted MAC Pro Longwear foundation and so I thought I was sorted.

I’ve had a few good months with it but the season is changing here which means my almost sun-kissed glow has definitely gone and my ongoing worry about wearing the wrong foundation shade is steadily growing.  With that said it was time to hit the beauty counters, well one actually; Chanel. I’ve read some good reviews about Chanel Perfection Lumière Velvet Smooth Effect Foundation and it sounded like everything I wanted. I took home two samples, shade 30 and 40 although I thought (still do) I may need shade 20. First impression of the foundation is that a little goes a long way and given the price (€40 a bottle!) you want this to last! I hate to think I’ve been sucked in by clever marketing but the only way I can describe this foundation is, well, velvety. The texture is light, it feels cooling on the skin, it’s easy to apply (I tried both fingers and a buffing brush) and by the end of the day, I felt it did what it was supposed to. I got about three full days out of this little sample and on day two I was convinced this foundation was the one.

Not to be too hasty in my decision, I went back to the oldies just to be one hundred percent sure. The week looked something like this: day one, Chanel. I was happy and rather quickly falling under the Chanel spell. Day two, MAC. Initially I was happy but by the end of the day I was horrified at the state of my greaseball face. Day two, Chanel. Still seeing C’s in my eyes I  was happy and yet a little more oily than I thought I looked on day one. Day three, L’Oréal. I was happy enough although I secretly wondered if the shade made me look more ‘oompa loompa’ than ‘natural’. Day four, Chanel and scraping every last drop out of the sample in hope to get one more day because I wished I had more!

After all that, what did I decide? I decided I want the shade from MAC, the staying power from L’Oréal and the texture from Chanel. Am I asking too much? I think not. With all the money I spend taking care of my skin (by choice), why can’t there be a foundation that meets all of my needs at any one time? Is it too much to ask that I want to apply my makeup once with no touch ups during the day? Is it too much to ask that on days when I want more of a ‘flawless’ base I can get a decent amount of coverage without looking like I am starring in a stage show? Or on all the other days when I am happy for my ‘imperfections’ to come through, is it too much to ask that I get enough coverage without the stress of oiliness or clogged pores or wearing the wrong shade? Am I asking too much? To be honest I’m not sure. Maybe I haven’t found ‘the one’ or maybe as a dear friend pointed out, if such a foundation existed for every single person, there would be no need to buy primers, powders, concealers, highlighters and all the other things that fill up our beauty bags.

So, my search continues. I am going to keep researching, testing different brands, reading reviews, watching tutorials and I’m going to have fun doing it, hopefully without looking like an oompa loompa!

xo