Full Coverage Foundation

Hey Dolls :)

After my last post, I recieved a couple of emails asking about Estee Lauder's maximum cover camouflage make up, and so I decided to give a run down of my favourite full coverage foundations.


I want to begin by saying for a long time in my opinion, I used full coverage foundations in a silly way creating a mask of foundation on my face, which often left me with cakey make up in a matter of hours. It is probably only in the last couple of months I have started to use full coverage products in a much more skin friendly way. By this I mean, I rarely use the product over the whole of my face, instead concentrating foundation on the areas in need of some extra help. As you can see for me, the two brands that get full coverage right are Estee Lauder and Vichy.

Vichy.

I think the sale of Vichy dermablend must have seen a dramatic increase when Lisa Eldrige used dermablend in one of her videos. And quite rightly so...


Dermablend Corrective foundation is quite a fluid product that blends into the skin quickly and seamlessly. It covers all redness and blemishes on my skin easily without clinging to any dryness or becoming cakey. However, for me, dermablend has two main drawbacks. Compared to the others in this post, it doesn't last as long on the skin and by mid afternoon, you can definitely see some imperfections creeping to the surface. Also, there is a limited colour range, 15 opal is the lightest shade, and on me is quite orange toned. This isn't too much of a problem as I only use it on small areas of the face but would be even more of a dream to blend if there were more shades. This is where the cream stick comes in...

This was given to me by Ann (whatta babe!) and is a little lighter in colour to the fluid (despite being the same name, opal). When a foundation comes in a stick, I always fear that it will be thick, grainy and difficult to work with. However, dermablend is the complete opposite - it's really creamy and smooth and again blends beautifully into the skin. Also, being in stick form, it's a lot more convenient when in a mad dash in the morning - no mess! I actually find myself reaching for the stick more than the fluid. As for application, I use a M.A.C 224 to buff the product onto my face (unless I really am in a rush and I will use my fingers).

Estee Lauder.


Out of the four, double wear is probably the one foundation that I am prone to wear over my full face. As I've mentioned before, it's best to work in small sections as it sets quickly, which could cause cakey or streaky makeup. For this reason, I tend to use my fingers to apply it. I have quite oily skin and don't need to wear a powder when using double wear and it lasts all day. For me, double wear is the perfect work day foundation, I can apply it in the morning and don't need to worry about it at all as the day progresses. I would say the coverage is on par with dermablend but it's longevity is a definite plus.


Being the most full coverage of the four, maximum cover had a lot to live up to in my expectations. The coverage is outstanding, however I fear it would be so easy to get wrong. I could not wear this over my full face, instead I use my elf powder brush to buff it into the most needed areas, however it is definitely the most difficult to blend. As mentioned in my previous post, the formula feels quite odd, almost powdery, which can leave my skin feeling a little dry. It's quite long lasting, maybe a tad less than double wear on me, as it doesn't control oil as well.

One thing I have learned is, if using a full coverage foundation, try and mix it with an illuminating fluid...

The new St. Tropez skin illuminators are beautiful, I have the rose and gold tubes - in particular when tanned, the gold mixed with double wear looks beautiful! Similarly, benefit's high beam and moon beam are equally as pretty mixed with foundation - I always find moon beam to be the prettier of the two, though often gets neglected in place of high beam which is a shame. Clarins beauty flash balm acts as a brilliant base for full coverage foundations as you apply a layer of the balm over the skin without massaging it in before applying your foundation on top. This leaves a lovely, bright base!

Love Nicola
xxx