TOP 5... Affordable Foundations
TOP 5...
My new series is going to be called "TOP 5: '...'" and I will be testing products and discussing my 'TOP 5' favourites in each category. (If there are any categories you want to see just ask me! My contact information is in the 'contact me' tab on my blog.)
Being a makeup enthusiast I felt this was a good place to start, at the base!
Firstly I want to mention that I have normal to combination skin, and so normally I will not focus on what type of skin a foundation is for.
Also it must be mentioned that all foundations have been applied with a Morphe brush (the number has rubbed off). As well as this, all foundations have been set with the same powder as this is my preferred finish.
The progress photos will be in the form of before-foundation applied-powdered.
The progress photos will be in the form of before-foundation applied-powdered.
So bear with me because this is going to be a loooong one....
1. Milani Conceal + Perfect 2-in-1 Foundation and Concealer
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| Buy Now | Price - £13 |
I purchased this foundation online at beautybay.com which was a bit nerve wrecking as I had never tried it before and did not know what the shades were like. However, right before I purchased I had a friend tell me that the shades of this foundation are quite dark. So I ended up using the website findation.com, which helps you find foundation matches based on your shade in other foundations. So I am usually the shade NC20 in MAC foundations and the Milani foundation in 01 'Creamy Vanilla' is a perfect match! And also an amazing dupe for MAC studio fix fluid!
This foundation claims to be:
- Medium to full coverage
- Lightweight
- Oil-free
- Longwearing, water-resistant and sweat-proof.
Application
In this before picture I took of my skin before applying the Milani foundation you can see that I have dark areas such as around my eyes and mouth, which no matter how many serums or mask I use, never go away! I also have some red areas around my face and only a few blemishes (must have been a good skin day)!
When applying this foundation the first thing I noticed was it's matte finish. This foundation would be perfect for people with oily skin as it is oil-free and extremely matte. It blended into my skin so easily, like it was just melting in. It covered most of my problem areas like a dream! I was very happy with the application of this foundation and how it looked, even without powder.
As I previously stated, powdering my foundation is essential for me as I love how it looks and it helps other powder products to blend well on top. Even though the Milani foundation was already very matte, I found that powdering did not make it look cakey at all!
Finished look
Overall, I am extremely impressed with this foundation, definitely an amazing dupe for MAC studio fix fluid! So for £13, which is the most expensive in my TOP 5..., it is definitely worth it!
2. Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation
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| Buy now | Price- £8.99 |
The next foundation on my TOP 5...affordable foundations list is the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation. This foundation can be purchased in many stores such a Superdrug, Boots and Tesco, and so this makes it much easier than the Milani foundation to find your shade as you are able to go into stores and test it using a sample. I went into Superdrug and tested a little bit of this foundation on my jawline and found that my shade is 'True Ivory'. This foundation has a dewy finish, which usually is not my favourite finish, however, when powdered this foundation is matte in the right areas and just slightly dewy and glow in others, which makes this foundation one of my all time favourites. Maybe not for those with oily skin due to the dewiness is gives.
The foundation claims to be:
The foundation claims to be:
- Lightweight and moisturising
- A flawless, natural finish
- Anti-Fatigue
Application
So confession, on this day I was applying my foundation to go to work and remembered half way through I was meant to be doing a review! So I decided instead of starting again, to just do a half and half picture for the first picture. I can tell you however, that on this day, my skin was feeling horrific, a lot of redness and blemishes that I had been picking at (I can't help it).
I love this foundation, but not so much before it is powdered. This foundation has a very dewy finish, which I feel can make me look oily, especially if I wear it with no powder for a long period of time. I can see that it has emphasised some texture on my forehead and has gathered in between my brows.
However, I looove it when powdered! I think once this foundation is powdered it looks completely different! It's glowy in all the right places and has a smoother finish which allows other products to go on top well.
However, I looove it when powdered! I think once this foundation is powdered it looks completely different! It's glowy in all the right places and has a smoother finish which allows other products to go on top well.
For under £10 this is definitely a foundation I recommend, especially to people with normal- dry skin.
3. Jordana Complete Cover 2-in-1 Concealer & Foundation
First thing I have to say is......£5!!!! What? How? Where? When? Why?
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| Buy Now | £5 |
This amazing bargain of a foundation can be purchased online at beautybay.com! There is not a huge colour range when it comes to this foundation, so again I used findation.com to colour match me based on my colour in MAC. So the shade I got was 'Fair Beige'. This foundation is quite light for my skin tone. However, for £5 it is great coverage! Because of this being a little bit too light for my skin, I have began using it as a concealer and it really works well to brighten up my under eyes.
The foundation claims to:
Application
In my before picture, you can see that I have a little redness in parts and the odd blemish here and there, but overall, on this day I was very happy with how my skin was looking. However, it did feel quite oily which was why I chose this foundation, as it claims to be oil-free.
It applied evenly over my skin and blended in very easily. It did not take long to get this foundation looking flawless. It covered up my redness and dark areas well and it's definitely a full coverage foundation! It dried down extremely well and fast, almost to the point I felt I didn't need to powder.
But of course, I did! I love the look that powdering gave to this foundation, it helped it match it closer to my skin colour and gave it an even more flawless finish.
Finished look
Overall I was extremely please with this foundation! Especially because of it's amazing price tag of £5! I think that this foundation is an amazing coverage and it also works very well as a concealer. I wore this foundation all day and I would definitely say it is long-wearing as it hadn't budged much at all throughout the day. Highly recommend this one to everyone, especially if you are on a tight budget!
The foundation claims to:
- Even out skin tone
- be long-wearing
- oil-free
- maximum coverage.
Application
In my before picture, you can see that I have a little redness in parts and the odd blemish here and there, but overall, on this day I was very happy with how my skin was looking. However, it did feel quite oily which was why I chose this foundation, as it claims to be oil-free.
It applied evenly over my skin and blended in very easily. It did not take long to get this foundation looking flawless. It covered up my redness and dark areas well and it's definitely a full coverage foundation! It dried down extremely well and fast, almost to the point I felt I didn't need to powder.
But of course, I did! I love the look that powdering gave to this foundation, it helped it match it closer to my skin colour and gave it an even more flawless finish.
Finished look
Overall I was extremely please with this foundation! Especially because of it's amazing price tag of £5! I think that this foundation is an amazing coverage and it also works very well as a concealer. I wore this foundation all day and I would definitely say it is long-wearing as it hadn't budged much at all throughout the day. Highly recommend this one to everyone, especially if you are on a tight budget!
4. Maybelline Fit Me Foundation
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| Buy now | £6.99 |
The next foundation on my TOP 5... list is Maybelline Fit Me! This foundation can be bought in Superdrug and Boots and many other shops that sell Maybelline make up and so again it is easy to test the foundation on your skin to find your prefect colour. The colour I have is 220 Natural Beige. This shade is a tad too dark but is perfect when I have tan on! It has a matte finish, which is perfect for my skin.
This foundation claims to:
- Be matte and poreless
- Be designed for normal to oily skin.
Application
On this day, as you can see, my skin was not in the best condition. I had a lot of spots around my mouth and some parts of my skin were quite dry, so I was worried about the foundation clinging to these areas and looking cakey.
When applying this foundation, I could tell it was a tad too dark, however, I could instantly see the coverage it was providing. I feel like it covered the redness around my spots and also covered up some of the darkness under my eyes. However, it did cling to some dry patches. So maybe stay clear if you have very dry skin.
When I powdered this foundation it helped to make the foundation a closer colour match to my skin and also gave it a smoother finish. All other powder products went on top of this foundation really well.
For £6.99 this foundation is amazing value and gives a beautiful finish to the skin!
5. Rimmel Lasting Finish Breathable Foundation
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| Buy now | £8.99 |
This recently new Rimmel foundation is available in Superdrug, Boots and other stores that sell Rimmel products. This foundation is advertised as a medium coverage foundation, however, unlike most medium coverage foundations, this foundation is very lightweight on the skin. My shade in this foundation is 'Soft Beige'.
Application
In terms of the application, this foundation felt so light on my skin, barely felt like it was even there! However, it still had great coverage! It covered a lot of the darkness on my eyelids and also the redness around my mouth. It gave my skin a more even complexion and hide many of my blemishes.
When powdered the foundation had a smoother texture and other products blended on top very well.
If you are someone who does not like the feel of a heavy face of makeup, this foundation would be perfect for you. It gives a beautiful finish while being breathable on the skin.
So this finally concludes this first post in my new series 'TOP 5...'. I'm sorry that this is a lengthy one but I think it has all the relevant information you would need to make a decision on which foundation is going to be your next purchase. This blog post took a looong time to write due to having to test out each of the foundations and complete a review of each one, but it was well worth it and I am very happy with how it has turned out.
I really hope you read through it all and have enjoyed it! Thank you so much,
Siobhan McKerr x
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