Mineral? Powder? Liquid? Cream? Tinted? foundation..Which one works best???

Sep 15, 2011

Dania W.

So I wanna find out which makeup foundation works best for a combination skin!! Foundation has always been my issue :/ 

Sep 15, 2011

Samantha G.

revlon colorstay for oily/combination skin has pretty good reviews.. but if you're having issues with combo skin, i'd stick to mineral or powder. to break it down-

mineral: good for oily/combo skin and you can get light to medium coverage
powder: good for oily/combo skin; available in different levels of coverage. an example of high coverage would be mac's studio fix powder plus foundation.
liquid: good for normal/dry skin. you could use it for your combo skin but you'll find it'll slip in your oily places. if you don't mind touching up with powder throughout the day, it could be the way to go.
cream: awful for oily/combo. it'll slide right off your oily skin and isn't ideal to set with powder.
tinted moisturizers: i have combo skin and find this works pretty okay. i use covergirl's aqua smoothers, set with a powder and find that it stays on pretty well. it's light so it's not going to slide or fade off of oily spots too quickly. it's a light coverage though, so cover a bit more heavily with concealer if needed.

lately i've been using concealer for spots/dark circles, then my CG tinted moisturizer and setting with a powder. i get pretty good staying power through the day.

i hope that helps!

Sep 15, 2011

Pam Y.

Dania,
Great question. I have combination skin myself. A lot of factors will determine what will be the best foundation for you. Here are some questions to help you:
1. What kind of coverage do you want? (sheer, med, full)
2. What kind of finish do you want? (dewey, satin, matte)
3. What method and application do you like? (loose powder, compact, cream, liquid)
I personally like the MAC Prolong Wear Foundation because it has oil absorbers in it for my t-zone. It lasts longer then 8 hrs. It is medium to full coverage (buildable) and it has a matte finish. Sometimes when I am having good skin days and don't want to put on full coverage makeup, I will do Laura Mercier's tinted moisturizer just to even out my skin tone and give me some coverage. Also, because of my oily skin, I personally stay away from water-based foundation because they don't stay on my skin very long. I don't like using powders or creams as a foundation because I like the look and texture of a liquid foundation. I usually always use a translucent powder to set. I hope this is helpful and these are just my opinions. Do what works for you!

Sep 15, 2011

Dania W.

Thank you ladies :) I usually wear liquid and powder after to set it but I find that at the end of the day my face looks cracked and dry then other times I look oily so I'm confused... 

Sep 15, 2011

Maria L.

Foundation was always my issue too. Many years ago I did nails and makeup in a salon and did lots of bridal makeup and I felt like I was the only makeup artist around that didn't wear foundation. Foundation always felt heavy to me. About 8 years ago I started using a loose mineral powder (Bare Minerals) and have been using it ever since. I can build the coverage without it feeling heavy. I have been wanting to try Tarte full coverage foundation but because I don't need that much coverage anyway, for now I'll stick to my BE. 

Sep 17, 2011

Pam Y.

I always carry my MAC blot powder to use in my t-zone throughout the day to control oiliness. If you're wearing a foundation that is meant to be long-wearing, you shouldn't notice your foundation looking crackly. It should last at least 8 hours if not longer. Also, exfoliate weekly, drink a lot of water, and find a good moisturizer. You may also want to consider primer.

Sep 17, 2011

Yasmin K.

Mineral? Powder? Liquid? Cream? Tinted? foundation..Which one works best???

The answer is depends on your skin. Samantha G. answered it pretty well and Pam Y. asked some really important questions, but let me throw in my two cents.

You also have to take into consideration any skin conditions. Those with Rosecea have extremely sensitive skin and many also find the texture of their skin to be on the rough side so cream, liquid and some mineral foundations may either cause the skin to flair up or the makeup becomes a cakey mess. If you have type of skin problem you need to take that into consideration as well. Those with acne may want to have a more full coverage but at the same will want a product that won't cause the acne to become worse and some liquid and mineral foundations have ingredients that are suppose to help with acne.

Right now my routine is to use a primer or bb cream along with a moisturizer (with that first) then a mineral foundation. In the winter I'll have to switch back to liquid since my skin dries out in the winter. I have Rosecea so I have to be VERY careful in what products I use as some will burn my skin and others will cause my makeup to cake up (especially around the nose area).

On top of that I have an odd coloring and the vast majority of both drug and department store foundations are either too pink or too orange for me so I have to color correct most liquids. I'm finding that when it comes to mineral I can color correct that more easily than liquid. I'm currently using, primarily, Coastal Scents Exotic mineral powders (sampler set for $4.95). I'm going to try a Laura Geller foundation next once I'm out. I've also use Shiseido since they have a foundation that is perfect for my skintone as they cater more to Asian skintones which are either more yellow or olive based than pink or orange. The only downside is that at my local Macy's they don't carry a full line so I actually have to travel to Seattle's China Town district and go shopping there.

So which one works best? It really does depend on your skin. I would recommend try a mineral foundation - Coastal Scents has samples you can pick up for $2 each - or go to your nearest mall and see if you can some freebies of various foundations from the beauty counters (Macy's beauty counter or Sephora for example).