Decluttering my personal foundations

I dont know about you but with the current bad weather during lockdown and the Covid-19 crisis and the fact that Boris Johnson has again stopped half of the beauty industry including Makeup Artists from working again, Ive been looking at things to keep me busy. At the moment Im decluttering, sanitising and disinfecting my entire house including my wardrobe and large, ever growing personal makeup collection!

Its very easy to go through all of my makeup during lockdown as Ive been avoiding wearing makeup and looking after my skin so the first step was pulling together all of my foundations. I honestly thought I had more than those pictured below but 14 foundations (one isnt pictured as I found it in my bathroom!) is still too many.

I do keep 2 different sets, one for summer and one for winter (my natural colour).

My foundations:

• MAC Studio Fix Fluid

• Loreal True Match

• The Ordinary Coverage Foundation

• The Ordinary Serum Foundation

• MAC Face & Body

• Jane Iredale Pure Pressed Mineral Foundation

• IT Cosmetics CC+ Illumination

 

 

IT Cosmetics CC+ Illumination The first foundation that Im definitly getting rid of is the It Cosmetics CC+ Illumination in Light. As you can see from the swatch even the ‘Light’ shade is very dark and yellow toned on my skin. The foundation is also a heavy coverage and I prefer some of the other foundations that I own to this one. It does last most of the day however it feels heavy on my skin and when Im wearing it, I never forget that I have foundation on. Its also never going to be a shade match for me and so it has to go.

MAC Studio Fix Fluid

One of my favourite foundations had always been MAC Studio Fix Fluid and Ive been in love with it for years for both my clients and myself. Whilst I do still adore this foundation I must admit that I have found 2 more reasonably priced dupes for this formula and coverage (see below) and so I will be using up my NC15 and NC20 then I wont be replacing them within my personal makeup, however I will still be using them for clients.

 

Loreal True Match Foundation

One of the dupes that I have found for MAC Studio Fix Fluid is Loreal True Match. I have the shades 2N and 3N and I believe that they are an almost perfect dupe for their MAC counterparts.

Loreal True Match is available in 40 shadesand the formula provides perfect, ‘natural and true-to-skin’ coverage. I find that it is a medium / buildable coverage that lasts on my skin for upto 8 hours and also wears well. It is also enriched with Hyaluronic Acid to keep skin moisturised throughout the day and look more radiant. As most of you will know, I have sensitive skin and Eczema and this foundation is suitable for my skin. Not only that it also has the added benefit of SPF17 and when powdered, doesnt create any flashback on cameras! Whats not to love? As you can see, mine are well used and due to be replaced soon. The only question is, will I continue using Loreal True Match or keep using the next dupe for MAC Studio Fix which I am also loving at the moment?

The Ordinary Coverage Foundation

   

The Ordinary Coverage Foundation is my second dupe for MAC Studio Fix Fluid. They have a similar consitency and coverage. This foundation is medium to full coverage blends very easy and for my skin type, lasts at least 6-8 hours before a touch-up and it wears really nicely. Another benefit for me personally is that whilst I get the coverage I want, I dont feel like Im wearing a ‘thick’ foundation.

The only downside is that there are currently only 21 shades (full swatch list can be found here) however the two that I own are a perfect match for me in both summer 2.0P and winter 1.2P.

I actually think that at this moment in time, when I have finished the MAC and Loreal foundations, I wont be repurchasing them for my personal makeup bag as I do prefer the £5.90 price point of this foundation.

The Ordinary Serum Foundation

Unfortunately, I will be giving away The Ordinary Serum Foundation in 1.2P. There is nothing wrong with this foundation. It is lightweight in formula with a light to medium coverage. Again it only comes in a shade range of 21 shades but the shades are varied to cover most skin tones. The foundation looks natural with a lightweight serum feel, as the name suggests however whilst it is a great product, I cant bear to swap this foundation for my MAC Face & Body foundations!

MAC Face & Body Foundation

 

This leads me on nicely to my go-to summer foundation for myself and natural/dewy foundation for clients: MAC Face & Body. I have 3 shades which I use independently or mix together to get that perfect shade all year around. I have C1, C2 and C3.

This foundation gets bad reviews by many people as they try to apply it with a sponge or brush, and without first really shaking the bottle to mix the suspended pigment. After vigerous shaking, this unique formula needs to be warmed up in the hands which emulsifies the product (it gets thicker), then is applied with fingers to the skin. Whilst this isnt ideal at the moment for use on clients, I love, love, love this foundation for my everyday makeup.

I will definitly be repurchasing MAC Face & Body Foundation foundations. I have dry skin with some pigmentation/unevenness due to my age but most days I only want light coverage and don’t have time to mess around with sponges and brushes. I love that it is so quick to apply, is lightweight but also evens out my complexion without drying ot my skin. This foundation also lasts well and doesnt break apart or cling to any dry patches making it perfect for my eczema prome skin.

It’s affordable since the price, especially if you get the large bottle brings this to drugstore price level, although you may need to have two shades to mix to get a good match. TLDR: Quick, reliable, doesn’t dry me out, oxidize or irritate, I can get a great match thanks to the white, and gives me a my skin but better look in no time. I truly love it! The only downside to this foundation is the price at £27 for 50ml however I believe that its definitly worth the costs.

Jane Iredale PurePressed Base Mineral Foundation

Last but not least is the Jane Iredale PurePressed Base Mineral Foundation. This was one of my first professional foundations that I purchased for clients and I still adore mineral foundations. This product is a powder foundation, concealer and sunscreen in one with SPF 20 UVB/UVA. It looks like your skin but better and is almost weightless. The only reason why I am decluttering these powder foundations (I have Satin for my lighter shade and Suntan for my summer shade), is that they are now quite old and I know that I wont apply them onto my skin.

Conclusion

So to sum up, I will be passing on the IT Cosmetics CC+ Illimination foundation and either using up most of my current foundations or passing them onto family.

The only ones that I will be using up and repurchasing are The Ordinary Coverage Foundation and MAC Face and Body Foundation. This will give me two different types of foundation in different shades: a light to medium coverage foundation (MAC Face & Body Foundation) and a medium to full coverage foundation (The Ordinary Full Coverage Foundation) to suit any of my needs or wants when it comes to foundation. I will try The Ordinary Serum Foundation again before I pass it on however I dont think it will replace my beloved Face & Body!

As with all my blog posts this is my opinion and is not sponsored or paid by any brand and none of the links are affiliates. They link to the brand’s Instagram accounts. Follow my blog for more tips and tutorials on makeup, hair and beauty. If you have any ideas on what you want me to write about or give tutorials on, please post a comment If you liked this post, please share with friends and family on Social Media/email, and please also let me know in the comments what your favourite foundations are. Thank you for reading 💋 Claire xx

Follow / Share