The Blog post you all have been waiting for. Here is the roundup of my favorite foundations and how they work for my skin. In 2021 I was a beauty blogger for ULTA Beauty and was lucky enough to be gifted different foundations to try throughout the year. Some really stuck with me and have become my go-to’s and others didn’t make the cut.

Since y’all are always asking what my go-to foundations are. I decided to write a blog post you could refer back to.

Before we jump into foundation gossip, I have to highlight that skincare is the most important thing prior to applying your foundation. If you don’t have a good skincare regime, then your foundation won’t go on correctly. Many times, people misunderstand and think the issue is with the foundation but it really is the type of skincare or lack of that causes the issues. Here is a great blog post on my love for Colleen Rothschild products and how I use them in my daily regime. Click here to read it.

Top 3 Foundations

Here are my top three foundations and why I love them.

• Tom Ford – The traceless soft matte foundation is a long-wear medium to full coverage foundation that delivers a blurred effect with a matte finish. I purchased this foundation in the fall of 2021 and absolutely love it. I would consider this more of a luxury foundation. Even though my skin is on the dryer side, the matte finish still gives a beautiful glow and doesn’t fall into my fine lines and wrinkles. I like to apply this foundation with a damp beauty blender by pressing it into the skin.

• IT Cosmetics – CC + Cream oil-free matte finish foundation with SPF 40 – This is one of my all-time favorite foundations. If you are not familiar with IT cosmetics, then here is a little scoop you need to know. Founder Jaime Lima, couldn’t find products to help cover her rosacea and found products to be extremely irritating to her skin. She created the #1 color correcting foundation which now comes in so many different formulations to help all skin types. After having Olivia, I have suffered from the lingering effects of melasma and at times would just cry because I couldn’t find a foundation to cover them up. Fast forward 12 years and I have a good skincare regime, get monthly facials, and have found products like IT Cosmetics that work to cover. The CC creams are full coverage but have a weightless feel on the skin. The oil-free foundation still gives you a glow and isn’t drying to the skin. It’s been my #1 foundation for over 2 years. Did I mention that there is SPF, and skincare mixed in which is just an added bonus! I like to apply this foundation with her Heavenly Luxe Bye Bye Foundation Brush and follow it up with a damp beauty blender by pressing it into the skin.

• Bobby Brown Foundation – Skin long-wearing weightless foundation with SPF 15 – I was lucky enough to have this foundation gifted to me last year and quickly became a fan. Bobby Brown has been around forever and creates makeup to look like your skin. This was a new release for 2021 and I was excited to get my hands on it. It’s a medium to full coverage foundation with SPF 15 in it. Although it is oil-free, it gives a beautiful natural-looking glow. It covers well and isn’t heavy. I like to apply this foundation with a damp beauty blender and press it into the skin.

CC Creams

CC stands for Color Corrector and will be your best friend if you are looking to conceal dark spots or imperfections in the skin.

• IT Cosmetics – CC + Cream regular SPF 50 – Comes in different formulas for all skin types.

• IT Cosmetics – CC + Cream oil-free matte finish foundation with SPF 40 – refer to notes above in my top 3 categories.

• Chanel CC Cream – CC Super active correction complete with SPF 50 – If you love Chanel beauty products then you will quickly become a fan of this one. This CC cream has been a favorite of mine for years. If you are looking for a lighter CC cream that isn’t full coverage then this is for you. I used to love mixing this CC cream with other foundations for that perfect mixture. It gives a beautiful glow to the skin, doesn’t fall into fine lines, and has a beautiful luxury feel to it. This is one of the top products that I wear out by the pool when I want protection on my face. It has SPF 50 in it and I think you would really love it. I like to apply this with a damp beauty blender.

Tinted Foundations

Skin Tints were all the rage in 2021 and seem to be very much the same for 2022.

• Sea Hydroflex Serum Foundation – They call this the Yoga pants of foundation. I was skeptical of course to try another skin tint and be disappointed. They are known to be very light coverage and to only show your true skin. I went in with an open mind only because I had heard so many good things about this foundation and wanted to give it a try for myself. First, let me say that this foundation has super serum in it which claims to have 8 types of hyaluronic acid in it which ultimately means better hydration for your skin. It has a medium coverage which is surprising for a skin tint. The formula is extremely lightweight, waterproof, and fragrance-free. I always give the foundation a full week of testing before I can give my final input. This is good because after the first time I was not impressed. But after mixing it with a few different primers I have listed below, I was sold. If you are looking for a bit more coverage like I was, I mixed it with the Iconic London Radiance Booster complex and wow, the two together are like magic. I had a beautiful glow, hydration, and enough coverage. It’s not a foundation I would choose to wear on shooting days, but definitely gave me smoother-looking skin in general. I like to mix the two on the back of my hand and apply them with a damp beauty blender.

• Fenty Beauty by Rihanna – Ease Drop Blurring Skin Tint – ULTA Beauty now carries Fenty Beauty by Rihanna. This skin tint claims that it is long-wear, buildable light to medium coverage with a soft blur. I have shared this skin tint quite a few times in my stories. I really love the glow it provides but would consider this to be more of a lightweight coverage. If you are looking for something to give you a light glow and light coverage then this is your foundation. For me, I mix a tinted sunscreen with it and wear it while outside at the pool during the summer. I apply this with my fingers and dab with a damp beauty blender.

Lightweight Summer Foundations

• Chantecaille Gel Foundation – Future Skin Gel Foundation – I absolutely love this foundation! It is an innovative oil-free gel foundation that has a lightweight texture and an amazing formula made up of 60% water. I can’t say enough good things about this foundation. I love how my skin feels when wearing this. Here is a tip, I leave my foundation in my beauty fridge so that it has a cooling feeling when applying. This is not required but definitely helps with application because of the gel-like formula. Again, I apply with a damp beauty blender for a smooth application. You can use a brush, but I would only apply it with a brush if you are doing dab motions.

• Giorgio Armani Foundation – Luminous Silk Perfect Glow Flawless Oil-Free Foundation – This foundation was one of my go-to foundations for years. It is a buildable foundation to medium coverage. It gives a radiant luminous finish and has won many awards over the years. You can apply this with a foundation brush that is dense in order to get more full coverage.

Primers / Setting Sprays

Let’s chat Primers! Although I am not a huge fan of primers, I have listed a few here that I have found to be useful. Primers are great if you have large pores and you need to provide coverage prior to your foundation. I personally do not have large pores therefore; primers can sometimes interfere with my skincare and foundation. If and when I must use a primer, here are my top picks.

Iconic London / Chanel  / Iconic London / Colleen Rothschild / Westman Atelier / Elemis

I hope you found this helpful and have found a foundation that will work best for you! I would love to hear your feedback in the comments below.

This is not a sponsored post, this was truly written from my personal testing experience along the way and to help serve you from what I have learned.

Be sure to tune into my Instagram stories as I will be sharing these foundations throughout the next couple of months and am happy to answer questions along the way.

*I make a small commission when you use my links to shop! Thank you in advance for supporting my small business.

Until our next share!