Favorite Drugstore Foundations!

After last week's review of a high-end foundation, I thought it would be appropriate to post about my favorite drugstore foundations.  The quality of makeup at the drugstore in general has improved greatly over the last 10 years or so, and foundation is no exception.  The three I'm about to mention are all well-loved and currently in my collection.  In fact, they are the only liquid foundations (not counting one high-end CC cream) I currently own.

Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous
This is a great choice for anyone with normal to oily skin.  It really does last all day--I always wear this foundation when I know I'm going to have a long day and/or if I know I'm going to be sweating and need my makeup to hold up through that.  I would call the coverage medium to full.  If I want to get full coverage out of it, I use a brush to buff it in.  If I'm looking for good staying power but want a more natural finish, I use a damp Beauty Blender or Real Techniques sponge.  It leaves a satin finish on the skin (matte but not too flat).  I don't feel the need to set this with a powder, but you might want to if you're more oily.  Depending on what I'm doing on any given day, I can sometimes get a bit shiny around 2-3 PM with this foundation, but the product doesn't break down on me at all.  I actually like the way it looks once a little of my natural oils have broken through, but if I get too shiny, I like to use oil blotting sheets to touch up.  I love this foundation so much that I have it in two shades--845 Warm Beige for the winter and 857 Golden Tan for the summer, and I mix the two if I'm in between.  It comes in 13 shades, which can be viewed on Ulta's website here: http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod4930113.  The price on here is $11.99.  It also contains SPF 20.  This foundation gets bonus points for having a pump!  Overall, this is a fantastic foundation that looks beautiful and doesn't feel heavy like Revlon ColorStay, which I mentioned in my last post.

L'Oreal True Match and True Match Lumi

I'll talk about the original True Match first.  I think any skin type could wear this, and it leaves a nice satin finish.  I would call this a medium coverage foundation, although I have heard that you can build it up to full coverage.  Just like with the Covergirl foundation, I like to apply it with a brush (for more coverage) or a damp sponge.  The staying power is good but not as good as Covergirl Outlast.  It seems to wear well both with or without setting powder, and I always have blotting sheets with me just in case.  This foundation is known for its wide shade range and claims to carry a perfect match for everyone.  The shades are grouped into three categories of undertones: cool, warm, and neutral.  Within each undertone category are eight shades (C1 means cool 1, W1 means warm 1, etc).  I can wear both the warm and neutral shades in both this and True Match Lumi.  In original True Match, I have the color N4 Buff Beige, which is a perfect winter shade for me.  It contains SPF 17 (weird number, not sure why they didn't just go for 15 or 20).  Unfortunately, the packaging on this foundation does not include a pump.  The shade range can be seen here: http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=fs1017872.  The price on Ulta's website is $9.99.  Of all three of the foundations I'm mentioning, I think this is the most universal.  If you're not sure what to get, I would pick this one!  It is beautiful, basic, and it works.

Now onto my last favorite: L'Oreal True Match Lumi.  This is best suited for normal to dry skin.  If you have oily skin, beware--I think you might hate this.  Just like its name implies, it's  luminous and gives a nice, healthy glow.  It applies well with a brush, a damp sponge, or even your fingers.  I'd consider it medium coverage but slightly more sheer than original True Match.   I love this in the summer when I'm craving glowy, dewy, Jessie James Decker-like skin.  I usually do set it with a powder in the morning and have to blot once later in the day.  I only have my summer shade (W6 Sun Beige), but I think this would also be a good winter foundation to add some hydration and perk up the skin in the drab winter months.  Shade-wise, it's the same concept as original True Match but has about 13 shades instead of 24.  The shade range can be found here: http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod4480167.  It's also a bit more expensive than original True Match at $12.99 on Ulta's website vs. $9.99.  It has SPF 20 and--bonus--it comes with a pump!

I think anybody would be happy with at least one of these three foundations.  If you have normal skin, I think you could rock all of them depending on what you're looking for.  I used the link to Ulta for all of these because it had the best color selection, but they are usually $1-$3 less at Target or Walmart.  If you do get them at Ulta, make sure you use a $3.50 off $10 coupon.  They are also usually buy one, get one 50% off, so if you see them and they're not on sale, it might be a good idea to wait until they do go on sale.  All three products are sold on drugstore.com, and I just noticed that Covergirl Outlast is on sale at drugstore.com right now for $7.83!!  Here's a link to the site: http://www.drugstore.com/search/search_results.asp?N=0&Ntx=mode%2Bmatchallpartial&Ntk=All&srchtree=5&Ntt=covergirl+outlast+foundation&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&CSRFToken=ebUUKcXdUXE8%2Bjz7OlaxyC7TBRnO6KSb36LVl4i63NY%3D.  If you order online from drugstore.com, Ulta, Target, or Walmart, be sure to use Ebates!

I hope this was helpful, and please let me know what your favorite drugstore foundation is!