What's a good foundation for me?

Dec 23, 2010

Elizabeth C.

Hey all!
I wanted to know if anyone could reccomend me a foundation? My face is dry in some areas (such as my nose & eye area), but it also gets VERY oily in the t-zone. I mean terribly greasy! It seems like either a foundation makes my skin look cakey, or makes it even oilier :P I also have some acne & dark circles, so I'd like one with medium coverage.

Thanks in advance!

Dec 23, 2010

Hanh M.

For t-zone shine control that last throughout the whole day, i would highly recommend Clinique Tzone Shine Control and Pore Minimizer ;) Heres the link, http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P122906&categoryId=B70 As for foundation i would recommend Revlon Colorstay Oily/Combination if your looking for something affordable ;) 

Dec 29, 2010

Romee H.

Try to use primer first. For foundation, love Make up forever HD! It have medium coverage also moisture enough to not look cakey. If you want to cover the spot, try to use concealer on top(I like Kat Von D concealer) and finish with loose powder! It will make your face Matt and flawless for all day long~ 

Jan 11, 2011

Brittney Chloe H.

this isn't a foundation or anything, but try using witch hazel - it's a natural toner and it has a horrible smell to it but it will get rid of your oil.

I have similar skin type to you, although it's all better now that i'm back in my hometown.
i love Chanel's pro lumiere but it can get pretty greasy after a few hours, however the coverage is fantastic.
i also use laura mercier's mineral powder foundation and that is a great one, i havent used anything else for the past 3 weeks.
a great one would also be true match by l'oreal if you're lucking for something on the cheaper end.
smashbox's oil free primer light also helps!
are your dry areas flaky? 

Jan 11, 2011

Brittney Chloe H.

i mean looking*

Feb 18, 2011

Sarah N.

I have very similar skin to you and i use Smashbox photo finish correcting primer and MACs ProLongwer liquid foundation (im in NW20)

Feb 19, 2011

Farah A.

Hmm, may I suggest a primer?

As you've classic combination skin, I would recommend Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch.

Whenever I'm home, the local air sucks moisture from my cheeks yet never from my T-zone (joie). After irritating various counters with my obsessive swatching of various primers, I settled on this one as I needed to look decent for a week of outings.

I definitely agree with Brittney's awesome suggestion of the Smashbox Photo finish! Beautiful primer on my friends with more combo skin than my own.

Also like she said, light exfoliating is key to help smooth your cheeks. I stress 'light' as over-exfoliation can result in unhappy faces (trust me).

For this, I suggest my holy grail of gentle (yet luxurious) exfoliation: muslin cloth cleansing. There is something elegant about gently massaging product into the skin and then working it off--old-fashioned beauty if you ask me!
Pick up a lovely muslin cloth and use your favorite gentle cleanser (preferably something that has some fruit enzyme extracts or honey) before moisturizing with a light-reflective moisturizer (to pep the cheeks up a bit--think L'occitane almond apple moisture spf fluid) before applying a primer. Drier skins can withstand exfoliation two to three times per week and as your cheeks are dry, I recommend a non-scrub exfoliation method such a gentle peel or product like Dermalogica's Gentle Cream Exfoliant ($36?) or Lisa Hoffman Spa Facial Exfoliation ($17) as these will gently and effectively rid the skin of dead cells and allow for the natural glow to come through. I would stick to once a week exfoliation for your t-zone as not to spur more oil. But a daily toner with witch hazel is not a bad idea (check out Burt's Bees or Nude's Clarifying water).

Now onto your original question: foundation! Before buying, get samples of everything and have a go on a lazy Sunday.

To preface, I subscribe to the notion of not over indulging your skin. This means not overdoing the moisture as that can cause an over-production of natural sebum (cue shine).
Thus, Chanel vitalumiere may be out, even if it would be theoretically perfect.
I have heard good things about Chanel Pro lumiere in regards to your skin, however.

Strolling down the natural path, have you heard of Korres? Their Ginger and Vitamins is a lovely and light foundation that provides just enough moisture without going overboard. Because this is water-based versus oil based, it could solve the imbalance of facial sebum....

I love Laura Mercier products, but I'm not sure how your skin would like any of her products? It's so personal! I would try her mineral powder as its finely milled and not terribly drying. I think you may like her tinted moisturizers, and hopefully the primer will sort out the oily T-Zone. However, stay away from the oil-free one as I notice oil-free anything tends to exacerbate oiliness. Personal finding.

Clarins' True Radiance Foundation is also quite good (with the primer) if you can find a good color match.

I hope I gave a decent scope of solutions. The foundations are ranging from expensive (chanel) or relatively affordable (korres costs around $28 at Sephora) while Clarins is in the middle.

Nonetheless, I do recommend the skin care over the foundation since your skin condition will influence make-up, but the primer can be a quick fix.


Hope this helps!!

Take care! 

Feb 21, 2011

Cristina C.

HANDS DOWN.... Chanel matte lumier.. its absolutly amazing. Medium-full coverage. a little goes a long way.. nice dewy look...nars sheer glow is very simular

Feb 21, 2011

Louise-Lesley J.

I second the Chanel foundation but I want to say that you don't need a decent foundation for this.

If you have oily bits and dry bits - yes you do have combination skin but you need to work out on creating a normal base for your foundation before you put it on.

Do some research into skin care and make sure you work on that before thinking about how to cover it up!

Feb 22, 2011

Elizabeth C.

Thanks so much everyone for your suggestions! :) I got a sample of MUFE's Mat Velvet foundation, because I've been interested in it for awhile, and it's preeeetty good, but i feel that it's a bit too dry for me =/ All well, I guess i'll have to sample some others!

Feb 28, 2011

Susana E.

I love my Lancome Teint Miracle Foundation! =)

Mar 2, 2011

Andrea F.

^ I second that. But Clinique Superbalanced also would really benefit you. It has technology that hydrates dry spots and has oil control for oily spots. That's what it does! So it's perfect for what you described! Ahah. :) And it's a little less pricey than MUFE and Chanel and stuff.

Mar 1, 2013

Nidhi S.

Try kryolan it's a German brand , really great.

Mar 2, 2013

Molly K.

Have a look at the articles on here by Fiona Styles; her four part article on foundation types. Before you decide what brand you want, it might be best to find what type you want. She also recommends many foundations (although none of them cheap) in her article (s)

Apr 21, 2014

Keesha S.

Can someone please give me advise on what's the best way to choose the right foundation for a client? Also any suggestions on good non oily foundations.. Thnx!

Jul 19, 2014

Olivia B.

Use porefessional primer you can see the matte difference instantly