As Christmas draws ever closer (only 4 more sleeps!) and my purse gets ever lighter I've been doing my best to save where I can so January is not the cash strapped month it so easily can become.
Earlier in December my MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation began to run ever so low *sob* and I told myself I would search for a cheaper alternative rather than spend over £20 on a bottle which lasts me so little time. I thought I would investigate what the high street had to offer in terms of foundation, something I've not done for a few years, and see if I could find a dupe that would see me through.
My first find was Sleek's New Skin Revive in White Rose. I'm a fan of Sleek's eyeshadow palettes and contour kit but this has left me a little underwhelmed. For £7.99 its definitely within my price range but I felt as if even this might be too higher price for it.
The consistency is really thick, meaning a little goes nowhere and your face can end up looking a little cakey to say the least. I ended up mixing it with a dollop of moisturiser to thin it out and make it go further and this did give it a better look but I feel you shouldn't have to do that every time you want to wear it. It's also a little dark on my skin, but that is my fault for picking up what I thought was the lightest colour instead of what actually was!
~2~ After the slight disaster of the Sleek purchase I thought I might try something a little lighter than was more of a liquid than a double cream! I found the B. Flawless Complete Coverage Foundation from B. in Superdrug and thought it looked like a good bet. At £9.99 its still a pretty affordable product and it has the added benefits of SPF15, same as Studio Fix.
I chose the shade 10 Linen and its a really good match for my skin so definitely a similar colour to NC15 (the shade I use in MAC). Its got a really nice consistency, like a slightly thick liquid and a little goes a pretty long way, so good value as well. Although it says it's a full coverage foundation I've been wearing it for more casual days as I don't find it as full as Studio Fix and it does have a fairly strong smell of sun cream but I don't mind that too much!
Bottom line I think I will be repurchasing this one as a day to day foundation that I can wear year round and have the added benefit of sun protection.
~3~ One of my more recent purchases has been the L'Oreal True Match foundation in N2 Vanilla. The colour is slightly darker than NC15 but the blendability and the way it adjusts to your skin tone means it doesn't end up looking unnatural which is a massive plus! At £9.99 its another affordable purchase and less than half the price of MAC.
I've been really loving this foundation and aside from the super thin consistency (which seems to run off the back of my hand every time I move!) I have only good things to say about it. I think the thinness off the formula adds to the blending ability so as long as you're not as clumsy as me (it's on my carpet in more than one place!) you should be fine.
~4~ Last but not least is the Maybelline FIT me! Anti-Shine Stick. I was really curious to try this one as I've never used a foundation in a stick form before and was interested to see how it would compare to liquid foundations. It's a little cheaper at £8.99 but is also a lot smaller than the bottles of liquid foundation.
I've used this product few times and so far I'm not in love with it. It feels fairly thick on the skin and isn't the easiest thing to blend out. I'm also not majorly keen on the fact it's a stick that goes straight onto the face, with a liquid you can wash the brush or buy a new sponge and help stop breakouts so I'm not sure sure how well my skin would fair if I were to use this every day.
On the plus side the few times I have used it it does what it says on the tin, it keeps shine at bay and I've actually been quite liking it for concealing my under eye circles before putting on foundation.
I've not yet managed to find a high street foundation that would convince me not to repurchase Studio Fix ever again but I'll definitely be using the B.Flawless and L'Oreal True Match as alternatives on a daily basis and maybe keeping my MAC foundations for more special occasions like nights out or days when I want a really flawless look.
Steph
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