3 super full coverage foundations

Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation 

Estee Lauder Maximum Cover Camouflage Makeup for Face and Body

La Roche-Posay Toleriane Teint Corrective Fluid

Afternoon all and what a lovely afternoon it's been! Leaving work early + going to see The Lego Movie + tea and toast with lime curd = a very happy me. It really is the small things, eh? 

I continued my chilled out day by sorting through my foundations and binning a lot of the duds/empties, one of which was Vichys Dermablend (falls into the empty category) and it got me thinking that it's about time I did a post on high coverage foundations.

Actually comes in shades light enough to match my akin!

For daily use I know most people opt for a natural looking product that gives them that my-skin-but-better finish but there are definitely times when only a pigment dense, high coverage finish will do and when that's the case these are my 3 go to liquid foundations. They're generally described as camouflage or corrective makeup for face and body and are not for the faint-hearted ; if you find things like Double Wear to be too thick and heavy then you'll probably not be a fan

These products are a bit like super hard working concealers that you use over your entire face so likely not right for every occasion but you know how you sometimes want a completely even toned, unblemished blank canvas to work with? Well when that’s the case these deliver beautifully

Estee Lauder mid-blend

I hate recommending something and then finding out that someone has purchased it and been disappointed so I wanna be really clear about all the disadvantages of these foundations, starting with the fact that they don't look natural; even a small amount applied with a light hand and blended well gives a very made-up look (simply because natural skin is a mix of different tones) and this is even more apparent in natural light. Due to the thick texture these aren't quite as workable as a standard foundation so I'd advise to work quickly and get them evenly blended asap to avoid a patchy result. Also, the completely even-toned finish means you have to "add" your features again by using blush, highlighter etc otherwise you can end up looking like one of those featureless shop mannequins. They can also be quite drying on the skin so it's worth using a scrub to ensure that you don't have any areas of dry, dead skin for the product to cling to and then applying a good moisturiser. As for longevity; I have combination skin and these generally break down and separate around my t-zone so I don't wear them if I know I'm gonna be out for 8+ hours.

Estee Lauder - Fully blended

By this point I've probably convinced you that these aren't worth trying so lets get to the good points; the coverage is brilliant, so if you wanna go for a look that calls for completely flawless skin then nothing works better. Of course if you happen to have "problem" skin (spots, acne scars, rosacea, dark circles, hyperpigmentation, port wine stains etc) then the confidence these can give is invaluable. As a little goes a long way they last absolutely ages and of course on good skin days if you just happen to need a little extra coverageyou can use them as concealers and dab on where required

If you've tried any of these before or have any other full coverage foundations you wanna recommend feel free to mention it below :)

Joy ♥

Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser

Evening all, hope you’ve had a nice weekend. Mine has been fantastic because it’s included 5 episodes of Downton Abbey (Yeah, I’m always a bit late on the bandwagon when it comes to TV shows and can’t believe I nearly didn’t bother starting this one!) a few chapters of A Dance With Dragons and an afternoon nap. It might sound like the dullest weekend ever but sometimes I think there’s nothing better than doing, well, nothing… 

Like any truly gratifying weekend it also involved a little play around with some makeup and that got me thinking that I haven’t blogged in a ridiculously long time and I’ve really missed it. I think, in real life, people probably aren't too keen on me rambling on about how one concealer out-conceals its rivals and how there’s a new palette of nude shades they just have to try whereas here I can go on for as long as I like safe in the knowledge that you can just close the page if you’re sick listening to me.

After my hiatus I thought I’d start by discussing Maybellines Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser.  Which just isn’t. My pores aren’t particularly visible at the minute so shouldn’t be much of a challenge for any primer but this seemed to make almost no difference to their appearance. In fact I’d say that pretty much describes the entire product and its effects; it makes almost no difference.

Top: Baby Skin Bottom: Smashbox Photo Ready 

The texture is thick-ish and gel-like so reminds me a lot of Smashboxes Photo Ready primer which is an old favourite of mine but the similarities between the two start and end there. When I apply the Baby Skin primer it makes my skin feel a tad smoother but it doesn’t actually look any smoother so I have no idea why anyone would wear this by itself (as suggested on the bottle) I’ve tried it under a few different foundations and it hasn’t made them look any better when freshly applied, which is the least I’d expect from a primer. It also hasn’t improved the longevity of my makeup; in fact it’s made my mildly oily t-zone even oilier so I’ve ended up applying a powder throughout the day to keep the shine at bay

The plus points are the super cute packaging (don’t you just love the colour?) and the price (8 quid for a primer isn’t bad at all) but of course a low price isn’t much use if the product doesn’t do what it’s s’posed to.

A lot of people have raved about this since it was released so I’m guessing it must work well for some skin types but I regret buying it and definitely won’t be picking up another bottle. Especially when there are primers like Rimmels Fix and Perfect available; more of a better product for less money? Er, yes please 

Have a good week 

Joy ♥