I Tested Three New/New(ish) Foundations and Here Are My Thoughts

First of all, you have to know that I am not great at titles for my blog posts. On occasion I might try a play on words, but often I just come right out and tell you what we’re going to talk about. Today it’s obviously foundations. Secondly, this is going to be a rather long post, but I wanted to give my honest and thorough opinion to hopefully guide you if you’re kind of overwhelmed with the number of complexion products that have been launching all summer. I tried three new or new(ish) foundations to see what they were about. I was mainly interested in four things:

• Shade range and match
• Wear time
• Coverage
• Skin benefits (if the claim was made)

The foundations I chose were:

• Dior Backstage Face & Body Foundation(Launched June 15th)
• Becca Skin Love Weightless Blur Foundation (Launched August 3rd)
• NYX Can’t Stop Won’t Stop (Launches today)

So let’s get right into the reviews of each of these foundations.

Dior Backstage Face & Body Foundation

First, this has the standard range—40 shades in 3 undertones (shout out to Fenty Beauty for making this the standard). It’s medium coverage that is buildable, feels light on the skin, and dries down to a very skin-like matte finish. I’m going to emphasize skin-like because most matte foundations make this claim but they tend to look very thick on the skin. The next thing that they claim is that it can stand up to extreme heat. The first day I wore this it was pretty damn hot. I’m not sure whether or not it was the primer that I’ve been using (Origins Original Skin Cooling Primer) or if it was the foundation but it was pretty sweat-resistant. I did have to dab a little after about 4 hours, but that is like a record for me especially considering that I have very oily skin. The next time I wore this foundation I went to the pool with it on since it said that it was waterproof. Guys…it’s really waterproof. I was shocked—no, I was SHOOK. It literally DID NOT BUDGE. I patted my face with a paper towel and there was little to no transfer. I pretty much walked out of that locker room like:

I mean I got a good 10 hours out of this with minimal blotting and I dare say, going to the pool may have actually extended the wear time. The price point is more than affordable for a prestige foundation, it’s $40 for 1.6 fl oz. The only downside to this is that it takes a lot of work to get all of the product off. This is not the foundation that you can take off with just makeup remover wipes on a tired night. You’re going to need makeup wipes, a cleansing balm, a makeup dissolving cleanser and some micellar water. Basically, you might as well do your entire skincare regimen since half of that time will be devoted to cleansing. On a scale of 1-10, this is a 9.

Becca Skin Love Weightless Blur Foundation

Oh Becca—why are you so good at everything? When I first heard about this foundation launch, I was a little nervous. Infusing skincare in makeup is not a new concept, but when it comes to incorporating skincare in foundations it can be a little tricky. We all remember Sunday Riley’s The Influencer. While it’s not one of Sunday Riley’s top skus, mostly because the shades were a little off when it came to addressing undertones it does have a pretty impressive shade range. Without question it also contained some really good skincare ingredients. I still have mine, but I rarely wear it because it can go a little gray on me. Now here’s Becca—the brand that for me are the original makeup glow-getters. So here’s what’s in it:

• Ginger – to nourish the skin
• Vitamin C – to brighten
• Avocado – to hydrate

Essentially they created skin perfecting foundation that really looks like your skin. The shade range is 24 shades which is less then what most foundations, but within those 24 shades all skin tones were addressed. It never felt heavy and the coverage was medium and buildable. As for wear, this lasted for a good 8 hours with little minimal blotting. If you have normal to dry skin, this foundation is a dream come true. For combination to oily skin, you’ll be impressed with it too because it doesn’t separate and stands up pretty well to heat. A little highlight or bronzer and it’s perfect for a low-key look. Define your brows and add lipgloss and you will have a polished look. Top off with a little mascara and you’re ready for a night out. Of the three foundations I tried, this is the one for the girl on the go who is also low-key high maintenance if you know what I mean. This is another foundation that is worth the money. You get 1.36 fl. oz for $44. Also, a little goes a long way. On a scale of 1-10 this also gets a 9.5.

NYX Can’t Stop Won’t Stop Full Coverage Foundation

When I heard that NYX Cosmetics teamed up with Alissa Ashley to develop their newest foundation, I was so ready. I hardly ever—actually never wear drugstore foundation, but if you have watched any of Alissa Ashley’s YouTube videos and were against drugstore foundations, she might change your mind. I actually just thought that she’s just always lucky to find her shade in most foundations, but I later learned that often times she mixes her foundations to achieve her flawless look. I hate doing that and I’m actually turned off by a brand that makes me mix two shades to come up with my perfect shade—I’m looking at you MAC. When I first heard that there would be 45 shades, I decided that I was going to give this one a try. I bought the foundation a week before it’s official release just so I could play with it and see how this foundation would work with my skin type. I have oily skin. Most people who have oily skin tend to like a matte foundation, but I like more of a demi-matte to natural finish. Just so you know this foundation is VERY matte. I bought three shades—Cappuccino, Sienna and Deep Sable since I wasn’t able to swatch these in person. Cappuccino is the shade I wore in their Total Drop formula and it’s quite yellow, so it definitely is my Fall/Winter shade. Since I do have a little tan I figured that my shade would be either be Sienna or Deep Sable. Sienna has more of a warm undertone (although the description says neutral) while Deep Sable has a neutral undertone. I felt that unlike my usual foundation, I had to work fast when applying this. I actually had to do one side at a time because the dry down time felt like it was within seconds. This formula is thicker than any of my other foundations but it didn’t feel heavy once applied to the skin. Basically, make sure that you are thoroughly moisturized even if you have oily skin. As far as coverage goes, it covers everything with 1-2 pumps. It isn’t a foundation that you just throw on and walk out the door. You don’t need to go all crazy with the contouring and highlighting, but you might find that your face looks a little bald (for lack of a better term) once it is applied. When you are highlighting I would suggest using a radiant concealer like Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer. You will get the highlight that you need and you will not experience creasing. I’m telling you this because I tried this with a matte concealer under my eyes and it was a total disaster. As far as shade matching, both Sienna and Cappuccino were great matches for my skintone. Sienna was definitely more olive while Cappuccino was warm without being red.  As far as the price point, it’s a good deal for a full coverage drugstore foundation at $15 for 1 fl. oz. Apparently this foundation is also waterproof, but I didn’t find that out until later. I haven’t gone swimming with this foundation, and I think if I decided to go swimming and wear foundation I would probably choose Dior Backstage over this. Maybe I just need to play with it a few more times but on a scale of 1-10 I would give this an 7.75.

So there you have it, my thoughts on three new/new(ish) foundations. Of the three, Becca Skin Love is my favorite with Dior Backstage being a very close second. Overall, all three formulas were great, and depending on your desired finish or your wallet you will have options to create a flawless look. Have you tried any of these foundations? If you have, let me know what your thoughts were.

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