My favourite foundations for under €20

I'm constantly on the search for the perfect foundation.  Does it exist? I'm really not sure! I wear foundation all day everyday and let’s face it, it can be expensive. My latest love affair was with Estèe Lauder Double Wear foundation, only problem with this was the colour match I've three bottles at home, none of which actually match my skin. And at €35 euro a pop isn't cheap. Reason I love Double Wear so much is how well it lasts on my skin. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I hate having to faff around with my makeup in work but I always want it to look good.

So my mission was to find an alternative more affordable replacement for my beloved Estèe Lauder Double Wear. I've three fantastic foundations to tell you about and all are under €20 one is even under a tenner!

So here they are

From left to right:  Revlon Colour Stay in 150 Buff Chamois, Rimmel Lasting Finish in 100 Ivory and L’Oreal Infallible.

Fist up Revlon, This foundation comes in two Skin type options, Normal / dry and oily /combination. I’m normal to dry so this is the one I chose. I am normally the lightest shade in the high street / pharmacy foundations and this was the case with all three of these foundations.

Revlon claim this to be a 24hr lasting foundation and I'd find that hard to test as I would never wear a foundation for that long but I can tell you this foundation lasted me a full 12 hours for sure before it started to look patchy. It’s a very thin consistency compared to others and offers a medium to full coverage. It has a very matte finish to it so if luminous skin is what you are looking for this won’t be for you.  In fact most long wearing foundations are definitely matte. Revlon Colour Stay reminds me a lot of Mac Studio Fix Fluid and at €17.80 it's over €10 euro cheaper making it a great alternative. I have heard of quite a few makeup artists who are stocking this in their kit as they believe it’s even better than the studio fix fluid. My only bug bear with this foundation and in fact with the double wear too is the lack of a pump!! Please listen to your customers Revlon a pump would be amazing :).The Revlon shades come in a variety of tones leaning more on the yellow side.

Next up Rimmel Lasting finish Foundation, this just comes in one skin type,my shade was 100 Ivory.  This foundation claims 25 hours staying power:)  It’s been a long time since I stayed up 24hrs so I can’t tell you how true this is lol however it definitely lasts up to 12 hours. This is a much thicker constancy than the Revlon and is full coverage, I didn't feel the need to use concealer with this one which is bonus. Shade range in this foundation is more on the pink side. For €8.85 this foundation is by far the most affordable and best value for money. (*BOBS)

Last but not least L’Oreal Infallible. This foundation has the most realistic of hours of wear on the bottle claiming 16 hours of wear :) this I can say for sure I can test out100%  (god I'm old :)). It mentions on the bottle Hydro-luminous complex.  I didn't find it hydrating or luminous, in fact I thought this one made my skin look very matte compared to the other two.  Now that could have been because I was having a bad day anyway with my skin feeling dry?  I'd need to wear it more to say for sure.  If definitely lasted the 16 hours with only my nose really getting patchy. Again was a fantastic foundation for the price €17.99. Shades with L’Oreal again were more on the pink side. 

So there you have it. Can I choose an overall winner from these three? No!! And that's simply because they all are long lasting, medium to high coverage and great value for money, everything I want in a foundation.  I think it will come down to the right shade for your skin tone in the end.  For me the L’Orealone was the best colour match for me. Rimmel was the best price (definitely a*BOB purchase) and Revlon had the lightest consistency. And just to note they all lasted as long as the Double Wear so it would seem I have found my replacement in here somewhere.

When choosing a shade to suite your skin tone I suggest applying to the neck close to the jaw line, leaving it there for a few minutes to dry in, some foundations oxidise when drying and can therefore turn to a darker shade so it’sbest to try this technique out.  If you find you are too embarrassed to try it on your neck, do the same on your hand apply it and walk away browse the shop and come back once its dried in. It can make a huge difference.  And although these foundations are on the affordable end of the scale we don’t want to be throwing our money away either so try get a shade which is as best a match as possible.

Oh and another foundation really also deserves a mention is Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation. This is a fab really fresh, really comfortable feeling foundation. Its also long wearing, smells Divine. They were out of my shade when I visited boots. I will do a review of this one once its back in stock. Is perfect for old / young skin alike!
Have you any long lasting foundations that I should try?  Or is there a foundation out there you would like me to review for you?  Leave me a comment, I'm only too happy to try new things :)

Love

Donna 

*BOBS = birds on budgets