A Story of Three Foundations

Good evening everybody!  At the moment I have three foundations on my face.  Yes, three foundations on my face, at once.  I recently decided to find a foundation that covers my face like no foundation has covered any ones face before.  Then I got lazy so now I am wearing three, one on each cheek and one on my forehead, to see which one I like best.  Um, I may or may not (may) have already bought two of them so it's more of a "who do I like better" contest at this point.  

On the left cheek:  Smashbox Studio Skin 15 Hour Wear Hydrating Foundation.  This was my first choice and the first lucky lady to be slathered all over 1/3 of my face.  I have used Studio Skin on hundreds of clients who wanted medium/full coverage and I have loved it.  On me, it was slightly less perfect than I wanted...but just slightly.  1.1, the lightest color was great on my white-as-a-sheet-of-paper skin and I love the texture, it feels the creamiest and the lightest of the three...but the coverage, while good, is still not as hard core as I am looking for.  I want to have to peel this foundation off with a putty knife.

On the right cheek: Stila Stay All Day Foundation.  Now we're talkin'.  This foundation looks scary, it dispenses with a spatula (I kid you not) and looks SO thick but you don't need very much to go a LONG way.  BONUS...there is a coordinating concealer hiding in the cap of this little gem.  It also comes with a tiny, weird foundation brush that I anticipate never using.  I will through it in my freelance kit immediately, for emergencies.  When I first put this on, it looked so similar to the Smashbox, but then I put a bit more on and let them both set...get to know my skin a little bit.  While the Smashbox seemed to sheer out a tad, the Stila covered like a champ, without looking cakey.  Word of warning...this sucker dries FAST!  In-store, I used my fingers to blend on one cheek and it was drying before I could un-streakify it.  We got the problem solved by touching up and working in smaller areas but holy moley, work quick kids.  After getting a few opinions about which cheek looked better, since I can't make up my mind, I decided to go with the Stila and am excited to welcome it into my home and my makeup family.

On the forehead: Revlon Colorstay (I had an unopened bottle in my kit).  Once home from the store I realized I didn't have any foundation on my forehead and I wanted to slather on some Colorstay anyway so, well, I did.  It feels similar to the Stila, heavier, but has a dewier finish, which I don't seek out.  I definitely wouldn't say it has a true dewy finish, just not as matte as the Stila.  (I am doing a weird side-by-side, this would never happen in the real world, comparison here)  After a couple hours of wear, the feel of the Revlon is lighter than the Stila, but nothing I would base a purchasing decision on.  Coverage is still nice on both. 

The Fab Take:  Going in to this experiment, I knew I was dealing with some industry heavy hitters so none of them would be awful.  Definitely true.  If you want a true full coverage liquid, I recommend trying either the Revlon Colorstay or the Stila Stay All Day, whichever fits your budget.  Don't forget about the concealer that comes with the Stila!  Smashbox Studio Skin is a beautiful foundation, but I would not put it in the full-coverage foundation category, definitely medium-full...whatever floats your boat.