Top Med/Full Coverage Bases

Hey everyone! I'm finally getting to the posts that were planned for last week. Phew! I'm just now getting up to speed on things as I just got back from North Carolina this past weekend, then worked a photoshoot (which was super exciting and fun!) and am now back to work and back here! A while back, I talked about my favorite light coverage bases and I wanted to follow it up with my favorite medium to full coverage bases. Fuller coverage foundations are great for many different reasons. It looks fantastic when you're going out for an event or party. It is also great for those who have very problematic skin that need a little extra help in this area. Remember that foundation is intended to be a base. The first step. This is just to even out your skin tone and be step one before concealer. I just want to emphasize that because you always want to use a nice thin layer of foundation only. If you apply too much, you'll end up looking cakey. These will definitely cover most, if not everything, alone (depending on your skin), but if there is something left uncovered you can avert to your concealer. OK, let's let started with my all time favorites!!!

Laura Mercier Silk Creme - Normal/Combo/Dry: I absolutely adore this foundation. It has a cream consistency and it is so very pigmented. You literally need a small pea sized amount to cover your entire face. It melts into the skin and feels pretty light on the skin since you barely need any. It will leave you with a luminous finish which is really nice for a high coverage foundation. It looks pretty natural for the amount of coverage it gives. I would say this is good for dry, normal or combination skin types. If you have combination skin, you will want to powder over top in the areas that get oily. If you have very oily skin, stay away from this as it will not give you the oil control you need. It will look great for a few hours, but require a lot of maintenance with powder and blotting consistently.

By Terry Cover Expert - Normal/Combo/Dry: I have a full review on this foundation here if you'd like to take a look. I love this because it glides on and feels like it just disappears into the skin. It looks so natural. Probably the most natural I've found for a med/full coverage foundation. It leaves your skin with a velvety satin like finish. It does have a definite scent to it (sort of herbal-ish). This again is fantastic for normal, combination or dry skin types. It contains hyaluronic acid which helps the skin retain moisture so it is excellent for dry skin! When you get to combination skin types, I would say that you would be best to keep a powder on you for light touch ups, but it should hold up pretty well.


NARS Sheer Glow - Normal/Combo/Dry: This is a gorgeous foundation. It photographs beautifully too! It comes out liquidy and as you blend into the skin, it smooths over and gives a satin finish. It looks pretty natural on the skin. This is another one that has great pigmentation so you barely need any to cover. I find this foundation looks best when applied and blended in with clean fingers. You can use a buffing brush too for a fuller coverage, but be sure to smooth other with your fingers before finishing up. It's great for normal, combo or dry skin types. I will say though that if you have dry/flakey patches, do not use this. It will cling to those areas so stay away on those days.

Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation - Oily: I've raved about this quite a bit now. It's just an amazing find for oily skin. This comes out of the pump as a liquid and will dry to a powder finish as you smooth over the skin. It does dry quickly so working in small sections at a time is best and fingers or buffing brushes seem to apply this well. I emphasize that this is intended for oily skin. It will be uncomfortable for drier skins and cling to any dryness you may have on your face. If you have oily skin though, you'll be in love as it dries to a matte velvety finish, looks invisible on the skin and will keep you from having to blot for hours and hours. It gives a medium to full coverage.

Estee Lauder Double Wear Light - Normal/Combo/Oily: This and the Hourglass Immaculate are really always my go to's for med/full coverage foundations. My skin on most days is pretty oily so these two work the best for my skin type. Estee Lauder does have their regular Double Wear foundation which is extreme full coverage. Like no joke full coverage! That's great if you want to look completely flawless and totally covered, but I tend to like medium to full coverage because it looks a bit more natural. It leaves you with a little dimension so that you don't look so flat. So, I really prefer the Estee Lauder Double Wear Light. "Light" is really subjective here. I think this covers quite a bit and is buildable to almost full coverage. It comes out of the tube as a liquid and will dry to a velvety finish. You won't need to powder it to start. Maybe just to touch up later on in the day. This is great because it doesn't feel heavy, but my favorite thing about this is that is doesn't move! Sometimes when I'm laughing a lot, my foundation will crease at my laugh lines and it drives me crazy. This will never crease and it won't transfer either. So, if you need to hug someone, you'll be OK! This is great for combination to oily skin types. You can also use it as a normal skin type, but dry skin won't be happy with this!

Illamasqua Skin Base - All Skin Types: I think this is a great foundation that I don't hear much hype about. It's super handy as it works beautifully on pretty much any skin type. It comes out as a thick liquid consistency. Don't get me wrong  though. It doesn't look cakey or feel heavy. This works excellent with a buffing brush to really buff it into the skin. It will give you medium to full coverage and the better you blend, the more natural it will look on the skin. It also photographs nicely and leaves you with a natural finish on the skin. If you have more oily skin, you will want to powder it, but it holds up pretty well and looks great. They have a really good shade range from light to dark, but this is really great for those of you who have very fair skin to the point that the lightest foundation color is still too dark. They go pretty light in color and they also sell a pure white color that you could mix into the lightest color to get your perfect shade.

Revlon Colorstay - Normal/Dry - Combo/Oily: This is my favorite drugstore med/full coverage foundation. It has a liquid consistency and has good coverage. It sits nicely on the skin as well. They have two different formulas depending on your skin type which is great. Normal/Dry or Combo/Oily. They also have a great shade range which is so nice for drugstore foundations. What I love about this is similar to EL Double Wear Light in that it doesn't move or transfer. It lasts a long time on the skin and doesn't budge!

That's a lot of information in one post!! I tried to cut it down to five, but these are all so good that I couldn't narrow it down any further. What are you favorite medium to full coverage foundations?

Talk soon, J