Liquid foundations are slowly becoming one of my weaknesses. Please tell me I'm not the only one... But there's just something so satisfying about applying them on and watching your skin transform as you blend it out!
That said, I couldn't help but to picked out a handful of high-end liquid foundations from
Cosme-de.com to try out! From the previous round of
high-end liquid foundation battle, I compared a total of 5 high-end liquid foundation from brands like Tom Ford, Burberry, Giorgio Armani, etc and a number of you have sent in your feedback telling me that it was helpful and informative. Therefore, I thought I'd do a part 2 today with the new foundations I got from Cosme-de.com.
I've always struggled with breakouts, but for the past 3 to 4 months, my skin has been its best. So instead of wanting something with a fuller coverage, I've been loving the healthier, natural glowy look. Hence, today I've picked out a total of 5 high-end liquid foundations that all claims to provide a radiant, glowy finish.
1. YSL Awakening Foundation SPF22 / PA++ US$48
The first foundation we'll be looking at is the YSL Awakening Foundation. This is YSL's bestselling liquid foundation that aims to counter skin fatigue with its main ingredient, Ruscus Extract. Apart from having anti-inflammatory properties, Ruscus extract is also known to leave your skin feeling refreshed and energized. With that, the YSL Awakening Foundation promises to cancel away skin dullness to improve your skins' luminosity and brightness. This foundation also contains Vitamin E to protect your skin from free radicals, as well as SPF to protect against UV rays. It is said to be able to provide a flawless, weightless, radiant looking finish for up to 8 hours of wear.
Packaging
This foundation has the standard YSL packaging. It comes in a glass cylinder shaped bottle with a gold cap and a gold pump. Overall, there isn't anything too fanciful about the packaging, but I really like the gold accents as it made it look elegant and classy on my dressing table.
Shade, Coverage, and Finish
I decided to get this foundation in the shade BD25 Warm Beige which is a light to medium shade with a bit of yellow undertones in it. I find that this shade really compliments my skin tone even though it's probably 1 shade lighter. I personally prefer going for slightly lighter foundation shades because I find that those that matches exactly, tends to oxidize and darken during the day. Picking a lighter foundation also helps brighten up my complexion, making it look more awake and radiant. Since I have yellow skin, I don't really like foundations with too much yellow undertones, but I find that the yellow hues in this foundation is very subtle, especially after blending it out.
I prefer using a brush to apply this foundation rather than my beauty blender, as the damp sponge will absorb most of the product due to its slightly watery texture. Using a brush, or my fingers, allows more product to stay on my skin and therefore providing a higher coverage. In general, I'd say that this foundation has a medium to high coverage. The finish of this foundation reminds me of the Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation which is a drugstore foundation I used, 3-4 years ago. It has a slight radiant finish which mimics the appearance of healthy, moist looking skin. I love the finish of this foundation and I think it will be perfect to bring on summer holidays.
Overall rating
Overall, I give this foundation a 4.5/5 because the shade is a good match to my skin tone, and the finish is exactly what I'm looking for - that natural, healthy looking finish!
2. Gucci Lustrous Glow Foundation SPF25 US$54
Next up, we've got a foundation from Gucci. Sticking to glowy finishes, I decided to pick Gucci's Lustrous Glow Foundation. This foundation aims to provide a radiant finish, accompanied with a soft glow by making use of luminous oil, powders and polymers. Its lightweight texture is specially designed for smoother application and coverage that is buildable according to your needs.
Retailing at US$54, this is the most expensive foundation in the list!
Packaging
This foundation has hands down the best packaging out of all the foundations we'll be talking about today. Appearance wise, this foundation has the most exquisite looking packaging. The highlight is the cap which has the classic Gucci pattern textured onto it. On the top, there's also the Gucci logo embossed in gold. My favourite part about the packaging is, weird enough, the gold and black pump. I think the gold and black combination really amplifies the classy, vintage style of the foundation. Being the most expensive foundation in the list, I'm just glad that the packaging reflects the heavy price tag of this foundation.
Shade, Coverage, and Finish
I decided to pick shade Light 030 which is positively the lightest shade among the 5 foundations I am featuring today, as you will be able to tell from the swatches available below. Despite it being so light in comparison to my arm (in the swatch photo), my face is lighter than the rest of my body, so thankfully it still blends in well with my skin tone.
Instead of the healthy, moist type of glow I was looking for, I find that this foundation gives off a more luxurious type of glow. It instantly brightens up my skin, most likely due to the luminous powder this foundation is infused with. The coverage is a good medium to high which is great for people with redness, discolouration, and acne spots like myself.
Overall rating
All in all, I'd give this foundation a 4/5. Even though this foundation is on the pricier side, I think the finish looks very elegant and flawless, and it will be great for special occasions such as an important date, a wedding, or events. I didn't give it a 5/5 because it isn't what I was looking for - a healthy glow - and since the bottle is glass, it is very heavy which makes it a little troublesome to travel with.
3. Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation SPF 15 / PA+ US$50
Anyone who knows makeup will know Bobbi Brown, and despite being a makeup junkie, I've never owned anything from Bobbi Brown! Therefore, for this blog post, I decided to pick the Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation. Having oily skin, I love that this foundation is water-based and hence oil-free. The water-based formula also contributes to a fresh, natural, and hydrated glowy finish. The coverage of this foundation is buildable from light to medium due to its weightless formula. This foundation also comes with SPF 15/PA+ which is the lowest out of all the foundations that include SPF.
Packaging
Like all the other makeup products from Bobbi Brown, this foundation comes in a straight forward looking packaging with a black cap and pump. If you're into the whole minimalistic aesthetics, this foundation will sit well on your dressing table.
Shade, Coverage, and Finish
For this foundation, I have chosen the shade 3 Beige which might be a 100% match to my skin tone. That said, I don't really like it as it's quite yellowish and doesn't really help brighten up my complexion.
Since this foundation is water-based, it has a really watery texture which I'm not that fond of as it feels rather diluted. Using it with a beauty blender also means that the sponge pretty much absorbs at least 50% of the product, leaving only 50% on my skin. Therefore, I highlight recommend using a brush instead since the water in the beauty blender will only dilute it further. If you love foundations that are extremely lightweight and extremely natural looking, you will love this one. The coverage is a light to medium, but I assume with the lightweight texture, it can be built up to a high coverage. As it's watery, it does have a hydrating, moist finish.
Overall rating
Overall, I give this foundation a 2/5 as I'm not fond of the watery formula as well as the shade I've chosen.
4. Kevyn Aucoin The Etherealist Skin Illuminating Foundation US$51
I've never heard of the brand Kevyn Aucoin, but the sound of this foundation intrigued me to try it out. This foundation claims to provide a natural yet luminous glowy finish, by incorporating the use of ultra-fine pearl pigments that will brighten up the skin and minimize dullness and shadow. This foundation is also great for people with dry skin as it contains hyaluronic acid that boosts hydration. This is the only foundation in the list that doesn't come with SPF.
Packaging
If I were to rank the foundations in terms of packaging, this would probably come in 2nd place. This foundation is probably the lightest one of all because it's the only one that comes in a plastic bottle. The packaging reminds me of the Tom Ford Traceless Foundation because of the plastic bottle, as well as the hidden pump. Although the pump is "hidden", I'd prefer it if this foundation was to come with a cap to prevent it from spilling out. The highlight of the packaging is definitely the black to plum gradient effect.
Shade, Coverage, and Finish
Out of the 16 shades available, I decided to go with shade EF05 Light which is actually a good match to my skin tone even though I'm definitely a medium. Similar to the YSL foundation, this shade also has a very subtle yellow undertones that blends in very naturally.
The finish of this foundation is actually a very natural soft matte which is rather unfortunate since I was looking for something non-matte. But I would say that this foundation reminds me of the
Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation which is actually one of my go-to when it comes to matte foundation. It also has a medium to high coverage which is great because then you won't need a lot of product to even out your skin tone.
Overall rating
I give this foundation a 4/5 because it's very comparable to one of my favourite liquid foundations, the Fenty Beauty one. The shade is also a great match to my skintone and I love how light and slim the packaging is so it's super convenient to pop it into my makeup pouch.
5. Chanel Healthy Glow Foundation SPF25 / US$47 PA++ color: N30
The last foundation in today's list is one that obviously fits the theme, and it is Chanel's Healthy Glow Foundation. This foundation is said to be able to help your skin appear healthier by reflecting the freshness and radiance of healthy, natural glowy skin. To coincide with the natural skin-liked finish, this foundation has a light texture and sheer finish, to enable your skin to breathe freely from underneath while protecting it from UV rays with SPF25.
Packaging
Again, as part of the brand, Chanel's makeup and skincare products all comes with similar and simple packaging. Even though it looks small, it contains 30ml of product which is the same as all the others mentioned in this list. It is also quite heavy because of the frosted glass bottle. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the packaging because there were a couple of times where I tried to close the cap but ended up pumping the foundation inside the cap which was a huge waste of product. On top of the cap, there's also the Chanel logo embossed in beige.
Shade, Coverage, and Finish
For this foundation, I have chosen the shade N30 which is most likely 1-2 shades lighter than my skin tone. It is also the only foundation that doesn't have the yellow tones in it. Instead, this shade has more of a pink undertone which is great for brightening and cancelling out any yellow tones in my skin.
As you can see from the photo above, this foundation has a thicker consistency and thus holds its shape better once its pumped out. It does feels heavier and seems to stick better onto my skin. That said, I prefer using a damp beauty blender with this foundation as it makes the blending process a lot easier.
Overall rating
I give this foundation a 3.5/5 as it does have a good medium to high coverage, and I find that it also adheres well to my skin so my skin looks smooth even after a long day out. However, it didn't seem to give me that healthy dewy glow I was looking for, and the shade is a little too pinkish for my liking, which is why I deducted 1.5 points out.
(L-R: Gucci, Chanel, Bobbi Brown, YSL, Kevyn Aucoin)
And that wraps up part 2 of The Battle of High-End Liquid Foundations! I know high-end foundations are very pricey, and while I do love drugstore foundations especially when it comes to everyday use, for special occasions, I like to pamper myself with a high-end foundation as I find that there really is a difference in quality. If you're hoping to try out a high-end foundation for yourself, I highly recommend you to check them out on
Cosme-de.com because of their competitive prices. I've done tons of price comparisons and Cosme-de.com always have the best deals.
On top of their discounted prices, make sure to utilize my discount code "thatxxrin15" upon checking out to get an additional 15% off all your purchases! Happy shopping!
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