Foundation recommendations please

[Lj8893]

I like a good coverage but all the foundations I have tried leave me with shiny, oily skin after an hour or so. Even with powder on top!

Any recommendations? I have about £20.

I use Boots No7. You can go in and get the colour match done for free and I find it covers well with just a light dusting of powder required. Can't remember how much it is but definitely less than £20.

I am a recent convert to Laura Geller Makeup and find that the foundation leaves me with a lovely "dry" finish all day. I use the Luminous Veil Creme Foundation Stick and get it from QVC.

Does it not leave your skin shiny and oily? I need something really matte I think.

Also any concealer recommendations anyone? I have a few spots and dark eye circles.

A little bit more than £20 but totally matte is Lancôme Air de Teint. Pretty much as soon as you put it on it dries to almost a powdery feel. In my experience no shine whatsoever and no need to put powder on top either

Ooo the Lancôme sounds good, how much is that roughly? I'll check it out

Lily Lolo mineral, it's fab stuff.

If you're after easy to apply, super long lasting and Matt the Estée Lauder double wear light is fantastic. I do use Mac mineralize skin finish natural pressed powder on top but it's probably not essential. Debenhams have it in their duty free prices promo at the moment which takes it nicely under its usual £29.50 price tag!

I'm a boots number 7 convert too. They use their machine to find your colour and they have a range of foundations for different skin types. The one I bought was £13 and almost identical to benefit hello flawless that I usually use.

Ysl touché éclat foundation is absolutely amazing too. Looks like you haven't got make up on but have beautiful skin. No shine at all. About £28 though, definitely worth the extra.

@lj8893 it's £29.50 in House of Fraser but looks like it's on sale at Debenhams at the moment for about £24. It literally has a very matte, very smooth almost powdery finish. But it does this so fast you have to be quite quick in applying ??

A similar one, but again slightly more expensive, is the Dior Diorskin Nude Air Fluid Foundation. Very much like the Lancome Air de Teint, even the packaging is strikingly similar. These are the only two that appear matte on me as I have combo skin with a T-zone that gets very shiny about an hour after putting on any other foundation. I've tried them all. Well, a whole LOT.

Debenhams here I come!! Will have a test of all your recommendations, thanks all

Bare minerals! Know it is not overly popular on here but it really works for me. Easy to build up coverage. It's about 25 pounds but sometimes you can find offers, and you don't need powder on top so you will save on that!

I love Georgio Armani Maestro

Might also be worth you investing in an oil free primer

Illamasqua Skin Base gives a good solid coverage and stays matte (I used it for my wedding with very little touching up through the day).

For something a bit lighter I'd second Lily Lolo though.

Honestly, the foundations I love right now above all the High End stuff I've bought over the years are from L'Oreal and Maybelline. I need good coverage and have oily skin too, and the Maybelline dream flawless nude beats the more expensive versions of that watery-type foundation that you apply with a dropper. It's more natural and lasts longer than any other I've tried. I'm also really enjoying the L'oreal infallible 24 hr matte. It's not too matte, very natural, and lasts as long as Estée Lauder double wear. Both are under a tenner.
I usually swear by MAC SPF 50 as a primer, but the Rimmel lasting finish primer is a good dupe - texture and performance wise, but without the SPF.
High Street brands have really upped their game with foundations in recent years.

Quinn-completely agree about upping their game over the last year or so.

I have both the Lancôme Air de Teint and the Ysl Touché éclat foundation and yes they are over £20 but they are so worth it. The YSL is better in my opinion and makes you look absolutely flawless. I think it's worth spending a bit more on a good quality foundation and get cheaper eyeshadow, blusher etc.

Agree with purpledaisies about the YSL touché éclat foundation. I'm going to try something cheaper next though. I've just discovered Lisa Eldridge and Wayne Goss on youtube. They both have good advice on choosing foundation and some 'top ten high street brands' type recommendations. Seems like a lot of the cheaper brands are now producing some really good stuff.

@purplepowers and @phstevens, what is the finish like on the YSL Touche Éclat foundation? That's one I haven't tried yet. I have the Youth Liberator foundation and find it quite shiny.

I am such a foundation addict I have loads which is really bad. The thing I noticed about high street ones is that they don't smell as "fresh" as luxury brands ones. The consistency doesn't seem to retain as long either even when in ideal storage condition. Or is it just me who think that?

thetropicmama7 the finish is quite matt and not at all shiny. I use a Mac powder on the top to set it though.

I'd say the finish is very slightly 'dewy' (makes me marginally less corpse-like). Definitely not shiny, though I'm on the dry skin side of things.

I have to go against the grain here- I've been trying out my touche éclat foundation sample and haven't been impressed so far. I really wanted to be!