Non-cakey foundation

[GoneAndDoneItAgainAgain]

I don’t know if it’s my skin type - greasy t zone, dry cheeks and big pores but any foundation I use looks cakey as soon as I put it on. The only combination I ever found that worked was using Kevyn Aucoin primer and then the Sensual Skin Enhancer. But I found the primer seems to actually fill up my pores iyswim in order to make my skin smooth so I just end up getting even bigger pores because they’re all clogged up with primer.

Ideally I just want something for everyday use. As I’ve got older my cheeks have gotten redder and I have dark bags under my eyes so I just want a foundation to even that out a bit, not necessarily full coverage.

Any suggestions? Or any idea what I could be doing wrong that just results in foundation sitting in my pores?

MAC 'face and body foundation' is very light but it's buildable so it might be a good one for you to try. I have dry skin so if I like a foundation but it's cakey I add a drop of castor oil to it and the cakiness goes. You could also try and spritz MAC Fix plus at the end (or the home made equivalent - water and glycerine) and that should get rid of the powderiness/cakiness.

What sort of coverage do you want? You say not full but that leaves quite a range.

I am the same in terms of skin type - I use the Elf poreless putty (kinda pressed in) with YSL All Hours (I have both liquid and stick) and it doesn't look cakey for me. That's a medium coverage as I don't build it up.

If its cakey you could be using too much product or not giving the primer enough time to set before putting another layer on.

Use a skin oil and moisturiser rather than primer and make sure it's dry before you put on your foundation. Also put a setting powder on your t zone BEFORE foundation (sounds bizarre but trust me)

MAC studio fix applied with a damp beauty blender for foundation, maybelline magic eraser applied with a damp beauty blender for under the eyes.

The beauty blender being damp (run under a tap and squeeze out) is key for non cakey foundation in my opinion!

I’ve been using Ester Lauder double wear for years and have found it really good unlike some other ones I occasionally bought (also issues with caking).

For daily wear, I tend to use the La Roche Posay Effaclar BB Blur. I find it’s easy to put on, really covers pores and blemishes but it’s medicated so works for dodgy complexions.

I like IT Cosmetics cc cream. Good coverage with lots of built-in extras with dewey finish without looking wet. They sell it on QVC if you want to try shades out and still return for a refund if they're not quite right.