Best foundation (or alternative!) at 40ish

[CharlieWeasleysWife]

Have always needed a matte finish and favoured a liquid, medium coverage. Am very pale.

Pushing 40 now and definitely seeing skin dry out a bit and appearance of some fine lines on forehead and around eyes. Noticeable drop off in skin elasticity.

My current foundation (no7 lift and laminate, shade cool vanilla) is definitely not working - settling in lines, drying out and generally looking awful within an hour or two. I tend to go budget-mid range but would be open to pricier if it's a miracle.

Would love recommendations of where to go from here- open to a new foundation, bb or cc cream, dewy setting spray(?) or anything else...always wear every day as spend my life on teams and hate looking at an un-polished version of myself. My main issues (aside from the developing wrinkles!) are under-eye bags/tiredness and a little bit of redness under the nose. Otherwise generally lucky skin wise.

Help, please!

This was exactly what I was going to recommend. I mix it with a bit of another foundation and it gives a really beautiful glow without being too much. I am a big fan.

I’m 40 and another die hard vote for Armani’s Luminous Silk.

Close second is Vieve Skin Nova.

I have recently ordered a foundation from Dicypher online using their AI colour matching tool and it’s lovely. I went for the dewy finish and it’s perfect as well as feeling really light on the skin. I am very impressed.

Yes I mix mine sometimes too - very versatile!

Nars - i use the tinted moisturiser, but they do a medium foundation coverage too.

I'm a convert too. I prefer this to any foundation. I've tried a lot of those mentioned but found that all of them settled in my lines. I've also tried the Nars tinted moisturiser and the Erborian ones but this is better in my opinion. It's worth going to get it matched by someone who knows what they're doing though. Space NK stock it and their assistants are usually good.

Another recommendation for Lisa Eldridge Seamless Skin Enhancing Tint, I’m a very pale 55-y-o and this stuff is brilliant. Very lightweight but somehow gives good coverage and a light sheen. Absolutely love it!

Op here reporting back- I ordered the erborian cc cream in clair as so many of you recommended. It's bloody brilliant! Will be recommending to others for sure. Thank you all for your comments and suggestions - Mumsnet is such a goldmine for this stuff!

Lisa Eldridge or I unfortunately tried the Victoria Beckham one recently and it was the best match I’ve ever seen for my fair skin and my skin looked gorgeous. It is ridiculously expensive though so I won’t be purchasing unless I can get at least 50% off

@CharlieWeasleysWife I'm really pleased you like the Erborian. It's fantastic stuff!

Just popping back to thank posters for the no7 pro artist recommendations. It’s on 3 for 2 at the moment and also a free gift palette so I got a primer, two foundations and the palette for £40

are the posters using Lisa Eldridge all London based? I have tried to find her products somewhere I can sample them in Manchester but never managed to. They are expensive so I don’t want to buy without shade testing

Same here. I love my LM tinted moisturiser. It just makes me look like a better version of me.
LM tinted moisturiser comes in a much wider range of colours than most foundations as well.

At my age less is more.

@PotatoBreadForTheWin Space NK stocks Lisa Eldridge, the larger stores, that is.

I’m 56 and I mix some L’Oreal Glolotion with Origins tinted moisturiser.
Gives a very natural, light finish.
I also love the Lisa Eldridge skin tint.

There’s a pretty good shade finder on the Lisa Eldridge site, or use the Find my Match facility on Space NK, or the Findation website - you put in your shades in other brands and it works out the equivalent. It can be a little hit and miss but puts you in the right ballpark.

Jones Road Miracle Balm. Not a foundation, it just gives your skin a slight colour and dewiness that makes it look as if you have amazing skin. I seldom wear foundation at all now I have discovered this. Bobbi Brown owns this brand and she knows what she is doing.

Lisa Eldridge is in both the Trafford Centre and Arndale Space NKs

Dior face and body, it’s thin so doesn’t settle into my creases (as much) but highly pigmented.

Have a look at this Irish brand, sculpted by Aimee. It’s amazing, particularly the second skin foundation. I’ve gotten so many compliments on my skin since wearing. Nice coverage and dewy

For those who recommended Erborian CC Cream - I bought it as I was curious it was recommended so much but it looks a bit flat on me, what do you use underneath it?

I second this suggestion. It's absolutely amazing.

I love the flatness of it! I don’t use anything underneath

this stuff is amazing - i find now im old it floats on my skin better.

I too like Lisa Eldridge Seamless Skin Enhancing Tint - definitely get shade matched which I did in Space NK - I have repurchased (mid 50s).

Before Christmas with a discount code I treated myself to the Victoria Beckham foundation drops (I used the foundation match on her website) -I have only used twice and really liked it but the Lisa Eldridge is more affordable.