Goldilocks full coverage foundation for old, red and blotchy skin

[AsteriaBuffy]

Help please, I'm driving myself nuts trying to find THE right foundation.

I'm late 50s, fair skin with lots of broken veins, prone to spots and general unattractive redness.

Am currently using 3 on rotation and in combination, but none are quite right:

1. IT CC+ Colour Correcting Full Coverage Cream spf 50+ (the tube unhelpfully doesn't say what colour)
2. Prime Prometics Primeskin CC+ Cream (Fair)
3. Prime Prometics Colour Changing Foundation

The IT one is good - best colour match, goes on smoothly, nice and 'moist' (sorry but can't think of a better word). Downsides - the v high SPF gives it a bit of a white cast, also I don't need or want that much SPF in winter. Coverage is best of the three but still need to use concealer on top.

PP Primeskin CC+ - Goes on and blends beautifully, no cakeiness at all. colour match is okay but a bit orangey, should have tried lightest shade maybe. Main downside is lack of coverage, even a couple of layers doesn't really hack it.

PP Colour Changing Foundation - Also goes on beautifully, no cakeiness. Downside - the 'colour matching' is absolute hokey, I look like Donald Trump. I use it only in a kind of 'bronzer' capacity. Also needs concealer for full coverage.

Any ideas gratefully received! :)

Have a look at Ilia or Rare x

Hi OP,
I'm 51 with fairly weather-beaten skin. I'm currently using any old moisturiser (have lots of samples and travel minis, so use whatever I grab first) Lumene primer and L'oreal True Match tinted serum.
I've had lots of comments of how well I'm looking and I definitely see a big improvement. It makes me look much more finished off and put together.

I’ve seen Lisa Eldridge products recommended on this board.

https://www.lisaeldridge.com/collections/seamless-skin-enhancing-tint?srsltid=AfmBOooUIzgtigkh85ZM_otVwSGEQCGESoKe8o_8xKn-Kj42BACk0xLP

Eborian CC - limited colour range but that’s because it’s witchcraft and blends. I tend to use the redness one and layer the normal over.
For full coverage I use Charlotte Tilbury flawless filter foundation mixed with the CC cream, a little bit goes a long way!
I also rate Vichy Dermablend foundation because it covers everything BUT you have to do some contouring otherwise the face looks flat and featureless.

Thanks all, I knew MN wouldn't let me down :D

I'll take a look at all of those. I guess a primer might be helpful too.

Could the spots and redness be rosacea? I thought I had acne for 30 years but it turns out it was rosacea.

Try rosilique for the redness. It’s a miracle worker. It works great under make up or alone. My skin is very very pink toned and this works miracles for me

The Lisa Eldridge Skin Tint is great. I'm in my 60s and it makes my often red and blotchy skin look good.

I’m on a similar search. I want something that feels like a tinted moisturiser but with a bit more coverage as I’ve developed brown patches of hyperpigmentation and I’m also blessed with purplish PIH from peri-acne. I’m also using the IT CC cream but it oxidises a bit and my skin just drinks up the liquid and leaves the pigment crusted on the top.

I’ve never found anything that really suits me. I’ve wasted so much money! Also tried working on hydration and texture etc with products and facials but nothing ever seems to change.

Most friends my age and older don’t wear much foundation anymore, they just have great skin, but I’m going the other way!

Hi OP. A few advice from a formulator's perspective. The white cast you're getting from that high SPF foundation is almost certainly from mineral filters like zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, which are great for sensitive, red skin but notoriously leave that ghostly finish especially at SPF 50+, so for winter you'd want to look for foundations with chemical filters like octinoxate or avobenzone at lower SPF levels, or just skip the SPF in foundation altogether and layer it separately. For mature skin with broken capillaries, you want formulations with emollients like squalane or dimethicone for smoothness, glycerin or hyaluronic acid for hydration so it doesn't settle into texture, and green-tinted primers or color correctors with chromium oxide or green iron oxides applied before foundation to neutralize the redness before you even add coverage, which means you'll need less product overall and get a more natural finish. Hope this helps!

Try https://dcypher.com - they use photo scans of your face to create a custom colour and then you can pick coverage & moisture levels. If you don't get a match the first time, then you can send photo proof and they'll adjust it for free.
I particularly like their Colour Drops - you can add it to your preferred moisturiser and then dot it in areas that need more coverage.

For redness i have very recently started using the erborian cc red correct. Gets rid of my redness and then i've tried the bb cream or the cc cream over the top as I got small sizes of them to try. The cc has less coverage than the bb but both really nice.

I love the Erborian CC cream. I use the green one for anti-redness

Wow great replies, thanks all :)

The Erborian comes in travel sizes so that's good. For those that have tried it, how is the coverage? Do you need concealer with it?

Dcypher looks interesting too.

@1emma19 - that's really useful, thanks! I'm scanning the ingredients lists :D

I've used No 7 Airbrush Away Colour Balancing Primer (green) - it's okay but not terribly effectual, bit thin.

@Isabelle70 - yes it's probably rosacea, been like this for years, the spots are worse some times than others. Annoyingly concealer seems to bring on the spots.

@SparklyBlue - Rosalique looks good, might give that a go. I've tried various La Roche Posay in the past and currently using Avene repair creme which seems to be helping with the spots, it's a bit like posh sudocrem lol.