I may have a problem! Look at all this crap. (Just kidding, cuddles face bases.) See, I never thought I would be the kind of “makeup enthusiast” who had a thing for bases. I was always always distracted by color cosmetics, so this is kind of a weird personal revelation.
This is all a restrained effort at acquiring bases, mind you. I regularly clear out my stash, and I’ve also salivated over a number of other bases I’ve chosen to pretend to not exist. All to be mentioned at the end of this post. Ahem.
So what is the case for bases? There isn’t really any case for it, other than the fact that I am a fickle person and I like having options. For the record, I like having “natural looking” skin. By this, I mean, I don’t mind if a pimple peeks through or if my eye bags aren’t 100% erased by foundation and concealer (… that’s a whole other story), so most of my foundations are medium coverage, at most. I just personally don’t like the look of an overly matte, heavy face, and no, it’s not because I don’t like “tricking” people. P.S. If you’re mad at a person who wears full coverage foundations because you think they are somehow “tricking” people, maybe have your eyes (and attitude!) checked because if you’re “tricked” by thick makeup and you feel bad and cheated by it, then that’s not the other person’s fault. It’s yours.
Anyway, back to face makeup. I only have a few, so I’ll divide them into main categories and then talk about the when’s and the what’s. 🙂 
Cream and Liquid
What: My “wet” face bases with substantial coverage + used all over the face. Currently, I have 4. I didn’t include my Illamasqua Cream Foundation because I bought it to use as a cream contour.
When: I use liquids and creams if I feel really bad about my skin, because it, in my experience and in terms of my stash, provides the most amount of coverage. I don’t wear makeup everyday, so these are all quite full-ish for me.
The ones I have are the ff:
- NARS Sheer Glow
My favorite liquid foundation so far. It has adequate coverage and a way of making your face look and feel better. I like using a Real Techniques Expert Face Brush with this. - Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Gel Foundation
I like this a lot, but I don’t like how the smell is so strong. If it were unscented, I’d wear it more often. It’s similar to the Sheer Glow, but dries down to a more matte/less dewy finish. - Graymelin CC Base Cream*
Kinda like my tinted moisturizer at the moment. I received this in a BNT Girls box, and I’ve used it on and off as it’s a bit light and quite dewy. - Kjaer Weis Cream Foundation
My newest love. This is harder to apply than a liquid foundation, but the coverage “level” can be played with the most, allowing it to appear sheer or built up to a high-ish coverage. It kind of smells like old lady makeup, but I don’t really mind.
Pressed Powder
What: Powder foundation in pressed form. Minimal coverage, mostly, but not translucent. My pressed powders don’t have a lot of coverage, so there’s some improvement to my skin’s overall appearance, but there’s a lot of room for error because people rarely notice this anyway.
When: Used when I am lazy. Usually, I’ll put a primer and/or sunscreen and pat this on my face. Other times, I just use these.
- Pixy UV Whitening Two Way Cake Perfect Matte*
I like using this if I want a heavier coverage than the Le Métier de Beauté Pressed Powder. It has a great finish, some SPF, and it is refillable. - Le Métier de Beauté Peau Vierge Anti-Aging Pressed Powder
Can be used on its own, but I also like to use it to finish off my makeup if I’m wearing a wet base. Lovely, lovely product. I just wish it were cheaper + refillable.
Loose Mineral Foundation
What: Loose mineral foundation is pretty self-explanatory, I think. Anyway, the finish of these bases are still light, but more perfected than the kind I get from my pressed powders, and can be built up to a fuller coverage.
When: Again, these are for lazy days but require a bit more effort to apply, since they come in a loose, aka messier, form.
- Ellana Minerals Loose Mineral Powder Foundation*
This is so easy to apply. A main complaint with bareMinerals is that it requires so much effort to build it up to a full coverage foundation. Not the case with Ellana. I don’t think I was properly matched because this pulls a bit too yellow on me for my liking, but this is a good, cheap foundation that also comes in a pressed form now! - bareMinerals Original Foundation
I like this mineral foundation a lot, but I find that my face itches when I have it on and I happen to sweat. Love the foundation, but I don’t like the itching, which is pretty much unavoidable in Manila. I love my shade match for this a bit more, and it gives a more “dewy” finish than the Ellana one, which gives you quite a matte look.
And that’s it! Those are all the face bases I have, not counting concealer. To be honest, I can probably stand to get rid of a few of them, but I think I’ll try to use them up first. As much as I can before I get anything else, anyway.
Some Notes:
- My favorites: NARS, Kjaer Weis, Le Métier de Beauté, Ellana Mineralss*
- Refillable: Kjaer Weis, Pixy, Ellana Minerals
- Lazy: Le Métier de Beauté
- Travel-Friendly: Le Métier de Beauté, Kjaer Weis (but heavy), Pixy*, Bourjois. NARS, too, but it’s made of glass.
- Cruelty-free: NARS Sheer Glow (owned by a parent company that tests), Kjaer Weis, Le Métier de Beauté, Ellana Minerals* (company itself doesn’t test, not sure about ingredient sources), bareMinerals (owned by a parent company that tests)
- Natural Ingredients: Kjaer Weis
- With SPF: Pixy*, bareMinerals
Some future purchases I have in mind
— NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer
— Jouer Matte Moisture Tint
— RMS Beauty Un-Cover Up
* PR Sample
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Softly Sometimes 
Great Post!
Thank you!
You’re right about the attitudes of people who feel “tricked” by full-coverage makeup. There are many such people, both male and female, and they need to understand that wearing foundation is approximately as devious as wearing shoes instead of sandals. What do you mean, your feet aren’t naturally blue? LIAR.
That said, I have no idea where to start with foundation! I’m curious about the NARS tinted moisturizer, though, since the concealer works so well for me. I was also intrigued by the recent xoVain article on powder, though I prefer my skin to have a less matte finish.
I know, lol. Give me a break for wanting to look nicer? I guess we’re not supposed to cut our hair either?
Eep, I’ve tried the NARS TM and it’s GREAT. I just feel like my shade match is Groenland, which we don’t carry here, so I’m looking to test it out against St. Moritz (which we carry, but is too yellow) and Alaska, and see which one matches me best. 😀 But it’s an awesome TM, I think you’d like it! Very lightweight and has SPF.
There are some powders that don’t look cakey or powdery. 🙂 I quite liked one of the Maybelline ones, but I had to um, make an executive decision and just keep the ones I intend on using. The MAC Mineralize Skin Finish is a great powder, too. I tried my mom’s out and was so in love with it, but didn’t want to buy more MAC. Honey Bee Gardens has a pressed mineral foundation as well, which has been a favorite of many natural/green beauty lovers. 🙂 It’s available on iHerb.com, I think.
I really want to try the Ellana loose foundation. A plus that it’s easy to blend + has a wide shade range!
I think you’ll like the Jouery Luminizing Moisture Tint if you don’t like having overly matte face 😀
PS permission to copy this kind of post Carina, please 😀
Ganda nung Ellana. 🙂 Although it has more synthetic ingredients in it, I feel.
Thanks for the tip! I’ll try to find a counter to test both out. We both know how “dewy” (haha) you end up looking here in Manila, even with a matte base. D:
PS Go for it, girl!
If you are experiencing itching with the Bare Minerals – bismuth oxy chloride (?) May be the culprit. I believe their Matte offering does not have the bismuth. There are other mineral brands that formulate w/o bismuth as well. I can’t stand the regular BM formula during hot/humid weather.
AH! Thank you so much for the information. I’ve read that a lot of people have found this to be irritating, and I think that HAS been singled out as the culprit. I will finish this up and move on. As much as I love it, I can’t stand an itchy face!
On people who feel tricked by other people who wear foundation – come on! I’m sure they secretly envy the flawless effect. lol.
The Pixy Powder Foundation sounds promising and I heard their products are quite affordable. Might have to check that out.
LOL baka nga! Pixy is a great, affordable brand. 🙂 Hope you like them!
Wow! I’m kinda surprised that you don’t have any BB creams.
As for me, I presently have 3 BB creams, 1 CC cream, 3 liquid foundations, 4 powders. I am crazy because I still want to try a number of bases including Ellana loose powder, Nars sheer glow, Za and the new Loreal tru match. To think that I sometimes don’t even wear any makeup.
I have pretty dark skin so I don’t tend to gravitate towards any of the traditional BB Creams. I used to have one by The Body Shop and that was the only base I had at the time but I ended up tossing it. Haha I know, I rarely wear makeup, too! I think I’d go through these way faster if I had to wear makeup for work or something everyday.
All 3 of my BB creams are from body shop (again, crazy). I have the vitamin e, all in one and the new tea tree one. That’s the thing, my work does not really require me to wear make up so I just put on a full face just once a week
Yes Nara Tinted moisturizer is sooo nice. Very natural look, lightweight, has spf, and can build up to medium coverage. I find it nicer than the sheer glow. Whats better is if you top it off with mac mineralize skinfinish! I love bases too. Try Guerlain parure lumiere. For me it’s still the best. I like your posts!:)
Thank you for the comment, Baba! Yes, I like them both. 🙂 Thanks for the suggestion, but I stopped buying Guerlain! Too bad I didn’t get to try that… Perhaps it was a good thing so I don’t have to miss it! x