Powder vs. Liquid Foundation

Hey guys! Wow so it's been a minute! Law school started back up again so I've been buried in homework. For today's blog post I wanted to talk about foundation, specifically the age-old question: Powder or liquid foundation? 




Until very recently my answer to this question was powder all the way. There's an old rule that if your skin is oily, you should only use powder foundations. I've used them since I first started wearing makeup in middle school, and prior to this past week I can honestly say I'd never tried liquid foundation. However, given my recent success with tinted moisturizers (read about my love affair with Physician's Formula Super BB Cream here) I found myself wondering more and more about liquid foundations.

Determined to satisfy my curiosity, I decided to take the plunge and just try one out. I am so glad I did! Specifically, I tried the Revlon ColorStay foundation and I'm obsessed. Granted, I still love my bareMinerals Ready foundation and have found that there are pros and cons to each type. Let me break it down for you....

liquid on the left, powder on the right

Liquid Foundation

After doing some research I learned that one of the top recommended drugstore foundations for oily skin is the Revlon Color Stay for combo/oily skin. This oil-free foundation is advertised as lasting up to 24 hours and has special time-release technology to control shine. Normally I find that special "time-release technology" has no effect on my skin, however in this case I really felt as though it worked! My face definitely stayed shine-free for most of my day, with only a little bit of shine near the end. I did set my foundation with my bareMineral Mineral Veil, so I think that may have helped.

Pros: 

• Even application
• Long-lasting
• Didn't settle into fine lines
• Better coverage
• Kept skin matte longer

Cons: 

• Tendency to look like you're wearing a mask if you don't pick your exact right shade (I was lucky and happened to pick my exact shade, but its still a pretty big concern)
• Have to be more aware of ingredients and make sure you are buying oil-free if your skin has a tendency to get oily or more moisturizing ingredients if your skin is dry
• Can clog pores (have only used mine a few days, so juries still out on whether it will wreck havoc with my skin. I will let you know if it does!)

Powder Foundation

You guys know how much I love Bare Minerals foundation. I hauled the Ready version in a recent blog post and have been using it consistently for years. However, lately I had felt my love affair with it waning. I think it was a combination of just being a little bored, as well as having longer hours since starting law school (I can literally stay in the library or class from 7 am until 9 pm on any given day) and noticing that my makeup was severely faded by the end of the day. However, after having used liquid foundation for a few days, I've decided that there are definitely a few things about powder foundations that I like just a little bit better.

Pros:

• Blendable (virtually no risk of mask-face here, as long as you picked the right shade; could technically blend liquid foundation as well but I found that at least the Revlon Color Stay dried really fast)
• Matte finish
• Easy application (you literally just dust it on, takes about thirty seconds for me in the morning. liquid foundation requires a little more effort, at least for me!)
• Buildable (you can vary the amount of coverage you want day to day; with liquid it kinda depends on the particular formula you have)
• Lighter (lets your pores breath)

Cons:

• Can look cakey (especially if you have dry patches)
• Not as long-lasting
• Does not stay matte (at least not as matte as with the Color Stay)

Overall I was very pleased with the Revlon Color Stay liquid foundation and will definitely keep it in my makeup bag. In terms of which is better, I think ultimately it depends on you and your specific skin type. I'm going to have to call this one a tie!

I am still very new to this whole liquid foundation thing, so please leave me in the comments what some of your favorites are! 

xoxo Patricia