My Favourite High-End Foundations

Hey there! I've been crazy busy with work lately so I've been trying to write as many blogs as I can in advance so I can schedule them for the next 2 weeks. If you haven't noticed, I'm slowly going through my make-up collection narrowing down which products/brands are my favourite. So basically, I'm a foundation FREAK and I love to try out new formulas from drugstore to high-end. I've rounded up my 5 favourite high-end foundations - I chop and change which brand/formula I use depending on what I'm doing during the day.

Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk, £36.50 (eek!) 

This is the foundation I've spent the most on and it was a risky purchase because there weren't many in-depth reviews on this foundation, or swatches so I took a gamble and ordered the shade 5.0. It's an oil-free, light, weight-less foundation with no SPF (perfect for flash photography) and I do love it. It pulls slightly too light for me but nothing like a good bronzer or MAC Mineralise Skinfinish Natural can't fix. It smells beautiful and the packaging feels quite luxe (you know you've paid for the packaging). It's a pump-style foundation which keeps everything hygienic and has a lid to protect it too. I apply this foundation with a damp beauty blender and I use about 1 1/2 pumps to cover the entire face. It's a light-medium coverage (quite a runny formula) but you can definitely build it up, if you feel that you need extra coverage. Since it is SPF free, it's perfect for when you're going out and photos will be taken (I'm debating this for my wedding foundation....) because it won't create the white flashback. It leaves a matte but luminous finish, so if you have oily skin like myself but don't like to look too flat in the face, it's the perfect foundation. Love this one!

Estee Lauder Double Wear, £29.50 (another eek!)

I'd heard about this foundation being a holy-grail to a lot of people with oily skin, so I'm surprised I didn't pick it up earlier. I got this the same time I purchased the Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk foundation and I would say this is very comparable to Mac Stuido Fix Fluid, maybe a little bit thicker. Some people say it's a clay-like foundation i.e. very heavy and although I can see why this is the case, thick/heavy foundations don't bother me at all. I don't feel a huge difference. Although I wouldn't and don't wear any of my high-end foundations to work/everydayy, I feel that my make-up is much more polished when I use higher-end foundations. Ester Lauder Double Wear blends nicely into the skin (I use Real Techniques buffing brush) but you need to work quickly with it because it can dry to the skin quite quickly. If you want a full coverage foundation to last you all night long, then this is a great foundation to use and needs minimal touch-ups during the day. There's a wide range of colours to select from too, so you should be able to  find a good colour match. I am the colour 'Sand' for reference, which is near enough equivalent to a light-medium squinting with yellowy undertones.

MAC Stuido Fix Fluid, £21.50 (Well....they're all pretty pricey!)

MAC Stuido Fix fluid (NC25) was one of my first expensive foundations and it was one of my favourite go-to foundations for about 2 years until I started branching out to different brands. I had a bit of a love-hate relationship with this foundation towards the end of the 2-year reign because I felt like the formula was drying my skin out a little bit and making me look a bit flat but nonetheless, it's still one of my favourite foundations. I actually mix this foundation (sometimes with lighter coverage foundations to add more coverage and longevity. MAC Studio Fix Fluid leaves quite a matte finish, almost quite flat (which is another reason why I had a love-hate relationship with it) so I would recommend using something like MAC Fix+ to breathe some life back into your face or mix the foundation with an illuminator.

MAC Matchmaster, £28 

MAC Matchmaster (2.0) is quite a light-medium coverage foundation and although it pulls slightly too warm for my skin tone, I don't apply too much of it and conceal the rest of my face with a lighter concealer. I think MAC Matchmaster is a pretty good foundation if you like something light and a semi-matte. I don't like a completely matte look (it can make you look too flat in the face), so this is a nice foundation for a controlled, natural finish. For me, it really does stay on my face all-day long without needing much touch-up and I use this foundation if I want something to stay on all-day but not too heavy. 

Laura Mercier Silk Creme, £35

Laura Mercier Silk Creme is something I've wanted for a while now and when I decided to go ahead and purchase this, I was told the packaging had changed and is now oil free. I'm not sure if I'm correct on this, but this is what the lady at Space NK told me. I got a sample pot of this in Bamboo Beige and it's a pretty much spot-on colour for me. It's a quick-drying foundation so I would work quickly with it, and I use a Real Techniques buffing brush with this. A little goes a long way but you can certainly build it up and add more if necessary. The colour range is great - varies to the palest complexions to medium-dark skin tones. 

(L-R: Giorgio Armani '5.0', Estee Lauder Double Wear 'Sand', MAC Studio Fix Fluid 'NC25', MAC MAtchmaster '2.0', Laura Mercier Silk Creme 'Bamboo Beige')
Apologies for the poor swatches/quality - I'm still trying to practise with my new camera. Any tips?!

All these foundations are pretty expensive, hence why I only use certain foundations for certain occasions, and what I will be doing on the day. 

What are your favourite high-end foundations? 

Have you tried any of these and do you love/hate them? Let me know!