Top 5 Winter Foundations

In the winter it is very common for your skin to be more problematic. What with the heating blasting away, and then going out into freezing temperatures, it's hard for your skin to find it's comfort zone. For this reason the winter brings our favourite higher coverage foundations out of our makeup stash. Here are my top five below;

From left to right; 
Nars Sheer Glow, Laura Mercier Silk Creme, Dior Forever, Rimmel Wake Me Up 
& Bourjois Healthy Mix.

1st Place: NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Mont Blanc | £30.50
Available in 14 various shades, I would recommend at least trying this foundation out if you have never before. It's got a huge following and a lot of people, like myself always return to it when in need of a reliable but natural coverage. It's not sheer in coverage as the name suggests, but is very much build-able - I would say you can get a medium to high coverage with this. You can apply with a sponge, blending brush, fingers or foundation brush. I love it for it's versatility, and the way in which it can make my skin look dewy and refreshed. The formula itself is quite watery, and I would suggest shaking before using to get a good mix of the product. I believe you can now purchase pumps for this product too! This will help dispense the foundation in a less messy way (unscrewing the cap and just pouring the liquid out).

2nd Place: Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation in Rose Ivory | £33.00
To skip the building of layers in your foundation routine and realising 'I just want a high coverage, but a natural look' then this my fellow beauty bloggers has to be tried and tested. If I am venturing out on the town and I need the best coverage for my skin but something to last a whole night, I always reach for this. The formula is thick, so best not to start off with too much (it's the old rule of you can add more, but you can't take away!). It has always reminded me of acrylic paint both in texture and smell. I have found best results stippling this on, over my Laura Mercier Radiance Primer, with a Beauty Blender or sponge (however the blender can end up sapping most of your product :( ) these are great to use together. You can get a real airbrushed finish with the blender and stippling motion. I have found with some uses that this can oxidise on my skin, for instance turning more orangey in tone that it started - if this happens to you shake the product well, and check the date you brought it. Oxidising is trait of a gone off product. Having said this, when not oxidising, this is a holy grail for me when good reliable coverage is needed.

3rd Place: Diorskin Forever Liquid Flawless Perfection Fusion Wear Foundation in 010 Ivory | £32.00
This is the first foundation in the list which features an SPF of 25  - PA +++. The glass bottle, and Dior name means this is a fabulous product for your dresser. For your face it gives a medium coverage, but I wouldn't say that for me this foundation was as build-able as those above. It also doesn't provide as dewy a finish, so if you like something more matte that creates the minimal makeup look I would try this one. It comes with a pump delivery which is really handy and hygienic. I was recommend to use this foundation with the Diorskin Forever Pressed Powder for extra coverage, however I don't have a huge thing for powders so often skip this step. The formula is the in between of the Silk Creme and NARS Sheer Glow, a solution which you need to work quite quickly with but using your fingers works well with this one to get a good application.

4th & 5th Place: bring on the high street wonders -

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in 100 Ivory | £8.99
I purchased this when it first came out, whilst at uni and was going for 'beauty on a budget'. Rimmel really did well with this product, it comes in a glass bottle with a great pump dispenser which provides you a lot of product per pump (so beware!). Depending on which light you apply this in, you will find sparkles appear. You can see from the bottle, when held up to light this foundation has an iridescence to it and whilst it is not going to make you sparkle like glitter-ball do be aware if you have oily skin, this could make for more dewiness and attract particular attention to more oily areas. I remember when I first applied this thinking I'm going to need loads but I was thoroughly surprised at the coverage it was able to provide and the effect it really did give in brightening my face. On really bright sunny days though, you can look a little Edward Cullen as many beauty bloggers have deduced. I like to use this foundation as a back up, on a lazy day when instant brightening is needed!

Bourjois Paris, Healthy Mix Foundation in 51 | £9.99
Bourjois have been known over the past few months to have brought out some high end compatible foundations. Healthy Mix was Bourjois' first 16 hr, radiance boosting anti-oxidant foundation, and it really did get some amazing reviews. I still like to use this foundation, and have thought about going for the Happy Light foundation, since the pay off of this formula has covered so well for a product under £10. I even find it does last like the promotional write ups claim without drying my skin right out and caking into every pore. This is great for travel, on the go, and everyday!

Thanks for reading, and let me know your favourite foundation for winter.