Okay, I know this title might sound a little bit dramatic, but that's just who I am, really. But, foundations are just really a big, big struggle for me. See, the thing is, I've been wearing foundation since I was around 14 years old. I've gone through a lot of bottles, tubes, whatever you want to call it, of different brands, different colors and different formulas. Still, I've yet to find the perfect one for me.

What I'm looking for in a foundation isn't too strange or specific, well at least to me, that is. I just want a nice medium to full coverage, I want it to cover up the redness in my cheeks, chin and nose and I don't want any dry patches coming through. I want it to be matte but also a bit dewy and glow-y. And, of course, it should match my skin tone. That's not too much to ask right?

Well apparently it is. As I already mentioned before, I started using foundation when I was 14 years old, still a little girl with obviously not that much money to spend. But then again, I just used it because everyone did and I didn't really have a clue of what I was doing or what I needed. I just wanted a cheap one. And that's where it started basically.

So far not that different from every other story I guess. It's just, the thing that bothers me so much is that I still haven't found a good, fitting one for me. And me being 22 years old, I think it's time to find the perfect foundation for me, and rather sooner than later.

So 14 years old I was, no money, buying really low priced and low quality foundations. It wasn't until I was around 16 or 17 that I started trying some high street brands like Rimmel and L'Oréal. I payed a, for the age and money I got, higher price for this and expected some better quality but to my disappointment this just wasn't the case.


























If I'm honest, Rimmel just isn't the brand for me, or any lighter skin toned person in that matter. I've got light skin, I'm not sure if I should describe it as fair of just pale or whatever, since I haven't really looked into that kind of stuff, but it's save to say that I've got a light skin tone. And Rimmel just doesn't do light skin tones. See, I'm a bit pale but not the palest and to me it's just a bit strange that Rimmel doesn't seem to have a foundation in my color. Like none, no color, not in different formulas. All too dark and too orange-y for me. Most of them even in the summer. And L'Oréal and Maybelline had quite the same problem. Back then I couldn't find a matching one for me either. But with those brands it was either too light or too dark. So for the most part of those years I just ended up switching between L'Oréal and Maybelline, mixed with a lower priced one to get the right color for me.

This sort of mixture would just always end up being not the right color either, and if it was, then it'd just only stay on for 4 hours max. Still I coped with that for quite a while.

It wasn't until October 2015 that I thought I had finally found the right foundation for me. At the MAC counter I bought the MAC Pro Longwear Nourishing Foundation. It fitted my skin tone perfectly, only a bit of product would be good for full coverage and it would stay on for hours, probably even days if I wouldn't take it off at night. Even cycling (because you know, I'm dutch) through rain wasn't a problem for this foundation, my foundation still looked flawless after that. It had a matte finish, but wasn't obvious matte, or cakey. It had just the right amount of glow to it as well. Sounds a bit too good to be true, isn't it? Well it was. After two weeks of wearing this foundation, my face was full of bumps. Not red, not itchy (well only after I took it off with a cleansing wipe) just, invisible, small bumps. I was, obviously, devastated.

I thought the end of foundation good for 4 hours, the search for the right color, had finally ended, but apparently not. So I went back to another store, asked for another, similar foundation and the girl advised me the Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Even Finish Foundation SPF 15. So obviously, I took this home.

And from then on, it all went down, down, down. Don't get me wrong, the foundations I've tried all have good points. But they will never meet the standard that MAC foundation has set for me. Especially not the Bobbi Brown one, which is a great foundation, but in no way similar to the MAC one. I've tried everything from that point. high street, high end. mattes, dewy & glow-y ones, full coverage, medium coverage, barely existing coverage even a CC cream, it all just doesn't match that MAC one, all not good enough.

So here I am, 22 years old, having no favourite foundation, no foundation that is the one for me. Having spend so much money (I don't have) on foundation to just return to this post, empty handed. But I wont give up yet. I will work my ass off, earn some money, and continue my search to the perfect foundation for me.

What's your perfect foundation? And did you have a similar struggle or did you find the right foundation after just a couple of tries?

*I'm in no way trying to bring down the foundations and brands that I'll be showing, I just want to show you my journey through foundations*

Love, Ilona