Reviewing 3 Foundations for Dry Skin

I didn’t used to have dry skin. But during the aging process our skin naturally loses some of those lovely, youthful lipids that keep our skin plump and bouncy. It’s just the way it goes.

Add in retinol or the heavy strength tretinoin that I use, and you have, well, somewhat dry skin. I use the tretinoin to help with my naturally large pores. If you have flaky skin or need a foundation for dry skin and large pores, I hope this helps!

Here in Atlanta we have more of a winter than I had growing up in Florida. It’s dry, it’s windy, it’s cold.

I pile on the moisturizer and serums to combat the dryness.

After trying and using so many foundations to find one that both had the right amount of coverage, wasn’t’ too heavy but didn’t show every dry flake on my skin, I decided to write this review.

One of the most popular foundations on the market was an absolute miss for me, and I felt compelled to share this with you as a counterpoint to the mostly positive reviews of this foundation.

Not all products are designed for maturing skin!

So let’s dive into three different foundations advertised as being moisturizing with buildable coverage.

Dermablend

Continuous Correction Cream

Dermablend sent me this foundation to provide reviews on Dermablend Foundation for my readers. They sent me three different colors. None of which were a perfect color match, so I custom blended my own color each day (which is somewhat fun because you feel like a real makeup artist!)

The verdict: I like it, I can’t say I love it but I do really like it. The Dermablend melts into my skin better than the Too Faced I’m about to discuss below. It certainly has great buildable coverage and it has a solid SPF 50 in it which is nice.

Formula: I think it’s a good CC cream which makes it a little more moisturizing. It’s active ingredients are  homosalate, octisalate, octocrylene.

I think its a good affordable foundation that gives good 24 hour coverage. I consider it to have good staying power.

Coverage: it’s a solid medium coverage, but doesn’t build too much.

Too Faced

Born This Way Foundation

Alrighty, everyone. Here we go….

Verdict: I hate it! Throwing it in the trash!

Too Faced Born This Way foundation gets amazing reviews. People swear by it for it’s buildable coverage and its’ formula.

For me it shows every single nook and cranny in my dry skin.

If you’re using any form of anti-aging retinol I don’t think the Too Faced Born This Way Matte Foundation would be a good foundation for you.

Coverage: It has medium and very buildable coverage. I liked it for this aspect.

I worked really hard to make it work and did not love it week after week after week.

I tried using it with primer, I tried moisturizers, I tried it with nothing on my skin and never got it to sit well. It’s almost as like it sat on top of my skin and didn’t melt into it. In fact, it would separate on my skin within an hour– ewwww!!!!!

Pro: The pro of the Too Faced foundation is it comes in a thousand different color options so it’s easy to choose the perfect pigment for you. I honestly think that’s why so many people love it.

If you don’t have my struggles of dry skin then this may be the product everyone raves about.

Color: I wore Almond, which, to honest, was a tiny bit too bisque for me.

I know Sephora has a return policy that’s very generous these days. I just happened to miss the window on that and couldn’t return mine. Bummer but oh well.

Dior

Forever Matte Foundation

Verdict: After trying these foundations (and more!) I’m finally tried samples of the Dior Forever Matte Foundation color. It’s a 24 hour foundation, transferable, and amazing! This hands down the best foundation for dry skin and large pores that I’ve found to date.

Formula: I tried both the Matte style and their brand new Dior Forever Skin Glow foundation which has more of a radiant finish to it. I absolutely loved this one as well, but I was in the market for a matte foundation so went that direction.

With summer quickly coming, I may add that new, highly praised Dior Forever Skin Glow foundation to my arsenal as well.

Both formulas are medium-coverage, moisturizing foundations with PF 15. It is a lower SPf so you will want to wear sunscreen below it.

My Color: I went with the matte look, color 2WP,  so I could add a highlighter later if I wanted to. I really like it, it totally melts into my skin and blends well.

They had great color options so I could easily match my color skin.

Coverage: Dior is working really well to have a good medium base but if I apply a little more I can get a good heavy coverage if I need It without having it feeling cakey.

I’ve even worn it to the gym sweating it out and still did not break out. To me that says a  lot about a makeup, it show’s it’s not heavy or clogging your pores.

Of all the foundations I’ve tried in a while the Dior has become a new favorite.

Totally recommend splurging on this one!

I was lucky enough to meet Beyonce’s makeup artist, Sir John, and sit for an hour with him to talk makeup.

I brought all my current makeup for him to evaluate and let me know what to toss and what to keep.

He pulled out the NARS foundation I had been using, and swiped it on my hand. He showed me how the foundation was pulling out every pore and line on my hand.

Caveat: this was a few years ago, so the formula I was wearing is likely very different than this NARS foundation currently being sold!

By swiping it on my hand I could see clearly how drying the formula was for me. It was a brilliant tip!

Tip: swipe a formula on your skin and see what happens. Does it melt into your hand, look soft and blur the pores? Or does it make your skin look crackly and dry?

Thanks, Sir John! Super helpful!!!!!