Dry Skin Foundations (Short) Reviews

As a new member of the dry skin club, I've been on the hunt for a foundation that is friendly to our skin, and it's been a long journey! I hope this may help put some of you in the right direction.

Please note, I don't like layering a ton of products, especially when I'm pregnant or nursing. I have a pretty short routine, especially in the morning rush to get ready, so I may not be using these foundations to their full capacity.

The only moisturizer I have found works for my dry face is FAB Ultra Repair Cream. I put that on at night and in the mornings after rinsing my face with warm water. I usually follow with sunscreen and then foundation. Currently, I am not using sunscreen due to being pregnant and having issues finding a good physical sunscreen (I was using Elta MD UV Clear before, but was concerned about the octinoxate). I'm waiting on the Skinceuticals Physical Fusion UV sunscreen to come in. As far as foundations, I prefer dewy (or natural/radiant) over matte. That being said, below are some of the foundations I've tried and how I felt about each. Hope this helps!

Koh Gen Do Aqua Foundation - This is the foundation I ended up buying. I stumbled on this foundation purely by accident. I love the consistency of this foundation and how easy it was to pat on. The foundation looks/feels thin and watery, but it is well pigmented. It's very buildable and does well covering my trouble spots. I hoped the foundation would retain some dewiness, but it dried into a more natural, skin-like finish. I felt like I was wearing nothing on my face, and my dry spots were nonexistent. My only complaint is, for some reason, this foundation settled around the fine lines under my eyes. Maybe it has to do with the mineral aspect? This isn't a dealbreaker for me, since I can just touch up under my eyes during lunch. Other than that issue, this foundation had great staying power. They sell samples of their foundation for $6.00. You get 5 colors and 2 sample packs of each color. If you're sold, you get $10 dollars off your foundation purchase through their website.

Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk - I've heard rave reviews about this foundation, so I had high expectations. I'm not a huge fan of the consistency. It was difficult to pat on, so I had to smear with my fingers. It was even difficult smearing it around on my face. I've found it's better to do smaller, less concentrated dots all over, instead of 3 or 4 big ones. The color match was slightly too yellow for me, so I found it kind of darkened my face. It accentuated my dry spots a tiny bit, but not enough for it to be a dealbreaker. It's very buildable and did well covering my trouble spots. I love the way it felt on my face. It felt like I had nothing on and it had great staying power. I got samples from my local Dillards. They also gave me a sample of some nice oil that I can mix in for more hydration, but neglected to tell me the oil costs $420.00.

Too Faced Born This Way - I've heard great things about this foundation, and I was excited to try it. It was too much coverage for my liking. This is closer to a full to medium coverage. It did pretty well not accentuating my dry spots, but I really couldn't get over how much coverage there was. It may be worth a try if you prefer full coverage foundations.

Josie Maran Vibrancy - I enjoyed the consistency of this foundation and dewiness. I could tap it on instead of smearing on my face. It felt sheer but pigmented and moisturizing. It covered my problem areas well and was buildable without being heavy. You could tell it was an oil based foundation. I really like this foundation right after application. I didn't like it so much 3 hours later. The pigment started setting in my fine lines and what originally felt moisturizing just made me feel like I was an oily teenager again. The feeling of this on my skin reminded me of a hydrating, dewy cushion, but not as good. This may work better if you use a finishing powder.

Tarte Rainforest of the Sea - I enjoyed the consistency of this foundation. The bottle is horrendous. It comes in a dropper type applicator (pump or bust!). It wasn't great at hiding my dry spots, and didn't last well through the day on my skin. It felt like the foundation was lifting slowly as the day progressed. It was great at covering up pores and was buildable. I don't know if I'm asking too much of my foundation, but I really prefer not to have to use a primer underneath. This may do better with a primer to help it stay on throughout the day.

Edit: Formatting - I can never get it right!