A Foundation Experiment: Besame vs Makesense vs Dermablend

Foundation is everything. It's the foundation of your face; it affects the rest of your makeup, and in turn, your entire day.

I have been experimenting lately, trying new ones. On a normal work day, I just use concealer and Avon mineral powder. When I'm dressing up to go out though, I put that extra effort into myself. And as I said, a good foundation is..everything.

First up: Besame Foundation Stick: Honey

I've never tried a stick before. 

Pros: The tube itself is lovely to look at.

          I didn't have smearing or an oily appearance

          It seems breathable

Cons: I didn't find it easy to spread.

           It's the wrong color for me--came out too pale. Not Besame's fault, but mine. I had no way of sampling the products first. I just guessed and their site says this one is Medium with a neutral tone. I tend to wear mediums due to my Puerto Rican heritage. I'm hoping the Besame chai vanilla powder, which bronzes a bit, will be a perfect fix to this problem. (It's on its way)

           My eyeliner (cheap stuff, I confess) didn't agree with this foundation and smeared all over my lid. That does not normally happen to the extent it did.

Before foundation/After foundation

I then topped off this foundation with some Besame French Vanilla powder. 

I didn't think this powder made any difference, but check this out:

I

After foundation and powder/After foundation/Before 

Conclusion: It does nothing for my circles but it certainly handles my freckles. However, the difficulty in application makes this a foundation I won't buy again. I still like their other products, such as the Dusty Rose lipstick in the after after photo, a color from 1969.

Second: Makesense Anti-aging foundation in Dewy. I applied this with a silicone spreader.

Pros: Spreads very easily
Last throughout the day
Looks great
Liner did not smear

Cons: Gets a little oily looking on the forehead
Does cause some breakout
Expensive.

Conclusion: I prefer this over the stick. I topped it with Besame's Vanilla Rose Brightening powder.

The results: 

No makeup/foundation/foundation plus powder

As you can see, these Besame face brightening powders make a huge difference for me. Because of my coloring and freckles, the foundation pales me and then the brightening powder gives me a healthy glow. I am loving this vanilla rose more than the French vanilla.

Lipstick here is Besame's Wild Orchid, a color from 1952.

Third, the new dermablend. I received this as a trial via Amazon Vine. Color is 40N (40 Neutral). They have a chart on Amazon to help you pick your shade. I just happened to luck out and this one works well for me.

Pros: Very Very easy to spread!!! I just used my fingers. Not sure what the applicator tube is for. I didn't find it necessary.
Lasts forever. I went out in the sweltering heat and sweated my butt off but my face still looked great.
Great coverage, light feeling, no acne.
Liner did not smear.

Cons: Expensive. I did have a line I had to blend into my chin. It's not a perfect shade but the best I can do.

The results:

No makeup/foundation/foundation plus powder

I topped this foundation off with the Besame French Vanilla powder and the lipstick is Besame's Victory Red.

And here are all three foundations next to each other:

Which one do YOU think turned out the best? Are you inclined to try it?

I like the Besame coverage; it's just the wrong color and I don't care for the stick. I prefer the dermablend.