You know the drill. Every time there is a new product on the market, you feel the compelling need to try it out. Especially with foundations, we always seem to be on a hunt for the holy grail. Unfortunately, most of the time the hunt is unsuccessful and we end up accumulating piles of stuff we never use. Today, I go through one of such piles. On a side note - please excuse the messy packaging - I really tried to make those products work :)

Garnier BB Cream for Oily to Combination Skin

As you can see, I actually own two tubes of the product. First time I picked up the wrong shade - it was too dark. I tried to make it work anyways. Initially, I kind of liked so I decided to purchase the right light shade (there is no return or exchange possible where I live). I used it for about a week consistently until it started to break me out. This product is very runny and strongly smells of alcohol which probably wasn't the best for my sensitive skin. It emphasized all my dry patches and also pores! Although it aims to control shine, for me it had the opposite effect - after couple of hours my skin was oilier than usual.

Maybelline Fit Me!

This is kind of a similar story to the Garnier BB cream. It is a runny, light coverage foundation which will turn you to an oily mess if you have anything less than very dry skin. The longevity of this foundation is also not the best. At the end of the day, there was no sign of foundation on my face. Fortunately, no alcohol smell or irritation.

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream

Actually, this is an exception among all the other products and my all time favorite bb cream. I've repurchased it already 3 times! The coverage is very light, almost undetectable, but it unifies the skin and gives it a nice from-within glow (not the oily glow!). I am always impressed when I look into the mirror a half way through the day and my skin looks even better than it did in the morning!

Revlon Photoready BB Cream

I have tried to apply this product in all possible ways (alone, different moisturizers, primer, hands, brush, beauty blender...), but it never worked out. Each time it just crumbled off my face. The texture is thick and creamy. I can't really tell you anything else because I never had it on my face for longer than 5 minutes during application.

Mixa Soothing Anti-Redness BB Cream

This product comes only in one shade - medium with beige/pink undertones. I don't really understand how it is supposed to help with redness when it made my whole face look darker and red even when I used only a very small amount. Another downside is a greasy formula which doesn't really sink into the skin. It feels heavy and sticky.

Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation

A holy grail for many, but unfortunately a fail for me. It is a nice creamy consistency and a medium coverage. It glides over the skin easily without emphasizing any dryness. You can get away wearing this foundation with or without a powder on top, depending on your skin type. It will truly last throughout the day (with occasional blotting). So where is the catch? It made me look off. On the days when I wore the foundation people commented on my unhealthy and tired appearance. I couldn't disagree with them when I looked into a mirror. The foundation looked heavy on the skin.

MaxFactor Second Skin Foundation

I don't have much to say about this foundation. The shade I got was way too dark for my complexion so I only tried it once. It was nice, but nothing special to spend extra 25$ for another shade.

Astor Mattitude HD Foundation and Astor Anti-Shine MakeUp

I paired those two foundations together because to me they offered exactly the same results. They were both very mattifying and drying. They emphasized dryness even where I didn't know I had some. Also, both foundations wore off pretty quickly during the day, leaving patches of product around the dry spots. Definitely not a good look. However I can see these products working pretty well for somebody with very oily skin.

L'Oréal Paris True Match Foundation

This is a nice foundation. The only reason why I am getting rid of it is (again!) a wrong shade. I can make the shade work for me and I do wear it, especially during special occasions (it's the best for photos). But it is time to switch the 'fake tan' look into something more natural. The consistency of the foundation is runny, smooth and well blendable.The coverage is medium, but it still looks like your skin. Even my boyfriend complemented the natural finish!

I find clearouts like this very helpful. It reminds you what works for your skin and what doesn't. Although companies continue to come out with new formulations, the promises remain mostly the same. I've learned over the time that formulas promising matte finish don't usually work on my combination skin and I rather stick to the ones for normal skin. It is always easier to blot during the day than deal with dehydrated flaky skin when putting on your makeup.