The drugstore (or Walmart) beauty department is a wonderful thing. You can find high-quality products for low prices, but sometimes those products aren't high quality.
I've only used one kind of "high end" foundation, so I have used and tested my fair share of drugstore foundation and been both disappointed and excited, so here's the best and worst of drugstore foundation.
Best: Maybelline FitMe Foundations
I've used both the dewy and smooth and the matte and poreless formulas and I love both of them, I sometimes even mix them to get the right color and the perfect finish. My only complaint about this foundation is that the dewy and smooth formula doesn't come in as many shades as the matte and poreless.
The shade 112 in the matte and poreless and absolutely perfect for my almost ivory skin tone, however the closest the dewy and smooth formula gets to that shade is 115, which is slightly darker than what I'd like. I've gone through two of each kind of this foundation.
Worst: Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation
At first, I was in love with this matte foundation, however, the more I used it with setting powder the more I hated it. It felt cakey on my face if I used setting powder, but it didn't dry matte enough to not set it with some kind of powder.
When I put powder over it, it would get cakey and really accentuate my pores and break up within half an hour. It was hard to blend with a sponge and extremely streaky when I tried to apply with a brush, even adding beauty oil didn't help with the texture of this foundation.
Best: Maybelline Better Skin
Not only does this foundation provide a good amount of coverage. but it also fights acne and contains salicylic acid to prevent acne as well. The coverage is great and the bottle with the pump is so much more convenient than a liquid without a pump, you waste way more product that way. My only complaint again is the range of shades, c'mon Maybelline, make every foundation in 112!
Worst: Maybelline Dream Cushion Foundation
I had high hopes for this foundation after seeing YouTubers rave about it online but was disappointed with it when I used it for the first few times. The color (ivory) is way too dark for me and the shade porcelain is way too fair for me, there's no in between.
Not only is it nearly $15 at Ulta (twice as much as middle of the road drugstore foundations), it only has 0.64 ounces where most foundations are 1 oz and it ran out within a month and broke up and accentuated my pores when I tried to build up coverage.
Best: Covergirl TruMatch
This was the first foundation my mom ever bought me (throwback) and it matched me better than any other foundation I've ever worn. The range of shades is amazing and the finish isn't dewy or matte, making it perfect to set with powder. The only downside is that the pump doesn't always work well when you get low on your foundation, but I'll take a matching shade over a working pump any day.
Worst: Wet n Wild Photo Focus Foundation
I have a complicated relationship with this foundation, when you first apply it, it's super greasy and it looked like I got the wrong shade (I got Nude Ivory), but once I set it with my Airspun powder, it was flawless and I loved it. But then I wore it to work for nine hours and by three hours in, it was awful. It broke up all over my face and it oxidized, making my face look like a mess (to me anyway, I doubt anyone else noticed).
If you're going to wear it for two hours, it's great, but if you want to wear it all day, this foundation is not for you. The great thing that I loved about it though was the range of shades, especially the lighter shades. I have a hard time finding matching foundation shades because all anyone ever has is "poreceline", "ivory" and "classic ivory" which never match me well but this foundation has a very wide range.
Best and Worst: Maybelline FitMe Foundation Stick
I'm on my third FitMe Foundation stick but I'm starting to not love it as time passes. While I used to use it for light to medium coverage, I've begun to hate the way it makes my skin look. Even when I'm having an amazing week or couple of weeks with my skin being smooth and soft, this foundation makes it look textured and breaks up way too easily. If you add setting powder, it just makes it worse.
That's all for this part one of The Best and Worst of Drugstore Beauty! Make sure to keep an eye out for the next edition!