Best of the Best: Department Store Foundations.

I think we are all pretty particular when it comes to our foundation. If you are like me, you are still on the search for your holy grail. While I definitely have my favorite foundations, I can't argue with the facts and sales figures.

Sales figures speak volumes as to what YOU say the best foundations are. I've done some research and found out what the best selling department foundations are.

There was a lot of data and a few of the foundations were very similar.

For example, the best-sellers seemed to mostly be full coverage and liquid and I know not everyone wants a full coverage or liquid foundation. So I broke it down to find out the best-selling department store foundations in the top foundation categories that women want: Full Coverage, Light Coverage, Liquid Foundation, Matte Coverage, Powder Foundation and Cream Foundation.

Full Coverage

Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra 24H Wear & Comfort Retouch Free Divine Perfection Makeup - This foundation is long-lasting, promising up to 24 hours of wear. It's made with technology that makes it go on velvety soft and feels very comfortable as it leaves skin fully covered yet not mask-like; skin looks flawless and beautiful. It comes in a complete range of 35 shades.
Check the current lowest price of Lancome Teint Idole Ultra Wear here.

Light Coverage

bareMinerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrated Gel Cream - This tinted gel-cream formula is definitely a light coverage foundation that feels like a moisturizer as it glides over the skin. Skin is left looking glowy all day and looking very natural. This comes in 10 shades. It blends easily into skin and is forgiving so it will match a variety of skin tones. The tip is to apply it with this brush. Read my complete Complexion Rescue review. 
Check the current lowest price of bareMinerals Complexion Rescue here.

Liquid Foundation

Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Liquid Makeup - This foundation is liquid yet super lightweight. It builds up to the coverage you want from medium to almost full. It is long-wearing and looks very natural and fresh all day. There are 30 shades to select from so chances are, there is a shade to match your skin tone. 
Check the current lowest price of Estee Lauder Double Wear here.

See also: Covergirl TruBlend Matte Made Review

Matte Coverage

bareMinerals Matte Foundation SPF 15 - If your skin is oily, you will want a matte foundation and there is no better matte foundation than this one. This innovative mineral powder foundation leaves skin with a very natural looking matte finish (never caked on) to stay shine-free all day long. This comes in 19 easy to blend shades to match a good variety of skin tones.
Check the current lowest price of bareMinerals Matte Foundation here.

Powder Foundation

Lancôme Dual Finish Versatile Powder Makeup - For full coverage, apply this powder with a damp sponge and be amazed and how natural and beautiful skin is. For light coverage, dust on with the enclosed sponge or dust on with a large fluffy brush. I like to use this as a finishing powder with a fluffy brush. It is a best-seller because it is very versatile.  This powder comes in a complete range of 34 shades but they are very similar so you need help from a beauty advisor.
Check the current lowest price of Lancome Dual Finish Powder Makeup here.

Cream Foundation

Clinique Even Better Compact Makeup SPF 15 - This cream foundation is really unique; it glides on with ease and blends over the skin as a cream then transforms into a powdery finish to last all day. It covers really well and looks natural. It feels hydrating and is great for dry and mature skins. This one comes in 20 shades. 
Check the current lowest price of Clinique Even Better Compact Makeup here.

Urban Decay Vice4 Palette + 5 Tutorials.

Urban Decay is back with another Vice Palette and Vice4 is an incredible sequel. I've been waiting for this one as I always love the Vice palettes. Filled with 20 gorgeous shades of the brands great eyeshadow shades, this years entry is probably my favorite as the shades range from neutral to bright in satin, matte and metallic finishes.

Vice4 was inspired by Urban Decay's vintage shade name Oil Slick. They took all of the darkly gorgeous, dimensional hues of an oil slick and wove it into a palette and filled it up with shades in rich, deep jewel tones.

Of course, the shadows themselves are incredible. Each shadow is made with Urban Decay's Pigment Infusion System, the proprietary ingredient blend that makes every UD shade so velvety, rich, blendable and super long-lasting. If you haven't used an UD shadow, you really don't know what you are missing — they are some of my favorites.

The Vice4 Palette comes complete with a full size palette mirror, double-sided brush for applying and blending and a coordinated bag to protect the palette or re-use as a makeup bag. The bag is like a bonus in itself.

The Vice4 Palette contains the following shades:

• Bones - oyster satin with pearl
• Grip - taupe matte with iridescent micro-glitter
• Deadbeat - black satin with iridescent micro-glitter
• Beat Down - deep metallic violet with blue micro-glitter
• Pandemonium - metallic plum with iridescent micro-glitter
• Framed - light neutral matte satin
• Fast-Ball - metallic peachy pink with pink micro-glitter
• 1985 - metallic fuchsia with fuchsia micro-glitter
• Underhand - burgundy-brown satin
• Harlot - metallic lavender
• Discreet - soft dusty mauve matte
• Grasshopper - metallic emerald with green micro-glitter
• C-Note - frosted green with micro-glitter
• Arctic - bright teal with tonal sparkle
• Robbery - deep metallic brown gunmetal
• Bitter - reddish brown matte
• Flame - bright orange with gold micro-glitter
• Low - brown matte with iridescent micro-glitter
• Crowbar - black with golden metallic pearl and micro-glitter
• Delete - deep chestnut brown matte-satin

Buy Vice4 for $60 now at urbandecay.com, Sephora, Nordstrom, ULTA, select Macy's and beauty.com.

There are so many looks that you can create with the Urban Decay Vice4 Palette — from soft and smoky to bright for day or night. I found some really great Urban Decay Vice4 tutorials. Here are some of my favorites.

Urban Decay Vice4 Mermaid Dreams // xSparkage

Easy Purple Smokey Eye Tutorial // Ready.Set.Glamour

Urban Decay Vice 4 Makeup Tutorial // Loey Lane

Fall Makeup Tutorial Vice4 Palette // Simply Sona

Sultry Evening Eye Look with Vice4 Palette // Kristen Leanne

Top 10 Beauty Products Under $10.

You know I'm a big fan of drugstore beauty products. I haven't always felt that way. I used to like just a few things here and there, but over the last five years or so the mass beauty brands have really improved on the quality across the board. I use quite a few drugstore (or mass) beauty products in my daily beauty routine and I definitely have my favorites. Trying to find my favorites under $10 was a bit challenging, though, as many of the drugstore products I use are over the $10 mark (I guess with quality comes price). I did narrow it down and have picked my top 10 beauty products under $10.

1. COVERGIRL Clump Crusher Mascara - $7.99
Picking just one mascara was hard, so I actually didn't - HA! No matter how many different mascaras I use and layer on, I am almost always using Clump Crusher as one of them. See my complete review here: Clump Crusher Mascara Review. (Boy my lashes were wimpy there and I've been using lash growth conditioners since and really need to do another review with updated photos.) Buy it from your favorite drugstore like Walgreens, CVS, drugstore.com or mass retailer like Target.

2. AVEENO Daily Moisturizing Sheer Hydration Lotion - $6.99
I love this lotion for everyday when my skin isn't super dry. It sinks into my skin really quick and leaves it velvety soft. I am SO picky about my lotion and so glad that I found one that I really love. And I love that it's easy on the wallet too. Buy it from Target, Walgreens, drugstore.com, amazon.com.

3. Simple Micellar Make-Up Remover Wipes - $6.99
I've used a lot of makeup removing wipes and these are my latest fave. One wipe completely removes every trace of makeup really fast. It does it with a blend of vitamin charged micellar water so skin is left feeling really fresh with no residue. Buy it from Target or Amazon.

4. e.l.f. Smudge Brush - $1.00
I use this Smudge Brush every single day but not in the way that it was meant. I use the e.l.f. Smudge Brush to apply my shadow as an eyeliner on my lower lash line and then gently smudge it out to soften it a bit. It is stiff enough yet soft enough to get the job done. I buy five at a time and they last me most of the year. Buy it from Target, CVS or Walgreens.

5. NYC Sun 'n' Bronze Bronzing Powder - $4.99
This bronzing compact makes a fast face easy. It contains five strips of varied shades of bronze that blend together for a really pretty custom shade. I use Hamptons Radiance that is more like a bronzer/blush/highlighter all-in-one. Buy it from Target, CVS or Amazon.

6. L'Oreal Paris Voluminous Mascara - $5.99
For really dramatic lashes, I use Voluminous and I have depended on this drugstore mascara for years. It simply makes my lashes really long and thick. No matter how many variations that brand makes of it, I still think the original is the very best. Buy it from Target, Walgreens or drugstore.com.

7. Suave Luxe Style Infusion Volumizing Weightless Blow Dry Spray - $4.99
I use this volumizing spray every time I wash my hair right before blow-drying. I swear it adds a ton of volume to my hair and makes styling easier overall. It also makes my style hold and last longer. It's one of my regular styling products that I swear I came out of the salon. Buy it from Target or CVS.

8. TRESemmé Perfectly (Un)Done Ultra-Brushable Hairspray - $4.99
I love this hairspray and actually threw away my almost $20 can after I tried it and never looked back! This hairspray holds my hair in place without looking stiff yet it brushes out and lets me re-style my hair in between washing. Buy it from Target, Walgreens or drugstore.com.

9. Nivea Lip Butter - $3.79
I use this nourishing lip butter most nights before I go to bed to keeps my lips super soft and nourished. My favorite flavor is Vanilla & Macadamia Kiss. Buy it from Walgreens, Target, drugstore.com or Amazon.com.

10. Dove Dry Shampoo - $4.99
I go through a lot of Dry Shampoo and always keep this one on hand. It adds a lot of volume to my hair, gets rid of second and third hair day smell plus adds a ton of volume to my hair. Buy it from Walgreens, CVS or drugstore.com.

An InLinkz Link-up