i've been using neutrogena healthy skin makeup for probably the last year and a half.

i get bored really easily and wanted to try something else. before that i was using max factor liquid.

ive been eyeing the nars stuff for a while because i have the powder and the bronzer and figured might as well make the trio complete. i've heard good stuff about chanel, but i wanted to see what you ladies had to say.

my skin is combo oily. very fair. with red cheeks and dark circles. i use smash box concealer already. but i like foundations that give good coverage.

thanks!

ps; i left an other option, please post if you have something not listed.

ive listed stila and smashbox because they are two other brands i use the most next to nars.

I loved Chanel until they discontinued my beloved Pro Lumiere, and now Mat Lumiere. Perfection Lumiere has as much coverage as Pro (medium-buildable) but it lacks the natural finish Pro had. Perfection from what I've found (no match), sets REALLY matte - even more so than Mat Lumiere fluid.

I like the coverage & finish of both NARS SG/M on other people; unless you're absolutely dripping with oil, skip Matte and Glow should be fine with a touch of powder and/or primer. However - the shades all run really yellow. I have no match in either; Siberia was a good lightness match, but way too yellow; Mont Blanc was a better tone but too dark.

As for Stila: I haven't tried their new foundations, but the Tinted Moisturizer is top-notch, though the coverage is very sheer - sheerer than Bobbi Brown or LM's TMs.

Have you looked at CoverFX?

Chanel foundations are amazing. If you have comb/oily skin i'd say go for the perfection lumiere or mat lumiere (maybe vitalumiere aqua as it's oil free..but it has a really sheer coverage). I think i've tried all chanel foundations except the mat lumiere and i highly recommend them :)

I love the Tarte full coverage. First foundation I have LOVED in a long time.

Makeup Forever Mat Velvet Plus! Love it!

I love Bobbi Brown foundation, but I have pink undertones (her foundations are yellow based) so sometimes it's hard to find the correct shade. I really love the formula, of her foundations though. So natural looking.

Make Up For Ever HD Foundation gives me good coverage and a really natural finish. I really like the look of the Chanel Aqua compact too - but the finish looks a bit more "polished", if that makes sense...

Out of your list, I think I would try Chanel & then NARS.

I use Makeup Forever HD and it's full coverage and doesn't look cakey. You can see your skin through it so it looks natural but for me it still covers a couple of moles I have on my face and I too have red cheeks and dark circles. The Chanel foundations seem to wear off before you even leave the house and NARS does have yellow undertones.

Chanel foundations are great, I use the Aqua and its light and great, i love it.

I don't use foundation. Instead, I opt for tinted moisturizer. It has been such a relief to have coverage without a heavy feeling foundation. I use Shiseido tinted moisturizer in light and sod reference I'm nc15 in Mac and have lots of redness on my cheeks. I would recommend maybe swatching it or having a SA put it on you. If you want full coverage foundation though Channel does make some awesome foundations. Vita lumier aqua has been raved about. Maybe try that?

I just bought my first foundation a couple of months ago, it's Nars and so far I'm liking it. It's a liquid one, hopefully it won't be a nightmare when it gets warmer!

Bare minerals matte foundation (a powder) that has spf. I don't need a lot of coverage and this is perfect for cutting down on shininess

I have very red cheeks too and have found there are very few foundations alone that will conceal them for me, at least not for long. I think the heat from having the blood vessels so close to the surface just eats the makeup.

What I've found works really spectacularly for my ruddiness is to wear some kind of a color corrector (either green or yellow) and then put a lighter coverage foundation over it, with a separate peach corrector for the under eye area. That way I don't have to wear cake makeup every day.

I have tried Everyday Minerals mint corrector, Lorac neutralizer, Physician's Formula talc free green powder, and E.L.F. color corrector (the one with green, yellow, blue, and pink and you swirl them all together) and they all work well. The more green it is, the more likely you will have to use foundation over it so it doesn't look white.

The only actual foundation I've tried that truly gives me enough full coverage to not have redness AND doesn't look cakey is Aero Minerale foundation. You have to shake it very well, spray it into your hand, then dab it on with your fingers, a sponge, or a brush. It's the most coverage I've ever gotten from a foundation, but without any caking. My boyfriend said my face looked like it had been airbrushed.

I know a lot of people swear by Makeup Forever foundations, I haven't tried them yet.

thanks for all your input.

i'm gonna buy a nars and a chanel, and use them back and fourth. see which one works out for me. i just need to use up this neutrogena quick first.

i'm replacing my discontinued max factor concealer with a smashbox one when it runs out. i'll see how that works out.

i was using mat lumiere and now i cannnot find them on the chanel counter so i purchased perfection lumiere :-) both amazing.