Los Angeles, the early 2000s. Scott Vincent Borba stood in a 99-cent store and watched women with Louis Vuitton purses buy truckloads of lip balms and nail polishes. He told CNN exactly that, and it stuck with him. The shoppers clearly wanted makeup, and they were not waiting for a department store to give it to them. That one scene became e.l.f.

The name is short for Eyes Lips Face, and the brand was founded in 2004 by Borba and Joseph Shamah, who had met in 2002. The first range was 13 products, every one of them made for a shopper on that aisle. Two decades on, e.l.f. is a public company, still selling on the same idea: good makeup should be easy to reach. The brand says it is 100% vegan and cruelty-free, which I read as its own promise, and I like that the complexion line has grown up without changing the attitude. If you came looking for an e.l.f. foundation that does not feel like a compromise, the range is wider than people assume.

The trick is to choose by finish before you choose by shade. Soft Glam Satin Foundation is where I would send a beginner: the brand describes it as medium buildable coverage with a satin finish, with a hibiscus complex in the formula and 36 shades. Flawless Finish Foundation is the classic bottle with a pump, for people who like to build coverage slowly. Camo CC Cream is the full-coverage colour corrector, and it is listed with SPF 30, so it does double duty on a bare morning.

Then the glow family. Halo Glow Liquid Filter is meant to be worn alone, under makeup, over it, or mixed into a foundation to soften it, and the Halo Glow Skin Tint and Powder Filter Foundation cover the lighter and pressed ends of the same idea. Soft Glam Satin Concealer and 16HR Camo Concealer finish the row.

Soft Glam is coverage, Halo Glow is glow. On e.l.f.'s own pages, Soft Glam Satin Foundation is medium buildable coverage with a satin finish in 36 shades. Halo Glow Liquid Filter is light buildable coverage with a luminous finish in 15 shades, and Halo Glow Skin Tint SPF 50 is light and dewy in 18. Camo CC Cream is the third option, full coverage with a semi-matte finish and SPF 30.

 

Neither is built to be dewy. The e.l.f. answer is Camo CC Cream, which the brand calls full coverage with a semi-matte finish. MAC's Studio Fix Fluid in the second foundation grid is named a 24HR Soft-Matte Foundation, so I would swatch the two side by side on your jaw in daylight.

 

Pick Halo Glow for a hydrated look. Halo Glow Skin Tint is described as a hydrating, serum-like skin tint with niacinamide. Soft Glam Satin Foundation has 1% Hydrating Hibiscus Complex in the formula, and Hydrating Camo CC Cream is the full-coverage version, with a dewy finish and SPF 30.

Press your finger on your skin ten minutes after the primer goes on. If it still feels slick, the foundation will slide, and no powder will save it. Wait that extra few minutes and the whole day changes.

Power Grip Primer is the one most people know. It is a clear gel, the brand lists niacinamide and hyaluronic acid in it, and it has a slight cooling tingle that tells you it is on. Liquid Poreless Putty Primer is the opposite mood, a putty that smooths around the nose and chin, where foundation likes to settle. I would choose one or the other, not both.

Hydrating Camo Concealer is the full-coverage, crease-resistant option, with a satin finish that looks like skin instead of a patch. Put it only where you need it, then blend the edge with a sponge. Halo Glow Loose Setting Powder goes over that, lightly, just under the eyes and down the center of the face.

The tools are the quiet win. The Total Face Sponge and the Bounce & Blur Pro Sponge are soft enough to press foundation in and leave no streaks, and the Buffing Foundation Brush is the faster route when you are running late. Power Grip Dewy Setting Spray is the last step for anyone who finds powder too flat.

A pairing I like: Power Grip Primer with Soft Glam Satin Foundation, blended with a damp sponge. It looks like skin with a little edge.

What I would skip: heavy powder over a glowy base on a dry-skin day. You will lose the very thing you paid for in the first place, so press a little and stop.

Swatch three shades along your jaw, not on your wrist, and step by a window. The one that disappears in daylight is your match, however close another one looked under shop lighting.

Finish is where these really separate. tarte's BB Blur Natural Matte Tinted Moisturizer SPF 30 is a soft matte tint, light enough for a weekday, while MAC's Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15 24HR Soft-Matte Foundation is the one for photos, weddings and humid evenings when you need it to stay. Tower 28's SunnyDays Skin Tint SPF 30 goes the other way, a sheer tint with sunscreen in the name, which I like for summer commutes.

Kosas's Revealer Skin-Improving Foundation SPF 25 is the skincare-minded pick, with hyaluronic acid and niacinamide in the name. Two more formats sit beside it: Danessa Myricks Beauty's Yummy Skin Soothing Serum Skin Tint is a liquid with a serum feel, and Fenty Beauty's Eaze Drop Blur + Smooth Tint Stick is easy to swipe on and blend with your fingers.

Sephora Collection's Best Skin Ever 16 Hour Natural Finish Liquid Foundation is the natural-finish option. Reveal The Real 12HR Soft Radiant Skin Tint is a softer, more sheer approach. Put either next to an e.l.f. tube from the first grid and you will see how differently each brand thinks about a satin finish.

I keep returning to a split routine: skin tint over the whole face, then a little full-coverage foundation only around the nose.

What I would skip: a 24 hour matte foundation for a quiet day at your desk. It is built for endurance, so save it for an event.

Dampen a sponge, squeeze it out in a towel until it barely feels wet, and only then touch foundation. A dry sponge drinks product and a soaked one streaks it, so the towel step matters more than the sponge you buy.

Beautyblender's ORIGINAL sponge is the pink one everybody recognizes, and Real Techniques' Miracle Complexion Sponge is the orange classic I see in every makeup bag. Fenty Beauty's Precision Makeup Sponge 100 has a pointed tip that gets into the corners of the nose and eyes, which is where foundation misbehaves.

For brushes, I like Fenty Beauty's Kabuki-Buff Foundation Brush 115 for a fast, buffed finish, and Hourglass's Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Brush is a denser shape for anyone who wants a polished, airbrushed look. Both work better with liquids than with creams that dry down quickly.

Setting is a matter of taste. Laura Mercier's Translucent Loose Longwear Setting Powder is the one I would reach for on a long day, tapped on with a puff. Urban Decay's All Nighter Waterproof Natural Finish Setting Spray with 24HR Wear and ONE/SIZE's On 'Til Dawn Mattifying Waterproof Setting Spray are both there for the stubborn foundations that move by lunch.

What I would skip: rubbing a sponge across your face. Bounce it. Dragging moves the foundation around, where pressing sets it into the skin.

For most people, and I include myself, the easiest place to begin is Soft Glam Satin Foundation, a sponge and a little Power Grip Primer. It asks for three steps and leaves you with a base that looks like you, only calmer.

If you want more coverage, add Hydrating Camo Concealer just where you need it. If you want more glow, stir a drop of Halo Glow Liquid Filter into the foundation. And when a shade is close but not quite right, use the brand's shade match guarantee, which is part of why I trust the range. Borba saw women leaving a 99-cent store with arms full of makeup. You get to leave with a base that fits. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together e.l.f. Concealer and The e.l.f. Lip Balm Lineup, From Squeeze Me to Glow Reviver.

Lipstick, blush and the rest of the bag.

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Brown Lipstick for Fall, From Milk Chocolate to Espresso

Rare Beauty Liquid Blush

Everyday Makeup Look