Maybelline Foundation: From Fit Me to Super Stay and Beyond

Maybelline Foundation: From Fit Me to Super Stay and Beyond

A Maybelline foundation for every finish, from the matte Fit Me bottle to the 30 hour Super Stay. I pair the lineup with long-wear foundations from other brands and pressed powders to set them.

Maybelline began in Chicago in 1915, when Thomas Lyle Williams watched his sister Mabel darken her lashes with a homemade mix of Vaseline and coal dust. He adapted it into a product, and the name Maybelline honors her. The brand is over a century old now and owned by L'Oréal, and the face range has grown far beyond mascara. A Maybelline foundation today can be matte, radiant, tinted or powder.

The lead here is Fit Me Matte and Poreless Liquid Foundation in Natural Beige 220. Maybelline describes it as a medium coverage, oil-free liquid with micro-powders for normal to oily skin, good for up to 12 hours of shine control. Fit Me Dewy and Smooth in Classic Beige is its dewy counterpart. Super Stay Lumi-Matte in 220 is the long-wear one, with up to 30 hours of wear and a luminous matte finish, according to the brand. Super Stay 24H Skin Tint with Vitamin C in 220 is light to medium coverage, and the Super Stay Hybrid Powder-Foundation in 220 is a soft matte compact. Lifter Plump and Glow has hyaluronic acid in its name. Instant Age Rewind Eraser Treatment Foundation in 190 and the Instant Perfector 4-in-1 Glow Makeup in 03 Medium-Deep round it out, and the brand calls the Perfector a primer, concealer, highlighter and BB cream in one.

A quick test: dot a little on your jawline and check it in daylight after a minute. Liquids oxidize slightly, so wait before you judge the shade.

Big numbers collage for Maybelline Foundation: six products from Maybelline, Fenty Beauty and NARS, each set beside a large numeral
Maybelline Foundation

Maybelline foundations

Long-wear bases that hold their shape

Long-wear foundations earn their keep on days that run past the morning. Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Fluid Flex in 346N is a natural matte, medium coverage liquid made to resist creasing, and Pro Filt'r Soft Matte in 485 is the full coverage version. DIOR Forever Skin Wear in 0N Neutral is a blurring natural matte with up to 24 hours of wear, and Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra Wear in 090N is full coverage and water and sweat resistant. MAKE UP FOR EVER Balancing and Perfecting in 102C Ivory is a natural finish foundation with niacinamide, while HUNG VANNGO BEAUTY Red Carpet Skin in 17 is a serum foundation with a naturally blurred finish. tarte face tape foundation in 36S is full coverage and waterproof. The Best Skin Ever Matte Powder Foundation in 68P Deep is a medium to full pressed powder that controls shine up to 8 hours.

Pairing tip: use a small amount of a full coverage formula and blend outward from the center of the face. The edges should always be the lightest.

What I would skip: stacking a long-wear foundation over heavy night cream. It will slide and separate by noon. Let moisturizer sink in for ten minutes first.

Long-wear foundations

Pressed powders to lock it in

Powder is what turns a good base into one that still looks good at dinner. NARS Light Reflecting Pressed Setting Powder in Crystal has a luminous finish, and Laura Mercier Ultra-Blur in Translucent is a talc-free pressed powder with hyaluronic acid. The 12HR Setting and Mattifying Pressed Powder in Universal is a fine matte compact for oily skin. Westman Atelier Vital Pressed Powder in Pink Bubble is talc free and skincare driven, and Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Powder in Yellow is a soft warm yellow. Rare Beauty True to Myself in Linen is tinted and talc free, MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Skin Blurring Powder in 1.1 Light is waterproof, and Givenchy Prisme Libre in 03 Voile Rose is a four-color pressed powder that corrects as it blurs.

Pairing tip: press, do not sweep. A clean puff pressed over the T-zone sets oil without dulling the cheeks.

What I would skip: a matte powder over a dewy foundation on dry skin, because it flattens the glow you chose. Pick a light reflecting or skincare powder for those bases, and keep the mattifying ones for oily days.

Pressed setting powders

Finding your base and keeping it simple

Begin with the finish, since that decides which bottle you pick. Oily skin often likes a matte formula, and dry skin usually likes a dewy or tinted one. After that, choose coverage by the day: a skin tint for errands, a full coverage liquid for a long event. Take a shade in natural light, and look at undertone before depth. Use the same shade for a few wears to see how it oxidizes. Finish with a pressed powder only where you shine. Most of all, keep it simple and let the base look like skin.