the best full coverage foundation for pale skin

Full Coverage Foundation for Pale Skin (On a Budget) | Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation in Light Porcelain

Is this the best full coverage foundation for pale skin? I decided to find out…

Back in September last year, I reviewed what I thought was the best budget foundation I’d come across for pale skin with pink undertones: Rimmel’s Match Perfection in Light Porcelain. I loved that foundation so much I’ve been using it ever since, but that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped trying out OTHER foundations for pale skin: oh hell no. No matter how happy I am with a product, there’s always a little part of me which wonders if there might be something even better out there, so when I noticed that Rimmel’s 25 Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation was on special offer at Boots last month, I decided to add it to my shopping basket.
the best full coverage foundation for pale skin

 

RIMMEL LASTING FINISH 25 HOUR FOUNDATION in 010 LIGHT PORCELAIN:
A full-coverage foundation for pale skin

My main reason for choosing this foundation (other than the fact that it was about £5, I mean) was the coverage. The one slight issue I’d had with the Match Perfect foundation I’d previously been using was that it offers medium coverage, whereas I’m more used to the full-on pancake effect offered by the fullest coverage available.

This product, on the other hand, claimed to be a full-coverage foundation for pale skin, which sounded right up my street. It also claimed that this coverage would last for 25 hours, which… well, OK. I can’t for the life of me imagine why anyone would actually NEED their foundation to last for 25 hours, but then again, I don’t exactly live a “party-all-night” kind of lifestyle, so maybe that’s just me. This also contains:

  • Something called “comfort serum”, which will apparently revive and hydrate your skin
  • SPF 20 – hallelujah! I wish all foundations contained a decent SPF – it would make life so much easier for us pale people!

THE COLOUR

I ordered this in shade 010 – ‘Light Porcelain’: it’s exactly the same shade as the Match Perfect foundation I’ve been using, so I was fairly confident it would work for me, and I wasn’t disappointed. As with its sister product, the colour is pale, with pink undertones, and a near-perfect match for my skin. Here are some swatches:

foundation swatches

And here’s a quick comparison with some other pale foundations:

foundations for pale skin

 

L-R: NARS SHEER MATTE FOUNDATION IN ‘SIBERIA’, ILLAMASQUA SKIN BASE FOUNDATION IN ’02’, RIMMEL MATCH PERFECTION IN LIGHT PORCELAIN

As you can see, Lasting Finish is both pinker and a little darker than the first two foundations. It’s basically identical to the other Rimmel foundation, so any differences in the swatch photo are purely down to the difference between the two formulas: Lasting Finish is thicker and more matte than Match Perfect, which is much runnier in consistency.

THE COVERAGE

As I said, the coverage here is full, although, unlike many full-coverage foundations for pale skin, it’s not totally matte. I find it does a pretty good job of evening out my skin, and covering minor blemishes – I’d need concealer for any particularly angry ones, but can go without it if I’m wearing this on a good skin day. It applies and blends easily, although after Match Perfect, which basically just glides onto the skin, this did take a little bit of getting used to, and it requires a more careful application.

I haven’t tested the ’25 hour’ claim, and have absolutely no intention of doing so, because I like my sleep too much, but it does last all day, and it lasts without creasing under the eyes, or highlighting any dry patches, so I think it lives up to its claims. Slightly to my surprise, however, I actually find the coverage a little bit TOO thick sometimes: I never thought I’d say this, but, having become accustomed to the more natural look of the Match Perfect foundation, I think I prefer it, and would probably re-purchase it before this one. With that said, I have been using this fairly often, and if you’re looking for that flawless, full-coverage look for pale skin, I think this is an awesome budget option, and well worth trying out.

THE CLOSE-UP

In a bid to be all service-y and helpful, and also to embarrass myself on the internet, I decided to take some before-and-after photos of this, so here they are:

Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation in Light Porcelain - before

Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation in Light Porcelain - after
(I also tried to take one of those “half-and-half” photo I’m always seeing on Pinterest, where you have foundation on one side of your face only, but I seriously looked like The Phantom of the Opera, so I ditched that idea pretty fast…)

In the ‘before’ shot, I have a blemish on my cheek (which, seeing as I’m over-sharing anyway, is one of those annoying blind pimples, which don’t come to a head, but just lurk there underneath the skin. I’ve had it for so long now, I’m thinking of naming it. If you have any suggestions what I should call it, feel free to leave a comment…) and a small oil slick on my forehead. In the ‘after’ photo, meanwhile, I STILL have the blemish and the oil slick, but they’re slightly less visible. I’m not wearing concealer or powder (I AM obviously wearing mascara and lipstick!), and actually, a lot of the shine you can see in both photos is from the flash, rather than from my face, so I’m not nearly as shiny in real life, thankfully. I don’t normally need powder with this foundation, but as the coverage is so full, I always use blusher (which, again, I’m not wearing here), just to put some colour back in my cheeks and make me look, you know, alive.

Overall, I’d say this is a pretty decent full-coverage foundation for pale skin: I got mine on offer, and paid about £5, but it’s normally only £7.99, which ain’t too shabby either.

Is this the best full-coverage foundation for pale skin around?

rimmel foundation reviewRelated: The Best Foundation for Pale Skin | Tips for people with fair skin

Related: Why am i so pale?

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COMMENTS
  • This foundation looks amazing! Pity that in Italy didn’t arrive the lightest shade… It’d be a perfect match for my skin from the swatches I’ve seen on-line!

    March 6, 2015
  • This looks fab and such a bargain. Would it be good for dry skin? I’m in desperate need of a new foundation for pale skin which doesn’t flake on my really dry cheeks.

    March 6, 2015
  • I love this stuff! I’m so pale that other brands’ ‘ivory’ shades are often still too dark for me. This is perfect.

    March 6, 2015
  • Meghan

    REPLY

    Deborah-

    I have dry skin and have recently switched to L’oreal True Match Lumi (n-1-2 soft ivory). While I prefer the matte look, this is great for the winter. It offers light- medium buildable coverage that leaves your skin soft and dewy. Paired with moisturizer, this has been great for dry patches.

    March 6, 2015
  • I’m so glad I’ve found another fellow pale person (red hair, pink undertones – it’s like a package right?!) I’m going to snoop through all your beauty recommendations this weekend I think!
    This one in particular is probably a wee bit too full coverage for me, but I’m intrigued about the Match perfection, so will have to check that out. I currently use L’Oreal True Match in Rose Ivory when I do wear foundation, or just Bare Minerals Stroke of light in Luminous 1 as a concealer base for general days. 🙂

    Ceri

    March 6, 2015
  • I’m always looking for a good full coverage foundation but I’m so oily that unless it’s completely matte it’ll be useless… I really want this one to work for me but I already know it won’t 🙁 shame! Ever since Estée Lauder changed their Double Wear formula I’ve not found any foundation that properly works for me… Le sigh.

    March 7, 2015
    • Libby

      REPLY

      This is a fairly old post. I hope my reply gets to you! I have the same problem, and I’ve been using Revlon products. Their ivory shades are great for pale skin.

      April 28, 2018
  • Since they’re such a great match, you could use lasting finish as a concealer over Match Perfection as a foundation =)

    March 7, 2015
  • JMAngel

    REPLY

    I’m sorry, why are you wearing foundation?!! Your skin is flawless – seriously. I would kill for that before shot as my after shot lol x

    March 7, 2015
  • Trudy

    REPLY

    I bless the day I discovered Trilogy’s Blemish Control Gel. It is seriously the best thing for dealing with those lurking blind pimples (not that I can see it on you, but I know the sort you are talking about!) Instead of hanging around for WEEKS, it clears them up in about 7 days, sometimes less. I don’t know if you can get Trilogy in UK? Any treatment with salicyclic acid would probably have the same effect.

    March 8, 2015
  • Katharine in Brussels

    REPLY

    Hi Amber, thanks for the recc, I will check out if it’s sold here in Belgium. It’s pretty much impossible to find anything lighter than beige here (except at one high-end shop in Brussels…) Sorry about the lingering redness. Hope that Trudy’s advice yields some good results.
    Amber, if you’d like to bump up foundation coverage and/or try a serious budget mattifying liquid, I have a suggestion: milk of magnesia(!) Yes! Not the mint flavour or you’ll smell mint all day. You use an extremely sparing application because it will dry in streaks otherwise, but a damp finger smoothes off any ghostly traces. You can also try it as a masque by applying a thick layer, letting it dry, then rinsing off land applying make-up as usual. I rely on MoM to keep sunblock out of my eyes when I work out outdoors in hot weather. In summertime I decant some into a tiny travel squirt-top bottle to keep my fingers from introducing lots of acne-loving bacteria into the MoM.

    Oh just a kind note that the SPF is measured with a very thick application, much thicker than you have on. So I always use a regular sunblock and then apply foundation. Got to protect one’s skin.

    March 9, 2015
  • I think this foundation has too much of a pink undertone for my skin, Thanks for the swatches and review!

    March 15, 2015
  • Nicola

    REPLY

    I swatched this today and unfortunately its still too dark for my pasty Irish skin!

    March 20, 2015
  • I have the same great fair pink undertones Celtic skin.
    I use and LOVE Bare mineral Bare skin foundation in Bare porcelain 01
    http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod10111980#
    It’s not cheap but it’s divine and so good for your skin.

    May 21, 2015
  • I have quite pale skin and I find it so hard to match a foundation to my skin! Unfortunately I picked up this foundation in Ivory (when light porcelain wasn’t in stock) and ultimately it was a bit too dark! But might have to try the light porcelain one as it has such a lovely feel to it and love its SPF!

    March 21, 2016
  • J DiLonardo

    REPLY

    You have beautiful skin my dear! Why would you even wear makeup! You look great without it. I am a woman in my 50’s. These things we don’t realize until it’s too late!

    June 30, 2018
  • Emily Henderson

    REPLY

    It’s a shame you didn’t realise how patronising this comment was before it was too late, J Dilonardo – she’s a grown woman, she can wear makeup if she wants to!

    June 30, 2018
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