2.04.2016

Laura Mercier Candleglow VS. Becca Aqua Luminous Perfecting Foundation

Y'all, I like to have glowy skin, as evidenced by this post on winter foundations, and as evidenced by this post on my highlighter collection. I might have over 20 of them. I might be obsessed.

I have dry skin, what can I say?



Two new glowy/luminous foundations hit the high end market recently, and I had to find out which one was better. I purchased them both at Sephora. As a dry skin girl with visible pores, sometimes powder highlighters can accentuate those issues. Sometimes I just want a glowy foundation. After a crazy amount of testing, I'm here to report my thoughts:



Laura Mercier Candleglow Soft Luminous Foundation
  • $48
  • 1 oz
  • pump
  • 24 shades
  • light coverage

Here I am without flash and with flash. I wanted to show the amount of coverage you get, so no concealer or primers were used.

As much as I tried, I couldn't really build coverage with this. That is typical of a dewy foundation. It wore fine and I really liked it.

This one is oil-free.


Becca Aqua Luminous Perfecting Foundation
  • $44
  • 1 oz
  • dropper
  • 8 shades
  • light coverage
And again without flash and with. Many foundations have titanium dioxide and/or reflective particles, like mica in them. When a flash camera is used, this is called flashback. Just something to keep in mind if you're having your pictures taken.

With the Becca foundation, I had to build up the coverage. If I tried to use a large amount at first, it would look awful. But if I did a couple of small layers, it looked better. 

I couldn't stand the dropper applicator. It was frustrating to use.

The dimethicone did cause me to get pimples sometimes when I wore this.

I felt it settled into pores and fine lines after hours of wear, without a primer.



Here I applied one foundation to each side of my face. The Becca is on your left.  Laura Mercier is on your right. The pictures are with flash, natural light, studio lights, and after an entire day of wearing. Again, I didn't wear concealer. Can't tell a difference? You can definitely tell I have a cold! ;)

Overall:
  • Both of these looked much better in person than they are photographing. That's hard to do with a natural, glowy foundation. If I'm glowing in pics, I'm usually piling on the highlighter.
  • Becca had more of a dewy glow and was a bit tackier on the skin.
  • Although they are quite similar, Laura Mercier Candleglow was my favorite of the two, although online reviews have Becca as the better one.
  • Would I purchase either foundation again? No. But I have enjoyed wearing them.

Oily Skin? Check out these posts:
Extra Elle:

  • Behind the scenes: I took pictures of the foundation bottles on 4 different days, with 4 different backgrounds, before deciding I liked these the best. That's crazy, right? And the pics of me, I took on 3 different occasions.
  • I'm starting to get better from this nasty cold. I'm hoping it's gone by the time I head to Disney World this weekend!
  • Since Google Friend Connect is deleting anyone from it without a Google account, you won't be able to follow my blog if that applies to you. Please follow me on Bloglovin instead. Thanks, y'all.


47 comments:

  1. Your skin looks so fresh and dewy! Thanks for sharing your review on both of these products! Glad you are feeling better!

    Jill
    Doused In Pink

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  2. I love dewy skin, but my oily face says no. Glad you're on the up and up.

    Xoxo,

    Whitney & Blaire

    Peaches In A Pod

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  3. So glad you reviewed these! I've been wanting to try the Laura Mercier product because I'd heard good things. I did buy the Stila Aqua Glow which also uses a dropper... I find it hard to use!

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  4. I do love the glow that Becca products add to skin; but in this case, the Mercier sounds more appealing - that dropper applicator from Becca sounds like a pain!

    xx

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  5. I most definitely have oily skin. Love the comparisons and i love that you put such detail into taking photos!

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  6. I love the glow the Laura Mercier gives. I stay away from glowy foundations since I'm so oily, but they do make your skin look so healthy. I testing a MAC foundation right now and so far so good!

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  7. I love the dewy look but on my oily skin it just looks awful! The drop applicator sounds weird... I don't think I'd like it much either <3, Pamela Sequins & Sea Breezes

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  8. Taking makeup pictures is so hard, I give you so much credit!!! I have wondered about the Becca one before so thanks for this review!

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  9. Ugh I have that same nasty cold and it won't freaking go away! So annoying because everything is clouded by it!
    The Adored Life

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  10. Thanks for this honest review, Elle. I need heavy coverage, so it's good to know that it's hard to do so with the LM one.

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  11. Your skin looks great! I have oily skin so I'll have to check out the Maybelline foundation!


    xx, A Little Dose of Makeup

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  12. I hope your cold is long gone... I'm sure the magic of Disney will take the rest of it away when you get there :)

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  13. I hope you feel better soon. Have fun in Florida.

    http://www.amysfashionblog.com/blog-home/

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  14. Thanks for these reviews! Almost out of mine so I'll check these out. Love that dewy finish!

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  15. I love dewy foundation..normal/dry with large pores as well..matte just make dry things more textured looking..you look beautiful in both..dont know why but neither of these have been speaking to me...i have the reformulated ysl touchè èclat comin my way,that 1 has been calling my name for yrs...got the limited edition correcting powder to go with that i suprizingly like,it arrived early..it makes things look matte but luminous(tried it with mac nourishing waterproof plw).looks beautiful airbushed w flash but kinda makes that foundation look darker for some reason in some indoor lighting..

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  16. This is such a good review- your skin looks amazing in both foundations! I'm always after a dewy finish with my skin turning from oily to dry in the past couple of years, but always struggle with bad transfer with a lot of foundations.

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  17. Great reviews Elle! I've heard good things about the becca one. I like file coverages so I'll probably skip these! I hope you have an amazing time in Disney!

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  18. Gorgeous! Loving the glowy look you achieved in both foundations <3
    Green Fashionista

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  19. I can't bring myself to spend so much on high end foundations because the drugstore has so many affordable options that I love. I use to be an only high end brands girl but I have changed my ways lol. Anyways, the dewy looks good on you.:) I hope you are feeling better.

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  20. I never like to do dewey because they never give enough coverage, but sounds like the Laura Mercier might be worth checking out, it looks great on you! Glad you are feeling better!

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  21. I have never worn foundation or powder so this is great! Awesome tips!
    Thank you for the blog visit babe, hope to see you back sometime!

    Xx- Julie

    Haute Khuuture Blog

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  22. Lovely comparison! Unfortunately neither of these brands are available in my country. :(

    Have a great day! Xx

    http://rainbowcolumns.blogspot.com

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  23. The length you go just to test something is so impressive. Thank you for the review, Elle! x

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  24. Ok, Laura Mercier Candleglow ALL the way! Although, I LOVE Laura Mercier products!

    Carrie
    curlycraftymom.com

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  25. definitely sounds like the laura mercier one is better, which is odd given the reviews like you said. glad you are feeling better girl, hope you are 100% better by disney!

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  26. I loved your reviews, and the Laura Mercier one definitely sounds better and it looked better!

    xo,
    Angela

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  27. I've heard such good things about Laura Mercier, but $48 is about 4x my budget! But both do look beautiful on your skin. I love a glowy look too, anything to make my dry skin look luminous!

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  28. If I ever start wearing foundation again, I'd definitely go with a luminous type since i'm all about the dewy skin look. Glad to hear you're recovering form the nasty cold!

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  29. I love the look of dewy skin...but my skin provides it for me already. Haha! I'm oily all the way. Glad to hear you are doing a bit better.
    xo, Lily
    beautywithlily.com

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  30. They both look awesome! Definitely think the Laura Mercier photographs better!

    <3 Shannon
    Upbeat Soles

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  31. Great review, Elle! I love Laura Mercier products, and I've been wondering about this perfecting foundation. Glad you are feeling a little better! Hope your 100% for Disney!

    xo, Rachel
    A Blonde's Moment

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  32. Glad you're starting to feel better Elle! Both foundations sound really great! I've been wanting to try that Becca Foundation!

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  33. I didn't know it was hard to build coverage with foundations like this. Bummer. :( I definitely need full coverage!

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  34. Although I wouldn't wish my skin on anyone, it's so helpful that you have dry skin with visible pores like me. I know whatever works for you will work for me! Thank you for these thorough reviews!

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  35. Great reviews! I've been wanting to try the Becca foundation, but I think I'll pass after reading this.

    Connie | Sponsored by Coffee | Etsy

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  36. Both of these look so pretty on your skin!

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  37. I hope you are feeling much better now!!

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  38. I hate droppers in foundation bottles. I just don't "get" them. The LM looks lovely on your skin Elle! I think the Becca one almost highlights odd areas of the face. It doesn't feel natural. But I totally know what you mean when you say they always look different in photos. Great comparison Elle!

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  39. Glad you're starting to feel better! I really liked how the Laura Mercier looks on you.

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  40. The LM one definitely looks more flawless, i have oily skin so these won't work for me!

    Emma | Emmys Beauty Cave | Bloglovin

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  41. I recently bought the LM radiance primer and I loved it, and I was thinking about trying out this foundation. I don't think that I need a ton of coverage so maybe it'll work for me!

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  42. I do love LM products, although I've not tried her foundation. I do think the LM foundation looks nicer on you based off these pics!!

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  43. I hope all the cold is gone by now girl. And wow you own 20 highlighters! I have heard great things about Laura Mercier and you definitely glow to me (that is a compliment!). So crazy that you took so many photos but hey you are a professional!

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  44. I recently picked up the Laura Mercier and I love it!

    7% Solution

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  45. I'm almost out of foundation so this was a timely read! Sounds like the LM was the clear winner (plus only 8 shades in the Becca? no way I'd find a match). I'm going to pop into sephora and test out the LM one because I'm after some dewy glowing skin! Hope you are feeling better :)

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  46. I thought about picking up the Becca foundation b/c I heard it was great for dry skin. :(

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