How I... store my foundations

Foundations are tricksy little feckers.  If your'e like me and have a lot of these, then you really need to use them up before they go off.  "Off" foundations can contribute to bad skin or spots.  Or "off" foundations may simply be inconsistent in terms of pigmentation, or they may have oxidised, or could oxidise on your face, when they didn't before.

I need to keep a reasonable range of foundations for my kit, on top of which I'm always trying out the latest and greatest foundation for myself, or for the blog.  So I use a very simple trick to extend their shelf life, as well as to keep them all in one place...



My foundation fridge

... that's right, a fridge!  It's got a handle, so I can cart it around easily.  It keeps my foundations all in the one place, and it keeps them cool - two great things about this (a) they last longer (b) they feel deliciously gorgeously fantastically lovely on your skin when you apply them (or when you apply them to someone else's face)!

This was a small "beer fridge" or "dorm fridge" as I believe they're also called and in this instance I wanted something I could carry around with me and/or move, should the need arise - so I didn't want a fridge with a standard compressor or gas - this is just a mini cooler and it has two settings and chills its contents to some degree below ambient temperature (once you're not storing it in a sauna, it'll work nicely enough).

So what's on the inside?

My foundation fridge... opened

Well, as you can see I have a reasonable range of foundations.  My loves (for my kit) are my

• MAC Face & Body foundation (for most skin)
• MAC Studio Sculpt foundation (for normal to oily skin)
• Illamasqua Skin Base foundation (especially now since it has its own custom-made primer, Hydra Veil - for most skin)
• Kett Fix Creme foundation (for dry to normal skin)*
• Estée Lauder Doublewear Light (for oilier skin)

* I can't believe I haven't reviewed this one yet - it's a stunning foundation!

What's in the fridge...

Alongside the full sizes, the top and bottom shelves also contain a bunch of sample sizes (Top: Sleek.  Bottom: MAC, Armani, YSL, Cosmetics à la Carte, Chanel, Lancôme).

For myself, I also use and love love love (these ones are just in my shade, but on occasion I have been known to use them on others, if they're really nice to me :-)

• All (!) the Chanel foundations
• Make Up For Ever HD foundation
• Shu Uemura Face Architect Illuminating Moisture Fluid foundation
• Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet+ foundation
• YSL Le Teint Touche Éclat foundation
• Giorgio Armani Maestro fusion foundation
• MAC Mineralise Moisture SPF15 foundation
• Vichy Dermablend Corrective Cream-stick foundation
• NARS Sheer Glow foundation

What's on the door...

... et voilà!  That's it really... a quick listing of the foundations I have, use, love, recommend and have mainly blogged about in the past, and also a peek at how I store them!  Hope you've enjoyed this post; next week's instalment in the "How to" series is on how I store my cream products (blushers, bronzers, eyeshadows...)