My base is more often that not what makes of breaks my face of make up. It’s very rare that I’ll be whimpering in the ladies toilet at work because my eyeshadow creased or my lipstick has dried my lips out, they’re all minor defects that can be solved by a rub of the fingertip or a dab of lip balm. The reason why you’ll find me sweating profusely or trying everything in my power to make my skin look NORMAL again is because of patchy, oxidising or down right awful based products.

Like the time when my skin slowly developed into the colour of a Wotsit, or my foundation dried (and I mean REALLY dried) weirdly on my upper lip and literally fell off in flakes, or the one which despite layering it over a mattifying primer and setting it with some heavy duty powder, it turned into an oil slick on my tzone and rubbed off at 10am in the morning with a full day of work ahead of me.

Once you’re a patchy, flaky and Oompah Loompah shade mess, it doesn’t matter how on point your liner is or fleeky (is that a word?) your brows are. Which is why it’s important to find a base that works for you. More often than not dependent on the time of year, how well your skin is behaving and what you need from your base, it can mean switching up your routine to include a heavier coverage or a bit of extra moisture for dehydrated skin.

I have my four must have at the minute and wanted to share them with you:

Soap and Glory Speed Plump All Day Super Moisture Marvel: About a month ago my skin was feeling super dry and seemed to lack any kind of brightness. My super thick and moisturising Kiehls wasn’t even doing it for me and so I picked this up on a Buy One Get One Half Price deal in Boots. I’d never tried Soap & Glory skincare before but I’d heard great things about the Wish Upon A Jar night moisturiser so picked that up and this… and this is definitely the hero product of the two! Featuring Watermelonmoist, a complex from watermelon-lentil-apple extracts which help deliver a 24 hour moisture surge to the skin, this super light product absorbs quickly and doesn’t sit on my skin but still somehow makes my skin feel softer and provides a beautiful silky base for makeup.

Illamasqua Matte Veil: Despite my skin being dehydrated at times, I still suffer from ye olde oily t-zone which makes wearing certain foundations an absolute no go, no matter how many raves I read about them or how many bloggers/YouTubers “swear by” them. They just don’t seem to work on me and so I’ve had to stick to mattifying foundations which tend to dry my skin further and leave it feeling tight and looking dull. Matte Veil is another primer offering from Illamasqua and deals specifically with oil control. This skin toned cream-gel formula preps the skin and absorbs excess oil without sucking the moisture out of your skin. It provides a beautiful base to apply onto and I don’t have to worry about popping to the toilets to see an oil slick has erupted on my chin.

L’Oreal True Match Foundation: This is a foundation which I’ve wanted to use for a long time based on reviews, the incredible colour selection that L’Oreal offers and my mission to move away from foundation like Colorstay and Infalliable Matte. Once upon a time I would have had to set this foundation with a mattifying powder and blotted throughout the day but when used in conjunction with the Matte Veil Primer from Illamasqua, this lightweight, medium-high coverage foundation is a) pale enough for my skintone (HURRAH!) and b) dries to a semi matte finish. No shine, no oxidising, no flakiness. Perfect.

Laura Geller Balance & Brighten Foundation: I’ve had a Balance & Brighten in my makeup bag for the last year and it’s become such a staple product that I’ve never mentioned it in a favourites nor have I done an extensive review… but I LOVE it. At £22 for 9g or £32 for 20g from QVC Beauty or Debenhams, this baked foundation evens and brighten skin while providing buildable coverage to create a flawless looking complexion. I use the shade Porcelain which is the perfect colour for my super pale skin but doesn’t make me look washed out. I used this when I’m having a good skin day on it’s own or even sparingly as a setting powder to give a little bit more coverage.