Last Updated on March 7, 2024 by Eve Dawes
Foundations are personal so I put them through their paces to help you find the best one for you!
What’s the best Dior foundation? I’m comparing 3 side by side in this Dior foundation review as the choices are overwhelming. There are 4 different foundations in the Forever collection alone. I spent hours narrowing them down to 3 for my specific skin needs: hydration, blurs fine lines and helps with quality of the skin. I put them through the all day wear test, shade matched, tested coverage, and to see if they did what they say they would to find out which is the best Dior foundation: Dior Capture Totale Serum foundation, Forever Skin Glow or Dior Backstage foundation. There’s differences between them that makes each better for different skin types and what you’re looking for in a foundation. So I’m breaking it down to help you find the best one for you. Because what’s best for one person, is not the same as the next. It’s also hard to find the right color as 2N in one formula is not the same as 2N in another! Here’s my honest review, tips for finding the perfect foundation, and color for you.
This Dior foundation review is not sponsored but it does contain affiliate links which do not affect the price.
The Dior foundations I’m reviewing
The Dior foundations I’m going to review are:
- Dior Forever Skin Glow.
- Dior Backstage Foundation.
- Dior Capture Totale Potent Serum Foundation
I chose these 3 as they all say they provide 24 hour coverage and luminous not matte coverage. I find luminous more flattering on my skin as it seems to not enhance the fine as much and be more hydrating. The other factor was that they all claim to offer all day hydration. I live in the desert and just started using Tretinoin so that’s important to me. So we’ll see if they do what they say.
What are the different benefits between Dior Foundations
These are the main differences in their descriptions but I’m going to try all of them and let you know their main differences and similarities at the end and if there’s a clear winner for the best Dior foundation (for my skin care needs at least!).
Dior Forever Skin Glow
This is one of the 4 options in the Dior Forever foundation collection. The Skin Glow is designed to improve the quality of the skin and its texture. It also is supposed to maintain its hydration. It scores 4.3 / 5 on Sephora out of 1000’s of reviews.
Dior Backstage Foundation
This claims to even out and smooth the complexion and blur imperfections as most foundations should to be fair. It’s also supposed to be more of a weightless, second-skin finish which was surprising with a product that’s designed for the runways. I was expecting a heavier formula but the fact that it’s lighter makes me happy.
It also says that it’s easy to blend, provides long-lasting wear that withstands extreme conditions like exercise, contact with water, high temperatures and damp environments. This one scores 4.4 / 5 on Sephora out of over 5000 reviews.
Dior Capture Totale Potent Serum Foundation with SPF 20
I’ve been using the Capture Totale Serum foundation for months. I chose this one primarily as it has the most skincare benefits. It’s supposed to visibly improve facial firmness and the appearance of wrinkles and make skin appear 3 years younger. Now that’s a hefty claim. It’s not carried on Sephora but I’d have given it a 5 out of 5 before trying the other 2. Now I’d rate it the same but I’m switching to Forever Skin. Glow and and I’ll get to why.
How to find the right Dior Foundation shade for you
Dior recommends starting by finding the intensity of your skin from 0 (lightest) to 9 (darkest). I tan a lot so tend to go for a color that matches by tanned skin or slightly lighter and boosting it with Tan Luxe tanning drops.
Then you’re going to choose your skin undertone:
- If your skin rarely tans, you are COOL or COOL ROSY.
- If your skin tans fairly easily, you are NEUTRAL.
- If your skin tans easily, you are WARM, WARM PEACH or WARM OLIVE.
You can also look at your veins, blue veins tend to be cool, green warm and both neutral.
Dior Capture Totale Super Potent Serum Foundation 13 shades $85
Dior Capture Totale serum foundation is a correcting, anti-aging serum foundation which offers SPF 20 PA++ but only comes in 13 shades. It’s what I currently use. I choose it as it has SPF protection and the benefits of serum that the others don’t. I’m always looking for makeup with skincare benefits and this one was created to have 4 main benefits: targeting wrinkles, dark spots, loss of firmness and radiance.
I’ve gone away from matte foundations for more luminous textures that hydrate like this one. My skin has never felt dry using it. The foundation also stays in place all day, even without primer, powder or setting spray as I put to the test in the Dior Forever Concealer review video I did which included a sweaty 45 minute Peloton bike workout. It didn’t crease or fade.
As with most of Diors makeup it has active ingredients which includes Dior garden’s longoza flower which is known for its revitalizing properties. Along with vectorized hyaluronic acid for hydration.
Dior claims the Super Potent Serum Foundation visibly improves facial firmness and the appearance of wrinkles and appears 3 years younger. The thing with Dior’s tests and claims are that they are very limited with such a small group. For this foundation it was only clinically tested on 33 women!
For the best results and visibly younger looking skin Dior recommends applying this foundation after the Super Potent Serum. So, obviously I got suckered in and bought the serum. If I’m spending $85 on a foundation I might as well do it properly.
How to apply Dior Capture Totale serum foundation
Like all liquid foundations you’re going to want to shake well before use. Then pump the foundation onto your hand or a brush. I tried applying this with both the Dior 11 foundation brush and beauty blender. The brush application was awful! It streaked and was too heavy. I definitely recommend using a beauty blender with this liquid foundation.
I like that the Capture Totale foundation doesn’t enhance fine lines but it will settle into them if you don’t buff them out with your finger or a beauty blender before setting.
Did it stay hydrated? True to color? Resist hot and humid conditions? Yes, yes and yes! It’s a really long wearing foundation. The only thing I found, which I found with all of their foundations is that I did get shiny and need to powder up but I’ve never used a foundation where that hasn’t happened.
Dior Forever Skin Glow Foundation 42 shades $57
This is Diors Radiant Foundation from the Forever Foundation collection. It still offers 24 hour wear and hydration like the others and has SPF15 to protect against UVA and UVB rays. There’s 42 shade choices with this one so I definitely recommend going to a Dior counter or somewhere that sells it to be able to swatch it on.
This is also designed to improve the quality of the skin and it’s texture, and maintain its hydration. I definitely felt the Dior Forever Skin Glow gave the most radiant finish with just as good a coverage and long wear as the others without feeling cakey.
The active ingredients in Dior Forever Skin Glow foundation include wild pansy for hydration, hibiscus and nasturtium for radiance, and iris extracts for its antioxidant properties. It’s also non-comedogenic, with no parabens, aluminum salts, diethyl phthalate, BHA and cyclic silicones.
I’m going to get this for when we travel this Summer as it’s formulated to resist hot and humid conditions. As I loved it here in Winter so Summer will be a different ball game!
Application wise, it’s pretty much the same as the others. They say you can use a foundation brush but I tried using Dior’s and again it was a fail. Stick to using your Beauty Blender.
Dior Backstage Face and Body Foundation Second-Skin Effect Natural Finish – Resistant to Water and Heat $43
For something designed for the runways and give full coverage this wasn’t cakey or as aging as I expected. In fact it was the best color match for my skin and looked really natural. It’s the cheapest of these 3 Dior foundations and I was thoroughly impressed.
It’s easy to build coverage, definitely works well to even out your skin and is one of their best foundations for withstanding exercise, water, heat and damp. Also, it’s one of Dior’s most natural formulas with 94% natural-origin ingredients. The active ingredients in this are a plant-derived squalane and hyaluronic acid to hydrate the skin. It’s also non-comedogenic, no parabens, aluminum salts, diethyl phthalate, BHA and cyclic silicones.
Application wise, this was the runniest formula. They say you can use your fingers or the Dior Backstage brush N° 11 but for me the Beauty Blender worked best. Although this applied the least horribly out of all of them using their foundation brush.
The only reason I’d use the Forever VS this is that this one started beautifully on me but creased the most by the end of the day. It was also the least luminous.
What’s the best Dior Foundation
I’m making the switch to the Forever Skin Glow as it costs less than the Capture Totale Serum foundation but lasted as well and was more luminous than the backstage. They all settled in my fine lines by end of day but they were easy to buff out with a beauty sponge and dab of loose powder.
What’s The Best Dior Foundation | Review & Wear Test (Backstage, Capture Totale, Forever Skin Glow)
It’s time for a Dior foundation review of their 3 best sellers, comparison and all day wear test to see which is the best. I really hope this video is helpful and makes the choice less confusing and easier to figure out by your skin concerns.
Shop Dior Foundation
These are all of the Dior foundations and applicators I used for this review. Including the Dior primer.
