Who are you and what do you want?

You stand in front of the counter perplexed. How can there be so many different kinds of foundation? It's bordering on the ridiculous! How does a girl know? How could she possible choose? What do they even all mean?
You are going to have to ask yourself, 'who am I' & 'how much effort will I put in for the look I want?' Now I'm not gonna judge you. I would love a body like Marilyn Monroe, but the level of effort involved in that undertaking in daunting. Same goes for your face. You want pretty, glowy, smooth as a model-in-the-pages-of-Vogue skin. Of course! Well it takes time, money and effort baby! So here's a break down on types and what they do. Later I'll get all into brands, but this is a divide and conquer situation if ever there was one. (Unless you are a product junkie who has one or two brands from each category... like me.)
Powders! Here's the what: there are two types, mineral or loose and the solid kind MAC made famous 6 years ago when they made a product so definitive, it was obvious you had it on from 10 feet away. Mineral powder is generally easy to apply, can be very flattering and good for your face, but needs touch ups throughout the day or a primer applied before hand to give it staying power. I think it's really for a producty girl. The effort and up-keep is not the highest, but it's not for beginners. Plus the cheap versions are fairly shoddy, so there is an investment. On the other hand there are the simple little pans of powder foundations! No muss, no fuss, apply with sponge and go. Make-up snobs will tell you it's not really foundation and you're never gonna be stunning in it. You will have full coverage and most will last through the day.
Sticks! Here's the what: Control, control, control! Rubbing a stick all over your face means you can add as much as you like, where you'd like it! Depending on the formula you can get them more luminous to not-budging-a-centimeter. However you're not going to be super stunning perfect.
Liquid! Here's the what: There are a trillion formulas to choose from, but when you find the one for you, you will have more control and the looming possibility of perfection! Applied with finger tips, sponges or a brush, dry or wet; you can make it as easy or difficult as you have patience for. Add it to your moisturizer or spf to make a quick tinted moisturizer. Apply sparingly with finger tips for a more informal look. Try a sponge wet or dry to experiment with texture. Use a foundations brush for perfection!
Oddballs! Spray, mousse, airbrush, troll doll. Don't do it. They are the banana clips of our generation. Fun for half-a-second until you see it being used as a sight device on a Star Trek character.