Sunday, March 25, 2012

Foundation Colors

Hola, hola, hola!  It's Caroline again.  This is part two to my answer for Rebekah B.'s question!  She says, in regards to foundation colors:

I'm somewhere in-between fair, and whatever comes next. Is it better to go for one that's a little lighter, or one that's a little darker? I can never use very much face powder to help tone down the shininess of my skin, because I don't really have a color to match. And another problem is, I can't really afford to get an expensive brand that comes in a lot of shades. Do you have any suggestions?

What an excellent question!

I struggle with this myself because I'm ridiculously pale.  It's very hard to find foundations that are light enough for me, and if I do, they're usually too pink toned for me.  Ugh!

We already know that Rebekah has struggles with a bit of oiliness and acne, just like many of us do.  I would actually suggest a liquid foundation, because powder can cling to acne when used on it's own.  Granted, you can use a translucent or sheer powder over the foundation, but it's best to use a water-based, sheer foundation to best even out your skin.  

So here are a couple pointers for choosing a foundation color.

          {1}  When in the store, if there's a tester, swipe a bit of the product onto your jawbone.  If it blends nicely into your face and neck, you're good to go!  You should be any darker or lighter than you were before; it should just disappear into your coloring.  If there's no tester, hold the bottle up to your jawbone and look in a mirror at the color, and ask for a second opinion if possible.  The reason you're putting the product on your jawbone is so that you can tell whether or not the color would leave an dark streak there, even if it might look alright on the other parts of your face, like your cheek or nose.

          {2}  If you're in between colors, like Rebekah, there are a couple things to do.  If you want to buy a more expensive foundation, buy one that's just a little too dark.  Then, when you get home, mix it with your favorite day-time moisturizer!  This makes the foundation last forever, makes it less pigmented, and also makes it lighter coverage.  You can also buy the one lighter than you and the one darker than you and put a dollop of each on the back of your hand and mix them, if it's not too expensive!  Then just apply as usual.  If you feel you must, must, must use powder foundation, buy a shade lighter than you and then just apply a sheer bronzer all over to give it a bit of a darker glow to fit your skin. But liquid will probably work best for you, just not oil-based foundation.

          {3}  Use a light hand.  A lot of times, girls think their foundation isn't the right shade, but really they just have an orange streak because they're not applying properly.  Put a tiny dab on your nose, chin, eyes, cheeks, and forehead, and then blend outwards to the edges of your face.  You get surprisingly good coverage from this.  To set, lightly dust your face with a sheer/translucent powder.

Best of luck!  There are a lot of different facets to this, and everyone is different.  So if you have any specific questions, comment here and I'll respond!  And as always, feel free to email us with any other questions you have. 

Love,
Caro

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