Back to basic: how to choose a foundation

 As in the case of face lotions the world of foundations is quite a chaos for a layman. Every foundation promises something else. Anti-aging, 24 hours lasting (who wears makeup for 24 hours?!), luminous, matt, with vitamins etc.

What influences choice of foundation?

Skin type:

Oily skin:  doesn’t need more shine so look for matt finish foundation (these foundations also tend to be long-lasting), texture rather very liquid, light mousse, powder.

Dry/mature skin: needs any possible help not to look dry and dull so artificial shine/light is very welcome and luminous foundation is helpful (they are often called "anti-aging" foundation as well). Mattifying foundations tend to underline dry patches in dry skin, which is very visible and of course not the best looking. Dry skin enjoys more cream or thick liquid foundation that can give it some extra moisture.

Skin shade and undertone:

To find right shade and correct undertone is quite difficult, mainly in drugstore. Problem starts with shades already, mainly for girls with very light or very dark skin since most of commercial brands don’t sell these shades. Besides, the skin has either pink, yellow or neutral undertone (there are lot of tests to determine your undertone on the Internet). Drugstore brands usually offer light shade foundations with pink undertone, so the choice is quite restraint here.

Properties of the foundation:

Always, when possible, ask for sample of the foundation you want to buy. If you are trying it in the store, go outside to see how it looks on the day light. Beside the shade, you can also test how long the foundation lasts, what is the coverage and if your skin reacts badly to it. Unfortunately, they don’t give the samples in drugstore, and the experience says that if you touch the testers, you meet the criminal profile of the local security guy…TerribleL.

How to choose the right color?

The opinions on how to choose the right shade are different, some say, the foundation should be compared to spot under the cheek, some say, it should match with the neck, other say it should correspond with the chest.  I, personally, agree with the last opinion. My face is much lighter than the neck or the chest. I use peeling and high SPF factor on my face, the neck is darker than my face but still lighter than rest of the body (because the chin protects the neck from the sun). When choosing the foundation that matches my chest, I don’t look like I “borrowed” somebody’s head for my body.  I have in my stock few shades since the skin tends to get darker in summer (in best case due to self-tanner not the sun overexposure).

What tool to apply foundation?

Till I haven’t become makeup maniac I used my fingers to apply foundation and I still think it is a very good tool. But I discover other gadgets: sponge (the best is the Beauty blender), brush (classic flat or round brush). I prefer round brush with dense synthetic bristles (for the liquid and cream foundation) and Kabuki brush (for powder foundation). I will blog about brushes later.

My favorite foundations

My skin: dry almost all year around so I use luminous liquid or cream foundation, BB cream in summer (I try to put the least products possible). I have very light skin with rather neutral undertone, but I look ok in foundation with yellow undertone as well, on the contrary I look very sick in the foundation with pink undertone.

My choice (mostly drugstore):

Matt finish: DERMACOL Matt control, NYX HD Studio foundation, REVLON Colorstay, MAX FACTOR Face Finity SPF 20 (in USA it is COVER GIRL Outlast stay fabulous 3 in 1 foundation),
Natural finish (semi matt): L´OREAL Nude Magique,  L´OREAL True Match, MAC Face and body,

Luminous finish: L´OREAL Lumi magique, YVES ROCHER Comfort cream foundation

Natural finish,

BB cream: GARNIER Ambre Solaire BB cream SPF 30, SMASHBOX Camera ready SPF 35,

Powder foundation: THE BODY SHOP Nature´s minerals foundation SPF 25, MAC Studio fix, LAURA GELLER Balance ´N´ Brighten foundation.

 

I will definitely blog more about the foundation as there is still a lot to talk about. What foundation do you use, girls? 

 

Empties – Products I’ve used up in 2013

Last January I decided to keep all the beauty related products that I would use up during the whole year. I was very curious how much of what I use the most/the least, especially with the aim to compare it to the amount of products in stock in my bathroom. “How much more do I buy than I actually use?” was my main question. I could not wait until January 2014 to count it all and maybe be shocked. I took pictures of all my beauty “trash” and as you can see, it doesn’t look too much at first sight (keep in mind it’s the whole year’s consumption). If I compare myself to YouTube gurus who have full basket every 2 months, I feel a little bit worried if my hygiene standards are not too lowJ. On the other hand, it could be just the overuse from their side as well, so I think I should stick to what is confortable for me and what my skin likes the most.

Anyway, when I counted all this trash, some numbers were quite extreme so I don’t feel totally out of the standard now. Here is the list of all categories and the amounts of products I used up.

Make up

Foundation 150 ml

Concealer/corrector 4

Powder 2

Face primer 80 ml

Finishing spray 550 ml

Eye primer 1

Eye liner 6

Mascara 8

Brow gel 1

Brow powder 1

Brow pencil 4

Lip liner 1

Lip balms 3

Lipstick 3

Nail polish color 5

Nail polish top/base coat 5

Body and hair

Shower gel 3350 ml

Shampoo 1280 ml

Hair mask 1665 ml

Conditioner 1560 ml

Hair serum/oil 75 ml

Dry shampoo 4

Heat protectant 350 ml

Leave in conditioner 500 ml

Body lotion 3400 ml

Tan mitt 2

Self-tanner 1470 ml

Veet cream 300 ml

Perfume 110 ml

Hand cream 390 ml

Nail polish remover 400 ml

Nail polish corrector 1

Face cosmetic

Cotton pads 700

Cleansing wipes 110

Face strips 12

Make up remover 1890 ml

Face cleanser 600 ml

Face mask 150 ml

Toner 200 ml

Face serum 240 ml

Eye cream 20 ml

Night moisturizer 180 ml

Daily moisturizer 150 ml

AHA gel 118 ml

Scrub 200 ml

In some categories the amounts of products may be smaller than what is expected. The reason behind is that I don’t use these products unless I get them in a set, for free with a purchase or as a gift from somebody (e.g. I don’t use body scrub very often, I use loofa bath scrubber made of natural material instead). Also, I didn’t count dental products.

Now I should start counting products in my stash to see where I am but I don't have courage to do so...There are just too many things in my cabinets! What about you girls, do you use more or less products than me and in which categories? Looking forward to your comments!