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?