When I first began my trek into this makeuperry world, I though "Hey, foundation...not too dark, not too light, so medium...check. Concealer, one shade lighter than foundation...check." I thought that was all there was to it. Unfortunately, it's not so simple.
Here are the tips I've picked up;
1. Don't follow trends, find what works for YOU and YOUR skin type.
Finding the right combination of skin coverage is a long process and not one that necessarily follows the trends. It's tricky because you can't base your own coverage products on someone else's favorites. In a way it seems almost obvious; you should be basing your coverage products on what looks and works best on YOU and for YOUR skin type. Maybe we're all just stubborn. I think that's why it's taken me a while to figure out what works for me.
I got my first foundation at the drug store. I ended up breaking out and put off foundation until years later. But it wasn't the foundation, it was my fault. I should have realized that getting an Oil-free foundation when you have very dry skin is a bad idea. Lesson learned!
2. Pick your foundation based on each brand. Don't assume that you are a 'medium' in all brands.
I've always struggled with my skin tone. I love the fact that I come from a mixed heritage, but at times it's been difficult to find a color match because of those different pieces each pulling me in a different direction.
Medium. Medium-Olive. Olive. Medium-Tan. Tan. Bisque. Sand. Desert. Almond. Beige. NC. NW. Orange. Yellow. Purple.
Last week, I spent an hour at ULTA trying to find my color in Revlon's Colorstay foundation. I eventually asked for help and was out of there, only to find later that the foundation is a bit dark.
To be fair, I think the tester may have been from an earlier version of the foundation because it did look slightly dissimilar to the one I have at home. On the bright side? It'll probably work perfectly during the summer!
3. Our skin can be dry/oily/sensitive/combination overall, but not all the time. Adjust your foundation/concealer accordingly!
Which brings me to my next point: our skin is constantly changing! Well, maybe not constantly... Our skin gets lighter during Winter (unless you tan) and darker during summer (especially if you tan); it gets oilier during Summer and drier during Winter. You shouldn't use your face-oil-sucking-foundation during Winter when your skin is dry, because that would make your skin look worse! You also wouldn't throw on that dewy-nature-girl-just-got-done-mowing-the-lawn-in-90-degree-weather foundation during an unnaturally hot summer day, because you'd look like you just...mowed the lawn in 90 degree weather.
4. Keep a skincare regimen!
As amazing as that foundation is, it will not look great on you if you don't take care of your skin, first and foremost. One of the top celeb beauty secrets is, guess what? Washing the makeup off their face, washing their face EVERY night. I get it, we all get lazy around bedtime, but we can't expect our makeup to do all the work! If you don't wash it off, wipe all that eyemakeup off, put primer on...it's all going to get into your skin. I keep a pack of drugstore wipes by my bed, just so that if I do feel lazy and tired, I can get it over with (but I dislike the feeling of the wipes, and that usually motivates me to go wash my face haha).
Phew! I'm sure I'll be updating this later, but I wanted to get most of this down before bed.
