Choosing the right foundation!

Oki so this is a blog post I've been meaning to do forever!! Its a question that I get asked all the time and probably the most stressful part of makeup for every girl; "what foundation should I wear?" 

I apologise in advance at how long this blog will be as its something I could talk about all day!! I see it all the time on facebook... Looking for a new foundation girls, what would you recommend?

Now there are a few things you have to consider when buying a foundation 

Your skin type

The finish you would like 

And your skin tone.

That super dewy foundation your friend wears may be perfect for her dry skin but will slide off your oilier skin. 

So first of all what skin type are you? Oily? Dry? Combination? Normal? 

For you drier skinned beauties out there avoid powder foundation and avoid matte finishes. These will dry you out even more! That's not to say you cant have an over all matte finish if your dry skinned, but essentially you're looking for something hydrating! A liquid or a cream foundation is ideal and you can always lightly set with a powder afterwards to get that matte finish if you wish but thats a whole different ball game ill try keep this as simple as I can. Foundations I have personally used that are good for dry skin are, Urban Decay Naked Skin, Loreal True Match, Georgio Armani Luminous Silk, Nars Sheer Glow, Mac Studio Sculpt

For you oilier skinned beauties out there avoid hydrating, dewy finishes as these will slide right off your face. You're looking for a matte finish or even a demi matte finish if you still like that dewy look. Foundation that works for oiler skin are Estee Lauder Double Wear, Urban Decay Naked Skin, Mac Studio Fix Fluid, Mac Prolong wear 

For combination skin its a bit trickier. What I tend to do is to go for a demi matte foundation and just use a hydrating primer, then set the oilier areas with a powder. You just have to work out your ratio of dryness to oiliness and avoid powder on flaky areas, it will make them look worse. For foundation you can get away with either. Just make sure you moisturise your drier areas and set the oilier parts with powder. I cannot recommend Urban Decay Naked Skin as its best of both worlds!! 

Got it? Great! Now we know the type of foundations to use or avoid its all about the skin tones! 

Through different training I have been told total opposites when it comes to what foundation tones suit cool toned skin or warm toned skin etc. Which is why it can be confusing.

So if you take a look at the veins on your wrist and they are more bluey - you should try a yellow tone foundation; cool toned

If you look at your veins and they are more greenish - you should try a pink toned foundation; warm toned

If you see a mix of blue and green you are neutral and lucky enough to suit both! 

That still sounds quite confusing, right? So this is my simplified opinion on what I've found works on doing hundreds and hundreds of makeovers with different skin tones...

From my experience of doing makeup in Scotland I've found majority of us have pinky skin therefore we need a yellow tone to counteract the redness/pink in our skin. If I were to put a pink toned foundation over pink toned skin it will appear a lot darker and gives that "orange" look. 

If you are extremely pale then a pink tone foundation will work to put the pink back into your skin and stop you from looking washed out. Make sense? 

Now you have the right type and tone, but why spend money on a foundation without trying it!? We all have a few foundations that are too dark for us in a drawer somewhere right? If you go to a beauty counter ask the consultant to try the foundation on your skin. If that's not an option please! please! Do not try it on your hand. Your hands, chest and face are all different shades. The best place to try foundation is on the back of your jaw line going onto your neck. Our faces are naturally a different colour to our neck. If we match the foundation to our face it will still be a different colour. So if u put it along your jaw onto ur neck and it blends invisibly then you've found a keeper!! Your face and neck will look a more similar colour and overall you will look more natural.

If you still have no clue where to start visit a beauty hall get some samples and get trying!  My holy grail foundation that I use on all skin types and it has never failed me is Urban Decay Naked Skin! It gives a demi-matte, luminous finish. Best of both worlds. If you haven't tried it you really need to! I use it on dry, oily, normal, combination and mature skin types. The coverage is also build-able.

I hope this makes sense! I could go on and on but it can be quite hard to explain without demonstration! 

And remember always use a foundation brush or sponge. Never your hands to apply your foundations 

What's your favourite foundation? Let me know if this helps you in the search for your perfect foundation!!  

I'm thinking favourite brushes for my next blog? Let me know what you think!