Rock the Foundations

You walk up to a makeup counter and ask to see their lightest foundation.  The clerk behind the counter hands you a tube of "ivory" makeup and you dab some on the back of your hand.  The smear on your hand is clearly darker and different than your skin and the clerk says "Oh, you have to put it on your face because your hands are usually lighter."  You're unconvinced, but you put a dab on your face.  Its still Oompah-Loompah orange.  You clean it off and try another, and another.  They all fall into one of two categories:  utterly the wrong color, or so sheer they provide zero coverage. If you are very lucky, 24 hours later, you won't have a rash or new pimples where the makeup touched your skin.

Pale skin comes in a variety of shades.  The Von Lushan Scale, a chromatic scale representing human skin tones, shows a range even amongst olive pales, golden pales, and pinky pales.  In general, the following scale is used to assess cancer risk from sun-exposure.  For colors 1-10, the selection of makeup is limited, but is getting better.

type I: von Luschan 1-5 (very light or "white")

type II: von Luschan 6-10 (light)

type III: von Luschan 11-15 (intermediate)

type IV: von Luschan 16-21 ("Mediterranean")

type V: von Luschan 22-28 (dark or "brown")

type VI: von Luschan 29-36 (very dark or "black")

Uhh, ok, great. How do we use this to figure out which makeup should look best on me?

Makeups are classified as warm, neutral, or cool within each depth range. The model on the left is wearing the correct depth of color, but only one matches her skin tone.

• If you have a cool skin tone then your skin will have pink or blue undertones and any visible veins will look blue. Von Lushan colors 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9 are cool.  On the model, the far right stripe of foundation is meant for cool skin tones.
• If your skin is a warm tone, you will have yellow or peach undertones and any visible veins will look more green than blue.  Von Lushan colors 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, are warm.   On our model, the middle stripe of foundation is intended for warm tones.
• Neutral tone skin is a little harder to point out on the color chart, but an easy test is to place an orangey-bronze fabric near your face, move it away and try again with a hot pink piece of fabric. If your skin color looks healthy in both, you are probably neutral. Your veins might look teal rather than blue or green. Our model is neutral, and the foundation that matches her best is the far-left stripe.  It is in-between warm and cool.

Got it.  Now, how do I choose a foundation type?  How do I choose between pressed powders, mineral foundations, tinted moisturizers, creams, liquids, and sprays, oh my?

First off, lets talk about how all foundation works.  

Titanium Dioxide

Every foundation on the market is essentially just inert (non-toxic and harmless) minerals ground up into a super fine powder that lightly coat the skin's surface and reflect light.  They are the same exact ground up minerals that makes wall paint opaque!  The only thing that differs from one foundation type to another is how those minerals are suspended (e.g. what liquid) and what color they are tinted with.  The starring ingredient in all foundations will be titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, iron oxide, and mica.

Mica Mineral Flakes

The zinc/titanium oxides make the makeup slightly opaque (for coverage) and the mica and iron add sparkle/skin tone color. 

This is why mineral makeups work just as well to cover flaws as liquids or creams, though you may prefer one type over another.

The Big Question:  Are you allergic or break-out-prone to preservatives, perfumes, waxes, or oils? 

If you are, stick to pressed powder or loose mineral powder foundations for your first tests.   Mineral-based makeups generally use only the inert ground minerals and maybe a small handful of similarly non-allergy causing ingredients. They are applied with a fluffy brush and the amount you apply dictates the coverage.  This can be anywhere to a thin dusting to hide shine to a very concealing application.  

All mineral makeups look better over a lightly moisturized face, but be sure to let it all soak in before application.  Do a patch test on your arm and let it stay there for 24 hours.  This should be enough time for any reaction you might have to appear.

Bare Escentuals, and Bare Minerals brands have done a great job marketing their loose powder foundation but, their shade selection is better suited to "medium" or darker skin tones.  

Physician's Formula and Maybeline have much better color selection for fair skin at a fraction of the price.  As far as coverage goes they all perform similarly, but for extra light skin colors, Physician's Formula sells the palest shades.  Mineral foundations boast the highest SPF ratings, some going as high as SPF 50. 

If you are NOT allergic or sensitive, you have the choice literally anything your heart desires once you pick a complimentary shade. 

Tinted moisturizers will give you very faint coverage and usually some SPF, but they are a poor choice for oily skin as they add greasiness.  If your skin is normal or dry and you like to see the texture and natural colors of your face (like freckles and your natural blush) this may be ideal. Some of these products have no color, but a faint mica sheen which gives a "dewy" look.

Spray foundations are hit-and-miss.  They are essentially a very thin liquid foundation in an aerosol spray can that claim to apply makeup in an "airbrush" manner. However, holding the spray far enough away from your face to get this effect means you will probably spray your hair too.  If it is applied to a sponge, it is essentially no different than liquid foundation, but at 2-5 times the price.  If you do not like liquid foundations, these will probably disappoint as well.

Liquid foundations are the next-best in terms of coverage, though they range wildly from and within brands.  There appears to be precious little standardization for liquid foundations, so there isn't much advice to give other than to try as many as you can. Liquid foundations have a tendency to dry crusty, so they must be applied thinly to avoid caking.   For the budget-minded L'Oreal makes a wide-ranging line that contains several tones of pale and very pale called "True Match". It is one of the only drug-store brands to offer enough shades for every shade of pale skin.  The coverage is moderate in the liquid but the same colors are also available in creams.

Cream foundations are usually found in a pot or in a compact much like that of a pressed powder.  They tend to have greater coverage than most liquids and also glide onto the skin more easily. Cream foundations are already "dry" so they will not cake on the skin the same way a liquid might.  If you have significant discolorations, this may be your best option.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.  Stay tuned for info and makeup products geared toward the highly allergic.