Which Foundation Should I Use?

This is the mother of all questions. Which foundation should YOU use? Well. You can hate me for this answer later, but it's all a matter of personal preference. But here's a little background info to find out which foundation would best suit you.

First you need to find out your skin type. When you get out of the shower does your face feel tight? Then you probably have a drier skin type. Is your makeup having a hard time staying put by midday? Then you’re most likely oilier. In between? Just shiny in the T-zone? Then you’re combination. It’s important to know your skin so you can pick the right foundation.

A drier skin type needs a little more moisture throughout the day. A nice cream or liquid foundation is perfect for you because it glides onto the skin effortlessly and won’t look caked if you have dry patches. Look for a liquid with a dewy finish or one that has mica in it. This will make your skin look revitalized and not dry and tight. You may want to avoid a powder foundation or a matte finish unless you slather on the moisturizer first, otherwise you may end up looking drier, not to mention that it may accentuate any fine lines or wrinkles.

As for combination skin, lucky you! You can wear anything! A nice tinted moisturizer is nice for combination skin because it’s light and it combines the two steps of moisturizing and foundation into one quick, easy application. This will give you a very light coverage, and will just basically even out the skin tone.

Onto the Oily skin. Most of us Houstonians fall into this category especially during the summer. The high levels of humidity leave our skin damp and grimy feeling anyway, so it’s more likely that even if we aren’t oily at other times of the year, the summer heat will make you feel and look oily. A nice foundation for oily skin is a matte powder. A powder foundation is a thicker powder specifically formulated to give more coverage than a regular pressed powder, usually the powder is triple-milled so it’s a lot finer than others. This will give a medium to full coverage if you use a puff or sponge, or use a brush a get a sheer coverage. This is great because it will lessen the appearance of the oil. If you decide on this foundation be careful not to use it as a touch up throughout the day, because it gives such a great coverage, too much is a bad thing. It’s best to get a lighter powder to dust on to avoid a “too made up” look.

Some great alternatives for all skin types are mousse foundation, and airbrush foundation or a mineral foundation. Mousse foundation is a light frothy mixture that glides onto the skin leaving an even tone. Some have a silicone base in it to help with texture issues like acne scars. An airbrush foundation leaves an even lighter finish on the skin. It smoothes out the surface of the skin with a light, almost effortless application. A great idea for summer is to try one of the new mineral foundations that are out on the market. This will give you variable coverage and a nice clean feeling to the skin. It’s made up of fine minerals, so it’s not actually a powder, it just looks like one in the container. It doesn’t leave a heavy powdery finish to the skin and it boasts that it’s so good for your skin that you could actually sleep in it.
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Now, this isn’t an end all for foundation advice, these are just few alternatives to show some skin this season! Just make sure that which ever foundation you end up with has an SPF in it and that you begin with a moisturizer that is right for your skin type. A flawless finish always begins with the right foundation.