Tinted moisturiser or full foundation? Pale or tanned? Need some direction? Read on:
Think of it this way: a tinted moisturiser will give you a light colour and will be quite transparent. A full foundation will give you more coverage and a ‘flawless’ look, and will be a great base for make-up.
So how do you choose the one that makes you look great but doesn’t a) bleach you out to a deathly pallor, or b) make you look like you’re wearing a carnival mask?
Someone once said to me, “I fancy buying a foundation that’s a bit darker to give me a bit of a tan”. My answer? DON’T DO IT! No, no, NO ladies. NEVER buy a foundation that’s darker than your natural skin tone. You want a healthy tanned look to your skin? Go get a tan – cream, spray tan or sunbed.
Right – this is what you do:
1) Go to the beauty counter of your local department store or Boots. Pick a product that you like – Christian Dior foundations are good, Chanel Vitalumière is nice and light, my fave at the moment is L’Oréal Infallible 16 hour and it’s cheaper than the designer brands, but as L’Oréal is owned by Lancôme, it’s good stuff. My fave tinted moisturiser is Boots Natural Collection – it comes in three different colours, goes on nicely, gives good, light coverage and dries matt.
2) Get a friend or the assistant to pick the three nearest to the skin colour on your jaw.
3) Go to the window with the three testers- you need natural light for this. Ask the assistant – anyone who knows anything about make-up knows that tungsten can significantly alter colours.
4) Get the assistant or your friend to blend a little of each of the colours into the skin on your jaw. You’ll end up with three stripes. Choose the colour that disappears.
If your skin tone changes significantly over the course of the year, i.e., you’re pale in the winter but tan well or use the sunbed in the summer, don’t panic. Go and get colour matched following the instructions above at your palest and at your most tanned. When you’re pale, use the lighter shade and when you’re darker, use the darker shade. For all of your skin colours between, mix the shades to the ratio that you require. E.g., you’re quite tanned but not at your darkest – use the darker shade, but mix in a blob of the lighter colour. You’re not as pale as normal because you’ve caught a bit of sun, but you wouldn’t consider yourself tanned? Use the paler shade and mix in a tiny bit of the darker one.
Rachel Alexander MGBT is an Advanced Make-up Artist, specialising in HD Photographic, Film and Bridal Make-up Artistry.
