How to chose the right foundation for your skin

I know that it gets confusing when you walk into a make-up store and see all these bottles of foundations lined up and you have to chose one for you. Some people just  try it on their hand to see if the color matches their skin and just buy it. But it's not as simple as that. For me, foundation is as important as a good skin care routine. I don't care if you have the most beautiful eye make-up in the world, if your base it's all blotchy and patchy, your whole look it's ruined.

A lot of people who are starting with make-up don't know the basics to a good foundation, even people who wore make-up for years still don't got it right, so in this post I'm going to try and help all of you that still find foundations confusing. I hope this helps! 

Know your Skin Type: You have to acknowledge your skin type and use the right skin care products for it, so your skin gets balanced. This will make your skin in perfect condition to apply  foundation. There's different kinds of foundations for every skin type so a person with very oily skin can't use the same as a person with dry skin, it won't work.

If you have Normal Skin - You are a lucky person and can get away with most of the various foundations out there. But be smart, if you have normal skin it means that you don't need a lot of coverage because you don't have imperfections to hide, so even a tinted moisturizer would be perfect for you. You can try liquid, powder or mineral foundations, but still, stay away from oil or water based formulas because your skin can get oily throughout the day.
Nars Sheer Glow ($42) would be a great choice for foundation if you have Normal skin, it has coverage but it doesn't make you look oily like many sheer foundations and the coverage it's just perfect.  Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse would be a great cheap alternative to the Nars one, it's one of my favorites. The Laura Mercier Mineral Powder foundation it's perfect for Normal skin types because it's not a matte powder, but a dewy one, plus it has a lot of great ingredients that are wonderful for your skin.

If you have Acne prone and Oily Skin - I wouldn't say that you have to stay away from liquid foundations but most of them would not look great on you. A matte oil free liquid foundation would be great to control the oils and cover the acne or scaring. Powder foundations would be perfect as well, but some of them don't have the same level of coverage as the liquid ones, but nothing that a good concealer would not resolve.
Revlon Colorstay it's a staple for people with acne prone skin because it covers and stays put for a lot of hours, for me, it's a must have for anyone with this type of skin, plus it's cheap. The MAC Studio Fix Fluid it's perfect for oily skin as well, it has a matte finish and medium to full coverage. It's best to finish up your foundation with a powder, because it will control the oils throughout the day so MAC Mineralized Skin Finish Natural would be a great choice as well.If you want a powder foundation you can go for the Everyday Minerals rage or Bare Minerals foundations, they have great choices of colors and types of formulas for oily skin.

If you have Dry Skin - I would stay away from powder foundations, they will make your skin look flacky and they will not give you the moister that you need. If you don't have a lot of imperfection, a tinted moisturizer would be great, it will give you coverage and hydrate your skin at the same time. Cream or gel based foundation would be great on your skin as well, as long as you moderate the amount of it because it can cake up. The Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer can give you a light coverage and a sheen to your skin, so it won't look dull and blotchy. Revlon Colorstay for Dry skin it's a great foundation if you want full coverage, it won't make you look totally matte but won't make you look shiny. Studio Sculpt foundation from MAC it's a gel based formula that is long lasting and can give you a subtle glow, perfect for dry skin.

 

If you have Combination Skin- I have this type of skin, and the key it's a good moisturizer or primer before the application of the foundation. You can pretty much wear the same type of foundation as a normal skin type, but you need to control your oily/dry parts. I have an oily t-zone, so I have to make sure that I prime my t-zone with a good primer. You have to follow the same rules as the Normal skin types, but don't forget a moisturizer or primer that will balance your skin.

2- Know Your Skin Undertone: This step it's really important as well. Your foundation shade has to match the color of your skin. You have to know your undertone, if you have a yellow, pink or neutral undertone to your skin. There are a lot of ways to find your true undertone, but sometimes it's really hard, especially if you are a neutral, like me. 

Other thing is, a lot of people match the foundation to their face skin tone, but a lot of people have a paler face than the rest of their bodies, so I always match my foundations to my body and not my face, so when I apply it it's all blended and natural, you won't know I have foundation on. 

When picking a foundation online, you will see in the descriptions of the shade a lot of "light with yellow undertones", "dark with pink undertones" that's why it's important to know your undertones. If you can test the foundation on your skin, then try to match it to your body (like your neck or cleavage).

If you know your skin type and undertone than you can choose the right type of formula and shade for your face. For me, these things is what you really need to know for that perfect base. Foundation it's really important. Anyone has perfect skin, and we need to protect it. I don't think you need to wear foundation everyday, but if you wear foundation it will actually protect your skin from pollution and dirt, you will see what I'm talking about when you remove your make-up at night.

Choosing the right foundation it's not a hard thing that only make-up artist know. In the end of the day, you are the one that has to know your skin, and once you do it, then you can make some smart choices about the make-up it's best for you. 

I hope this was helpful to you, these are my opinions, I'm not an expert, but I already had dry skin when I was on accutane, I had oily skin in my teens and now I have combination oily skin so I've been there. If you have any questions, feel free to ask! xoxo*