The Dream Base

Finding a foundation to your taste is no easy task; tons of them are available on the market, and it's no wonder if most of us get a bit confused when looking out for a new base, when you have so many form, texture, finish and shade to chose from. I'm a believer that you should feel free to wear whatever appeals to you, and that applies to make-up too; I hole-heartedly encourage you to step out of your comfort zone once in a while - go ahead, try to pick a berry lipstick instead of a peachy-nude, try out a metallic grey eyeshadow instead of a taupe one - you go girl ! Unfortunately, when it comes to foundation - from my experience - there's only a couple of products that will be suitable to your own particular complexion. Finding the correct shade can be a bit daunting at first, I'll give that to you, but to me the hardest part is about finding a texture that suits your skin type. People with dry skin will most likely use a totally different foundation from people with combination-oily skin, which sounds obvious. I personally have a combination skin type, with its drier/normal and oilier phases. For those with a dry skin, the real goal stands in finding a texture that won't dry out your skin or emphasize dry patches and stay dewy looking; for those with a complexion similar to mine, the problem stands more in finding a foundation that lasts and that is as low-maintenance as possible - 'cause it ain't no fun to blot in between every single classes, is it? Then of course, we all have different tastes; some can't stand the feeling of a heavy base on their skin (but then, who can?) and will prefer a lighter and often sheerer kind of base. Other won't pass the door without their full-coverage foundation on. Many, however, like to play with both - and let's admit it, if some luckier peeps' have more good days that bad ones, we all get breakouts at some point or another, and that's when a fuller-coverage will make anyone more confident, at least on special occasions. Although my skin is anything but perfect - especially now that I'm dealing with acne *horror* - I tend to go for a light base on a day-to-day basis, mostly because that's what looks best on day light. I've never had a lot of issues with heavier foundation, as those tend to be designed for people with acne and acne-scars - and therefore, often oilier skin types; they're made to last. Add a primer and powder if you feel like you need to, and you're good to go. However, it's a whole other story when it comes to tinted moisturizers. I find that no matter what, they tend to melt off my face before lunch time, attractive ha? That's the reason I've remained so faithful to my beloved Jouer Matte Moisture tint which, if you have oily skin, is a must. It's matte but definitely not flat-looking, looks gorgeous on the skin. It won't last all day, but you'll get there with a couple of touch-ups. As I was in London this summer, I happened to swatch the Bourgeois CC cream in Boots - boy, was I glad. What stroke me at first, was the coverage - I had to look twice at it and check the packaging, convinced it couldn't be a "CC cream" (aka tinted moisturizer-like type of product). The color looked pale enough and because it's drugstore, was a bargain - no need to say it came home with me. I tried it the next morning, run around London all-day-long - does the feeling of the boiling-hot-and-crowned tube of 8 a.m sounds familiar to you ? Yeah ? That's when it should have melted of my face, but didn't. And so started our love affair, still going strong.

Like I said, I was pretty impressed with it's staying power and coverage - keep in mind it is a CC cream, don't expect a full coverage. You can, however, definitely build it up to a medium one if you want to. What I like to do the most in general, is to apply a light-ish base all over my face to even out my skin tone and conceal as much redness/spots/scars as possible, and then go in with a heavy-duty concealer if I need to. Now, lately I've been rocking a dewier base and the best product I've find so far to give you that extra 'something 'something without making you look like a disco ball is the Laura Mercier Radiance primer (Dior's Glow Maximizer and Charlotte Tilbury's Wonderglow are very similar). I absolutely adore this product and find it so handy and multipurpose; you could use it as a primer, to give yourself that glowing-from-within look, or as a highlighter by applying it on top of your foundation on the highest points of your face, like you would use any other highlighter - or, like I prefer to do it, you can also mix it with your base. I think this technique gives you such a beautiful overall glow, making your skin look super fresh and healthy. It can also sheer out a foundation if, say, you want to use a proper foundation but don't want to go for too much of a full-coverage. I'd recommend this combination to anyone really, whether you have a dry to normal skin type or more of a combination to oily skin like myself, just make sure to set it with a powder in case of the latter. 

All I do is squeeze out the tiniest amount of the Laura Mercier primer and then add a bit of CC cream, mix it up on my hand, apply it on my face - with a brush or fingers - and voila ! With the colder months coming our way, a little help in the glow department is always very welcomed and that little 'gem might just become your best asset. Beware though, once you've tried the thing, you won't ever want to put it down. You've been warned.

xxx

M'