Well we all know this post is LONG overdue and for that I apologise, but it's not a post I take lightly because this has definitely become a serious issue now. I am seeing too many of my fellow black girls (and even grown women would you believe) on my travels with what can only be described as, tragic for the naked eye to see, type of foundation on their skin.
Now I know, and don't presume to think I am naive to this fact, that it's incredibly difficult for us black girls to find suitable foundations in the right textures and shades (hold tight all you racist cosmetics companies out their, im coming for you) for our skin without coming out of any sort of beauty shop wanting to just SLAP say to the lady behind the counter "Thanks, but no thanks" because all she could say to us (being as she wasn't black) was, "Go to fashion fair". Trust me I know the pain, having worked on a make-up counter myself as the only black girl in my entire store and having hoards of black women thrown my way in the hopes that I (because all black people are the same, like twins, and we can look at each other with the knowledge of exactly what the other wants, *kisses my teeth and rolls eyes*) will know the answer to the question that every other non-black woman in my store feared, "What is the best foundation for black skin". A riddle is all this can be described as, even if I was a girl called Hermione who just happened to go to a school called Hogwarts where I just happened to be a witch with a wand, unless I was a professional make-up artist this question would be a myth to me. Luckily for you though, I am a professional make-up artist. Professional, trained and ready to provide you with the education that you need to discover the key to this pandora's box that us black women have been carrying around for years. So... carry on reading, stay alert and be in a position to be open minded for this to truly work for you.
APPLICATION TOOLS:
- Hands - if your applying the foundation on your own skin then your hands are an acceptable application tool. They don't soak up the foundation therefore it's not wasted & they allow you to get into every corner of your face. If your a make-up artist NEVER apply foundation with your hands on a client, ever.
- Sponge - Unless your using The Beauty Blender please do not use a sponge to apply your foundation (unless its wet) because sponges soak up liquid and you will end up using alot more than you bargained for because the sponge is designed to suck up any moisture. When the sponge is wet this doesn't happen as much because it has already clung onto the water and will soak up less foundation and apply more on your face. The Beauty Blender is a revolutionary type of sponge which is used by Pro make-up artists to apply foundation, it is amazing and highly recommended by me. (Purchase at www.beautyblender.co.uk)
- Foundation Brush - probably the one i'd recommend out of them all but only if it's a good one. Foundation brushes allow you to apply foundation onto the skin with ease and are especially good if you wan't that flawless skin look. Being a brush it also doesn't soak up unnessecary foundation which is a good thing. Mac, Laura Mercier & Giorgio Armani do the best ones.
MOISTURISER & PRIMER:
Now a lot of the problems you have with your foundation are the fact you don't prepare your skin properly... this isn't a joke, its like putting new paint on cracked walls, the colour will look shiny but the cracks will always appear. The same goes for your face, if you have bad skin, dry skin, oily skin, breakouts and even normal skin, you need to start by taking care of it by using the correct Moisturiser. Now whatever moisturise you use make sure you use it according to the instructions and you use it everyday (even you people who are like me and have oily skin, because moisturising actually helps reduce the oil on your skin, as when you don't moisturise your skin feels dry and produces more oil to compensate for that).
Primer, which is applied after the moisturiser, is used to do exactly that, prime the skin. A primer is an equivalent to PVA glue when you were in primary school doing arts and crafts, if you didn't put PVA Glue on whatever you were trying to stick, it would stick for long would it? The same applies with primer, it helps the foundation to adhere to the skin and can also (depending on the specific primer you get) help to minimise pores or oilyness on skin.
More depth will be gone into with moisturiser and primer on another post coming soon...
SKIN UNDERTONES:
It may not appear like it on the surface but every single person has different undertones on their skin and this is very important when choosing a shade of foundation. The undertones are classified by whether your warm or cool toned on your skin and most of the time if your warm toned your skin will have more orange (and warm colours like reds, pinks etc) and if your cool toned you will have more yellow skin (and cool colours like blue, green in the undertones of your skin). Now if you are a civilian you don't need to know too much about this except warm or cool however if your a make-up artist or looking to be one, then you will need to know.
More depth will be gone into with skin undertones on another post coming soon...
FOUNDATIONS FOR CARAMEL TONED BLACK SKIN:
Beyoncé Knowles, Singer/Actress/Mogul.
Common Light Black Skin Tone Problems: Foundation either too pinky & light or too orange & dark.
For OILY SKIN:
Affordable
Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse - Caramel £7.69 (Purchase at www.boots.com or www.superdrug.com)
Luxury
Chanel Matte Lumiére Foundation - 60 HI £29.62 (Purchase at www.debenhams.com)
For COMBINATION SKIN:
Affordable
Maybelline New York Pure Mineral Foundation - Caramel £8.19 (Purchase at www.boots.com)
Luxury
Mac Cosmetics Studio Sculpt SPF 15 Foundation - NC30 - NC55 (Purchase at www.maccosmetics.com)
For DRY SKIN:
Affordable
Revlon Colour Stay Foundation For Normal/Dry Skin- Toast (Purchase at www.boots.com)
Luxury
Mac Cosmetics Mineralize Satinfinish SPF 15 Foundation - NC30 - NC55 (Purchase at www.maccosmetics.com)
FOUNDATIONS FOR MILK CHOCOLATE TONED BLACK SKIN:
Kerry Washington, Actress.
Common Medium Black Skin Tone Problems: Foundations either too ashy & light or too orange & dark.
For OILY SKIN:
Affordable
Revlon Colour Stay Foundation For Oily Skin in Mahogany - £12.49 (Purchase at www.boots.com)
Luxury
Nars Cosmetics Sheer Matte Foundation in New Guinea, Benaires or Trinidad - £29.50 (Purchase at www.narscosmetics.co.uk)
For COMBINATION SKIN:
Affordable
Revlon Custom Creations Foundation SPF 15 in Dark - £13.99 (Purchase at www.boots.com)
Luxury
Illamasqua Cream Foundation in CF 320 or CF 325 - £21.50 (Purchase at www.illamasqua.com)
For DRY SKIN:
Affordable
Maybelline Dreamy Creamy Foundation in Sand or Cocoa - £8.19 (Purchase at www.boots.com)
Luxury
Mac Cosmetics Studio Fix Fluid Foundation in NW40 to NW48 - £19.50 (Purchase at www.maccosmetics.co.uk)
FOUNDATIONS FOR RICH DARK CHOCOLATE TONED SKIN:
Tomiko Fraser, Actress.
Common Deep Ebony Skin Problems: foundations too ashy or too light.
For OILY SKIN:
Affordable
Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse in Cocoa - £7.69 (Purchase at www.boots.com)
Luxury
Nars Cosmetics Powder Foundation in Benares - £31 (Purchase at www.narscosmetics.co.uk)
For COMBINATION SKIN:
Affordable
Make-up For Ever Full Coverage Foundation in Ebony - £19.97 (Purchase at www.makeup-provisions.com)
Luxury
Nars Cosmetics Sheer Glow Foundation in Khartoum or Tortuga - £29.50 (Purchase at www.narscosmetics.co.uk)
For DRY SKIN:
Affordable
Illamasqua Light Liquid Foundation in LF 325 or LF 335 - £21.50 (Purchase at www.illamasqua.co.uk)
Luxury
Make-up For Ever Face & Body Fluid Foundation in Ebony - £25.84 (Purchase at www.makeup-provisions.com)
TIPS FOR BLACK FOUNDATION USERS:
Invest in Benefit Cosmetics Tanning gel Talk to the tan. This isn't a joke, I know it sounds like it because why as a black girl would you wan't to use fake tan? But I assure you, its not like that so let me explain. Talk To The Tan is a tanning gel which washes off instanstly and is perfect (and I mean perfect) for every skin type (its truly amazing). You know how when you wake up in the morning, your in a rush and you don't have any intention of wearing make-up then BLAM you look in the mirror and your horrified by your ghost-like complexion (yes even us black women can look washed out too) well Talk To The Tan is your bestfriend right now. It acts exactly like a tinted moisturiser and wakes up your skin instantly leaving no lines or marks.
Most importantly, and we have all done this once of twice, when your in a rush or you don't want to speak to that stupid pushy girl behind the counter in a beauty store and you just pick up a foundation, test it on your hand (never do this, your hand is nowhere near the same colour as your face, always use your the chin, side of jaw, forehead or neck to check the colour) and think, yep im going to buy it and you do. We all know what happens next, you get home and BLAM it's nowhere near the same colour as your face (told you) this is where Talk To The Tan is going to hold you down once again. Mix talk to the tan with your foundation if it's too light and instantly (depending on how much you put of course) it will be the same colour as your skin.
Perfecto!
(Purchase in store on benefit counters as sale online seems to have discontinued but it is still available in stores)
I hope this post has been helpful to all my fellow beautiful black women & girls. Its something I have wanted to comply for a long time and has taken me a while to put together but it was worth it because now you have a suitable reference. Keep your eyes open for the 'MOISTURISING & PRIMER', 'SKIN UNDERTONES' and other beauty reviews and posts.
LL ❤
