My Quest to Find the Perfect Summer Foundation, and My Holy Grail Discovery

Before I reveal my new Holly Grail summer discovery, I’ll share with you some pretty interesting things I’ve learned during my search to find the perfect foundation for my skin. Hopefully this would help you with choosing the right one for your skin.
 
As I’ve confessed in the past, I love natural makeup - I want my skin to look flawless, but without any trace of makeup, as if, “lucky me, I wake up like this” ;) So I was on the hunt to find a foundation that blends in perfectly, manages to cover all my imperfections, yet is completely seamless. 

This becomes even more challenging for oily skin like mine during the summer, when foundation ends up looking caky and, oh so very noticeable. On top of that in the outdoor light foundation ends up being pretty detectible and an SPF formula is a most not an option.

Guideline # 1 : Multitasking moisturizers/ bb creams tend to be too heavy during summer

Elizabeth Arden’s Pure Finish Mineral Tinted Moisturizer Broad Spectrum Sunscreen SPF 15 was my go to ‘foundation’ for years. Number 1 was my perfect tone at the beginning of the summer and at the end it would be number 2. In between I would mix them both. It added a luminous glow and even though it’s a tinted moisturizer it provided just enough coverage.
The problem was that my skin would get shiny pretty fast and using it often I noticed  pores tended to get clogged. It was too heavy.

We instinctively swap our heavy-duty moisturizer for a lightweight option during the summer. Same should be with tinted moisturizers and BB creams. One of the primary functions of multitasking beauty balm is to moisturize, and added emollients that provide that moisture tend to make the formula heavy. Not exactly what we want in the summer when our skin is more likely to be oily.

For that reason there’s now a new category of makeup that serves as a serum foundation. It’s lightweight as a serum, provides skin tone correction (CC for Color Correction), SPF and smoothing effects of BB - basically without the heavy hydrators. If you’ve already tried CC creams you’ll be happy to know there’s a new veil generation that is even more thin and fluid. Think hot sauce, not ketchup.

Guideline 2: Avoid these pore clogging ingredients that are found even in foundations labeled oil free/ non noncomedogenic

If your pores are congested, it’s very likely that your foundation is one of the main culprits.
Cosmetic chemists historically have tried to mimic sebum, the skin’s own surface oil, in order to derive some of its assumed benefits. Now we know that seam’s various chemical components, such as wax easters and fatty acids, are troublesome. Yet many cosmetics contain these same highly irritating fatty acids such as lauric acid or myristic acid, or their derivative isopropyl myristate, which is even more potent than it’s “parent” fatty acid.
isopropyl myristate is an ingredient used as an emulsifier or surfactant which helps cosmetics apply more smoothly with a slicker feel. According to Dr. James E. Fulton, one of the developers of Ratin A and Benzole Peroxide gel, “this particular penetrating oils so aggressive that if left in a glass laboratory overnight, the substance will actually migrate down onto the tabletop by the morning. This compound penetrates deep into your pores just as aggressively”.
Lanolins are another form of heavy oils to avoid. Sadly oil-free claims on makeup are simply not true. They may contain no animal, vegetable or mineral oils but they contain synthetic oil.

Guideline 3: Undertones are more then just yellow and pink and color should be matched to neck in order to blend seamlessly. 

While most foundation colors range in a scale of light to dark with verities of yellow or pink, there’s actually some more to it. An undertone is the color that lies beneath the skin. So your skin can tan and become darker in the summer, with more melanin that is layering your natural undertone.  Undertones can vary from warm (pink), neutral (yellow) to cool (blue), yet very few cosmetic companies cater to cooler tones. So many of the foundations I’ve tried looked great in doors, but natural light revealed a yellowish or pinkish mask.

Due to my almost success with Elizabeth Arden’s tinted moisturizer, I decided to give their custom foundation service a try at Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa in San Francisco.  A lens of a spectrophotometer (an optical skin diagnostic tool) is placed on  makeup-free skin to measure it’s depth of color and tone, then calculate the pigment levels required to create a perfect match. You can then choose a preferred formula—sheer, medium or full coverage with either a matte or natural finish. Because of my experience with the tinted foundation being too dewy, I decided to go for the matt finish. While it was a perfect match color wise, it was a bit drying. Being a full coverage, I use it as concealer to cover any readiness or mix it with an eye cream for an under eye concealer. Blending invisibly I can used it just where I need it.

Then..
When Tiffany D, a beauty vlogger I love, talked about It Cosmetic's CC cream, I just had to give it a try. I went over the ingredient list, non of the pore clogging offenders. I searched the color on my hand and went outdoor to the light. The undertones are taupe. perfect for cool undertones!! Not that many like it in the market. If I apply it with my hands it would give a full coverage yet blend seamlessly. But if I layered it too much it would be more noticeable.

Still I was in love. Until.. the folks at It Cosmetics out did themselves and came out with a lightweight ‘Veil Fluid’ serum version for summer (SPF 50). It’s a liquid cushion compact that goes on so ingeniously like second skin. Covering every imperfection yet feels and looks like you got nothing on. Ha! I do wake up this way.. if I keep this compact next to my bed ;)


Wishing you flawless skin,