Archives for December 2007

When it comes to finding foundation colors that match my skin tone, I sometimes feel like a brown Goldilocks. Paul & Joe foundation? Too yellow. Maybelline Pure Makeup? Way too pink.

I’ve struggled to find the right in-between shade that doesn’t make my face look ashy or sallow. If you have the same foundation color woes, then you just might dig my two new fave foundations, Becca Luminous Skin Colour tinted moisturizer ($40.00) and Becca Stick Foundation ($39.00). Both create a perfect, natural foundation look for neutral skin tones.

Becca Luminous Skin Colour in the shade Nut, with Becca Stick Foundation in Coffee

Becca Cosmetics, an Australian line known for its extensive range of foundations and powder shades, can help you achieve a flawless, natural-looking and long-lasting foundation look. But be forewarned, Becca believes you’ve got to use multiple products: primer, tinted moisturizer, stick foundation and powder.

In addition to foundation for neutral skin tones, Becca has a wide range of foundation colors — pink, yellow and warm shades — for other skin tones. If you have skin with a neutral tone like I do, with skin that’s neither pink/red nor yellow/gold dominating your skin color, it can be really hard to find a foundation because so many of them are rarely true neutral.

Combining several $40 products seems like an expensive, time-consuming endeavor. The skeptic in me originally thought this was just clever marketing, but after a few weeks of using both the Luminous Skin Colour tinted moisturizer and the Stick Foundation, I’m really digging this combination because the color matches my skin perfectly. They’re also easy to use and don’t break me out.

How to work it

I’m a total lazy beast, so here’s my quick and dirty guide to how I use Becca foundation. These steps take about four minutes if I’m in a hurry.

1. Prep skin with moisturizer and sunscreen.
2. Blot excess.
3. If I have time, I’ll start by applying a layer of Laura Mercier Oil-Free primer, but I usually skip this step.
4. Apply 1-2 pumps of Becca Luminous Skin Color all over face with fingers.
5. Put a few dabs of Stick Foundation on fingers and rub between fingers to warm up product. Apply only to areas where color needs to be evened out; on me that’s the red patches around my nose, on my cheeks and between my brows. Smooth and blend into skin until obvious lines are covered.
6. Apply Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder all over to set foundation.

When applying foundation, I usually like using the MAC 182 brush, but, with Becca products, fingers work better. The Luminous Skin Colour has a thinner consistency and matches my skin tone more closely than Laura Mericer’s Tinted Moisturizer does. It doesn’t look like it’s sitting on top of my skin the way Laura Mercier’s tinted moisturizer does, and I don’t need to worry as much about blending the product with my 182 brush to create a natural look. The Stick Foundation has a thick and waxy consistency, but, again, the color matches my skin so well that warm fingers are all I need to blend it easily and perfectly into my skin.

Neutral Territory

For me, the defining difference between the Becca foundations and Laura Mercier’s tinted moisturizer is color. I’ve always known that Laura Mercier’s “Almond” shade was close to my natural skin tone (albeit a touch too pink), but I liked the coverage and just assumed I’d never find anything closer. But Becca’s Stick Foundation in the Coffee shade is truly neutral, with no dominant yellows or pinks, and melts right into my skin.

Other neutral colors in the Becca Stick Foundation line are:

Light to fair
Latte – pink-neutral/light to fair complexions

Fair to medium
Praline – neutral/fair complexions
Banana – neutral/fair to medium complexions
Tahini – neutral/fair to medium complexions

Medium
Macadamia – neutral/medium complexions
Brulee – neutral/medium complexions
Mallow – neutral/medium complexions

Tan
Toffee – neutral/light tan complexions
Coffee – neutral/tan complexions
Honeycomb – neutral/light tan complexions

Golden Brown
Truffle – neutral/golden brown complexions
Chestnut – neutral/warm brown complexions
Almond – neutral/rich warm brown complexions
Chocolate – neutral/deep chocolate brown complexions

Dark Bronze
Molasses – neutral/very dark bronze complexions
Espresso – neutral-warm/very dark bronze complexions

You can peep all the Becca shades on Sephora.com, where the massive Becca blowout sale continues.

Side note: Don’t the makeup gods have a sick sense of humor? I finally find foundation that matches my skin perfectly and snag it on sale at a deep discount (SCORE!) on Sephora.com … but, of course, the only reason I get it so cheap is ’cause Sephora’s phasing out their entire Becca inventory. CRAP! I did find a few online sites still carrying the line, though, like Dermstore, and the Becca Web site, so all is not lost.

Stick Foundation: Easy, like Sunday morning

I’ve only used liquid foundations in the past, so I thought a stick foundation would be hard to use. I was wrong. I love that I don’t have to spend a lot of time blending. Another thing that surprised me is how the formula can be so thick yet feel so light on my skin. It doesn’t migrate or streak, and it never cakes. I like sheer to medium coverage, so I don’t use much, but if you like a heavier foundation look you can easily layer the product to achieve more coverage.

Even if you don’t have a neutral skin tone, the Becca foundations are worth checking out. They perform well, have a great color selection and are easy to use. With so many colors, you’re bound to find something that works for you!

Pretty young things, repeat after me, say “Nah, nah, nah nah!”

Why are you staring at this old school pic of MJ?

Today I have Michael Jackson’s “PYT” stuck in my head:

Now it’s stuck in yours too, isn’t it?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen