The Challenge Of Finding The Right Foundation For My Dark Skin
The Child That Goes Against The Grain
During my teen years, I was not only obsessed with the health of my skin, I was also obsessed with makeup.
This was funny because if you can recall from my previous blog "Growing Up In The Jamaican Apostolic Faith", I mentioned half of the things I couldn’t wear and makeup was one of them. Nevertheless, as a child when I visited my older cousins who wore makeup I had to dabble in their makeup a little bit and by dabble I mean to use it every chance I got.
I noticed pretty quickly that after attempting to do my makeup, I would always appear lighter than I am and after all my cousins and I are of very similar complexion. While this was obvious, I didn’t give it much thought, I was just happy to be wearing makeup.
Teenagers Always Find A Way To Get The Things They Want
During my teen years (while I was retaliating against man-made church rules), I would often visit the beauty shops in Half-Way-Tree, Kingston Jamaica. I would test face powders and occasionally purchase a lip gloss (blog on "My Lippie Obsession" coming soon). While testing face powders, I could never find a face powder to fetch my complexion close enough to hide the fact that I was wearing makeup from my parents and the church, I was in the wrong, but I was on a mission to wear seamless makeup.
After searching for years it seemed I finally found the L.A Girl Pro Face Powder. Honestly, it was surprising to see the variety of different shades in a makeup face pressed powder, this was the late 90s. As a dark skin girl, it was like seeing diamonds, yes I did compare finding a dark tone face powder to diamonds (think about that for a second). So I bought the face powder and wore it with pride and my parents didn’t notice, the people at my church did, however, notice that my skin appeared to look a little different but I did not make them any wiser.
On The Search For More Dark Skin Makeup
Now that I have found a brand that carries my complexion makeup, I was on the hunt to find more makeup to fit my skin tone and here are three brands that I have found with a good range of foundations for dark skin tones. (I will have updates on other brands in future blogs)
MAC STUDIO FLUID SPF 15
Mac Studio Fluid Foundation is one of the first foundations I have found that matched my tone very well. I like the range this line carries and the consistency of the product. I will say however that depending on the time of year, I may need to mix shades to find my exact skin tone. The consistency of this foundation is thick, slightly immovable, creamy and smooth to the touch.
Packaged in a thick 1oz glass bottle and twist cap, it sits perfectly on any counter for daily usage.
The Mac Studio Fluid Foundation comes in 60 different shades and my matches are NW55 and NW58, I am also able to get full coverage in just one coat of application. There are no shades in between those two (over my foundation, I use NW55 in the Studio Fix Powder Plus). I have noticed however that the darker the shades/formulations get the redder the undertones get as well. If you are of darker skin tone but your undertone may be on the cooler side, this is where you may have a problem because you will appear warmer (redder) than cooler.
Fenty Beauty Pro Filter Hydrating
Fenty Beauty Pro Filter Hydrating, I may have been the last person to get my hands on this foundation, and may I say, no regrets. I am not one to follow the hype (hence the late purchase on the foundation) but this foundation is literally SKIN!!!
I was very surprised to see how well the foundation mimicked the skin and the flawless finished product on the skin. Honestly, this foundation ranks a 10/10 in my books.
The consistency of this foundation is lightweight, slightly runny and smooth to the touch. I went for the hydrating formula because you girl is all about hydrating her skin darlings, yes I am instantly drawn to hydrating products rather than mattifying products, this also has to do with the fact that I live in Canada and the climate here is DRY!
Packaged in a 1.08 oz thick plastic tube with an almost round-hexagon cover, it will sit comfortably by the way of the cover on your counter.
I went with the shade #490 which I think is a little dark for me, I am also able to get full coverage in just one coat of application, I think, however, I would try the shade #480 next time. (See My Fenty Beauty Hydrating Demo Here)
IL Makiage - Woke Up Like This
In early 2018 I was asked if I have ever tried IL Makiage - Woke Up Like This, oddly enough, I had never even heard of it. So I started looking into the brand and quickly realized the wide range of shades the brand carries and their foundation seemed to have been making waves in the beauty community.
After researching this brand I decided to try their foundation. This is an online brand where you guided through an online quiz to match your skin to the perfect foundation from their 50 shade selection. I found that the quiz was very user-friendly and easy walkthrough. I was matched with shade #240.
The first thing that caught my eye with this foundation was the packaging (a girl loves a cute package). It comes in a 1 oz frosted square glass bottle and will seat perfectly on your counter with your family of makeup products.
The consistency of this product I found to be very lightweight, slightly runny and smooth to the touch. I think the shade #240 fits my winter complexion perfectly, however for the summer months I would mix this with my Fenty Beauty Pro Filter Hydrating in #490. I have already tried mixing them and found that the foundation formulas mix perfectly together to fit my complexion (A+).
I am also able to get full coverage in just one coat of application.
To Mix Or Not To Mix?
Until next time, I am still on the hunt for a foundation that matches my shade complexion perfectly without having to mix shades and formulas to find my perfect match. I will take you on this journey with me so stay tuned for my future blog posts.
If you are more on the conservative side and you may not be into wearing heavy makeup and are looking for lightweight full coverage, something easy, simple, and skin-matching, I recommend any of the above brands and formulas.
Let me know in the comments below if this was helpful for you, and what is your go-to brand for makeup foundation?
You may also like My First Blog
