I realise that this post won't appeal to everyone, but I'm keen to share this with you all as a pale faced lady.
Finding a foundation is never easy, but when your natural skin tone is closer to that of Caspar the Ghost, it can be tricky to find a foundation that doesn't accidentally make you look like an extra from TOWIE.
I've spent many years hunting for the perfect shade, and so I wanted to pass along my top tips.
Always test it on your face. I know that this might be tricky in places like Boots/Superdrug, but whenever possible, try a new foundation on your face and see how it looks in natural light. Any good beauty counter will give you a foundation sample to try yourself. Take your time and see how it reacts with your skin - sometimes foundations oxidise and turn out a completely different shade on different skin types. If you can't try it out on your face, then the underside of your forearm will give a decent enough match.
Find companies that offer more light shades. Ones I would recommend for choice of shades are Bare Minerals, Lily Lolo, Illamasqua and Dainty Doll. My current HG foundation is the palest shade from Bare Minerals which blends perfectly on me.
Stand your ground. I've actually had arguments with counter assistants who insist that I'm one shade when I very clearly know that it's not right for me. Usually after a quick swatch on the face, they agree, but never feel pressurised into buying anything that you know isn't right (harder than it seems sometimes).
Don't forget the SPF! If you can get a foundation with a bit of SPF in it, all the better. My skin lasts about 10 minutes in the sun before frying, so any extra protection I can give it helps.
I hope that these tips help a little - I think they can apply no matter what colour your skin is. It's taken me many years to be happy with my pale skin, reddish hair and freckles, but now I wouldn't be without them. Feel beautiful, whatever your skin tone may be.
Great post, I am also very pale and get really annoyed when people match me up to a darker shade which I know I am not. x
ReplyDeleteit's so annoying when that happens :(
DeleteI pretty much stick to Bare Minerals Fairly Light now. It's so hard to avoid the tell tale tide mark with traditional 'orange' foundations! Though Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in Soft Beige also works suprisingly well for me too. x
ReplyDeletewww.lottys-luxuries.blogspot.com
I'm the same shade in Bare minerals - love that stuff!
DeleteExcellent tips! I HATE base product shopping :( I feel so awkward swatching in high street stores it's the worst. I wouldn't say I'm the palest in the world but I'm still an awkward match :( I get a lot of "hmm you're inbetween shades..." lovely. x
ReplyDeleteIt's so tricky finding the perfect shade. I rarely change foundations now after finding one i like. x
DeleteI've lost count of the number of times foundation has gone orange on me, and includes the ones I had to wear when I was a beauty consultant. Pale foundation is a bigger holy grail than the correct foundation as they are rarer to find!
ReplyDeleteoooh, that can't have been much fun. We need more companies to make better pale shades i think. x
DeleteI use the bareMinerals matte foundation in the lightest shade they have too. Yay for being so pale! :)
ReplyDeletehttp://skinstuffbykaty.blogspot.com/
It's a really lovely foundation :)
DeleteI think it's super important not to forget about the SPF! It's that something extra which can make a difference! X
ReplyDeletemademoiselle-lala.com
Definitely. It's saved my face on more than a few occasions!
DeleteI'm quite pale and really struggle too. Ive felt pressured into buying so many times and I end up with a foundation that looks awful when I try it at home. Of course, once I've tried it I can't return it so I end up with bottles of foundation I cant use!
ReplyDeleteIve now started asking for samples or if thats not available I get colour matched and ask them to try it across my whole face. I then try it for the day to see how it looks and feels. That way I don't waste money!
That's a great way to do it. Base products aren't cheap so we need to make sure they really work before purchasing. I think sales people forget about the end result sometimes as they need to make a sale. x
DeleteGreat post! I'm not pale but I find it hard to get an accurate foundation since I'm sort of in the middle between dark and light skinned (odd, much?), embrace your beauty! Have you tried the match made service from no 7? Love your blog, now following :) Xx
ReplyDeletefindingyourinnerbeauty.blogspot.co.uk
I think finding the right shade can be hard no matter what shade your skin tone is. I haven't tried the no.7 matching service yet - is it any good? x
DeleteOh yeah, it's fab! The first foundation I purchased which is an exact mirror of my skintone, really love it, try it out! Xx ;)
DeleteI'm pale too and I have a pink undertone so it's even harder to find a good match. Thankfully I can spot my own shade at pretty much 100 paces now and I refuse to be swayed by sales associates. I've been matched wrong before and it's really not nice when you buy something only to find out it's never going to work for you! x
ReplyDeleteDitto - my face has pink undertones too and they keep trying to sell me yellow bases to even it out, but it just looks odd! x
DeleteThis is such a helpful post - as a fellow pale face I have struggled for years to find a foundation pale enough, I've settled on Colorstay in Buff but my skin regularly yo yos between being pale, extra pale and see through. STRESSFUL
ReplyDeleteP.S Love you x
I'm very pale with pink undertones and the biggest issue i have is that my face is darker than my neck-so I have to be careful to blend blend blend. If you ever get the opportunity to try Make Up Forever they do shades for pale skin, it's been my perfect match xxx
ReplyDeleteim basically your colouring, but to make it harder for myself i dye my hair jet black! my favourite foundation(s) is to mix illamasqua skin base in 02, and NYX HD def foundation in nude (actually rather pale) perfect!
ReplyDeletehttp://beautyintheeyeofthebe-holder.blogspot.co.uk/
xxx