Your skin is the single most important part of your natural, individual beauty there is, period. That’s why so many women search and experiment endlessly for the perfect foundation, skin care products, regimens, cosmetics and makeup for their skin. Just as there are a lot of great products out there for your skin’s look and feel, there are more that don’t bring out it’s natural beauty. The best natural foundations will achieve two things.
They will make your skin look flawless, yet natural, and they will be healthy for your skin, allowing the pores to breathe and never causing or aggravating breakouts or bothering sensitive skin. Another important aspect of a great natural foundation is how well the color is matched to your skin tone.
Whether you are fair, tend to have ruddy red tones, are darkly complected or have an olive complexion, or tend to have a lot of blemishes or freckles, there is a foundation shade that is perfectly complementary to your skin tone, and many makeup artists even blend a couple different shades to achieve the perfect natural tone that complements a woman’s features to the max.
Choosing the right foundation for your skin type is imperative as well. If you tend to have oily skin and choose a skin foundation that is geared toward aging skin, it may contain additional mineral oils that will aggravate oily skin further. Conversely, if you have aging, dry skin and you choose a foundation that is geared for oily or acne prone skin, you may experience a chalky look that dries the skin out too much and settles in the natural lines of the skin, making you appear older and less radiant.
I have found that a great foundation that costs just about twelve bucks in the drugstore is Revlon Color Stay foundation. For me, I was able to find a shade that matched my natural skin tone pretty well called Buff. I purchased the one that was made for more oily skin, as I tend to still have a lot of oil in my T zone and my face tends to get shiny during the day. Another product that many women rave about are the MAC foundations as well as the Bare Mineral natural foundations.
I’ve tried both and while they both have some definite advantages, I found that they didn’t live up to this idea of “natural perfection” that I was going for with my complexion. Bare Minerals is great for hot summer days when you don’t need as much coverage, but I found that for me, it just didn’t cover enough in the evening when I really wanted that flawless look, or in the winter when my skin was naturally paler and my flaws were more visible.
Another foundation that women love is one by ex model and actress Lauren Hutton called Aqua Elements. The cool thing about this natural foundation system is that it is the first and only water based mineral foundation. It’s excellent for aging skin, because it will not settle in any lines or creases and make you look older, but it’s also excellent for younger skin because it is totally noncomedogenic.
It also comes in quads of colors so that you can blend the perfect color for your tone. The advantage to this over other natural foundations is that you aren’t stuck with one single monotone, you can create your own blend and customize it to your skin tone, depending on how tan or pale your face is. We all know that you don’t have the exact same complexion year round, what with the seasons, so this a clear distinct advantage to this natural foundation over others.
In addition, the whole Aqua Elements system is designed to work together, it also has a concealer as well as a powder for a flawless finish, to “set” the foundation in and make it look fresh and natural all day long. It’s gotten great reviews from lots of customers, and I plan to give it a try soon after my current “experiment” with my current foundation is overwith.
Now, let’s talk about how to get the best, most natural and lasting finish in your foundation application. Some women prefer to apply foundation with their fingers. I don’t recommend this since you tend to over do it. It’s best to work with either a high quality foundation brush, such as the one by Eco Tools (it’s a bamboo, baby soft brush, you can buy it at Target), or one by MAC which is the preferred choice of a lot of makeup artists. I’ve tried both, and I can tell you that both, when used correctly, result in an excellent, clean finish when used in combination with a high quality, natural looking foundation.
You have to decide which is best for you. I still prefer a sponge, just because it’s less of a hassle and easier to pack for trips, but the brush is great for special events where you need the most coverage you can get. If you do choose to use a sponge, check out Laura Mercier’s foundation sponges, or another brand that is not porous and won’t soak up all your product. A great tip is to wet the sponge a bit before you put the product on, this creates a more dewy, natural finish, and it also helps keep your sponge for eating all your liquid.
A brush may get a little more in depth coverage, as it can help cover up large pores a bit more and also may help cover blemished or unevenly colored areas of skin a little more effectively. All in all, it’s imperative that you find the best natural foundation for your skin type for that flawless, baby soft look that makes your skin stand out and get attention. Please share your reviews of any natural foundations that you’re experienced by leaving us feedback on the contact page, we’d be happy to hear!
