Need Foundation Help? Please post here.......

[JenW]

zus-

In switching to All Purpose, I would just start with the Ebony portion. Start at 1:9. I am guessing you will need a few more scoops of white with the newer formula. The lavendar addition will tone down yellow. I am not sure you will need this addition, but I would start by geting the depth correct. If anything, I think you might need the addition of a tad of Yellow Booster. Your skin is fair and sometimes there are colors that need to be added back in once the color is diluted out a bit.

[Christina1121]

Christina1121-

I am thinking Olive, or possibly Warm Gold.
Olive: 1 scoop color to about 10 white
Warm Gold: 1 scoop color to about 7 white

This is a good starting point for Original Coverage or All Purpose Foundation. You might need to add one or two more scoops of white, but they will be close. I definitely recommend trying samples in case there is something that does not agree with your skin, or the finish is not quite right. There are many things we can add to adjust the color and finish. All Purpose Foundation is the simplest formulation, and usually works with all skin types.

Thank you! I'm anxious to try it out! Do you think I'll need any peach?

[JenW]

Christina1121-

I am thinking Olive, or possibly Warm Gold.
Olive: 1 scoop color to about 10 white
Warm Gold: 1 scoop color to about 7 white

This is a good starting point for Original Coverage or All Purpose Foundation. You might need to add one or two more scoops of white, but they will be close. I definitely recommend trying samples in case there is something that does not agree with your skin, or the finish is not quite right. There are many things we can add to adjust the color and finish. All Purpose Foundation is the simplest formulation, and usually works with all skin types.

Thank you! I'm anxious to try it out! Do you think I'll need any peach?

Nope. No Peach. At your depth, it kind of starts looking more pink than yellow.

[Christina1121]

Thank you! I'm anxious to try it out! Do you think I'll need any peach?[/quote]
Nope. No Peach. At your depth, it kind of starts looking more pink than yellow.[/quote]


So... Does that mean I'm more yellow/warm than pink/cool? At my local MAC I was matched with NW20. Was that totally far off, or...?

Thank you for walking me through this.

[JenW]

Thank you! I'm anxious to try it out! Do you think I'll need any peach?

Nope. No Peach. At your depth, it kind of starts looking more pink than yellow.[/quote]


So... Does that mean I'm more yellow/warm than pink/cool? At my local MAC I was matched with NW20. Was that totally far off, or...?

Thank you for walking me through this.[/quote]
I actually think you are pretty neutral. I would definitely not call you a pink/cool, but you are not super warm, either. Personally, I don't think olive/neturals fit well into MAC's system. The 20 is helpful, though. You will likely need those extra scoops of white I mentioned, but try first without them.

[Rosy1]

I need foundation help, but I think I posted my (long) message with questions in the wrong place, under the general color mixing questions. I'm so excited because my samples came today -- I'm amazed, I ordered them Friday morning, and they're here today Looking at the color bases on my skin, ebony looks the most like me and olive is a somewhat distant second best. Neither of the Golds looked much like me; indoors, Buttery Gold looked slightly less bad, outdoors Warm Gold was closer. I mixed 1 scoop of ebony with 8 of the original base to start; it looks a bit dark/pink, but I won't really know until I see it in daylight. I feel like it needs just a dab of something more added to it, but I'm not sure what: Olive? Lavender? Something blue? What could I use that's blue? Olive and lavender/blue? There is a bit of a kind of drab brownish yellow in my skin from faded tans from childhood summers, and lots of blue under all that red.

I also need help out how to get enough coverage for my rosacea -- applying the all-purpose foundation wet? Will that make a mess over moisturizer and primer with SPF? Using the heavy coverage foundation and green concealer? One person gave me some useful ideas.

Edit: JenW, thank you for your responses to my original post

[Rosy1]

I think we need to start putting all of the foundation help in one spot. I know there are those of you out there who prefer to read what others of similar color are doing rather than jump in and ask questions.

Also, I have been trying to update our Application and Recipes page so that the information is available for those that kind of know their undertones. I know I did not have any information up for Olive. Here is what I added:

Olive has slight olive undertones with no yellow or golden tones.

[

Today I tried the original formula at 1 ebony to 9 ivory. I'm very impressed with the quality of the finish. I had absolutely none of the polka-dot pores I see with some foundations, and there was no cakiness (sp?) even after I really piled it on where I wanted more coverage than the original formula is really designed to provide. Color-wise, it's good but not quite right. Actually a little better after 4-5 hours than it was initially. My coloring is quite cool, but I think my undertones are more blue than pink. I'm thinking of trying 2 scoops of ebony and 1 of olive in somewhere around 30 of ivory. I hesitate only because I don't want to waste my samples. Any thoughts? Here's a photo that gives you and idea of my rosacea tones and the tones at the edge of my face that I'd like to match/blend into:

[JenW]

Rosy1-

I think you are on the right path that it will be some combination of Ebony and Olive. I do think minus the rosacea, you would be Ebony alone. Also, I am pretty sure you are blue/pink as most cool toned skin is to some degree, it is just that the redness for rosacea just overpowers your natural amount of pink. Since it is a complex color situation, we kind of have to address one thing at a time and adjust back a little bit from there. YOu must get your color spot on before switching to Heavy Coverage, and the recipe will be close, but have a little less white. Original is the most forgiving on a color match, where Heavy will show a sligh mismatch as way off.

It is quite possible that products with simpler ingredient profiles will help your skin significantly over time. Then the redness will not be that big of an issue.

[Rosy1]

Rosy1-

I think you are on the right path that it will be some combination of Ebony and Olive. I do think minus the rosacea, you would be Ebony alone. Also, I am pretty sure you are blue/pink as most cool toned skin is to some degree, it is just that the redness for rosacea just overpowers your natural amount of pink. Since it is a complex color situation, we kind of have to address one thing at a time and adjust back a little bit from there. YOu must get your color spot on before switching to Heavy Coverage, and the recipe will be close, but have a little less white. Original is the most forgiving on a color match, where Heavy will show a sligh mismatch as way off.

It is quite possible that products with simpler ingredient profiles will help your skin significantly over time. Then the redness will not be that big of an issue.

Thanks for your feedback on the color, I think you're right and I'm going to try 2:1:30 Ebony:Olive:Ivory.

As far as fewer ingredients... the causes of rosacea are not known, and certainly the list of things that can irritate rosacea-afflicted skins is vast and includes such unavoidable parts of life as heat, cold, sun, wind, and warm showers. My skin got to be the way it is using only a mild cleanser and zinc/titanium sunscreen. Since I couldn't tolerate the things the derms prescribe/recommend for rosacea, I figured I couldn't use anything. When the BHA product I used for some seborrheic dermatitis cleared up the rosacea-related zits a year ago, I felt I could wear try wearing makeup without just having it get caked on the zits and making my skin look even worse than it already did. Since I started using moisturizer and wearing makeup, I check out the ingredients using the Skin Deep database and return any products that irritate my skin to the store. I guess this sounds a little defensive. Certain prejudices or stereotypes have been associated with rosacea -- the idea that the redness must come from drinking too much alcohol, or that an older adolt with zits must have poor personal hygeine, for example -- but there are people with rosacea who do everything right in terms of taking care of their skin avoiding triggers and potentially irritating ingredients in skin care and makeup, but whose skin condition is far, far worse than mine has gotten so far. If my redness does somehow go away, that would be *wonderful*, but I'm pretty sure after 25 years that it's not just irritated skin. Oh, well. I wish it was.

Sorry for being so defensive. I guess rosacea has made more than just my skin overly sensitive!

[Rosy1]

I tried mixing 1 scoop Ebony with a scant 1/2 scoop Olive in 15 Original Ivory. It looked really pretty -- kind of neutralized the pink -- but was a bit light. So I added less than 1/4 scoop Olive and shook again. I think it's going to be good! I'm so excited!