Blotchy, oily, flaky and spotty, our skin can be really annoying sometimes. Lucky for us, the foundation exists! It is the base for all our favorite makeup looks, still, the foundation is not one-size-fits-all.
Different skin types call for different foundations and different approaches. What works for your best friend, might not work for you.
Whether you have dry skin, oily skin, or somewhere in between, you will need a foundation to suit your skin type to get the best results.
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How to Find your Skin Type
Before you start shopping for makeup, you will need to figure out what skin type you have. Choosing foundation for your skin type will give you the best results, so you will need to be sure of your type.
Normal skin means you have very few imperfections and a little sensitivity. You will not be plagued with visible pores and your complexion will be radiant.
If you have dry skin, you have nearly invisible pores but a dull complexion. You will have red blotches and lines that are more visible. Your skin may be flaky and may become irritated and tight if you forget to moisturize.
Oily skin has big pores, blackheads, and pimples. You will be prone to blemishes. Your complexion might be shiny, or dull.
Even though the oily skin is the worst in high school, as you get older, you will find you get fewer wrinkles than people who have normal or dry skin.
You can tell if you have sensitive skin by redness, itching, stinging, and dryness.
Normal Skin
If you are lucky enough to have normal skin, you can really experiment with the kind of foundation you use. All you might need is a sheer foundation or a tinted moisturizer.
Just make sure you do not take your skin for granted! Make sure to look after your skin so you do not run into any trouble down the track.
Cleanse and moisturize your skin, stay hydrated and take off your make-up before going to bed.
Dry Skin
Makeup for dry skin can be tricky. You will need to take care of your skin to get the most out of your foundation. Use a gentle cleanser and a rich moisturizer.
Avoid using traditional powder foundations, because they will sap the moisture from your skin making it drier. Most matte foundations can even make dry spots look worse.
To look after your skin all day, you will need a hydrating foundation. Moisturizing liquid foundations will give you light to medium coverage and will keep your dry skin hydrated all day.
These foundations are easy to blend and a good liquid foundation will make your face look fresh, not greasy.
Oily Skin
Oily skin would need a lot of work to get photo-ready. However, with a little practice and a good routine, your make-up game will be on-point.
While it is important to cleanse, make sure you are taking care of your skin in other ways too. Use a specially formulated moisturizer, and as always, remove make-up at the end of the day.
Unlike dry skin, a matte foundation is the way to go for oily skin. Avoid moisturizing foundation as they could clog pores and make blackheads even worse!
A matte finish liquid foundation will provide you with medium to full coverage and will control oil for a few hours. Make sure you use oil-free foundations.
Powder foundations work best for slightly oily skin, but can look too cakey on people with oily skin.
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Sensitive and Acne Prone skin
When choosing makeup for sensitive skin, make sure to avoid irritants. Look for hypoallergenic products. The term ‘non-comedogenic’ means that the product will not clog your pores. Make sure to test new products on a small portion of your skin to avoid skin irritation.
Mineral powders will not irritate your skin and tinted moisturizers will work well for your skin. Nevertheless, make sure you are using one with SPF to protect your skin.
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Hi Dima!
I love your well laid out guide for choosing foundation for different skin types, but from my experience (I’ve got acne prone oily skin,) regular makeup often makes it worse for me.
I find that powders and creams clog up my pores, which gives me acne breakouts. I suffer from terrible cysts occasionally, especially if I eat junk food.
A safer option I’ve found is using airbrush makeup for acne prone skin. This is because airbrush foundation is really thin and won’t get into your pores. It’s also hygienic because you don’t need to actually touch your face to use it.
The coverage is great, I’ve even seen people successfully cover entire tattoos with this.
Anyways, thanks for sharing your tips!
May Luna