Choosing The Right Foundation For You

Foundation is a great tool to even out discoloration, help conceal minor skin flaws and give you a great base upon which to apply rest of your makeup.

The most important factor in choosing a foundation is finding one that matches your skin color exactly. Buying a different shade to alter or improve your skin coloring only gives you an unflattering, unnatural appearance.

Foundation products are available in many forms and in many price ranges to suite your needs and budget. Drug store brands offer great prices, but finding a great shade match with no testers and poor lighting is difficult. Department stores brands are more expensive, but they have advantage of providing free testers and advice of a makeup specialist to help you choose right color.

The "right" foundation matches your coloring exactly, so there are no telltale signs of demarcation between your jaw line and neck. Always check shade in daylight, to get best shade match.

The easiest way to find a match is to apply what you believe are 3 close color matches directly to your jaw line - just draw a small swatch with your finger, of all 3 shades onto your skin. The best color for you is color that looks invisible on your skin - if color shows darker or lighter, it's not right shade for you. Be sure to check color is daylight to give you accurate results.

Foundation shades vary by manufacturer; so don't be afraid to test several different brands before you buy.

Next, you'll need to determine which foundation form is best for you, depending upon your skin type (i.e.; oily, dry) and how much coverage you need.

Oily - Oily/Combination Skin:

Stick with Oil-Free formulations of Liquid Foundations, Liquid to Powder Foundations and Mineral Powder Foundations, which are specifically formulated for oily and combination oily skin types.

If you don't want to shine, choose a foundation that has a "matte" or "oil free" finish. Don't apply a moisturizer prior to makeup application - as it will only serve to help your makeup "slide off", or evaporate during day.

A pre-makeup primer, like Alexis Vogel's Secret Perfection Primer de-shines oily complexions and makes foundation wear longer. Applying a loose powder after a liquid foundation application provides much longer wear - especially if you powder throughout day as needed.

Until a good friend suggested that we try it. I had to admit, I was curious, but wasn’t online dating for hideous losers and people who had something to hide? Wasn’t it only for those who couldn’t get a date ‘old fashioned’ way?

I let my friend talk me into browsing some pictures on one of more popular dating sites. I had to say, there were some pretty decent looking men on there. Their profiles made them sound like fairly mentally stable human beings. I had to admit that single thing was getting really tedious. I had done bar scene (as we all have), had friends try to ‘hook me up’ with some other dateless, picky single person (though, why some of them figured they had right to be picky, I have no idea), with no success.

Online dating, here I come. I figured “What do I have to lose?” At absolute worst, I’d meet more of same type of losers that I’d been meeting. At best, I’d meet someone that I was actually compatible with who could also relate to me.

I had another dilemma with regard to dating thing. I had been divorced for about a year at time, and I have 2 children. Now, I know that you ladies who are divorced with kids can completely relate to what I’m saying here. Finding a decent man is difficult enough, add to that fact that I’m looking for a decent man whom I can trust to be around my children. Finding a man anywhere on this planet, that I wouldn’t mind having my son emulate, is like trying to find a pair of Manolos on sale at Sears.

Anyway, I signed up with my friend on one of ‘bigger’ dating sites. I met one dude, who said in his profile that he was 5’10”, with an athletic build. He had an attractive face, he was divorced, and he had 3 children who were presently in his custody. He sent me an email. We corresponded via email for about 2 weeks, after which time, we decided to meet for lunch at a local restaurant.