The Truth About Foundation

Truth be told, the hunt for the right foundation, is like a quest for the Holy Grail. It takes a lot of hits-and-misses before you finally find the right shade and the right make-up brand for you. Because my skin has yellowish, as well as, pinkish undertones, and to top it off, IS oily (!), I broke the bank just to find one that will give me a dewy finish without slipping off my face after 2 hours.

For years, nay, a decade or two, I went from brand to brand. I swung from expensive to reasonable to downright cheap, and back again. This foundation hopping would always leave me feeling guilty when I'd espy my dressing table laden with half-used or slightly-used tubes and bottles of rejects. They'd either make me look too white or too ashen or (to my horror) too peachy. Which gave rise to a lot of frustration because what I was after was a shade that was subtly shimmery and fair, yet not too pale; rosy without being pinkish; never matte. And yes, that is what I'd specify to the women who manned the make-up counters. Perhaps, I used too many descriptive words, I don't know, but I usually ended up with a foundation I wouldn't use for long.

But, I wasn't one to give up easily, and after periods of licking my wounds by sticking to a pressed powder in a predictable translucent shade, off I'd march to the nearest make-up oasis once again. In one of my forays to Harbour Town (a brand direct outlet shopping center in Gold Coast), I rummaged through a pile of Revlon Foundations and snatched up a bottle of Revlon New Complexion foundation in ivory beige. It had a sticker on the bottle cap that said DermaBreathe Science. I took it to mean that it would allow my skin to breathe, none of that 'cakey' feeling I'd get from full-coverage foundations. Still, I was dubious. I never had much luck with foundations. But at $15 a bottle, it wasn't such a strain on the pocket.

The first thing I did when I got home was to test the color on my face. Much to my surprise and pleasure, ivory beige, matched my skin tone! Hallelujahs went off in my head. It was subtly shimmery and fair, yet not too pale; rosy without being pinkish; not matte. The final test would happen the next morning when we'd go off to the beach. I am a fan of the bare face when the face is artfully made up to look bare, if you get what I mean. In short, I feel naked without a smidge of foundation. How would Revlon New Complexion foundation in ivory beige stand up to the searing sun, sand and sea salt?

The results were absolutely fantastic! It felt light on the face, and even after hours at the beach it stayed put on my face and seemed to get more translucent as the minutes went by. The dewy finish never turned oily as most foundations without a dusting of loose powder are wont to do. Finally, I had found the perfect match. So, for ladies out there still searching for the right foundation, don't despair. There is a foundation out there that will be just right for you.