Seeing as there is no way I could write this better, I’m going to link to an article by the lovely Jessica Allison, who put exactly how you need to match your foundation: Foundation 101 – Finding your best shade

I’m going to elaborate a bit, but more on the side of undertones.  Foundation is not only -literally- the foundation of our make up creations and kits, it’s something that is increasingly difficult for users to match and understand proper shade determination.

Cool, neutral, warm…. There is such an abundance of options at our disposal, which only raises the question for most: Which one am I supposed to use?

Unfortunately, undertone matching goes much further than yellow and pink undertones: there is blue-pink, olive, beige…. It goes on.  And on, and on, and on.  This fact makes it even more difficult, seeing as we often don’t know our own undertone, and in some individuals, it can be hard to determine.

The easiest way to figure out your undertone is to look at your forearm, and look at your veins.  How blue are they?  The more blue they are, the more cool your skin tone is, the more green they appear, the more warm your skin tone is.  However, the best way to determine undertone is by following Jessica Allison’s tips in order to find the right foundation for you — some foundation formulations are hard to tell whether or not the undertone is warm or cool, and just because it’s labeled a certain way doesn’t necessarily make it so.  (L’Oreal True Match has warm, neutral, and cool shades — however the neutral colors tend to look more warm than neutral, and the warm colors more neutral than warm.  The cool colors tend to be took pink for most skin tones.  Even labels can be deceiving.)

Here is a list of things to keep in mind when choosing a foundation:

• Your undertone.  Most skin tones will look best with warm or neutral shades, as cool-toned foundation often tends to appear too pink, and applying cool-toned foundation to a warm face will make your skin look highly unattractive and sallow.
• Avoid foundations that seem to have an orange-y tint.  When you get into that medium part of the spectrum, there will often be one or two shades of foundations that look orange.  If it looks orange in the bottle, it will have the same appearance on your skin.
• Darker skin tones should avoid foundations that have a high titanium dioxide content.  25 SPF is too much unless it doesn’t use titanium dioxide as the ingredient (there are chemical sunscreens that do not have this effect).  Check the ingredient listing to see how far titanium dioxide is from the end, and as always, try it if you must.  There is a foundation out there for you if one doesn’t work!  Try the darkest you think you would be first, and see where to go from there.  If there is any sort of ashy appearance, the foundation uses too much titanium dioxide, and is going to make you look gray — or similar to a corpse.  Always go for neutral or warm toned foundations for darker skin!
• Make sure to look at your foundation in natural lighting as well as fluorescent.  You want to look good both inside and outside (and not in the typical saying), so you want to make sure it looks good in sunlight — not just in the store.
• Buy your foundation from somewhere that has at least a 30-day return policy on all products — Ulta, Sephora, and most cosmetic counters offer such.  Drugstores, Targets, Wal-Marts, and K-Marts do not often let you return opened product just because it doesn’t match (though they should, seeing as the companies really do not mind).
• Make sure it works for you, don’t always expect the make up artist who is matching you, or the sales associate, to be familiar with your skin when they don’t know you, and it’s not theirs.  If you can get a sample, do so, if you can’t, read the bullet above!

Estee Lauder Company is apparently closing its child operative, Prescriptives, and in January of 2010 the products will no longer be available in stores.  Of course, they will be selling out of their inventory via the web, so if you love their stuff — stock up now!

For more information, visit Prescriptives.com.

Not all of us have a lot of money to spend on department store make up, let alone do we always want to.  There are plenty of excellent beauty products that you can get at your local Ulta, Wal-Mart, etc for an extremely reasonable price.

To assist, I’ve decided to mark my top drugstore products!

1. L’Oreal True Match Foundation.  An excellent shade selection, long wearing, and with SPF.  It has a very natural finish and evens out your complexion without looking made up.
2. L’Oreal True Match Powder.  This is one of my favorite powders hands down.  I find it very comparable to high-end powders only for a fraction of the cost!
3. NYC Translucent powder (loose or pressed).  Inexpensive, easy to find, and sets your make up beautifully.
4. NYX Blush.  Great selection of shades without too much shimmer.  L’Oreal has a nice selection of blush in their True Match line as well.
5. NYC or Rimmel bronzers — really universal tones for all skin colors.
6. NYX eyeshadows.  High pigment, superb blendability, and adorable packaging to boot!
7. L’Oreal and Maybelline mascaras.  End of story.
8. NYX and Rimmel Lasting Finish lipsticks.  Great selection of colors!  I also enjoy Revlon!
9. Rimmel Exaggerate lip liner.
10. L’Oreal HIP Cream liner, or their Carbon Black liquid liner.
11. Revlon Colorstay eyeliner.  Stays put.  For a more colorful selection, check out NYX!
12. NYC brow fill kit, or Maybelline brow pencils.  Either or are excellent.
13. Eco Tools brushes.  Inexpensive, good for the environment, and wonderful quality.

These are my cream of the crop.  I would recommend any of these products!  Any questions?  Let me know!

For your homework: What’s the best and worst products you’ve picked up from the drugstore?  Do you find mass cosmetics comparable to more prestige lines?

As women (or men with an afficianado for make up), we typically have quite the make up arsenal.  More than we would need to take for a weekend or week long trip, that’s for sure.

I love travelling, and do it as often as possible — so I figured, why not stop by and give you all a few of my tips?

Naturally, I have a train case.  However, I do keep a smaller bag available for travel.  I like to have one for brushes (if you don’t have a brush roll), and then one for cosmetics.  This one over at Ulta is a great choice, it comes with additional pockets for your other toiletries.

So, from here the question is: What do you pack?  And what will make it easier to travel with your cosmetics?

• First and foremost, pack all your face products.  Concealer, foundation, powder, primer — w hatever you use.  Most of us have sample jars laying around that you can always put some foundation and foundation primer in to save more space!
• Bring a moisturizer and eye cream.  Are you going to be out in the sun?  Make sure you pack sunscreen, and a moisturizer with a sunscreen that will be safe for facial application.
• Do you have palettes for your eyeshadows?  MAC palettes fit 15 eyeshadows — plenty for a week long trip.  Other companies (Make Up For Ever, Ben Nye, Kryolan, etc) also make empty palettes for larger eyeshadows that make it easier to travel with them.  I honestly never buy shadows that won’t go into a palette!  Urban Decay also sells a number of palettes that house a variety of different high quality eyeshadows from their collection.  Limit the size and quantity to what you would actually wear and use most often.  Don’t pack an eyeshadow that you rarely wear anyway, because it’s unlikely you’ll think to pick it up on vacation.  8-12 large eyeshadows are usually more than enough to travel with, and putting them in palettes saves you a lot of space.
• Eyeshadow base.  Because it’s just obvious.  I don’t know what I’d do without it.
• Blush (only one or two), bronzer.
• Eyeliner and mascara.  Just keep it to the staples here.  If you don’t think you’ll wear a purple eyeliner — don’t bring it.  I bring black and white pencils, my black cream, and then my every day mascara.
• Eyebrow grooming tools — such as filler and tweezers.
• A nice nude lipstick, and one or two with more color.  I always carry a nude, a pink, and a red with me so I can interchange depending on what I’m doing.
• A small bottle of brush cleanser.  I wash my foundation and cream eyeliner brush after each application with shampoo, however if you need to spray or disinfect any of your other brushes, you’ll want a small spray bottle of something else.  You can buy spray bottles at Wal-Mart for a dollar!  Put a bit of rubbing alcohol in there.  Make up artists all over the world use this because it cleans, disinfects, and dries quickly.  Make sure the brushes are dry before using them for application again after spraying.
• Last, but definitely not least — brushes.  For application, of course!  Bring what you need.  If you have a brush roll, just bring the roll — it’s easy to travel with and fits really well in any suitcase.

Of course other toiletries if you need them.  Travel bottles of shampoo and conditioner are readily available, and your stylist can usually get you some if you need it.

It sounds like a lot more than what it is!  I promise.  Put all your bathroom items in a toiletry bag like I linked above, and you should still have space left over.

The bag is small enough to fit into a carry on bag on an airplane or bus, as well as can fit into your actual luggage, or if you’re like me and put make up on in the car…. Can sit by your feet without taking up too much room!  And no, I don’t ever, ever put make up on while driving!  And I hope you don’t either.

Any other tips?  Post them in the comments!

For your homework: Reply with what you travel with cosmetic-wise when you go out of town!

So it appears Nixie Cosmetics is on an indefinite hiatus and have even taken their website down.

I find it odd that they don’t want to get rid of backstock, but evs.  I’m over it.

Moving on!

I’ve applied for a Tax ID which is going to allow me to *gasp* sell make up!  This may be a problem for you, blog followers, as I plan on selling my favorite products and favorite brands only.  So you may see an assortment of colors and brands, all at affordable and competitive prices.  I really want to bring you guys the best of the best, without ripping into your wallet.

Naturally, seeing as I have to pay taxes on this stuff, I do plan on making some sort of profit off of it — so don’t expect to get everything at cost.  This is something I’ve worked very hard for!

Now, I’ve got some questions for you.  There are many brands that won’t allow me to do this, so don’t mind me if I don’t carry a brand or item you suggest — companies are picky when it comes to retail.

But, I really need to know your favorite brands for the following!

Foundation.
Powder.
Eyeliner.
Eyeshadow.
Blush.
Lipstick.
Lipgloss.
Mascara.

Please avoid big names like MAC, Lancome, and other things you’d see in a department store — it’s unlikely I’d ever get the approval to sell it online.  I’m probably just going to start out with eyeshadow and eyeshadow bases, but as I make more money, the more I’ll be able to add to the store for everyone.

Let me know in the comments!