Mon 17 Aug 2009
Tutorial: How to lighten (or darken) your foundation!
Posted by MollyLoretta under Tutorials
No Comments
Okay pale ladies, this one is for us!
Tools you will need:
- Your bottle of foundation (make sure you check the ingredient listing and check the first ingredient to see what the base of the foundation is! Mine is water based.)
- Titanium dioxide (buy it here at Coastal Scents, it is water and oil soluble!)
- Distilled water (optional, and ONLY for water-based foundations!)
- Disinfected mixing bowl (I use a hair color one that has an end for pouring, making it ideal for putting the foundation back into the bottle).
- Small mixing spatula.
- Small scoop.
- Extra small wire whisk.
Are you ready? Here we go!
- Begin by first washing and disinfecting your hands, or putting on a pair of gloves to ensure no bacteria enters your product.
- Pour your foundation into the bowl.
- Using your small scoop, scoop a small amount of titanium dioxide onto your foundation.
- Using the wire whisk, stir and mix in, getting out as many of those little bumps as you can.
- Take your small spatula and test a small area on your jawline. The foundation will still look darker than it will when it is applied, so make sure you apply tiny amounts until you get the right color.
- Add more titanium dioxide if necessary or desired, and whisk again! (I needed quite a bit, seeing as I am one shade darker than white!)
Check the consistency of your product. Is it too thick now? If you’re using a water based foundation, simply take some distilled water (an eye dropper works wonders for this), and slowly add until it’s the proper consistency. A little will go a long way with both distilled water, and titanium dioxide.
I photographed my titanium dioxide mixture with flash, and did not notice a difference in color between the camera and the way it looked on my skin.
Titanium dioxide will make the foundation more opaque, and also add longevity to the wear. To reduce opacity, just add a little bit of distilled water. Make sure you use distilled, as it is the cleanest and most purified water out there — remember using it in chemistry class all the time, or is it just me?!
For you dark skinned ladies, avoid the titanium dioxide! It does tend to make darker complected ladies a little ashy (if you’re above a medium tan, I’d skip adding more, as anything about 7% titanium dioxide will make your skin a little gray, like a zombie). Instead, get a foundation that’s slightly lighter than your skintone, and follow the directions but add instead colored oxides! They have a medium brown, dark brown, and black available at Coastal Scents that mix wonderfully. BUT BE CAREFUL; a little bit when adding color goes a long, long way, so put in a tiny amount at a time!
Please remember to only do this for your personal use. If you need to custom blend a foundation for a photo shoot, that is fine, but remember you cannot alter a company’s product and sell it as the same product.



