Posted on: Tuesday, August 20, 2002

ISLAND STYLE
Experts help isle women unravel makeup mysteries

By Paula Rath
Advertiser Staff Writer

Deb Mellom of Kahala uses a foundation that matches the lighter areas of her face, and a translucent colorless powder. The foundation, Lorac’s liquid No. 54, was applied with a sponge.

University of Hawai‘i student Sheryl Sato uses Body & Soul’s Beauty Makeup in No. 4, mixing it with a brush and lightly applying with a sponge.

Gina Bacon Kerr of Kane‘ohe uses Shu Uemura’s Whipped Foundation in No. 354, followed with Body & Soul’s loose powder in “Topaz” to help it set and last through the day.

Fashion Calendar • Hello Kitty, dressed in her aloha attire, will be available for photo opportunities with keiki, 7 to 9 p.m., tomorrow through Friday at DFS Galleria Waikiki. Free. 837-3696. • The Bead Society meeting will be a hands-on community service project to benefit Pohai Nani, 7 p.m., Aug. 28, The Academy Art Center at Linekona. Beads will be provided; bring your own tools. Free and open to the public. 487-2090. Send announcements to: Fashion Calendar, c/o Paula Rath, Island Life, The Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802. Fax: 525-8055. E-mail islandlife@honoluluadvertiser.com .

The most frequently asked question at Hawai'i cosmetic counters is: What is the best foundation for my complexion?

The modern approach to foundation is minimalist. The goal: to wear a color that's as close to your skin tone as possible and to use as little as possible — just enough to give skin an even, smooth, finished look. If you're older than 30, you want it to smooth out the wrinkles rather than settling into them.

If you haven't shopped for foundation lately, you're in for a big surprise. There are numerous types of foundation, from the lightest little wisp of color to emollients with full coverage, and they come in up to 50 different shades to match every woman's skin color. The array of choices can be intimidating.

To unravel some of the mysteries of foundation, we asked two trusted makeup experts to help. Liz Dahl is a free-lance makeup artist who works with individual clients on their everyday makeup, as well as movie and TV stars to create on-screen looks.

She has done makeup for many locally filmed shows, from "Baywatch" to the latest movie release, "Blue Crush." E'jay Maldonado is the director of beauty and international trainer for Honolulu-based Body & Soul cosmetics.

Dahl always asks women four questions regarding foundation:

• How much coverage do you want?

• How much makeup do you normally wear?

• How much time do you want to spend applying foundation?

• Are you ready for a change?

The last question is especially relevant because few women are actually wearing their ideal foundation. It may be too pink, too heavy, too oily or too sheer.

An issue that's especially pressing in Hawai'i, where we cannot completely avoid sun exposure, is: Should we streamline our morning routine by buying products that combine sunscreen with moisturizer or foundation? While this may be a question best answered by your dermatologist, Dahl said there are a few companies, such as Clinique and Estee Lauder (Macy's), that successfully add an SPF to their moisturizers. However it's hard to maintain the integrity of both products, Dahl said, and some combinations have caused breakouts in her clients.

Types of foundation

The five most common types of foundation are:

• Stick: Loaded with pigment, this formula is best if you want full coverage, camouflage and a flawless look. You can go light with the application and layer to achieve more coverage. Maldonado prefers an oil-free stick containing no petroleum products.

• Liquid: The most common foundation, it comes in the whole range of textures, from sheer to full coverage and water-based to oil-free. Nearly every company makes its own formulation so it requires the most education and application help at the cosmetic counter.

• Dual finish (also called powder-cream): The easiest to apply, as it can be used wet with a sponge for more coverage or dusted on dry with a brush for light coverage.

• Tinted moisturizer: The lightest coverage of all, it's low maintenance because it's heavy enough to put concealer under, yet light enough that even if your color is a little off, you can't go wrong. Also, as the day wears on, who cares if it glistens a little?

Choosing the right color

A common mistake among island women, Maldonado said, is choosing a foundation shade with too-pink undertones. Most of us have yellow undertones or a tan, or both. In addition, the pigments in foundation have a temperature and sometimes, when combined with Hawai'i's heat and humidity, this can trigger a change in color causing blotches or yellow tones to appear under the pink.

Lighting at cosmetic counters is notoriously poor. Be sure to go outside with a mirror to check for a good color match.

The best place to test the color is just under the jaw line, where you have less sun damage. If the foundation disappears into your skin tone, that's the right color for you.

Application

Regarding the question of whether to apply foundation before or after eye and lip color, the experts don't agree. Dahl puts on foundation first; Maldonado applies it last.

Dahl highly recommends leaving a little time — at least a minute or two — between applications.

She said it's ideal to shower, put on moisturizer while the skin is still damp and will absorb it.

Go get a cup of coffee and apply foundation. (Foundation applied immediately over moisturizer will slip and slide.) Wait again before applying powder.

For those who work out in the morning and have to do makeup at the gym, Dahl suggests a cold shower to cool down the skin.

(The pores will love it too, she said.)

Dahl and Maldonado agree that a foundation brush offers the best possible application. It uses up less of the product, gets into the contours of the face with more accuracy, doesn't stress the skin by tugging at it and shifts around less because there is no transfer of oils from the hand or sponge.

Foundation also will stay fresher because oils from the finger can introduce contamination. However, Dahl said the brush demands more attention to technique.

For women who live active lifestyles, Dahl recommends using a colorless primer under foundation. "It acts as an adhesive to ensure longer wear," she said. She keeps Laura Mercier's primer (Neiman Marcus) in her kit, but added that Vincent Longo, YSL and English Ideas (Sephora) make good ones also.

If you use sponges, be sure to throw them away because they can attract bacteria. Powder puffs can also carry unwanted germs.

Tips for finding the perfect foundation:

• Shop for foundation in the afternoon, because it will more accurately show the true effects of what it will look like normally.

• Ask for samples that will last several days so you can see the foundation in every possible light and condition. If the salesperson says he or she doesn't have samples, bring your own little jar to fill with several days' supply.

• Read the fine print in the package inserts (the ones you usually throw away) for recommendations regarding layering with moisturizer and sunscreen.

• Watch out for advertising terms such as "age defying" that don't have any real meaning.

• Use a small tile, available at home improvement stores, as a palette for makeup. It's better than the back of a hand because it won't heat up or change the texture of the product.

We asked three Honolulu women to bare their skin so the experts could select the perfect foundation to suit their needs.

Mature, normal skin

Gina Bacon Kerr of Kane'ohe is most concerned about the circles under her eyes. She's looking for a foundation that "matches my skin tone, lasts all day, is quick to put on with little maintenance needed."

Maldonado chose one of his favorite concealers, Magic Wand Light Diffuser by Two Face (Sephora), and applied it with a foundation brush. He said many women forget to bring the concealer up into the inner corners of the eye.

He chose Shu Uemura's Whipped Foundation in No. 354 (Sephora) to match Kerr's skin and followed it with Body & Soul's loose powder in "Topaz" (Sephora) to help the foundation set and last throughout the day.

Sensitive skin

Graphic designer Deb Mellom of Kahala has sensitive, acne-prone skin with a tan and some uneven skin tones because she's a runner and fitness swimmer.

Dahl chose a foundation that perfectly matched the lighter areas of Mellom's face and a translucent colorless powder. She prepared the skin with Laura Mercier's primer (Neiman Marcus) to help the foundation last through Mellom's active day. She used a stick concealer, Nars "Ginger," (Sephora and Neiman Marcus) a few shades lighter than her skin. For foundation she applied with a sponge Lorac's liquid #54 (Sephora) that she stippled over the blemishes, avoiding rubbing.

Combination skin

University of Hawai'i-Manoa student Sheryl Sato, who lives near the school, has combination skin with occasional little breakouts. The foundation she is using, she said, makes her skin feel sticky, although she likes the color match.

Maldonado chose Body & Soul's Beauty Makeup in No. 4 (Sephora), mixing it with a brush and lightly applying it with a sponge. He did not use any powder, recommending Sato use powder only for afternoon touchups.