Like everything else in life, learning which makeup colors look good on you is a learning process. However, there's a look that's been in West Virginia ever since I was watching She-Ra with my sisters back in the '80s: I call it Cake Face.Cake Face is the term I give to people weaering a certain style of makeup: using a too-dark foundation, setting it with caked-on pressed powder, and then for the finishing touch of racing stripe blush. This blush is also the wrong color, and is usually in a shade called russet, wine, raisin, brick, etc. There is little to no lip color or eyeshadow. Thankfully, people have moved on from the 80's powder blue eyeshadow, but there are still sightings of beige lipliner with no other lip color or gloss, and white eyeliner. The proper authorities have been informed.
Before we go any further, let's start with your foundation. It needs to match your skin tone. If you're only tan in the summer, don't use your summer shade in the winter. It's very normal to not be able to find a perfect match (no matter what the advertisement says) and have to mix shades. If you have trouble finding a color, go to the mall and ask to sample shades. An associate can help you find the right shade, and can give you a small sample that will last a few days to see if it will really work for you. Match the color to your jawline, as it will give you the truest match.
To help set your foundation, concealor, or anything else you might use, reach over your Cover Girl compact for a setting powder. Setting powder is pretty similar to a basic loose powder, typically it has some other ingredients that help hide pores, soften skin, etc. A secret here is to avoid powders that have talc in them, which is one of the leading causes to Cake Face. A big fluffy powder brush is a must-have when using any loose powder. My favorite setting powder is from Laura Mercier:
Laura Mercier Invisible Loose Setting Powder, $36, Sephora
Another choice would be Coty's Airspun powder, $6 at CVS. It's a great basic loose powder that doesn't settle into lines or pores. Take care if you grab one of the adorable boxes, as there is a glittery version.
If your foundation shade is anywhere from pale to olive, there's no point for you to be wearing dark blush. Dark blush not only looks wrong, it's very aging. If your foundation shade is under olive, avoid blushes that have brown or a rusty red in them. This would include any of the shades I mentioned earlier, such as raisin. Also stay from lipsticks and lipliners with brown in them, again, it's the aging factor. Look for pinks, corals, and rose for a blush. It lightens up the face and gives a youthful glow. My favorite (and everyone else's)
Nars blush in Orgasm, $26, Sephora
Nars Orgasm is one of the most popular blushes today. It is universally flattering for all skin tones, and as the name might suggest, gives the wearer that post-coital glow. It's a pinky-peach with gold flecks in it, and unforunatly, I haven't been able to find a drugstore dupe for it. The cheapest I have found is MAC's Springsheen, $14, Macy's.
Cake is awesome on a plate, not on your face.
