I’ve tried them all.
I’ve tried liquids, creams, powders, mousses.
I’ve tried:
MAC
Bobbi Brown
Clinique
Maybelline
Bare Minerals
Revlon
Armani
Benefit
Max Factor
Nars
No Joy.
I have combination, yellow toned olive skin.
Everything I tried was either not a good colour match, too hard to apply, didn’t last long enough, too oily, too drying or cakey.
I think I might have finally got it- good colour, easy to apply, long lasting, good coverage.
Not cheap though.
Clinique’s pore minimizing lotion lets me get away without foundation, for which I’m grateful. Also, 100% Pure’s mascara is the only kind that doesn’t affect my contacts. Beyond those, I’m flexible.
I love pur minerals foundation. I also love urban decay potion primer. It makes your eyeshadow last all day. I love MAC eyeshadow. I combine greensmoke with humid and I have gotten so many compliments. I also use nars orgasm blush.
I also am an olive skinned girl who has issues color matching foundation, but I’m quite happy with Makeup Forever’s HD foundation. When I’m not in the mood for liquid, I wear Mac’s NC 42 Studio Fix powder. I have no idea how you couldn’t find a shade in Mac’s line that matched you from what you described.
That said, my current thing of the moment is actually also by MUFE- they have this new line of waterproof, liquid eyeliners that are hardfuckingcore. I seriously have to use makeup remover to remove this stuff (and it does come off with that)-- otherwise it completely lasts all day and if you do a swatch on the back of your hand and run that under water, scrubbing. . . you have to use your nail to scrape it off! And and and: TONS of colors.
My second favorite item of the moment is Dior Blackout Waterproof Mascara. Seriously water proof, doesn’t smudge, makes your lashes look like falsies. Amazing stuff.
L’Oreal double extend mascara. Love that stuff. It makes your lashes awesome, plus never flakes or smudges, even if you cry or go swimming, but it also comes right off with plain soap and water in the shower. It’s a miracle.
I don’t buy Burt’s Bees anymore since they were purchased by Clorox. I like supporting smaller businesses when I can* and BB is definitely not a smaller business anymore.
Foundation is my cosmetics achilles heel. I have extremely dry, extremely pale pink-toned skin. Everything is either too dark or makes my skin flake up on contact**.
I found one that comes pretty close, but it’s a teeeeeeny bit off in color (it’s a neutral and leans a titch yellow on me) and can still make my skin flake up. It’s NARS “Siberia”. I want to try Illamasqua, since they have shades that are literally “white with a pink tinge” and are supposed to be a bit more moisturizing than NARS. Unfortunately I’d have to order it online and I need to try foundation before I buy it.
For varying degrees of small, of course.
** Yes, I exfoliate. And moisturize. For god’s sake, when I went to a Sephora and one of the workers applied a moisturizing foundation, I flaked up on my nose and cheeks; two hours beforehand, I had washed my face, exfoliated (almond and olive oils, super fine sugar, ground flax seeds and ground oats) and heavy-duty moisturized (sunblock, the super-thick Cetaphil cream in a tub, jojoba oil and lanolin all mixed together) and wore no makeup on the way there. I still dry out and flake? THIS IS NOT FAIR.
zweisamkeit, have you tried just pure coconut oil? I started putting that on my face about 2 months ago, and the difference in my skin is amazing, plus all the fine lines that were developing around my eyes are gone. It’s greasy for a few minutes while it soaks in, so I only apply it at night.
Seriously, this is the holy grail of mascaras. It never ever smudges, unlike every single other mascara I have ever tried. If L’Oreal ever discontinues it, I will be bereft.
And this too! The only foundation that’s an exact match for me, looks natural not cakey, lasts all day, and is good for the skin. zweisamkeit, their lightest shade (107 – Pink) might work for you. If you have a Sephora near you, you can ask for a free sample to try it out (their free samples are big, too – at least a week’s worth). I wear the next shade up, 110–Pink porcelain, and it too has a pink tone…as you can tell by the name.
I’ve never used the same foundation twice. At the moment I’m using the new BB cream from The Body Shop instead of foundation, and while I like that it smoothens out my skintone without being too heavy, it’s a bit on the pale side. Which is fine now, but come summer it’s going to make me look somewhat ill. I’ve heard good things about Laura Mercier’s face base stuff, so I might try them.
Makeup Forever’s HD powder is my holy grail. Gets rid of any shine on your face and “sets” my pencil eyeliner so it doesn’t smudge (I can’t be bothered with liquid). Looks really natural too. I know the sort of dewy faced look is “in” at the moment so I just use the powder to dust my T-zone.
I operate on the KISS principle for everyday cosmetics. Babyblock, a little Merle Norman eyebrow pencil, a touch of Revlon concealer for a small scar and varying shades of L’Oreal lipstick are my regular routine.
When I wear full dress makeup, I add Revlon translucent foundation, Merle Norman blush in the three shade compact, drugstore eyeshadow and eyeliner, a bit of petroleum jelly to the lashes (I am sensitive to mascara) and Merle Norman loose powder to set.
I’ve changed and upgraded as I’ve gotten older, what with changes in the skin, job and budget requirements and what-not. Who knows what I’ll be using in a few years? As long as I don’t have to apply it with a spackle knife.
Bare Minerals works really well for me. I believe my skin tone shade is “consumptive.” Or, as I called my similarly fair daughter when we went in to get her makeup for the first time “almost dead.”
Lancome for mascara though. And Ultas house eyeliner.
MAC- I’m around NC 30/35 depending on the level of tan I have.
I just couldn’t find a finish that was as easy to use as I like, and MAC tends to make me break out if worn daily.
For special occasions I will break out the Studio tech though!
I’ve gone from wearing make up only on very odd occasions to wearing it everyday at work.
My priorities have changed- easy to put on, good staying power and being non-comedogenic are now much more important to me.
My daily makeup is
Eyeliner: Milani, a CVS brand. Very soft and smudgy, so I only need a tiny bit.
Shadow: Just about anything. The girl-child likes to buy me eyeshadow on gift occasions, as it’s inexpensive and fun to pick out, so I’ve got a wide range of colors and brands.
Concealer: Jane No-Show Concealer. This is the only makeup product I’m slavishly devoted to. Great match, quality, price, love it! I dab it on the blotchy bits of my face and the tip of my nose so that I can look less Rudolphian.
Mineral powder: I use a brand called Everyday Minerals. Every six months or so, I buy a sample kit from them for like, five bucks. I get four teeny pots of powder which I mix all together and apply with a big fluffy brush.
For lips: Nothing these days but Vaseline. It’s the only thing I’ve found that can keep up with the drying and cracking.
My whole game when applying makeup is to use the least amount possible so I can look natural. Also, after a lifetime of skin problems, I don’t want to fix what ain’t broke.
Hah, I use MUFE’s 110 as well. Sisters in paleness!
For a little lighter coverage, I use MAC’s Studio Fix Fluid (SPF 15). I also like their Select Coverup for concealer, or for more coverage, their Studio Finish Concealer. I love their Prep + Prime Highlighter too, which has a brush-on applicator. For powder, I use their Blot Powder in Medium (!) to remove shine or set concealer. I have pretty noticeable veins in my upper eyelids and the area under the brow because of this pale skin, so sometimes I put on their Paint Pot shadow on because it’s so strongly pigmented and helps conceal that.
I fell in love with the duo-bristle brush that their makeup artist applied the foundation with, and found that Sonia Kashuk makes a good, inexpensive version.
Blush, I’m not as picky about. I usually alternate between NARS’ blush in Orgasm shade, and a pink shade of Maybelline’s whipped/creamy blush line. Same thing with eyeshadows, though I adore a brown/coppery trio from Stila.
Lips, I usually pull out a Stila Long Wear Lip Color; I’ve most often used their Exquisite shade, which is a more subtle rosy color.
I’ve just been using Revlon’s Fabulash Mascara but still have some clumping issues, so I may have to try some of these recommendations. For eyeliner, I either use a thin brush and a dark eyeshadow, or just grab a random pencil - I have ones from Sephora, Almay, and a couple other brands I can’t recall.
Oh, and my “I want makeup but am feeling lazy” routine is to dab concealer under eyes and on blemishes, pat or brush to blend, set with powder. Apply highlighter at inner corners of eyes, along outer browbones (under brows), and on top of the cheekbones. Apply blush. Apply minimal eyeliner, and mascara on upper lashes only (lowers smudge on my lower lid too much). Lipstick, then powder any remaining shine.
I want to try Illamasqua, since they have shades that are literally “white with a pink tinge” and are supposed to be a bit more moisturizing than NARS. Unfortunately I’d have to order it online and I need to try foundation before I buy it. 
