foundation for brown undertones, concealer for eyebags,eyeshadow on green/olive skin

[bjorne_again]

Hi guys... this could go in the industry discussion as it's trouble with clients and not myself, but i figure they must be sick of all my advice posts on there.

So, here are my problems guys, help me out if you can!
1)I have been having problems matching the skin of people who have definite dull beige/brown tones/undertones to their skin. There is no warmth, no green tones, no yellow or bronze at all in their skin - I find it a bit of a dull skin tone. It's often girls from the middle east, mediterranean and far eastern europe whom i encounter who have this skin tone. The problem is, warm/yellow toned foundations make them look yellow/orange when the rest of their body is definitely beige/browny-grey. I don't have any photos of these girls, but it's a skin tone like this:

Can you recommend any brands or specific colours of foundation that would work on this skin? most brands are either warm or cool and I can't use mineral foundations b/c they contain so many light reflecting ingredients that they make people look ashy in photoshoots.

2) What is the best undereye concealer and application technique to disguise dark, protruberant bags under the eyes? I'm thinking a super thick one would be great, but i want zero creasing and not too much powder to set it with. I had one actress I was doing headshots for yesterday who had the most insane bags AND dark circles under her eyes, and to make matters worse, she had the skintone I mentioned above. It was an absolute NIGHTMARE trying to fix them. If you have any solutions to cover these circles/bags, that would be awesome. It seems like my concealers aren't opaque enough or thick enough or something. what kinds of colours are good, too. that actress used a pale, pink toned colour (think NW15) as her main concealer, and she had to be at least an N_30 in tone, i would think that would make you look ashy???

3) What are the most flattering eyeshadow colours for people with olive/green undertones? Especially light skinned ones. I just can never seem to find colours that look good on them. olive shadows look terrible, cool-toned neutrals look like crap, and warm shimmery metallics look awful. colours that seem to be the same tone as their skin seem to dull them if i put them on the eyes, and colours that contrast seem to look stupid. Please, post photos if you know what looks good on these people. I just can't seem to figure out these skin tones at all?

Thanks in advance for any advice you guys have! Should I post this in the beauty of colour forum instead/as well?

 

[j_absinthe]

Have you tried looking into getting some the foundation/concealer palettes from Cinema Secrets? I swear by them, their range of palettes cover every possible skin tone imaginable.

As far as circles, try your best to find something that neutralizes the undertones in them (orange eliminates bluer tones, yellow for more sallow, purple tones, green for pink/red tones) to put under a slightly lighter concealer. Sometimes, you'll have to use a couple shades of concealer, as one shade may not be natural enough. Bags are another matter however, something I'm also trying to get the hang of. St. Ives sells a cucumber gel that I've been using that helps reduce baggage, but I've worked with models who look like the weight of the world is under each eyelid. Any tips you find on reducing them would be greatly appreciated as well.

Where #3 is concerned, it all depends on the look. I have a good friend who seems to have a similar complexion, and for her, purples, bronzes, and vivid greens work well on her (and make her bright green eyes pop.) It's just a matter of using your intuition though.

 

[bjorne_again]

Quote:

Originally Posted by j_absinthe Have you tried looking into getting some the foundation/concealer palettes from Cinema Secrets? I swear by them, their range of palettes cover every possible skin tone imaginable.

I actually just bought a few of their foundation palettes yesterday and plan to try them out this weekend. I have a MUFE concealer palette i thought would be perfect for those kinds of tones, but it just doesn't quite cut the mustard! we'll see how cinema secrets fares!

Quote:

Originally Posted by j_absinthe As far as circles, try your best to find something that neutralizes the undertones in them... Bags are another matter however, something I'm also trying to get the hang of. St. Ives sells a cucumber gel that I've been using that helps reduce baggage, but I've worked with models who look like the weight of the world is under each eyelid. Any tips you find on reducing them would be greatly appreciated as well.

Yep, I was planning of getting a de-puffing agent like hemorrhoid cream *making mental note to add it to my shopping list now!*, but i wonder if these things work quickly enough(like the cucumber gel) for photoshoots and quick jobs? the girl i dealt with last weekend, it was just a headshot and the photographer only allowed about 10 minutes for makeup so any kind of cream that took a while to sink in and work would have been useless. i was just hoping there was some miracle cure! Right now i use a combo of oranges, yellows and salmon coloured concealers for undereye circles and they seem to work pretty well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by j_absinthe Where #3 is concerned, it all depends on the look. I have a good friend who seems to have a similar complexion, and for her, purples, bronzes, and vivid greens work well on her (and make her bright green eyes pop.) It's just a matter of using your intuition though.

see, those are the exact colours my intuition tells me(though most of the people with that skin tone i know/have worked with have dark/brown eyes) and they always look terrible. there's something about that tone that seems like every single colour clashes with it. i guess i'll just continue doing trial and error to figure it out.

thanks for your help!

 

[cuttygurl]

" there's something about that tone that seems like every single colour clashes with it"

I have that skin tone and my makeup artist tells me that it' considered olive and that every single color eyehadow in the world looks beautiful on it. Oppisite of very fair skin tones that cannot handle dark colours. That's what she was saying and she is blonde with light skin.

Its all about personal taste and the right technique. Some makeup artists have such limited skills that they put the coloures they would usually choose for light skin on olive skin and even though I cant think of a colour that olive skin cannot pull off the makeup artists expects that olive skin girl to look like the fair ones.

The BEST shades are earth tones with a LOT of dark eyeliner. They were BORN to wear eyeliner and it looks amazing on them.

About the foundation colours, warm colours like medium beige to tan colours looks amazing, but again you need the skills to master the blending technique. The concealer under the eyes should be lighter and eventually get darker around the face when it blends with the foundation to creat a glowing effect nd it will match their body skin colour beautifully.

ITS VERY SAD TO BLAME YOUR LIMITED SKILLS IN MAKEUP ON THE SKIN COLOUR. ANOTHER POINT IS middle eastern girls have a wide range of skin colours from very pale white to very dark tan. But I was talking specifically about what you called "dull".

 

[Kuuipo]

That woman has amazing eyes and lips to die for! Prep H gel is great for bags,then put concealor atop of it. I have gold olive skin and find NARS having the best color range for people without an iota of pink or peach. Plive skin with black eyes can wear rich jewel tones. She has such dramatic eyes that she can wear a heavy,dramatic eye,and rich jewel toned somewhat metallic eyeliner like plum,dark bronze,green-gold-black (Mercier and Mac have such a shade) She can carry off brick or pink brown lipshades with gloss to really exploit those lips. She can really benefit from blowing up those eyelashes too. A soft goldenrose cheek would work. (I am thinking NARS Luster was made for her!) That woman has such amazing features that she should be a makeup artist's dream canvas. It's already a tinted canvas,so you don't have to be docile with color!

 

[iheartangE]

I am super pale with really strong olive undertones and my eyes are really dark brown (almost black). Also I am Lebanese and Italian so I understand what you are saying about the strong undertones.

I have to say though, I don't know why you are having so many problems with eyeshadow colors on fair olive skin-I wear almost anything! I guess my suggestion (after reading everything and the responses above) would be to try either earthy tones (medium browns in either warm or cool tones look good on me-my favorite is UD Deluxe shadow in Underground which is a silvery taupe brown and looks really good in a smokey eye), or also I wear a lot of metallic red shadows (UD Gash is my favorite!!) and it looks really cool.

I don't know how much that helps you but like I said, most colors of eyeshadow work on me so I can't really empathize properly haha...

As for the bags, I second Preparation H!! My friend swears by it although I have yet to try it, I saw her pre-and post- makeup the other day and Prep H worked miracles

 

[dmenchi]

prep h ? isn't it a hemorroid treatment? i understand it constricts vessels but isn't it dangerous for the eyes? also has anybody heard if it works for cellulite? TIA

 

[3jane]

My skin is similar to the pic you posted when I get no sun (I'm part Armenian). I need a straight-up neutral foundation-- I often stick with Stila TM's because I don't need all that much coverage, and they're pretty neutral and sheer, allowing the skin color to show through. Bare or Tone work well unless I get very tan. Physician's Formula in Creamy Natural seems to work well too, oddly enough.

If anyone knows of good actual foundations with more coverage, I'm all ears! Anything with obvious warm or cool tones looks so weird...

If the skin looks ashy, dust on some bronzer, maybe a warmish blush. Unlike the typical fair-skinned person, I go from super-pale to super-tan in an instant if I get any sun-- olive skin tones look good with that bit of color.

Like above said, jewel tones work well for eyes: emerald, cobalt, etc. I have dark brown eyes (with a tinge of green) have no problem with olives-- it's actually my all-time favorite color to line or do a smokey eye with. A darker olive with gold in it usually looks best. UD Smog, Smashbox Image, CARGO Oregon, NARS Star Sailor to name a few. They tend to bring out the goldy-hazel in the brown.

What else works well...
Plums, aubergine: UD Roach, HIP cream eyeliner in Eggplant (these make my eyes look greener)
Deep browns (anything but reddish brown--taupey browns are great): NARS Bali (my HG brown)
Greeny-greys or brown-greys: MAC Sweet Sienna pigment

Even just a champagne for a wash to open up the eye looks soooo pretty: Stila Eyeshadow Pot in Honey.

Basically, I think I can pull off most colors, warm or cool. And black eyeliner never fails b/c the dark brows and hair balances it.

For inspiration, do a youtube search for "middle eastern makeup" or "arabic makeup" or something along those lines. A lot of it may be over-the-top compared to American makeup, but you'll see how they can rock almost all the colors out there. here's one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRmYht8dL8c