Thursday, September 19, 2013

BB Cream and the Problem of Foundation in the Caribbean

Foundation was not created with tropical climates in mind. I have Black Opal's Foundation stick and let me tell you, it all starts out just peachy in the morning when it is not so hot yet. Plus I usually wake and get ready super early, so by 7:30 I'm finished my make-up and my face looks so polished, settled and happy. By nine o'clock you start sweating because of the heat but at first it looks really healthy and dewy under the foundation. You just look a little shiny but that's ok. By 11 you can feel it sinking into your pores. The worst case scenario is that you can feel it slowly sliding down your face. This has never happened to me, but I have heard horror stories. What always happens though is that by noon its practically non-existent. I might as well have never put it on. By the time I get home, usually around 7 pm (yes, I'm out all day from 8 am till nightfall), it literally looks like I never put on any make up at all. And it does not matter if I set it with powder or used primer. I just look super shiny and greasy and like I ran a marathon. This is why I rarely wear foundation. Nowadays I've just been using concealer, then setting it with powder, and calling it a day. Plus foundation looks really cakey to me and to be honest its not that great a product in general. I finally understand why so many make up gurus just go without it.
However, lately I've been having some trouble with hyper-pigmentation (this tropical sun can be cruel to black skin, let me tell you), and I've also been having some unexpected pimples (early 20's adult acne has been mainly confined to my back and shoulders though, thank you Jesus). Plus some freckles because of the summer sun. All those things means that I really need a product to even out my complexion. I just need something that will blur out the imperfections. But won't be cakey or sink into my pores halfway through the day. I also wanted something that wouldn't make me feel like I have make-up on.
Enter BB cream.