~Foundation & Powder for oily skin~

[anya]

Dear Karen, Jen & forum members, I'm a newbie here & want to take the jump into Silk Naturals

My name is Anya and I live in hot, humid country in Asia.

I have fair Chinese skin with mainly yellow undertone with a hint of beige and my foundation shades are:

EDM : Olive Fair / Golden Fair / Fawn
Meow : Frisky Abyssinian / Frisky Manx
Lucy Minerals : Pale Olive / Cream & Snow White mix

I love the finish of Lucy Minerals foundation the most! I look like I’m NOT wearing ANY foundation YET it gives great coverage, however I still got shiny very quickly.

I always prime & finish with Silica Powder but I still get shiny very quickly and most foundations still accentuate big pores in my nose & looked cakey, so my priorities in foundation & primer/finishing powder are:
oil control
staying power
blurs pores & imperfections (without accentuate pores!)
finish

My skin conditions:
oily
pores
hormonal cystic acne
acne scars

1. Does Silk Naturals in Buttery Gold & Ivory mix sound like the perfect match for me?

2. How do the Medium Coverage vs. Heavy Coverage compare in the above priorities/qualities mentioned above (oil control, staying power,
blurs pores & imperfections, finish)?

3. I'm running low on Silica Powder, so I'm looking for the one BEST multi-tasking powder that I can use on days when I wear no makeup at all, and can be dual-functioned as primer & finishing powder. So I'm wondering how:
Oil Control Blur / Oil Control Primer / Perfecting Powder / Pure Silk Powder / Ultra Sheer Zinc / Ultimate Luxury Treatment Powder compare & perform in the the above priorities/qualities mentioned above (oil control, staying power, blurs pores & imperfections, finish)?

4. What are the shelf life of:
Foundation
Ultra Sheer Zinc Powder
Ultimate Luxury Treatment Powder
Oil Control Primer
Oil Control Blur
Perfecting Powder
I believe Silk Powder has about 3 year shelf life.

Thank you so much in advance for everyone’s thoughts & feedbacks!

[superwahz]

I can't answer the foundation color question because I'm not familiar with the colors from other brands. But if you're pretty much just yellow, I'd think Buttery Gold would be just about right, with maybe the addition of a little green booster or olive foundation? I'm sure Jen can answer this one much better than I can!

As for the rest of your questions. I use the green tea and aloe serum to provide some hydration for my skin, then use zinc powder on top. Some people seal in the serum with a moisturizer I think, but I have pretty oily skin so don't do that in the summer. The serum is helping balance my oily skin, so that's really useful! I use the zinc powder on top because it soothes my skin and seems to prevent my face from itching when exposed to the sun (I get rashes from sun exposure). It also helps with the oiliness. I tried the oil control primer, but it was too drying to wear straight out of the jar.

I use the medium coverage foundation. I tried the heavy coverage but it was too heavy, I prefer my freckles to show through! My skin shows every imperfection with redness and hyperpigmentation, but the medium seems to blend it away pretty well. I'd say sample them both, but the medium might be enough. Putting it on it always looks too sheer, but in photos and such in natural light my skin looks really clear! You can see a pic of it here: http://host.silknaturals.com/forum/view ... &start=460

What my foundation doesn't cover, my finishing blend does. I mix several different powders to make a finisher because I'm too lazy to layer them on individually. In the blend is oil control blur, Tempt Tryst, Crystal, zinc, and Perfecting Powder. I did that because though my skin is oily, the oil control blur is so effective it makes my skin too dry sometimes! But if I'm going to be outside in the humidity all day, I use an extra layer of Oil Control Blur. I think if you want a one shot finishing powder, try the Oil Control Blur.

The combo of the above seems to hide all the problems with my skin, including acne scars and large pores. I don't have problems with any caking, but I use a kabuki to apply the powders to hydrated, but not "wet" skin, so that may be why?

[JenW]

Hi Anya,

I will try to get to all of your questions. First, I do think Buttery Gold will be right for you. It is possible that you might need more yellow or green, but those can be added with our color boosters. For starters, a mix of 1 scoop Buttery Gold to about 9-10 Ivory will be close. I would sample both Medium Coverage and Heavy Coverage. Again, the coverage level is a matter of preference.

For a primer/finisher, my first recommendation is Untinted Oil Control Blur. I can't really say it will be the right one, as we are all different. I do know the tinted versions of the oil control products might be a little darkish for you. Oil Control Primer might be a better option. I really do recommend sampling to see which one suits you best.

Shelf life can be pretty long. Generally, I like to keep it to about two years for powder products where the application brush does not touch the inside of the container (including the lid). Some use it beyond that, but two years is a safe choice. I would recommend the same for silk products. The ingredients with the shortest shelf life are silk and many of the ingredients in the Ultimate Luxury Powder are carbon based (normally I would say organic, but that has a completely different meaning these days.)

Hopefully, you will get more input on the primers and finishers. I think we all have our favorites. I am currently liking the Tinted Blur for summer, but usually use Date Bait in the winter.

[anya]

Dear Jen,

Thank you so much for the Butter Gold to Ivory recipe. Once I decided which coverage I'm looking for, I'm planning to order full size coz I'm tired of sampling

Let's say if I wanna make 2 jars of foundation (for myself and for my mom--we're the same coloring), should I just order 2 Buttery Gold Starter Kits?

How many scoops does 1 tablespoon bag of Ivory equals to?

Between Oil Control Blur vs. Oil Control Primer, does Oil Control Blur blurs pores & imperfections better and controls oil less than Oil Control Primer...
while Oil Control Primer controls oil better and blurs pores & imperfections less than Oil Control Blur?

How bout Zinc vs. OCB and Zinc vs. OCP? I love the fact that Zinc is very calming for sensitive, acne skin... Does Zinc control oil and blur pores & imperfections as well as OCB or OCP? And does Zinc have indefinite shelf life (longer than silk & carbon-based ingredients)?

Does Perfecting Powder such as Date Bait control oil or blur pores & imperfections as good as Oil Control Blur/Oil Control Primer/Zinc?

Sorry for too much questions, Jen

Dear superwahz,

Wow I love the sound of Zinc & Medium Coverage Foundation! Thank youuuuu!

PS: you have gorgeoussss skin!

[JenW]

If you want to make 2 jars worth of foundation, just order one Buttery Gold starter kit and one Ivory refill (plus an extra jar if you don't have one). You will have enough of the Buttery Gold base to mix many batches of foundation. And you will just need to repurchase the Ivory refill for a while.

One tablespoon bag is roughly 3 teaspoons, and our scoop is equal to 1/32 tsp. Roughly, it is 96 scoops.

For Oil Control Blur and Oil Control Powder......Oil Control Blur has some ingredients that blur pores and imperfections, but that ingredient is also good at controlling oil.....so it does not necessarilly control less oil, just differently. I think you will like the Oil Control Blur better. It is more of a multitasker.

The Zinc is just a different texture...it is very sheer. I can't really say it controls oil, but it does somewhat. Also, I can't really predict how it will work for you, as we all have our preferences. For shelf life, I really hesitate to call anything cometic as having an indefinite shelf life, but yes, it would fare better than products with carbon-based ingredients.