GET FREE SAMPLES

sign up for our newsletter to get free sample alerts

The Best Foundations for Really, Really Fair Skin (Like, Glow in the Dark)

Does your skin tone fall somewhere between "ghost" and "paper?" Our resident pale-faced expert found the best foundation brands for you
Photo 7/12
Bobbi Brown
Bobbi Brown, master of the no-makeup look, has three shades of liquid foundation that are fitting for supremely fair ladies. I balked a little at being labeled a shade 00 Alabaster (seriously, double zeros? Like one zero doesn't convey how pale I am?), but it's hard to argue with the fact that it's a very pretty, very light shade that skews slightly pink. 0 Porcelain is the most neutral of the bunch, and 1 Warm Ivory is a pale, slightly yellow shade. If you're a tinted moisturizer kind of gal, the tinted moisturizer, $42, in Alabaster is the fairest I've come across.

Photo 8/12
Flower
Drew Barrymore's cruelty-free line boasts some ultra-pale foundation shades. The About Face liquid foundation, $13.98, is quite dewy, but the coverage is nice, and with a dusting of setting powder it lasts and lasts. Plus, shades LF1, LF2 and LF3 are fair enough for even the palest of skin tones.

Photo 9/12
Eve Lom
When Eve Lom Radiance Lift Foundation, $60, found its way onto my desk, I experienced the kind of excited heart flutters that I get when unwrapping Christmas presents. Having been recently inducted into the Eve Lom-loving cult (its cleanser is a new favorite), I couldn't wait to test out the foundation, which also has ingredients like skin-lifting flower extracts and anti-aging antioxidants. The brand knows a thing or two about anti-aging; its Age Defying Smoothing Treatment is a 2014 TotalBeauty.com Award winner.

The foundation goes on easily and offers buildable, medium-to-full coverage that doesn't look cakey. This formula manages to be hydrating while giving skin a matte appearance, resulting in a natural-looking glow that lasts the entire workday. The three lightest shades in the line are Alabaster (for those with yellow undertones), Ivory (for those with pink undertones) and Ecru (a slightly darker option for those with yellow undertones).

Photo 10/12
Revlon
When Revlon's Nearly Naked liquid foundation, $9.99, in 120 Vanilla showed up on my desk, I was worried it was going to be a repeat of all those times I walked around with an Oompa Loompa face after using a drugstore foundation. It looks too dark in the bottle, but blends into a beautiful, pale shade that's a bit on the warm side. They also offer a pale shade, Ivory. I'm skeptical of shade names that are so on-the-nose (being too pale for a shade called "Siberia" tends to make you suspicious), but this shade was only faintly pink and predominately, well, ivory -- making it a good choice for fair-skinned women with pink undertones.

Photo 11/12
Mix & Match
If you're like me, you probably have a whole arsenal of tried-and-failed foundations that just aren't quite right. But sometimes the formula and coverage is perfect and you keep hoping that maybe, someday during the summer, you'll tan just enough to be able to wear it. Until that happens, instead of letting those foundations sit sadly on a shelf, mix up your own custom blend to fit your pale skin now.

Illamasqua's Skin Tint comes in a glorified white-out shade (seriously, it is snow white) that you can mix with a too-dark foundation to bring the shade down. If you want something a little dewier, Lush Feeling Younger Skin Tint, $18.95, increases the paleness of the foundation and adds a touch of glow. Designed to be a highlighter, it also adds a nice glow when blended onto cheekbones and under your brows.

Simple advisory board member and celebrity makeup artist Gita Bass also recommends mixing in a few drops of a color corrector if your foundation is the wrong undertone. She says the most common case is foundation looking too pink, so look for a yellow or gold color corrector to balance it out. Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics' Airbrush Foundation comes in five color correcting shades: olive, blue, red, yellow and black. They look like something you would finger paint with, but adding a few drops can make a world of difference in a foundation that is too pink or yellow.

What happens when your skin tone is too fair for foundation shades with names like "Alabaster" and "Siberia?" If you have a vampire-like pallor like I do, you know how frustrating it is to think you've found the Holy Grail foundation shade for your fair skin, only to have it turn orangey-pink in natural light.

So I, resident pale-faced expert of the Total Beauty team, went on a quest to find the best foundation brands for the paper-white population. Whether you prefer liquid foundation, powder foundation or tinted moisturizer, there's something for everyone and a little bit of everything here. Don't fight your transparent skin tone -- embrace it. Click through and tell us: Which foundation do you rely on for your fair skin?
BY ALLIE FLINN | MAR 27, 2014 | SHARES
VIEW COMMENTS
Full Site | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy
TotalBeauty is a property of Evolve Media Holdings, LLC. © 2024 All Rights Reserved. | Affiliate Disclosure: Evolve Media Holdings, LLC, and its owned and operated subsidiaries may receive a small commission from the proceeds of any product(s) sold through affiliate and direct partner links.