How to: Makeup for Pale Skin

Fair skin requires careful matching to avoid mask-like foundation.

Pale skin looks luminous with makeup that suits your complexion, but a foundation that's even a shade too dark looks obvious and unnatural. Skip bronzers in favor of foundation hues that flatter your natural complexion instead of trying to change it. Highlighters and powders can enhance a porcelain complexion, while corrective concealers and primers can tone down ruddiness or dark under-eye circles. If you're aiming for a theatrical look, these primers can neutralize pink tones in your face and leave your skin quite white.

Things You'll Need

• Mirror
• 1/4-inch makeup brush
• Green concealer or primer (optional)
• Orange concealer or primer (optional)
• Makeup sponge
• Foundation
• Loose powder
• Large makeup brush
• Highlighting powder

Instructions

1. Examine your face under natural lighting and note areas of redness or bluish tones that you want to minimize.

2. Pick up a small amount of green concealer or primer on a quarter-inch makeup brush and dot the cosmetic on areas where you have unwanted redness such as blemishes or birthmarks. For larger ruddy areas, use your fingertips to apply a thin layer of corrective concealer. Skip this step if you have no undesired redness to your skin.

3. Wipe the brush free of green makeup and use it to apply the orange concealer to areas that are blue or purple such as your under-eye area. You can skip this step if you have no dark circles to conceal.

4. Dampen a makeup sponge in water and squeeze it to remove most of the water, leaving the sponge barely damp. Tap the sponge over areas to which you've applied concealer until they're thoroughly blended.

5. Dot pale liquid or cream foundation along the bridge of your nose and on the apples of your cheeks with your fingertips. Starting your application in the center of your face lets you blend seamlessly to the edges of your face, preventing makeup from becoming too heavy or obvious.

6. Blend the foundation with your fingertips, then smooth the application with the makeup sponge. Pat the sponge on your face rather than dragging it across your skin, as that could rub away the makeup you've just applied.

7. Wait about five minutes for any dampness from the sponge to evaporate, then apply loose powder with a fluffy brush. Tap the brush to remove excess powder and continue to buff your skin with the brush until any excess powder is removed, leaving just enough to set your makeup.

8. Apply a dot of highlighting powder to the crest of your cheekbone with a fingertip. Blend the highlighter along your cheekbone. You can also place a small amount of highlighter at the inner corner of your eyes.

Tips & Warnings

• Always apply makeup to a clean face.

• Match your foundation to your skin tone under natural light. Apply a stripe of the tester foundation to your cheek about midway between your chin and the point of your jawbone to find the shade that most closely matches your face.

• Emphasize one feature with your color cosmetics such as eyeshadow, liner, blush and lipstick; keeping the rest of your makeup neutral with one strong feature makes the most of your fair skin.

• Overly pink foundations look unnatural; when choosing between two makeup colors, choose the one that has less pink to it.

• Pale skin makes a beautiful canvas for vivid eyeshadow and lipstick, but keep your application precise; the contrast between strong colors and fair skin highlights application mistakes.

References

• Styles 101: How to Apply Green, Yellow and Purple Corrective Concealers
• Fitness: Natural Makeup for Fair Skin Tones
• Daily Mail: Proud to Be Pale