Choosing the perfect foundation that suits the skin has been challenging for makeup enthusiasts and professionals. Every skin is unique, so purchasing a mass-made foundation may not be ideal for all skin tones. In recent years, custom foundations tailored for individual skin tones have become popular in the beauty industry.
The custom foundation is unique—it can allow you to create a special formula tailored to the skin’s concerns and tone.
This post will explore:
- Everything you need to know about custom foundation for all skin types.
- Foundation repair tips for common foundation issues.
- How to customize foundation for your skin tone and type.
1. What is Custom Foundation?
Custom foundation is a custom makeup specifically formulated for an individual’s unique skin type, tone, and concern. Foundations are generally applied on the face and neck to produce an even tone and conceal flaws. Unlike mass-made foundations, custom foundations are chemically engineered to match the exact skin undertone and shade.
Benefits of Custom Foundations and Makeups
● A Personalized Match for Your Skin Tone
In the beauty industry, there is a growing demand for custom-made makeup because of the personalized beauty solutions it offers. Unlike the one-size-fits-all, this approach has given individuals the freedom to curate personalized products based on their skin tone.
Custom foundation is a game-changer for individuals with skin tones that are hard to match, as it leaves out the guesswork of choosing between shades or blending colors to get the right tone.
The custom foundation ensures the product is tailored to your exact skin undertone, whether warm, cool, or neutral.
● Unique Ingredients for Skincare Needs
Most mass-produced makeup and foundations usually carry different ingredients. Most of these ingredients can further compound your skin problems. However, a custom foundation can include or exclude any ingredient depending on your skincare needs.
● Adjustable Coverage and texture
While some may prefer full makeup coverage, others may want light coverage for a more natural look. Custom-made foundation allows you to choose suitable finishes such as matte, dewy, radiant glow, or oil-free finishes. This level of customization may be impossible or difficult to get when with a mass-made foundation.
● Seasonal Adjustments
You will agree that our skin changes depending on seasons and periods of the day. As a result, a foundation that works during summer may become terrible during winter—That’s where custom-made foundation comes in.
During winter, you might need a more hydrating formulation. In summer, however, you need lighter & oil-controlling makeup. With a custom foundation, you can adjust the individual ingredients depending on the seasonal needs.
● Long-lasting wear
You can wear custom foundations for a long time without the fear of the foundation becoming patchy, breaking, or separating. This is true because custom foundations are chemically engineered to withstand any environment—whether hot and humid or cool and dry.
2. Understanding Bespoke and Custom Blend Foundations
Custom foundations can be created in two different methods, these are bespoke foundation and custom blend foundation. Though custom blend foundations and bespoke foundations may be similar, the process of making them is different.
Bespoke Foundation
Bespoke foundations are technology-made foundations created from scratch to meet an individual skin tone, type, and concern. First, your skin tone is detected through high-precision scanning. The high-precision scan captures hundreds of frames per second to determine your exact skin tone.
Furthermore, your skin tone ID will be sent to the production machine which mixes the required ingredients, shades, and finishes.
Benefits
- This technology produces a high-precision custom foundation.
- The technology incorporates personalized ingredients based on skin type—good for sensitive skin.
Custom Blended Foundation
The custom-blended foundation is made by mixing different shades and finishes to get the perfect balance for your skin tone. Most professionals and makeup enthusiasts use this method to curate individualized products for your clients’ makeup needs. With this method, you can blend the foundation system by mixing different textures, colors, oils, and other ingredients.
Custom blended foundation can be done at home or with professional assistance. The only problem with custom blends is mixing shades and finishes to get that perfect custom foundation.
Benefits
- Custom blend foundation is cost-effective if compared to bespoke foundation.
- It allows you to utilize your existing foundation for blending.
- It allows professionals to create custom foundations for clients on the go.
3. How to Customize Foundation for Your Skin Tone and Type
Custom foundation is easier said than done, especially for newbies. Below is a step-by-step guide to getting perfect results based on skin tone, texture, and desired coverage.
● Identify your Skin Concern and Type
One of the most important steps to customizing your foundation is identifying your unique skin type, tone, and concern. This will allow you to base your formulation on certain ingredients that can help your skin. There are different skin types which are mainly dry, oily, and combination.
You will have to keep in mind certain skin concerns, such as dullness, dehydration, breakouts, and sensitivity.
For instance, if you have sensitive skin it will be best to use hypoallergenic ingredients made from minerals. Also, you want to exclude allergies such as fragrance, Talc, and synthetic dyes in your formulation.
Furthermore, consider what you need from a product and ensure that the foundation meets your requirements without causing other issues. For instance, a foundation may conceal redness but include a comedogenic composition, which might trigger breakouts in acne-prone skin.
● Determine Your Undertones
Your skin undertone, whether warm, cool, or neutral, is a very important factor to consider when customizing foundation. Determining skin undertone can be a little tricky for many people. You have to understand that skin undertone has nothing to do with how dark or light your complexion is.
To determine your skin undertone, look at the color of your veins coming toward your wrist. Individuals with green veins often have a warm undertone. Whereas bluish veins indicate a cool undertone—you may have a neutral undertone if you cannot tell the difference.
● Shade Match
After determining your skin type and undertone, the next step is to match different shades to determine your best match. The best recommendation is to contact a beauty store to help detect your potential shades—However, you can do it yourself.
Foundation shades can be tested mainly by swatching on your jawline and not on any part of the arm, hand, or wrist. The jawline is the perfect location because it is closer to the neck and face. Additionally, be sure to examine shade in natural light for accurate color matching.
Furthermore, some foundations tend to discolor after a few minutes of exposure to the air—a process known as oxidation. Ensure to wait for a few minutes to check for changes in the foundation.
● Decide between liquid, powdered, or cream foundation
There are different types of foundation formula which includes liquid, powdered, or cream foundation. For oily skin, choose oil-free, matte, or powder foundations.
Dry skin will benefit from hydrating, liquid, or cream foundations that contain moisturizing ingredients for radiant and smooth skin. Furthermore, for combination skin Opt for a semi-matte foundation.
● Decide formula coverage
The coverage level is another important factor you must consider when customizing your foundation. Consider thin coverage for a natural, everyday look since it provides minimal coverage and allows your skin to breathe. Medium coverage is ideal if you want to achieve an even skin tone. Full coverage is for individuals who want to conceal skin concerns such as acne, hyperpigmentation, scars, or redness.
● Consider season
Your skin tone may change based on season–in winter, you may have lighter skin. While in summer, constant exposure to the sun may darken your skin. Curate your custom foundation depending on the season to adjust to the weather demand.
● Customize your foundation
After you have concluded what to include in your custom foundation, go ahead and order your foundation system. Keeping in mind the ingredients you want to exclude or include in your custom foundation. And mix the products to the perfect shade and texture that you desire.
However, if you are not sure of the color combination, reach out for professional assistance.
4. Top Custom Foundations for Oily Skin
As I mentioned earlier, one of the key factors for customizing foundation is choosing the right formula for skin type. Oily skin is characterized by too much oily substance, which helps moisturize and protect the outer skin. Too much sebum often causes clogged pores, acne, whiteheads, and blackheads.
Too much oil on the skin can alter the foundation, such as unwanted shine on the foundation. Hence, it is important to bear this in mind when certain concerns when choosing the customizing foundation for oily skin. Common concerns could include:
- Slipping, sliding, or rolling foundation makeup due to excess oil on the surface of the skin.
- Unwanted shine, which can cause your makeup to look less natural and heavy.
- The foundation may become patchy, break, or separate in a short time.
Choosing a custom foundation can help address concerns relating to applying foundation on oily skin. Below are some tips for custom foundation formulations to reduce shine and provide long-lasting wear for oily skin.
Custom foundation formulations for oily skin
● Ensure your foundation formula room is oil-free
Ensure that your foundation formula is oil-free to prevent adding too much oil on top of oily skin. This can cause slipping, rolling, and patchy makeup that will not last long.
● Go for a matte finish.
A matte foundation is an ideal option if you’re concerned about oily skin. Matte finishes offer less slide and are more durable on oily skin. They also assist in reducing the shiny look caused by excess oil, allowing the skin to seem smooth.
● Opt for a hydrating foundation.
Even skin that is oily types requires moisture! Dehydration may affect all skin types, including oily and combination skin, so pick a hydrating foundation formula that restores moisture to the skin and does not highlight dry areas or generate indications of dehydration, such as dehydration lines or skin dullness.
● Opt for long-lasting formulation.
Foundation on oily skin can easily break down or separate due to excessive oil. So, when customizing the foundation. For oily skin, ensure to opt for a long-lasting formulation. This will ensure that your makeup lasts long without the fear of becoming patchy or breaking.
● Choose lightweight formulation
It’s a common misperception that people with oily skin cannot wear light-coverage foundations. The key is to pick a buildable formula that works well with powder and lets you customize the skin finish to your liking. Because there is less substance for grease to sabotage, using less foundation may make the oily face look its best!
5. Finding the Right Custom Foundation for Dry Skin
Dry skin lacks moisture and oil, which can lead to tight, flaking, and itchy skin. Dry skin is more vulnerable to external stresses such as cold and dry air.
Here are some important tips for choosing the right custom foundation for your dry skin.
Tips in Choosing the Right Custom Foundation for Dry Skin
● Opt for hydrating ingredients
Dry skin can feel rough and flaky when dehydrated causing the skin to appear uneven and textured. To avoid flaky makeup, incorporate hydrating ingredients in your formulation to constantly rehydrate the dry skin. Using these moisturizer ingredients can help soften and smoothen the skin.
● Opt for liquid or cream formulation.
Liquid and cream formulations are the most advisable choices for dry skin types. This is because they help retain water on the surface of the skin. Using too much powder foundations on dry skin can result in a caring and undesirable texture.
● Consider glowy or radiant finishes.
When formulating a custom foundation for dry skin, it is advised to opt for glowy or radiant finishes. This can help dull dry skin to enhance a more natural glow.
6. Best Custom Foundations for Mature and Wrinkled Skin
The skin changes as it grows older–making it become thin, dry, and lose elasticity. These changes can make it difficult to use regular makeup and foundation. Thus making it challenging to find a perfect balance, coverage, and hydration without settling into fine lines.
Furthermore, aging skin is also prone to uneven pigmentation, dryness, dark spots, and redness. When creating custom foundation formulations, it is vital to address these aging needs. Utilize formulation with anti-aging, hydrating, and moisturizing properties to rejuvenate the skin.
Below are tips and recommendations for foundation formulas that enhance mature skin.
● Opt for a hydrating formulation.
A mature skin is often prone to dryness and can make foundation cracks. To avoid cracking makeup, use hydrating ingredients in the formulation to continuously moisturize the dryness in matured skin. These can help moisturize, soften, and smoothen the skin and prevent the foundation from settling into fine lines.
● Include anti-ageing ingredients.
One of the major concerns with matured skin is wrinkles and fine lines. And this is one of the reasons why foundations often settle in fine lines. As a result, many use anti-aging ingredients in their skincare products.
These same anti-aging ingredients can be incorporated into custom foundations to rejuvenate the skin. Examples include hyaluronic acid and vitamin C. These ingredients can also help improve texture and tone while giving you great, even coverage.
● Light coverage and liquid or cream formulation
Heavy coverage foundation is not suitable for mature skin. This can make the makeup settle in wrinkles and fine lines–instead, opt for a light coverage. Furthermore, mature skin can also benefit from liquid formulation since it can add moisture and hydration to dry skin.
7. Custom Foundation Repair: Fixing Makeup Issues
Even with the best custom foundation, it is possible to encounter certain makeup issues like patchiness or peeling. This may not necessarily be a result of the custom foundation but can be in application or environmental factors. Some issues may include:
Cakiness
A custom foundation may appear cakey when it’s thick and heavy instead of smooth when applied to the skin. These can make the makeup look uneven and settle into wrinkles and fine lines.
Many factors can cause a foundation to become cakey. These can be using the wrong products that don’t match a particular skin type, tone, and concern. Moreover, environmental factors such as heat, and humidity can also make it cakey.
For most custom foundations, one common reason for cakiness is—a lack of proper preparation before applying the foundation. For instance, not prepping your skin with primer or moisturizer might result in an uneven application.
Below are some important solutions to avoid a cakey foundation.
● Avoid Heavy Layers
If you observe cakiness during the day, avoid using extra products. Instead, freshen your makeup with a spritz or use blotting papers to remove excess oil before touching it up.
● Use a Hydrating Mist
Apply a moisturizing face mist or setting spray on a damp beauty sponge and gently dab it over the caked spots. This helps to rehydrate and mix the makeup into your skin, resulting in a more natural finish.
● Blend with a Clean Brush
Apply a toner or setting spray to a clean foundation brush, then blend the cakey areas with circular strokes. Any unevenness may be smoothed out with this method without affecting the rest of your makeup.
● Apply a Light Layer of Powder
If certain areas are too shiny or cakey, softly sprinkle a transparent setting powder on them. Be careful not to use too much powder since this might worsen the problem.
Tips for Avoiding Custom Makeup Issues
- Not prepping skin properly.
Properly preparing your skin before applying a custom foundation is crucial for achieving seamless and beautiful makeup. Skipping this step can cause various foundation and makeup issues—including cakey and uneven makeup. Firstly, properly cleanse your skin to remove dirt and oil to create a clean skin surface for foundation.
Furthermore, toning can help balance the pH levels of your—reducing the appearance of pores. Also, the application of a hydrating primer can be helpful, especially for dry skin—it keeps it hydrated. A well-prepping skin will allow a smooth, even, and less cakey foundation.
● Not changing foundation with age.
Another reason why custom foundations may become cakey could be a result of not changing foundations with age. As we age, the effectiveness of custom foundations on our skin also reduces. This is because of certain issues associated with aging skin, including dryness, fine lines, and wrinkles.
These issues can cause your make to become cakey or settle to fine lines. Adjusting your custom foundation from time to time can help cater to issues associated with aging.
● Applying foundation in the wrong lighting.
When applying foundation, it is ideal to apply makeup under natural light or White LED light. Natural light may provide an accurate representation of your look in the mirror, while artificial fluorescent light may not.
8. Where to Buy Custom Foundation
A key when buying a custom foundation is looking for a reputable and trustworthy platform. Fortunately, there are several trustworthy platforms that you can meet with manufacturers. Below are popular Online platforms where you can buy custom eyeshadow palettes.
● Alibaba.com
● Made-in-china.com
● Dhgate.com
● Globalsources.com
● Aliexpress.com
● Chinabrands.com
● Huntersourcing.com
Tips on what to look for in quality and price
All the sites listed above are some of the best platforms for purchasing custom foundations. However, you must understand that not everyone posing as a manufacturer is trustworthy. That’s why you must take your time when choosing the perfect company to buy from. Below are important tips to follow when ordering custom foundations.
8.1 Alibaba.com
- Buy only from verified suppliers
- Confirm the seller has a “trade assurance” badge
- Read Manufacturers and product reviews focusing on the build quality, shades, textures, and other important ingredients.
- Ask for necessary licenses and certifications.
8.2. Made-in-china.com
- Confirm the manufacturer has verified contact and physical location.
- Check for the “audited supplier” badge on the manufacturer’s profile.
8.3. DHgate.com
- Check the Manufacturer’s past transaction details.
- Take advantage of DHgate buyer’s protections.
- Evaluate the manufacturer’s seller ratings.
8.4. GlobalSources.com
- Check for GlobalSource “verified Manufacturers” badge on the manufacturer’s profile
- Request and read the product description.
- Request for a third-party factory audit report from the manufacturer.
8.5. AliExpress.com
- Look for top-rated foundation manufactures
- Read products reviews
8.6. Chinabrands.com
- Evaluate and work with foundation manufacturers with higher reliability scores.
- Request for licenses and certification.
8.7. Huntersourcing.com
- Work with a trustworthy sourcing agent to check supplier information.
- Request and validate if the manufacturers hold compliance licenses and certificates.
- Request for manufacturer’s factory audits.
9. How Custom Foundations Are Made
● Analysing Skin Profile
The first step in making a custom foundation is analyzing the skin to detect the skin profile. This is a professional method used to evaluate information about skin tone, type, undertone, and certain skin concerns. These skin profiles ensure correct ingredients, textures, finishes, formulations, and precise matches.
● Ingredients Selection
After analyzing the skin, the next step in the making of the custom foundation is ingredient selection. Ingredients are selected based on skin types, tone, finish, concerns, and more.
● Mixing and formulation
After carefully selecting the ingredients, the next step is mixing the ingredients in the right proportion. Some companies may use specialized machines to mix these ingredients to perfect consistency.
● Testing
After formulation, the custom foundation is tested on the customer’s skin to ensure it matches the skin shade and texture. Rarely, if the customer isn’t happy with a match, the custom foundation is re-mixed to get a better product.
● Packaging
If the customer is satisfied with the match, the next is packaging the custom foundation in an air-tight container. They can help preserve the texture, fragrance, and efficacy of the product.
10. The Future of Custom Foundation in Beauty
The beauty & cosmetics market is witnessing a dramatic shift driven by the rapid growth and integration of artificial intelligence. This includes AI custom foundation formulation, product creation, augmented reality (AR) in shopping experiences, smart beauty devices, and data-driven personalization.
● AI custom foundation formulation
This is a recent development for making custom foundation and makeup products that are tailored to individual skin. This high-precision AI technology can analyze the skin via 3 scans—just take a camera of your skin under natural light. The AI technology analyzes and detects your skin tone, type, undertone, and certain concerns.
● virtual try-on
Virtual Try-on is another latest Artificial intelligence that allows cosmetics consumers a more immersive and personalized shopping experience. This AI technology allows you to visualize how a product will look on you even before purchase.
● AI Shade Finder
AI shade finder assists individuals in finding their perfect skin shades. This technology can help detect any skin type or tone in seconds and recommend suitable shades for a seamless match.
Conclusion
The custom foundation offers a unique benefit in curating the perfect formulation based on skin type, tone, and concerns. Whether you have dry skin, oily skin, or aging skin, you can benefit from a custom foundation. Investing in custom foundations is more than just a cosmetic decision; it is a step toward personalized care.
Explore your options, experiment with different mixes, and embrace the future of beauty with a solution tailored specifically for you.
