I have to buy foundation for a bride - will CC cream work?

[Violetroses]

My lovely friend is getting married this month in E Africa, where she lives. In her usual laid-back way she asked me to get her some make-up for the big day (!!!!!).

So, where to start? I'm really no expert at all .

I had thought CC cream would be ideal because it has a built-in SPF and seems to come in limited dark/fair options, so will be easier to guess her colour (she's v dark-haired and suntanned). But she said she had a BB cream which was rubbish and she wanted more coverage.

Has anyone tried CC cream - and would it do for a formal occasion? She's obviously no bridezilla but she wants to look fabulous.

Any recommendations/help/brands would be so helpful - thanks!

Sali Hughes has raved about the Clinique one (which apparently has very good coverage), but I'm not sure it would be appropriate for a wedding. The thing about built-in SPF is that any photos taken indoors with flash will give your friend "ghost face" as the SPF bounces the light back more than the rest of her skin will. Also, I'm not sure that limited shade options are necessarily going to be helpful when finding a colour match.

How dark is her skin, and is it olive or pink toned? Will any photos be taken inside? How much coverage does she need? How much does she want to spend? Is it impossible for her to get to a department store make-up counter near to where she lives? Would she be happy for you to buy a few mid-range foundations rather than one expensive one, to leave some scope for mixing them to get the right shade/coverage? Does she need any other make-up?

Thanks so much. Will check about photos but as the reception/wedding all takes place outside don't think SPF will be too much of a problem.

She's olive-toned, wants q a bit of coverage, although she usually has a good complexion (haven't seen her for a couple of years).

Mixing a couple of options sounds an excellent solution - hadn't thought of that. Will suggest that if I fail to get exactly the right match.

Yes, she also wanted a blusher and lipstick (YIKES!). Dress is oyster, flowers are deep purple and red.

You're welcome! The higher the coverage of the foundation, the less "forgiving" the colour match will be, and daylight will make it obvious if the match is wrong. If she really can't get to a counter, I'd be inclined to get her to take a close-up, high-res photo of herself in daylight that you can take with you to drug stores/make-up counters. I'd then look at good drugstore foundations and aim to buy 2/3 shades of the formula you like the best (one that you think is the best match, and then one shade darker and one shade lighter).

Depending on how dark her skin is, I'd suggest the following. At a big Tesco or Superdrug, you would probably pay £30 for 3 shades so it's a safer option than spending the same on one tube of department store foundation:

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation (black cap, not red-capped serum version) - this is great for olive toned skin and lasts very well in the heat, but possibly a bit pale.

Revlon Photoready Foundation - this has the fullest coverage, is long-lasting, and comes in darker shades than the Bourjois (the nude, natural beige, medium beige or golden beige might be appropriate - the others all look too pink to me), but might be a bit too heavy and shimmery compared to the Bourjois.

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation - a bit darker than the Bourjois, and not my top choice as it can look very glittery outside, but many people do like it.

She will need Translucent setting powder over the top, but any old one will do as long as it's finely milled (so not chalky) - No7 Creme Touch is good.

Foundation, blush and powder brushes are pretty much essential for applying wedding make-up - does she have any? If not, I strongly recommend the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush for foundation (flawless finish and very to use), but cheaper own-brand brushes for powder and blush (the Boots ones are good).

For eyes (if she needs stuff), Max Factor Masterpiece liquid eyeshadow in "classic pearl" (to highlight the browbone) and the dark brown colour (for the eyelid itself) would look beautiful and should last all day without smudging. Best applied with the sponge-on-a-stick that it comes with, and blended with any old eyeshadow brushes. Avon does a pencil eyeliner called Supershock in Blackberry that would look beautiful over the top and lasts very well - it's about £2 on ebay. Any waterproof mascara would be fine, but I highly recommend No7 Lash Adapt (not waterproof, but water resistant) if she's looking for one of those too.

For blusher I'd look at No7 Soft Damson as you can't go wrong with that on anybody (IMO), or any of the pinkish Bourjois shades.

What kind of lipstick is she after? Strong/subtle, shiny/matte, pinkish/reddish/purplish?

Oh, I meant to add - the Clinique CC cream may be okay, but I wouldn't chance it if she wants much coverage. It would probably be alright inside, but I very much doubt that it'd stand up to hours in the heat out in daylight as it's supposed to be more of a skincare product than a cosmetic.

As you know she is olive skinned and dark haired, I would be very tempted to take three different shades of foundation, one lighter, one medium, one darker, but all the same brand. That way, you can mix them like paint until you get the right colour match.

MUA do a budget range of lipsticks, and for a fiver you could take her five different lipsticks! I would take a cerise, a warm rich red, a brick red, a neutral and maybe a plum. For blusher, I would again go with MUA and take a peach one and a brick coloured one that will double as a bronzer.

However, I would avoid MUA for foundation and go for the Bourguois Healthy Mix suggested up thread.

I LOVE make up, can you tell?

Oh yes - good point Colditz, I meant to say pick 3 shades of the same type of foundation (possibly out of the list I gave), sorry if that wasn't clear! Bourjois Healthy Mix really is excellent, the only question is whether it goes dark enough as it starts v pale and I think there are only 4(?) shades...

The other thing to consider is whether your friend has sensitive skin - if so, you may want to be careful about cheap or perfumed products. I have to be very wary or I end up with rashes and spots within hours, but I know most people are luckier than me in this respect. If she does have sensitive/acne-prone skin, I'd go for Bourjois, No7 and L'oreal for everything as they tend to be much gentler than other drugstore brands IME.

You could always get a lipstick pallette thing to blend a colour?

You guys are total legends! I was going to spend too much money at YSL and Chanel, on the assumption that the more you spend, the better the product /chance of it all magically suiting her!

Right, will find a good pic of her and take it shopping, along with a printout of this.

Thanks so much for all your help.

OP, Tesco's own brand Make Up by Barbara Daly is fantastic and comparable to Mac, honestly! I stopped buying more expensive brands when I found their Oil Free Foundation which gives good but natural coverage. I also swear by their powders and eye shadows.

Also in hot weather, I think it's important to use primer. Again, I used to use Smashbox but then I found out that Lanacane Anti-Chafing gel has a pretty identical formula but is a snip of the price and have been using that since. It fills in any imperfections and also stops make up sliding off.

Oh and the Barbara Daly concealer is fantastic. A little goes a long way.

I agree with multiple shades of foundation and the bourjois healthy mix is my everyday choice (I use doublewear for big events but you would have to be spot on with the colour: however estee lauder does give samples of doublewear so perhaps get a couple of those and that could be an idea for additional coverage in place of concealer).
What you can also do if you have three shades of foundation is use them to contour a little - a lot of makeup artists seem to do this and it is very subtle, so using the lighter foundation to highlight tops of cheekbones etc and the darker as a contour.

You're welcome - as you can see, the Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation is a very popular choice! Showtunesgirl is very right about the Barbara Daly concealer, by the way - it's fantastic for £4 (but get light and medium if you buy it, so you can blend to get the right shade).

Honestly, the best drug store make-up is so good now that there's not really any need for department store stuff unless your requirements are very unusual. The rule of thumb is to buy "top end" drugstore foundation and foundation brush, "middle end" mascara, powder, and eyeliner (to avoid flaking/powdery texture/smudging), and "low end" eyeshadow and lipstick/gloss.

In my experience, the thing that makes the biggest difference with foundation is the quality of application so it is worth spending a bit more on a good foundation brush - when applied with fingers I find Bourjois Healthy Mix to be a pretty low-coverage foundation, whereas with a Real Techniques Expert Face Brush I can get pretty much perfect coverage. The only other tip I have is to pick up some Kleenex oil blotting sheets - they'll take the shine off your friend's face without removing any make-up, and they don't leave brown powder residue behind like some of the older blotting sheets do.

Good luck with your make-up hunt, you're clearly a very good friend!

Have bought the Real Techniques brush - am making headway at last! Thanks again for all your help MNers, am so grateful.

Nice one, good luck with the rest! It's an unusual brush but very good - the best way to use it is to put 1 pump of foundation on back of hand, and apply in THIN LAYERS (building up only where more coverage is needed), using circular buffing motions. I do concealer before foundation, and then go back and pop a little bit more concealer onto the bit of my hand where the foundation residue is (so they mix a bit), pat a bit more on and then blend again with the same foundation brush.

I'll shut up now - I have written far too much about make-up today...