Best foundation for very pale skin

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I have extremely pale skin. If I don't wear makeup I resemble a corpse, however a lot of foundation, no matter how light, still gives me a slight unnatural look. Unfortunately my skin is a tad blotchy on my cheeks and chin and my pores seem to be growing bigger with age. Apart from that my skin tends to be relatively normal but slightly on the dry side.

I have tried a lot of cheapish/mid range brands but I am now considering purchasing a more expensive brand if it can really look natural and even out my skin tone. I'm reluctant to purchase anything pricey without recommendations and make up counters scare the bejesus out of me! Currently pondering Bare Minerals but I will be extremely grateful for any advice

I'm very pale too and really like ysl touché eclat foundation. It looks like you haven't got make up on but have gorgeous skin. Worth the money.

Thank you, I will have a look. Any help to stop me look like an orange tinged ghost is much appreciated!

I'm so pale and sweat No.7 airbrush foundation in cool vanilla. It's about £16 but usually on offer and seriously wouldn't try anything else again as I've spent loads of the palest shade before and still look orange!

This stuff goes on like a dream with good coverage that isn't cakey at all.

swear by! Not sweat... depends if it's hot?

The touché eclat is lovely but it depends how pale you're talking. I'm very pale and even the lightest in touché eclat is too dark/orange on me in winter. Chanel, Clarins, etc are all too dark for me in winter. Nars do very good very pale shades as do Bobbi brown. You can also buy a pure white foundation from illamasqua that you can mix with normal foundations to make them lighter. A good budget one is Bourgois health glow serum foundation in 51 but you may need to add some white to it in winter

I found bare minerals didn't go pale enough. Bobbi brown is very good for matching and I use the foundation stick so I can just add coverage where I need it (I get blotches too!)

Lancôme Teint Idole 24 hours in 010 is great. I'm pale with blotchy skin and I wouldn't swap it for anything. 36 pounds so not cheap but does last me a couple of months wearing it everyday.

When I got married the makeup artist used Nars Mont Blanc. It worked pretty well but I would like other recommendations before I splash out

Lancome teint idole in the palest which is 008. Don't be fooled by the 005, it's actually darker!

The best I have found so far is No 7 but I haven't tried the airbrush foundation. I like my No 7 foundation so far in regards to colour and coverage but I can't help but wonder if I am missing out on a miracle foundation!

Dd2 is vary fair indeed (albinism).
She finds Clinique BB quite good.

NO.7 Mousse is my go too. I always come out looking orange, streaky and clogged with most other foundations, I'm also so so pale! This is the BEST foundation I've ever used. It goes on amazingly well, smooth, give your face a lovey texture, not cakey, you don't need a lot at all, full and even coverage, lasts months and stays on all day. Brilliant stuff, i doubt I'll ever look back! I think it comes in at £13.50 but sooo worth it and lasts ages so actually, it ends up being cheaper than a lot of others as you don't need to buy it as often

It really depends on whether you have yellow or pink undertones. There is a really good website called 'findation' that will colour match you to most rands if you put in a foundation that you have used before that you like.

My current foundation is No 7 Stay Perfect but I will look up all the recommendations tomorrow

another vote for ysl touche eclat - their lightest comes in three types B10, BD10 and BR10, depending on your undertones (red or yellow) - i'm red haired and v pale skin and was just buying more of this today - it's pricey (33.50) but lasts a long long time. One bottle does me nearly 6 months as you need very little if you apply with a decent brush.

As mentioned this was my shopping thing of today and was just online looking at others out of interest. We dont have a MAC or NARS concession here and due to price I haven't ordered these online in case they have been the right shade but most decent department stores online will send you the samples of the products you want (I was just lazy and couldn't be bothered to register etc and as I said am v happy with the YSL and if it aint broke...)

My skin is slightly dry (despite guzzling water - damn air con office) and find YSL holds up throughout the day/night provided it's applied with a brush as I said.

I used to try cheaper brands (circa 10 quid mark）but realised it was a false economy as they never stayed on looking perfect as long so that's when I went to look at the pricier brands.

Also in store at debenhams, the counters often have their little sample bottles that they'll fill up for you if you ask nicely and are obviously interested in buying their product.

Today i asked for the B10 as that's what I thought i'd had before (been a bit broke for most of last year and hadn't bought any for the second half of the year) - the sales woman was very good at sitting down and trying out all three of the lightest shades to show me the difference and have gone for the BR10 (makes sense - this is the one for red undertones which my skin def is). Well worth the purchase.

Wow I had no idea I had so much to say on this subject until i started typing!

Thank you for the link Ella, I'm afraid I have no idea whether I have yellow or pink undertones!

I am also super pale, and these are some of my favourites:-

Tinted moisturiser- Nars do one that runs very pale and is lovely, Pixi also do a pale version of their H2O Skintint
BB cream- Mizon Snail BB is VERY pale. SO PALE. Most Korean BB creams are pretty pale, but this is definitely the palest.
Long wearing/full coverage- 17 Stay Time foundation (very pale, also very cheap nad long wearing) or GOSH X-treme wear

I also can sometimes get away with wearing Bourjois foundations, so maybe give them a look because a lot of them are nice for every day wear.

www.chloewitty.com/2012/08/ysl-le-teint-touche-eclat-foundation-in.html

this page shows the little sample bottles you can get from ysl OP - I realise i now sound like some sort of sales rep oops!

I did the no7 colour match thing and the woman said there wasn't one that she would sell me as none were pale enough . I wear Doublewear in shell-the lightest they have. I love it as it covers my redness and imperfections and lasts all day. I use a primer underneath to help with enlarged pores.

That reminds me, can I also ask for recommendations of good primers for enlarged pores please. I seemed to hit my 30s and they appeared from nowhere

Touché Eclat doesn't work for me, too yellow even in the palest shade.

I'm currently trying (& loving) the Lancome Teint Idole in 008, thanks to Ollivander's recommendation on a different thread. It's great on me, I cannot usually find anything that is pale enough in "high street" type brands, IYSWIM. They are currently offering a small, free, tester tube at most counters as it's a new / recently expanded line. I will be purchasing some... love it.

Charlotte Tilbury Light Wonder's lightest shade is apparently good for peaches and cream complexions. Maybe you could try that out.

Max Factor FaceFinity in Pale Ivory is the one I always go back to and I'm very pale. However, one that was too pale even for me was the palest Revlon 24hr one (also 'ivory' something). Goes on 'white' rather than pink or orange, IYKWIM.

Have a look at Charlotte Tilbury or Illamasqua