Can I tell you about a time when I felt really dumb? It all started with an Instagram filter. One night I was bored and started taking a couple (hundred) selfies with filters for fun. One popular filter made me feel really unique and pretty because it places fake freckles all over your face. So I posted it and immediately got a flattering comment that read “you’re so naturally beautiful, I love your freckles”. I wasn’t natural in the photo of course; I had on makeup and was using a filter. However, in an instance of irony synonymous with these social media times… I actually naturally have freckles. Immediately I closed the app, removed my makeup, and vowed the next time I got dolled up I wouldn’t hide my freckles. Instead I wanted to embrace and show love to my freckles, and I needed sheer foundations that would too.
Why did it take an Instagram filter to make me feel beautiful with what God already blessed me with? Who knows? Maybe there’s somebody out there already writing a thesis about this. I was just grateful for the feeling of idiocy when someone complimented me. Because I was covering up my flaws, just to use an app that glorified them and made me feel beautiful. It’s foolish, and I can own that. But owning it would mean nothing if I didn’t have a solution to rectify that thought process in the future.
The hunt for the Best Sheer Foundations commenced
My usual foundation was doing its job and fully covering all of my imperfections, but I needed a change. I no longer wanted to think of my freckles as a flaw, so I needed a way to embrace them. Sheer foundations are perfect because they provide me with just the amount of coverage I need. Sheer foundations are buildable and don’t mask your natural skin. Thus I can allow my freckles to shine through, but still cover up the ugly acne scar on my chin. Finally I found a happy solution, so I began to look for the best sheer foundations.
LAURA MERCIER TINTED MOISTURIZER NATURAL SKIN PERFECTOR
The LAURA MERCIER Tinted Moisturizer Natural Skin Perfector is packed with hydration for a flawlessly natural complexion. It’s lightweight, provides dewy, sheer coverage, and doesn’t lack in skincare benefits. Pigments remedied with Silica are used to blur imperfections and give you effortlessly glowy skin. To increase moisture and overall health of your skin, the tinted moisturizer blends Macadamia and Kukui seed oils. Then Tamarind seed and Glycerin are used to maintain that moisture. Additionally, Vitamin C & E protect you from damage and fine lines. To top it all off, it has Broad Spectrum SPF 30 sunscreen protection. Skin Perfector is not an overstatement.
GLOSSIER PERFECTING SKIN TINT
The GLOSSIER Perfecting Skin Tint is what you need for a subtle dewy finish and boost of confidence every day. It provides a super lightweight, breathable, extremely sheer evenness to your skin. And it’s buildable from a light to light-medium coverage. Diamond powder is a secret ingredient used in this foundation to reduce the appearance of pores and smooth your skin. In skincare, diamond powder is used because it reflects off of light giving it a blurring and brightening effect. Also included in the tint is Glycerin to keep your skin moisturized. As Glossier itself says: more skin, less makeup.
NARS SHEER GLOW FOUNDATION
The NARS Sheer Glow Foundation gives a natural finish and radiance to your skin. It’s a sheer, liquid foundation that is buildable from low to medium coverage. Turmeric extract is used to even your skin tone, and give you that glow. The foundation is designed with Vitamin-C to brighten and smoothen your skin over time with daily use. In addition, it uses Glycerin to effectively hydrate your skin and lock in that moisture all day long. Basically it’s packed with skincare benefits that work to enhance, not hide, your inherent beauty.
NYX Total Control Pro Drop Foundation
The NYX Total Control Pro Drop Foundation is a liquid foundation that gives you a velvety soft, matte complexion. This foundation is loved by many because it feels weightless, and the coverage is fully customizable. You can use a few drops for sheer and natural coverage, or increase the drops up to full, glam coverage. The vegan formula also includes glycerin to retain moisture so your skin doesn’t dry out. You know that one mirror in your house that always makes you look terrible? Well with this foundation, you can face that mirror head on.
ILIA SUPER SERUM SKIN TINT SPF 40
The ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40 gives you ultimate sunscreen protection and skincare benefits, with a light coverage and an incandescent finish. The tint is SPF 40 and patented with non-nano zinc oxide, a mineral that provides protection against UVA, UVB, UVC, and blue and infrared lights. It’s lightweight, evens your skin tone, and uses Hyaluronic Acid to hydrate & plump your skin. Plant-based Squalane is used to tighten the skin, and Niacinamde smooths out your texture. Fine lines are softened, and imperfections are diminished, leaving your skin with a dewy complexion. Your natural skin is left free to shine, while being protected and nourished. That’s pretty super to me.
Talking out loud, I know that I don’t need an Instagram filter to tell me I’m beautiful. But clearly internally I needed outside validation to accept my flaws. Now that I’m aware of that, I’m going to make sure I don’t feel stupid with a filter again. Self-acceptance needs to be a priority, and it’s now consciously at the top of my list. I’m beautiful inside and out, no matter what. So it’s ok for me to get glammed up and look perfect, and it’s also ok for me to look naturally imperfect. Sheer foundation, full coverage, or no coverage, either way I’m poppin’. Flaws and all.
SHOP THE STUFF WE ♥: The Popular Stuff
