Hi everyone! You may have already seen my before/after in the AL gallery but those photos were taken way back when, when I first started using Aromaleigh so I thought I'd do an update.

In some of my posts, you may have read about the multitude of skin discolorations I deal with...freckles on my face, pregnancy hormone/sun damage on the sides of my neck, and sun damage in my "v-neck" area. I think I've done quite a good job camouflaging it with my mineral foundation so now I've decided to show you all what I've been talking about.

In my constant search for the perfect foundation color to blend all my various colors together, I've been dabbling over the past year between 2y, 2yl, and 2w (in different combinations) in both voile and glissade. I thought that 2yl glissade made me look a little pasty so I added 2y glissade or voile to liven it up a bit. And on days that I used a sunless tanner, I would throw a little 2w glissade into the mix. Well, summer's almost upon us (it's been in the high 90's and low 100's here lately) so I ordered a f/s of 2yl voile to mix with my 2y voile. To make a long story short, all of the gals here on the forum that have been trying to perfect their foundation color got me wanting to do the same (again). So today, I got out the 2yl voile and used it by itself for the first time in perhaps over a year (that was the last time I bought 2yl voile). I was startled by the results. It did not look pasty at all. I do realize that glissade and voile foundations of the same color name are not exactly the same color but since the 2yl glissade made me look a little "off", I was not expecting to like the 2yl voile by itself. But I did. And here are the step by step results (with commentary of course).

Photo #1: No makeup. What I see in this photo is that the overall color of my face is just a smidge darker than the undamaged skin on the rest of my body. You can clearly see in this photo how pale my body skin is in comparison to the reddened freckly areas on the sides of my neck and my v-neck area.



Photo #2: 2yl voile on face only. Face appears slightly darker and more yellow than my neck/chest. Keep in mind, I'm trying to blend all areas together for a cohesive look. And if you look at the before photo, I think this is almost a perfect match to what my face looks like without makeup even if it does not exactly match the undamaged portions of the rest of my body.



Photo #3: 2yl voile on face, neck and chest. I used one light layer with the flocked sponge to blend (not completely mask) the discolored areas on my neck and chest.



Photo #4: Voila! I have not applied the mineral foundation out to the edges of my chest/shoulder area and you can see how well the color blends with even the fairest part of my skin (okay, except for maybe the super pale armpit skin on my left that never sees the light of day). Since I keep the coverage light/medium, I don't feel made up or caked in any way. I'm so very pleased with the results.



For those of you curious about what other makeup I have on my face...

xoxo - lid and just into crease
pillow talk - to blend out crease
ice matte and be mine mixed - brow bone
sweetheart - cheeks
NYX frosted beige - lips

If you got this far, thanks for your patience and endurance.

Oh, one more thing. I love the dress I'm wearing tonight (went to one of DD's dancing/singing performances). My first maxi dress. It's Daisy Fuentes from Kohl's.

I've always heard of blending your makeup down your neck to match, but never blending makeup down onto your chest/shoulders to match!

My mom deals with dark spots and redness, I want to show her this thread now. She likes AL so far, but I'm sure once she sees this, she'll be wanting to order samples of foundation to find her match!

You look beautiful Miss Robyn!

And I like the dress (I'm too scared to wear a maxi, I always think I'll look like a preggers woman..maybe because my sister wore one last time I saw her and shes preggers?)

When I was working at kohl's (2 mos ago) there were some CUTE maxi dresses in the juniors

You are beautiful with or without makeup, but that transformation is amazing! It is amazing what you can do with the Voile powder. I've seen worse sun damaged skin, trust me, at least the damage is contained to certain areas! And you did a great job of blending those areas in with the rest of your look. Plus the extra yellow makes you extra "glowy" which works great with your blonde highlights. I love that dress on you too! Nice to see a full size pic of you! You are gorgeous! And so California looking (ie beachy, bronzy, glowy, with a bit of colorful glamour)

***my responses are in bold

quote:

Originally posted by K.Caballero:
I've always heard of blending your makeup down your neck to match, but never blending makeup down onto your chest/shoulders to match!

Most people don't but because of my crazy coloring, it makes me feel better when I do. And it's not blended out to my shoulders, just to the area immediately surrounding the v-neck damage.

My mom deals with dark spots and redness, I want to show her this thread now. She likes AL so far, but I'm sure once she sees this, she'll be wanting to order samples of foundation to find her match! If I inspire just one woman, I would be so proud.

You look beautiful Miss Robyn! Thank you!

And I like the dress (I'm too scared to wear a maxi, I always think I'll look like a preggers woman..maybe because my sister wore one last time I saw her and shes preggers?) I'm only 5'4" and curvy (size 6) so I worry about everything making me look preggers. But the cut of this one was a little forgiving plus I wore a 3" heel with it.

When I was working at kohl's (2 mos ago) there were some CUTE maxi dresses in the juniors

***my responses are in bold

quote:

Originally posted by horselover:
You are beautiful with or without makeup, but that transformation is amazing! You think? Hahaha!!! Seriously though, I purposely put my wet hair up in a towel so you wouldn't be distracted by my hair. I'm not quite as scary with no makeup when my hair's all done.

It is amazing what you can do with the Voile powder. I've seen worse sun damaged skin, trust me, at least the damage is contained to certain areas! And you did a great job of blending those areas in with the rest of your look. Plus the extra yellow makes you extra "glowy" which works great with your blonde highlights. I love that dress on you too! Nice to see a full size pic of you! You are gorgeous! Thank you so much!!! And so California looking (ie beachy, bronzy, glowy, with a bit of colorful glamour)

quote:

Originally posted by girl1der:
I'm only 5'4" and curvy (size 6) so I worry about everything making me look preggers. But the cut of this one was a little forgiving plus I wore a 3" heel with it.

I'm 5'5 and a size 10/11 so HA! :/

Not only that, but I have no boobs to balance it out (I shop in the girl's section for bras in every store...they do make some cute ones I gotta admit.) Dancer's physique from my younger days?

I'm on my 2nd week of working out, my plan is to be around a size 6 or 8 by the end of summer/beginning of autumn though

K. Caballero: Good for you! I know from personal experience it's not easy to stick with it. I've been going reguarly since December 1, 2008 (working off the turkey). And this is the longest I've done it on a regular basis. I can honestly say it's now part of my lifestyle. I don't weigh myself anymore (too depressing), I just exercise for my health and so I can eat stuff I like. I gauge my weight by how my clothes fit.

Robyn, you are simply beautiful!!
Thanks for sharing your foundation story, and for being so brave to put up a before shot! I'm still totally nervous to do what you've done!

Robyn, you look gorgeous, before and after! I love the dress, and thanks for showing us the process of your makeup application!

You look gorgeous! And I think you look beautiful without makeup as well.

Robyn, you are so beautiful. The before and after looks really amazing. Your skin looks airbrushed. And your dress is really cute!

Robyn, great before & afters, showing how to camouflage any sun damaged areas. I just love the shadow colors on you too, so soft & pretty!

The dress is adorable! And yay for all us curvy girls! I shy away from dresses myself, needing one size on top and another for the rest of me. This dress looks so comfy & cute on you!

I really enjoyed this before and after, Robyn. I've just recently begun blending my 2W Voile on my neck and I like the results. I'm happy that you're really pleased with the way 2YL looks on you. You look gorgeous. And the dress is cute, too.

Linda

Many of us are so happy that you were brave enough to post your before pictures with the afters! I like to see the process people go through getting things to match, etc.

I think you look beautiful in bothe the before and after. And there is nothing like a maxi dress! You look young and gorgeous!

Naomi, Lisa, Melissa, Anna, Cindy, Linda, NUTC: Thank you ladies so much for your compliments. I appreciate each and every one of you.

Cindy: Thanks again. And I know what you mean about issues with dresses fitting. I usually have to get them in stretchy fabric so they will fit both the top and bottom properly. And you're right, this dress IS so comfy. Last night, DH and I were standing in line in an unairconditioned hallway waiting for the theater doors to open. He asked me how I was doing and if I was cool enough in my dress. I told him I was fine and that I loved the dress because it felt like I was wearing a nightgown.

I love your whole look Robyn, You are a natural beauty! I love the dress and the look on your face. It is the look of a confidant woman who knows how to make the best of herself. You know what you want and what looks best on you. (I want to go shopping with you, we'd have so much fun)

I'm 5'4" but average size on top, with narrow shoulders, curvy bum, short legs. We all seem to have our issues with finding the right clothes to fit us. lol. It's all in the shopping...

Thanks for sharing!

Thank you for sharing this b/a. Can you elaborate on the technique you use to apply your foundation with the flocked sponge?

quote:

Originally posted by Lyndz:
I love your whole look Robyn, You are a natural beauty! I love the dress and the look on your face. It is the look of a confidant woman who knows how to make the best of herself. You know what you want and what looks best on you. (I want to go shopping with you, we'd have so much fun)

I'm 5'4" but average size on top, with narrow shoulders, curvy bum, short legs. We all seem to have our issues with finding the right clothes to fit us. lol. It's all in the shopping...

Thanks for sharing!

Thank you, Lyndsey! You say the nicest things. And I don't think I realized you're the same height as me. From your facebook photos, you appear taller. But then again I think every one is taller than me.

Save up your Christmas money because I might be coming for a visit in January and we can shop then. My friend Tracie is turning 40 and said she's planning a trip to FL and that her best friend lives in Sarasota. I'll let you know what dates.

quote:

Originally posted by easterdawn:
Thank you for sharing this b/a. Can you elaborate on the technique you use to apply your foundation with the flocked sponge?

You're welcome! Hmm...let's see. I don't really have a "technique" so to speak but I sprinkle my mineral foundation into a small glass bowl and then I pat the corner of my flocked sponge (about 1" of the sponge) into the foundation and then I kind of just smear it all over my face. I pat it on in some places like my forehead, nose and chin because patting hides the visible pores. So "pat, pat, pat, smear, smear, smear." That's it. Since I want a bit lighter coverage on my neck and chest, I use the flocked sponge for the sun damaged areas and then a big fluffy brush dipped in foundation to blend all the neck/chest areas together. I hope that helped.

quote:

Originally posted by girl1der:

And I don't think I realized you're the same height as me. From your facebook photos, you appear taller. But then again I think every one is taller than me.

Save up your Christmas money because I might be coming for a visit in January and we can shop then. My friend Tracie is turning 40 and said she's planning a trip to FL and that her best friend lives in Sarasota. I'll let you know what dates.

Same here, not too many are shorter. My little sister is 3" taller than me.

And Woohoo!!! Can't wait!