Foundation-phobes, Meet Your Match (And A Must-Have Brush)

Many of you dislike foundation. In fact, some of you refuse to touch the stuff. "I'd rather eat babies," as commenter zaro123 put it the last time we brought the topic up (toss that one into the archives of best reader comments). Well, I hear you--I never liked the stuff either. Until ...

... I discovered the best one in the entire universe.

Back story: Foundation looks stupid on me. It sits atop my dry skin looking chalky and fake. Plus, I don't wear much makeup in general and feel suffocated with anything too heavy on my skin. But in the interest of having a flawless face at my wedding (if you have one visible blemish the marriage is void, right?), I started slapping this question onto the end of every interview I did with a makeup artist: What's the best foundation? The best in the whole wide world? One that will look natural on my fussy skin, and that's impossibly easy to apply?

The runaway winner? Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation. Even makeup artists affiliated with competing brands told me on the D.L. that they use the stuff.

Well, I have since experienced what all the fuss is about. The Armani is amazing because it goes on so sheer and is neither shiny nor matte--it just looks...like real human skin. It doesn't dry out as the day goes on. It melts invisibly into my skin, I can't feel it sitting there, and it's oil-free (crucial since I get a pimple if I even look at an oil-containing product for too long).

To apply it, I use the one tool all those makeup artists also agreed on: The MAC 190 brush. It makes blending utterly idiot-proof and helps you use much less of the pricey foundation (its bristles doesn't suck up the makeup like some sponges and brushes can).

I now brush the foundation on only where I need it: under the eyes, around the nose, on the chin, at my hairline. It's my new best friend. I'm going to bring it for the makeup artist to use on my wedding day.

So yeah, the foundation-brush combo will set you back about a hundred bucks, but you know I wouldn't be writing this if I didn't think these products were life-changing (up there with the Clarisonic) and worth an investment. Plus, my current bottle is looking to last me at least six months (in my guesstimation).

Foundation-Phobes: Have any of you tried Luminous Silk? Are you going to run to a department store and do so after work? What about the brush--anybody tried this one, or have you discovered another great one to recommend to readers? Also: What foundations did the married among you wear on your wedding days?