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Budget Beauty Junkie

When shopping for foundation and concealer, the primary objective is to find a color that precisely matches one's coloring. This is often a difficult task, but made even more onerous by the fact that many drugstore brands' foundation shade ranges simply drop off after reaching something like a medium tan.

If there indeed are any shades in the dark range of the spectrum, good luck finding one that blends into your skin and suits the undertones you possess. Even within brands, some products have a wider range of shades than other products. It's almost enough to make makeup frustrating instead of fun!

Within the past few years, however, it seems like cosmetics companies have finally realized that there is an untapped and underserved market for foundation shades and other products tailored to meet the needs of customers with darker skin tones. Like many changes in the cosmetics industry, this trend began in the higher priced segment of the market.

In 1973, Fashion Fair cosmetics began selling makeup marketed to meet the needs of African-American women in Chicago's Marshall Fields . And in 1985, MAC Cosmetics , with its motto "All Ages, All Races, All Sexes," introduced the world to a range of foundations designed to match an incredibly large range of skintones.

In any drugstore you enter today, chances are there is at least one brand as such, including Black Radiance, Black Opal and Iman , and shade extensions to core brands like L'Oreal's High Intensity Pigments (HIP) and Cover Girl 's Queen range of foundations. Considering our globalizing society and staggering range of skintones within it, it's only a start.

Additionally, the successes of supermodels such as Iman, Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks and Alek Wek , as well as the reality TV show "America's Next Top Model , have all helped bring about more inclusive standard in beauty and fashion.

Even so, recent Fashion Week shows in New York, London, and Milan featured many pale, robotic, Eastern European models on the catwalk this year, leaving disappointingly little room for anyone else.

To this end, I enlisted the help of this month's model, Charan . Charan is 29, single and works in radio. When she was an undergraduate at Howard University in Washington, D.C., Charan wore a full face of makeup every day. Today, she wears makeup mostly on special occasions, and is interested to try some of the newest products on the market, as well as some established brands that are new to her.

FOUNDATIONS

Iman - Crème to Powder Foundation ($15.49). Yes, that's right – almost $16 for a drugstore foundation. That's what you get when the gorgeous visage of Iman herself promoting her drugstore range of cosmetics. I was very impressed at the shade range of the line – picking up where many lines leave off and ranging from medium to very deep. Finding your shade is made easier still by the division between cool and warm shades. It's worth noting, however, that Iman also published a book focusing on makeup for women of color, that includes very topical advice on skincare and choosing a palette of colors to accentuate natural beauty.

Cover Girl Queen – Crème to Powder Foundation ($9.49), and Liquid Foundation ($7.79). Charan has skin that tends to be dry, especially in winter, so she prefers crème or liquid foundations to pressed or loose powder formulas. The liquid foundation was packaged in a frosted bottle, making it difficult to see the product within. We had to rely on the product swatches on the cardboard packaging to try to match to her skintone. The Crème to Powder foundation was packaged with the compact open, displaying the surface of the product, which made it much easier to match. Charan actually prefers the coverage of the crème to powder foundation to the similar product offered by Iman. The liquid foundation is more suited to those who wish for less coverage and/or have acne-prone skin.

L'Oreal's HIP Flawless Liquid Foundation ($13.49) and L'Oreal's True Match Liquid Foundation ($10.49). I find these products to be virtually identical in formulation, but the HIP range has stronger warm (yellow) and cool (violet) undertones. I wore this makeup for many months and never broke out from it. There are darker options in this range, and the clear shade tester (simply place it over your skin and the shade that disappears is the color of the foundation you should select) is ingenious and makes finding a match much quicker.

COLOR COSMETICS

Fortunately, once you've found a good match for your skin type and shade, finding color cosmetics to complete the look is comparatively easy. Just hope that your favorite foundation doesn't get discontinued – it's happened to me more times than I'd like.

EYES

L'Oreal Lineur Intense Felt Tip, Black Mica ($8.29). Charan had been using a pencil eyeliner, but prefers liquid liners. I recommended L'Oreal's Lineur Intense because it's essentially a Lancome Artliner ($27) and is super-easy to apply, yet can be used for making thin or thick cat-eye lines. This shade is a very opaque black with just a hint of shimmer – a flat black line can look too retro for every day.

Black Radiance Eyeshadow Quad, Desert Clay ($4.49) The rubberized compact (like NARS, it helps protect the product inside) immediately impressed me in the store, and I was even more impressed by the shadows themselves. This quad of golds and browns can do smoky eyes or a natural look for work or weekends. Incredibly silky, rich, and with just the right amount of shimmer, I ran back to the drugstore and bought one for my own makeup kit.

Revlon Fabulash Mascara ($7.49) – Charan is blessed with lush, dense lashes. A thickening mascara would easily get clumpy, but a lengthening mascara is just the thing to emphasize her eyes.

LIPS

NYX Diamond Sparkle Lip Gloss, Rose Sparkle ($5) NYX (pronounced "nix", not spelled out) is a newer line that's not always easy to find in this area. Some products can be found in Ulta, and local beauty supply chains like Ruby Red and Beauty Empire . Charan sees the brand in Korean markets in D.C. You can always find the entire line on NYX's Web site, nyxcosmetics.com, and the prices are very good considering the quality of the products we tried. The products tend to be more highly pigmented than many drugstore lines, and come in fashion forward colors as well as great neutrals and pastels. In short, if you are a MAC-aholic, give NYX a try. Charan gravitates towards pinkish lip colors for a fresh, youthful look. This lip gloss was a pretty pink shade with lots of shimmer.

Tropez Lipstick (99 cents) Although I've tested 99 cent lipsticks before ( Wet n' Wild and New York Color both have excellent colors and formulas), this lipstick just didn't make the cut. The bronzy shade didn't have much pigment or shimmer, but it did have a waxy consistency and less than pleasant scent.

FINISHING TOUCHES

NYX Crème Blush ($6) The more pigment that's in skin, the greater the likelihood that powder products like blush, bronzer or eye shadow might look chalky. That chalkiness is due to the fillers that comprise the majority of these products and make them easier to apply. A higher ratio of fillers to pigment can make a product easier to blend. One way around this is to look for crème, liquid, or gel products which use water, silicones, beeswax, and other ingredients instead of mica or talc. NYX's crème blush is easy to apply and has shades to work with a variety of skintones. Choose Diva, Tea Rose or Tan for a tawny natural look. Go for a pop of color with Red Cheek, Hot Pink or Orange. The key with these three last shades is to be very sparing with their application – because they contain a lot of pigment, much less product is needed, and greater attention to application and blending is required.

Orly Nail Lacquer, Plum Noir ($5.99). Plum Noir is a limited edition shade in Orly's "Neue Neutrals" collection. Old Hollywood glamour is a hot look, and this shade combines a rich, crème finish with the chic trend for dark nails. True black nails – specifically the bestselling shade Chanel Black Satin – were so hot last year, and this is a little twist on that hotness.

w Last time: News and reviews on beauty products that won't break the bank.

Amy George is an urban planner by day, a graduate student by night and a full-time devotee of all things beauty and perfume related. She keeps track of her latest beauty finds at modernatelier.blogspot.com.