FAILSAFE Foundation? Is it the holy grail or just a dream?
A FAILSAFE foundation. Is it just a dream or have I found the holy grail of make-up for those of us with salicylate (and other chemical) sensitivities?
Something I’ve always struggled with is makeup and, more specifically, foundation. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve wanted to find a foundation that would work for my skin. The problem is, 99% of it makes my skin itch like crazy. The other 1% looks like garbage on my face. So I just give up and focus all of my energy on eye liner, eye shadow, and mascara.
Now that I know WHY I struggle with foundation, I set my sights on finding a product that would work for me. So I pulled up every foundation I could find on Ulta Beauty and ran the ingredients through SalSearch. Several came up as safe, so I ordered them to give them a try. Ulta Beauty has a really wonderful return policy, so I knew that it would be a relatively risk-free (minus the skin irritation) investment.
Out of the 6 or so products I tried, only one ended up being a win. The rest had an ingredient or two that wasn’t listed online, and made my skin immediately itchy and uncomfortable. (Of course, I only discovered that after the fact because of how I reacted.
So what was the winning product?
Total Control Pro Liquid Foundation and Illuminator by NYX Cosmetics.
I’ve been wearing it for several months now (not daily, but I could if I ever went anywhere!) without issue. I really like how it goes on and appreciate that it’s as much or as little coverage as I want or need. The illuminator adds a little bit of shine/highlighting to the matte foundation so that’s a fun thing to play with. I’ve also been adding a few drops of both the foundation and illuminator to my moisturizer and really like how it goes on that way, too.
Do you wear foundation? What had worked for you so far?
Hi Emily. Thanks for this website. I have known for 25 years that I reacted to asprin, ibuprofen, NSAIDs, and topical salicylates. So did my doctors. None of them EVER mentioned that foods and other compounds contain salicylates. Allergic rhinitis for decades, and no one ever mentioned the connection, including the allergist that I saw for 3 years! I am now going to reduce salicylates as much as possible and see how it goes. I did just find a makup brand online called Andrea Rose that I’ll probably try. They say all their products are salicylate free. Thanks again for the website.
Hey, Jean! I am always surprised at how little is known about food and food chemical sensitivities. I don’t think it was intentional that your providers left out that information, they just truly don’t know. Most of the research and information about salicylate sensitivities and food chemicals in general is from Australia and the UK. Hopeful that the changes you are making make a difference for you! Best of luck on your journey.