AMERICA’S FOUNDATIONS : As the Makeup of the National Melting Pot Changes, So Do the Demands for True-Hued Lines of Cosmetics

Soft ivory, bisque, honey beige--cosmetic companies have all kinds of poetic words to describe their different shades of foundation.

Yet no matter how colorful the language, women of color have long suspected that the makeup shades were really designed for just one skin color: white.

Most cosmetic counters were filled with foundations and powders for light skin only. Those who didn’t fit into the beauty industry’s narrow color spectrum might as well have been invisible.

Recently the beauty industry has started to change its hues.

Whether you’re as pale as cream or as dark as espresso, there are cosmetic lines and makeup artists to help you put your best face forward.

Some credit the 1990 U.S. census with opening the industry’s eyes to racially diverse markets such as Orange County, with its melting pot of Latino, Asian, African-American and other ethnic groups.

In the past few years, a handful of cosmetic companies have expanded their lines of foundations and powders to cover all skin tones. Where once women had a choice of only a dozen foundations from a makeup company, now they can find lines that carry an unlimited number of shades.

Prescriptives, for example, has introduced All Skins, a system that boasts it can match any skin color. Customers who can’t find one of the company’s 121 foundations to match their skin tone and type can have one custom-blended.

“All skins are not simply a version of white and ivory,” says Sylvie Chantecaille, senior executive creative marketing for Prescriptives in New York City.

Before launching All Skins in fall 1991, Prescriptives conducted a marketing survey:

“I interviewed hundreds of black women who said, ‘We walk into department stores and suddenly we’re transparent,’ ” Chantecaille said. “The girl behind the counter had nothing” for them.

Prescriptives’ “Colorprinting” system is based on the idea that all skin colors fall under four categories: blue-red for skin with blue-pink undertones, red for skin with pink undertones, red-orange for skin with peach undertones and yellow-orange for skin with golden undertones.

A customer’s undertone is determined by swabbing four shades of foundation from one of the categories onto the jawline to see which is the best match. Once the undertone is identified, it’s a matter of picking the level of color intensity, from light to dark.

On a recent morning at Nordstrom in South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa, Prescriptives representatives conducted make-overs on four subjects----a Latina, an Asian, an African-American and a non-Latino white. By coincidence, each woman was found to have a yellow-orange undertone, proof that different races can share the same undertones.

“The fact that someone is Asian or black is somewhat irrelevant,” Chantecaille says.

The company has also formulated translucent powders for all skin colors, leaving out ingredients such as talcum that make dark skin look ashy. One black woman said that other powders made her look “like I fell in flour,” Chantecaille recalled.

Visage, a makeup line exclusive to Nordstrom in Brea Mall, South Coast Plaza and MainPlace/Santa Ana, also prides itself on offering every makeup shade under the sun. Visage representatives custom blend the makeup while the customer waits. They mix up batches of foundations in a microwave oven and a dryer at the counter.

“Women of color have been limited to poor quality, bad color makeup for years,” says Yolanda Strom, account executive for Visage. “We can match the darkest skin to perfection.”

Lipsticks, foundations, even powders can be made to match any skin color in about 20 minutes or less, Strom says. A custom foundation ($38 for one ounce) is made from combining any number of 15 basic shades and can be returned to Visage for free to be darkened in summer to accommodate a tan or to be lightened in winter.

Regardless of color, choosing the wrong shade of foundation is a common beauty blunder. When in doubt, women can seek help from a professional makeup artist.

“Women try all kinds of foundations in search of the perfect one,” says Richard Stevens of Stevens & Cross Cosmetic Studio in Newport Beach. “They’ll bring in their makeup and say, ‘Here’s my foundation,’ and I’ll see 14 or 15 bottles.”

Before buying a foundation, Stevens suggests trying some on and walking outside to see how natural the makeup looks in sunlight. The artificial lighting at cosmetics counters is a poor place to judge a color, he says.

He custom-blends foundations for clients, then sends them home to test it for themselves in their environment. A makeup session with Stevens costs $75, or $100 with a video.

Jan Thielbar of Make-up Creations in Irvine, who does makeup for fashion shows, films, magazines and catalogues, has worked with people of all ethnic groups. She also offers one-on-one makeup consultations ($100 for the first hour, $50 an hour after that).

“We work with all skin colors. We mix and match a lot” to find the correct shade of foundation, Thielbar says.

She recommends picking the powder that most closely matches your foundation shade. “If you’re dark skinned, and you put (on) a powder that’s too light, you will look gray and cakey. If your powder’s too dark for your foundation, you’ll look muddy,” Thielbar says.

Selecting other cosmetics, such as lipstick, blush and eye shadow, is a matter of staying in the same color family.

Prescriptives will steer someone with a blue-red skin undertone to lipsticks and blushes with the same undertones. A woman with yellow-orange skin, for instance, can usually wear eye shadows with gold and bronze tones and warm red lipsticks and blushes.

Many eye shadows tend to disappear on dark skin, Thielbar says. She recommends black or Latino women wear darker matte shadows.

Proper application is the final, critical step toward natural-looking makeup.

“Blend, blend, blend,” Thielbar says, wielding assorted sponges and brushes to do the job. “Makeup can be thin and still give a lot of color. Apply foundation lightly. You don’t need a lot.”