I’m a fair-skinned woman whose skin tone can best be described by the shade names of my closest foundation matches: alabaster, cloud, marshmallow, breeze, mont blanc. I’ve been called pale. My nickname is Casper. I am pretty much the fairest of them all, with few exceptions.

Shades for my “pale” skintone are almost as elusive as ebony shades for my dark-skinned sisters (I see you!). To make it even more difficult and complicated, my skin-tone is neutral whereas most makeup leans either pink or yellow. If the foundation is too pink, I look dead. If the shade is too yellow, I look sick.

As the years have gone by and some cosmetic companies have responded to the cries for a more expansive shade range in their foundation lines, I’ve been lucky to find a few good makeup matches for my shade and my complexion (fair, neutral, dry to normal, sensitive). I prefer medium coverage, so my picks reflect that choice for the most part.

Here is a list of my best choices for liquid foundation matches. It contains both luxury brands and drugstore brands. The first three are my top choices, in order:

• NARS Soft Matte Complete Foundation in Mont Blanc (Light 2)
• Clinique Even Better Clinical Serum Foundation in Breeze (VF)
• NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Siberia (Light 1)
• Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer in Alabaster (VF): Little too dark for all over. Great as concealer or mixed with Breeze.
• Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer in Breeze (VF): Little too light for all over. Closer when mixed with Alabaster.
• Too Faced Peach Perfect Comfort Matte Foundation in Marshmallow: Scent can be strong. Don’t love the tackier finish.
• Physicians Formula Butter Believe it! Foundation + Concealer in Fair/Pale: Broke me out. Your results may differ.
• Maybelline Dream Wonder Fluid Touch Foundation in 15 Ivory: Now discontinued. May be possible to get through ebay or one of the sites listed at Discontinued, Hard to Find Cosmetics and Fragrances.

For powder, when I use it, my go-to is Mac Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation in NW10. I use this more as a fixative to set my foundation rather than as a foundation by itself, but I will also sometimes use in later in the day to refresh my makeup or to give a little more coverage (particularly with NARS Sheer Glow as it is a light coverage foundation, as the name implies). In the past, I also have used Physicians Formula CoverToxTen50 Wrinkle Therapy Face Powder in Translucent Light (2736) as a setting powder with good results.

Hope this helps my beautiful make-up wearing sisters and brothers out there!

Guest post by Moe Park