This selfie was taken last week with no filters of any kind.

I absolutely detest the feeling of foundation. Even the lightest formula makes my skin feel like it is being suffocated. The same goes for tinted moisturizers, which to me look just as much like a mask as foundations do. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the lovely airbrush effect which foundations can create for the complexion, but in my day to day life, I want my skin to breathe without being weighed down by an extra layer of liquid (yes, I do know about powder foundations, and I don’t like those either). My daily skin makeup routine consists of me using a touch of concealer on two little red areas near the bridge of my nose and then applying some loose translucent power all over my skin to keep my skin from looking shiny. A recent chemical peel which I did made me love my skin even more, because it removed the majority of sun damage I had accumulated over the last couple of years. The results were so dramatic that I had to switch to a lighter concealer after using one particular shade for over ten years.

My mom used to tell me that once I got to a certain age, maybe 30, that I would be forced to wear foundation because I would have blotchy, uneven skin tones. Well, I just turned 49 a couple of weeks ago, and the photo you see here was taken last week. So much for what my mom surmised about the appearance of my skin in later years!

I will wear foundation for photo shoots, video and film shoots, and for fitness and bodybuilding events, but literally the FIRST thing I do when I get home from an event is to wash all my makeup off! I have noticed that I have the kind of face that shows makeup well, and that the smallest amount of makeup can impart a very finished look on me, which always surprises me. Thing is, I don’t want to look made up all the time. I like the natural look of clean skin and just a touch of color on the lips and cheeks.

If you are a woman who would love to go without foundation, but haven’t been blessed by the good skin gods, you might want to consider treatments which can help with the texture and tone of your skin. Chemical peels can rejuvenate and tighten the skin, while removing accumulated sun damage and hormonal brown spots, often with rather dramatic results. My favorite peel is the Perfect Derma Peel (http://www.theperfectdermapeel.com/) which contains Glutathione, Kojic Acid, TCA, Retinoic Acid, Phenol, Salicylic Acid, and Vitamin C. For those of you in the Los Angeles area who are interested in getting this peel, please refer to my medical website: http://www.drstaceynaito.com/#!chemical-peels/comt