Red. Yellow. GO!

Personally I don't suffer from Rosacea, but it's a common enough problem that I feel comfortable posting about it without first hand suffer-knowledge of the issue.

That patchy redness (mainly found on caucasion skintones) can make the search for correct foundation an ordeal. While the color looks right on your lower cheeks (most commonly where foundation color is gauged) and jawline; when the foundation is applied over the reddened T-zone and cheeks, the colors can turn anywhere from ashen to bright pink and that is a major problem!

If you suffer from rosacea or require other color correction; you may have seen various creamy or powdered pallettes of dark beige, lemon yellow, pale green, soft lavendar, etc. However the texture of those sometimes make using them less than optimal. Too heavy a balm or cream and the skin can look dry and cakey. Same goes for powder; a powder is used with a fluffy brush normally used over an existing foundation/tinted moisturizer, however if you go overboard, you can't undo it. I don't recommend color correting with powder unless you're already really comfortable with it. Now, that doesn't mean the pallettes that are meant to brighten with the color correction aren't terrific! Those are great because the pigments aren't high (meaning the color isn't saturated and you won't end up with a green streak if you go heavy-handed) so you get a diffused color correction as opposed to the stright purple or green or yellow powders themselves.

photo from loraccosmetics.com

My favorite product to recommend is LORAC Oil-Free Neutralizer for under foundation color correction. Used with a sponge, preferably damp (fingers or a brush wouldn't be optimal because you'll end up using too much product) a small amount of this yellowy-greeny liquid can be stippled onto just the red zones on the face. Once the neutralizer is dry (only takes a minute or two), you may use the foundation of your choice over it. Using light stippling (as all liquid foundations should be applied) you can blend blend blend your foundation on and the results are remarkable. The Neutralizer helps create a better color base for your foundation to lay on resulting in a better coverage, which is the whole point of foundation. And since it's oil-free, there's no fear for breaking out or irritating the skin.

Neutralizer can be used as a contour makeup as well. But use with caution! It may look like a light cream-colored foundation in the bottle, but when it hits the skin it is definitely a greeny-yellowy liquid. It's not meant to be used on it's own unless your skin is so fair that you can get away with it.

Bottom line: if you suffer or know someone who battles with rosacea, the LORAC Oil-Free Neutralizer is worth a try. You can get your hands on it at Ulta and Sephora and see for yourself. You can also order it online at LORAC Cosmetics, Sephora, Ulta, and of course Amazon.com. The retail price is $30 US but the .90fl oz bottle lasts a long time. One pump is almost always too much. Little goes a long way with this one!