I just dab my foundation brush around the top of the bottle. I also wash it after each use. It seems to use less than either sponge or fingers, and doesn't get all gloppy in whatever area I touch first.

It is called Melasma. It is pretty normal for women with darker toned skin and not as common in lighter skin tones (which is probably why you haven't had any occurance and why Jen has). It is caused by estrogen and progesterone hormones present in the pill and is also very common occurrence in pregnancy when hormone levels are elevated. It usually occurs in areas of the skin that are exposed to sun a great deal and where the skin is more fragile. It usually fades over time when the hormone levels return to normal. There's tons of info out there about it.

Mine did too. And mine would darken with any kind of sun exposure, even with sunscreen.

Thanks for the info on melasma....I'm going to look into it some more.

In the meantime: Aughhh!!!

That is truly amazing.

Wow - those are amazing.

Am I alone in being aggravated at the idea that EVERYONE could be absolutely stunning - if they had the time and money? Money can't buy everything, but apparently, it can buy you physical beauty. (No guarantees on being smart or kindhearted, but visual beauty, damn.)

I don't think it even takes that much time or money to be absolutely stunning. It's all about priorities.

Also, think about how pretty Oprah is on the cover of every single "O" Magazine. But without the makeup... yikes! That's from many years of too much makeup. So maybe no makeup is the way to keep looking young.

I don't know, I only use makeup doing theatre stuff and if I can get away with it I don't use it at all. I get claustrophobic wearing makeup...

Actually, the right make-up can keep you from aging by protecting you for damaging sunlight.