Foundation

How do people find a foundation which matches their skin? I went to put some on today and realised all the ones I have are too pink or too yellowy or just too dark. I had a look in Boots at the L'Oreal True Match stuff and it only comes in 4 shades. How would you know which is right? If you have sallow skin, what type of foundation should you use, more yellowy or more pink? I know I sound like an idiot but I never use foundation and haven't bought any in ages.

liah

Though it's cheap, the new Rimmel Stay True or whatever the hell it's called does the trick perfectly for me. It's not too thick, you wouldn't notice you're wearing it, and I have a lot of red that is hidden perfectly yet my freckles over my nose come through.

I like it, never tried anything more expensive though so I'm not really an expert.. definitely no problems though!

Magenta

I wear the L'Oreal True Match, there are more than 4 shades of it. There were 12 or so last time I looked.
What I do is put a small amount on my jaw and check in natural light if the colour is right.

Storminateacup

You need to look at the undertones in your skin.
You'll have pink undertones (the most common in irish skin apparently) or you'll have yellow undertones.

You should also look at the undertones on your neck, as its not just on your face.

Once you figure out the undertones (its possible to have both, im "netural". Got a bit of both going on) then you need to figure out the shade.

So if you have fair skin with yellow undertones, and you're using face and body foundation from MAC, youre going to be
C1

If you're fair with pink undertones, it would be
N1

ect.

It goes up according to your skin tone, so C1, C2,C3,C4,C5. Depending on your colouring.
NC 15, NC 20, NC 25 would be again the colours MAC would use, on yellow undertones.
NW 15 (ect) on pink undertones.

Next, to test it, you should just swatch a little on your face, just on your jawline.
The one that melts into your skin (so looks most natural) is the shade that you need to use.

You should not have to bring the foundation down your neck. Foundation -- the right shade foundation -- should just be for the face.

If you find (lets use this as an example) that say, C1 is too light on your face but C2 is too dark, you can mix them to try get as close to your colouring as possible.

I'm not entirely sure how exactly rimmel or loreal foundations work, or the shades, but, just test them out first.

And remember - foundation should not be used to make you look the desired colour!! Its merely for a flawless face.

I'm not entirely sure what you should do if youre neutral.
Personally, I get away with both C1 and N1, and I use Dior Forever 10 which is good for neutral tones.

Best of luck, and I hope this somewhat helped.

Storminateacup

Storminateacup wrote: »

You need to look at the undertones in your skin.
You'll have pink undertones (the most common in irish skin apparently) or you'll have yellow undertones.

You should also look at the undertones on your neck, as its not just on your face.

Once you figure out the undertones (its possible to have both, im "netural". Got a bit of both going on) then you need to figure out the shade.

So if you have fair skin with yellow undertones, and you're using face and body foundation from MAC, youre going to be
C1

If you're fair with pink undertones, it would be
N1

ect.

It goes up according to your skin tone, so C1, C2,C3,C4,C5. Depending on your colouring.
NC 15, NC 20, NC 25 would be again the colours MAC would use, on yellow undertones.
NW 15 (ect) on pink undertones.

Next, to test it, you should just swatch a little on your face, just on your jawline.
The one that melts into your skin (so looks most natural) is the shade that you need to use.

You should not have to bring the foundation down your neck. Foundation -- the right shade foundation -- should just be for the face.

If you find (lets use this as an example) that say, C1 is too light on your face but C2 is too dark, you can mix them to try get as close to your colouring as possible.

I'm not entirely sure how exactly rimmel or loreal foundations work, or the shades, but, just test them out first.

And remember - foundation should not be used to make you look the desired colour!! Its merely for a flawless face.

I'm not entirely sure what you should do if youre neutral.
Personally, I get away with both C1 and N1, and I use Dior Forever 10 which is good for neutral tones.

Best of luck, and I hope this somewhat helped.

Thanks, I knew it was something like that! So, if I have yellow undertones, should I look for a foundation with pink undertones to even it out? Or should I get one that matches? I don't know why but even the MAC girls get it wrong and I always end up with foundation that's too dark. I used to use a foundation by Maybelline in either Golden Beige or Natural Beige and that was perfect but it's discontinued now. I have tried foundations with the same name from other brands but they never look quite right.

Storminateacup

If you have yellow undertones, then you use a yellow based foundation.
Remember - its to enhance your features!!
Imagine if you put pink over yellow... its not going to even out at all!!

If you have a really high colour, like are prone to red cheeks, or you have rosaca or a scar ect, you can use a green colour corrector, and some concealer over it, that would even it out.

But no -- foundation, go with your undertones!!!

I dont take MACs word for anything, I personally don't think they care at all about what they sell you, as long as theyre selling something.

I went into MAC one evening, after college, and I had a list as long as my arm, of things I needed to pick up (Im a bit of a MAC addict). The girls that were working were far too busy having a conversation to bother help me.
When I finally caught one, and told her I needed help she replied "I'll be right with you" and went back to continue her conversation.

/ Rant.

sorry, point is.. if youre not happy with it, dont let them persuade you to buy it, because chances are, if you walk in there again, in an hour, and are looked after by someone else, then they will give you an entire different colour.

Make sure your happy. Do the swatches on your jawline, leave the store, have a look at it in natural light, and the shade that melts into your skin (remember, you shouldnt be able to see it) is the shade for you.

LA Makeup do good foundations. Theyre on Chatham Street (Just off Grafton St at Monsoon), so maybe have a look at theirs.

But -- with anything, check the foundations in natural light before you buy.

Yes, I agree about the MAC staff, find them awfully unprofessional. I love MAC eyeliner and eyeshadows but not the foundations. I'm not really prone to redness, the only thing is I have some acne at the moment which is why I've started using foundation. I find that the ones I have don't even cover it well, though. I must just be awful at putting it on. Is there any brand you would recommend in particular? Is there a type of foundation that works well with oily skin or is it all the same? I saw the L'Oreal section has souffle and roll on foundations as well as liquid.

Storminateacup

Okay -- because you have oily skin, you should be using matt products. How oily is your skin? If its very oily you should powder it first.

Powder:
MAC Blot Powder (absorbs 10 times the oil of normal powder.)

Now, unless you have very oily skin, dont do that.

Foundation:
Start off with a matt primer.

1 - Makeup Forever - Matt Foundation
2 - Estee Lauder - DoubleWear *
3 - MAC - Full coverage
4 - Laura Mercier - Oil Free Tinted Moisturiser.

* With the Estee Lauder - DoubleWear, it contains Titanium Dioxide, which is a barrier SPF. So, because its a barrier, it reflects the light, or a flash from a camera, which would make your face REALLY REALLY white in photos.

So just bear that in mind, if you do purchase it.
You should be fine as long as you contour really well, and make good friends with the bronzer brush.


Also, once you apply your makeup, powder over it, again, with the MAC blot.

Larianne

I'd take any excess oil off your face by using a tissue rather than powder myself. Then apply primer etc.

I'm not sure if Boots do testers for all their foundations. Maybe grab a girl and see if they do. Sometimes they have little drawers under the products with testers. My friend uses True Match and she would have quite acne skin.

If you're going into a department store ask for recommendations. Try one or two shades on your face, along the jawline and look at it in natural daylight if possible. Yeah, so you'll look like a ninny for a second but no-one will take any notice of you.

I would advise buying a foundation brush. They do make a difference. I don't care what anyone else says!!! The MAC stipple brush No. 187 is brilliant. There are tutorials on Youtube on how to use it.

Storminateacup

Storminateacup wrote: »

Okay -- because you have oily skin, you should be using matt products. How oily is your skin? If its very oily you should powder it first.

Powder:
MAC Blot Powder (absorbs 10 times the oil of normal powder.)

Now, unless you have very oily skin, dont do that.

Foundation:
Start off with a matt primer.

1 - Makeup Forever - Matt Foundation
2 - Estee Lauder - DoubleWear *
3 - MAC - Full coverage
4 - Laura Mercier - Oil Free Tinted Moisturiser.

* With the Estee Lauder - DoubleWear, it contains Titanium Dioxide, which is a barrier SPF. So, because its a barrier, it reflects the light, or a flash from a camera, which would make your face REALLY REALLY white in photos.

So just bear that in mind, if you do purchase it.
You should be fine as long as you contour really well, and make good friends with the bronzer brush.


Also, once you apply your makeup, powder over it, again, with the MAC blot.

At the moment it's incredibly oily. Generally, it's only quite oily. I never thought to powder my face before putting foundation on, only after.

Larianne

Larianne wrote: »

I'd take any excess oil off your face by using a tissue rather than powder myself. Then apply primer etc.

I'm not sure if Boots do testers for all their foundations. Maybe grab a girl and see if they do. Sometimes they have little drawers under the products with testers. My friend uses True Match and she would have quite acne skin.

If you're going into a department store ask for recommendations. Try one or two shades on your face, along the jawline and look at it in natural daylight if possible. Yeah, so you'll look like a ninny for a second but no-one will take any notice of you.

I would advise buying a foundation brush. They do make a difference. I don't care what anyone else says!!! The MAC stipple brush No. 187 is brilliant. There are tutorials on Youtube on how to use it.

I have a Ruby & Millie foundation brush and some MAC brushes. I just need the actual foundation now.

Dark Phoenix

Hi,
I have sallow skin it goes nice and dark in the sun and the summer but in winter it has that yellowy undertone to it. I found that the loreal true match in W4 suits me quite well.

For everyday I use dermalogica skin tint in medium and use a lancome concealer with a pinky base or bobbi brown touch stick and then just a bit of the true match mineral foundation.

I think with a sallow complexion don't go too light in teh concealer or the products the ivory shades or that are too light and make you look washed out. In my own experience I have found anything with 'beige' or 'warm beige' seems to work well.

A friend who is brilliant at colours got me elizabeth arden make up it comes in a flat pack its a creamy one and she got the shade just perfect which is bizarre as I wouldnt have had a clue! Its the warm beige one I think

Also you could always go to a beauty counter to get somethign matched to your skin. I found the lancome stands are lovely and will recommend products that will suit you. Or if you have teh funds prescriptives will create a custom shade for you

Nathalia Damaged Rent

Nathalia Damaged Rent wrote: »

At the moment it's incredibly oily. Generally, it's only quite oily. I never thought to powder my face before putting foundation on, only after.

Personally I would wash my face, put on oil-free nivea moisturiser (find it keeps the oil off) then put on foundation and powder.
if you're not wearing any foundation put on the moisturiser anyway it'll help

I don't know if you're near it but the girls at the bobbi brown counter in house of fraser did a makeup thing on a friend and I and really got the colour right and explained about the undertones and everything.

ams

revlon colourstay in buff is a nice paleish foundation with yellow undertones. Im not sure if this is the palest olivey one in the range but it comes in formulation for oily skin which is very good.

Dark Phoenix

Dark Phoenix wrote: »

Hi,
I have sallow skin it goes nice and dark in the sun and the summer but in winter it has that yellowy undertone to it. I found that the loreal true match in W4 suits me quite well.

For everyday I use dermalogica skin tint in medium and use a lancome concealer with a pinky base or bobbi brown touch stick and then just a bit of the true match mineral foundation.

I think with a sallow complexion don't go too light in teh concealer or the products the ivory shades or that are too light and make you look washed out. In my own experience I have found anything with 'beige' or 'warm beige' seems to work well.

For some reason I think slightly too light works better on me than slightly too dark. The problem is, my skin colour changes a lot depending on how much I've been in the sun. I start to tan with just an hour or two sitting in a park in London unless I put on a really high SPF, but like you, I have very distinct yellow undertones. I wouldn't even say undertones, sometimes it just looks yellow. That sounds awful but it's not really, it's just the same skin tone as a lot of Chinese/Korean girls would have.

ams wrote: »

rimmel colourstay in buff is a nice paleish foundation with yellow undertones. Im not sure if this is the palest olivey one in the range but it comes in formulation for oily skin which is very good.

I'll have a go at it. I'm not really pale, my natural colour is something like this:

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.topnews.in/uploads/Jessica-Alba19.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.topnews.in/light/jessica-alba-marries-cash-warren-211067&usg=__XLdQ8yYAKW6Stifd5lZYmcGeYOE=&h=338&w=320&sz=11&hl=en&start=21&tbnid=edjW2d2Z3j2tpM:&tbnh=157&tbnw=168&prev=/images%3Fq%3Djessica%2Balba%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1024%26bih%3D483%26tbs%3Disch:10,369&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=496&ei=vkpRTJ3vPJX00gTkpuiAAw&page=2&ndsp=10&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:21&biw=1024&bih=483

oohlala

I gave up trying to colour match in chemists and started doing the "25 euro for a makeover redeemable against products" thing. I personally find this works really well for me as i get 45 mins with an advisor to ask all my questions and get to try a ton of products. I was using the estee lauder double wear for a while and it worked great but i found towards the end of the bottle the coverage seemed to disappear!!! Also the turbo lash mascara dried out within a month, although it was good while it lasted.

The last time i went to dior in dundrum and found it excellent. the consultant was really helpful and thought me how to do a few things and explained about the products which personally i think is always a help. anyhow i use dior airflash foundation now in 200, i'm quite pale, and its perfect! Its cut down my make up prep time to a few mins, where as i would spend about 15-20 getting the double wear right the airflash is perfect in one to two mins and the coverage is perfect for me. It also feels really light as though i'm not wearing anything more than tinted moisturiser where as i found double wear to be heavy.

If you're oily you should take a look at de slick in a tube by urban decay, i have dry skin but i've heard that its very good for oily skin

Buttons_sb

Dark Phoenix wrote: »

prescriptives will create a custom shade for you

Just to warn you if your a fan of prescriptives they have pulled out of Ireland now