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Have you mixed different brands/formulas/shades of foundation?


Have you mixed different brands/formulas/shades of foundation? How did it turn out?

I’ve only mixed foundation with moisturizer from different brands, but I regularly combine two shades from within the same brand!  Both have turned out well.

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Laia Avatar

Yes! Sometimes I am too light for #4 in MAC Matchmaster and too dark for #3, so I mix them both. Now I just use #3 but in a few months I will probably mix them again.

xamyx Avatar

I’ve mixed foundations with moisturizers of a different brand, and I’ve found it to be a good way to make use of a foundation that may be just a bit off in color, or is a formula that may be a little too heavy.

As for mixing foundations, I’ve only done it with a Lancôme foundation & one from L’Oreal, as the formulas really were identical in terms of coverage, texture, feel, etc. I never actually compared ingredients, but I’m quite sure they were nearly identical. I’ve also layered one brand over another, usually with a liquid first, then a cream or powder on top.

Veronica Avatar

Not usually, since I don’t like owning more than one bottle of foundation at a time, though I’m thinking I might have to start doing that this year given that I have a tendency to go down a notch color-wise when winter hits. My current foundation is actually a shade too dark for me right now, and I only get away with it because I wear it very sheer and and buffed out to the point where you can’t tell the difference. If I wasn’t looking to finish the current bottle and try a new foundation, I’d have bought the lightest shade and mixed the two to get an exact match.

Rachel Avatar

I only ever mix foundation with primer or moisturiser. I’ve never had shades that would work for mixing, since most of what I’ve owned in the past has turned out to be too dark (and they would be the lightest shades for a range).

dtan0914 Avatar

Yep, and I have been for awhile! Most of my Japanese foundations are too light on me so I mix a darker NYX Liquid Foundation shade into any of them and they turn out to be my perfect color 🙂

Theresa Avatar

I do all the time, sometimes just for fun to see what good combinations I might make, but most of the time is because to mix white foundation in, because I’m really pasty (especially now in winter, haha!)

Stacey Avatar

I do it ALL the time!
I like putting a lighter foundation on the parts of my face I want to highlight and using one shade darker where i want to contour, then blend the edges. Its a subtle and beautiful sculpted face.

or Ill mix 2 foundations together, not just for color/shade reasons.
For example, if I have a foundation that isn’t as long wearing but I like it otherwise Ill mix it with Revlon Colorstay or Makeup Forever. I LOVE Nars Sheer Matte but find it to drying sometimes so I mix it with a little MAC Face and Body.

Sometimes I mix them both on my hand before applying, other times I put one on first then another right over it or I’ll Mix them as I apply to each part of my face.
50/50, 70/30, 65/25 just depends. I love playing with makeup and coming up with something beautiful!

Jessica Rose Avatar

I regularly mix my Maybelline Dream Mousse liquid foundation with Revlon Colorstay. It gives the Maybelline much better staying power and the Revlon’s finish is better when combined. Also the Maybelline is a little too pink but the Revlon is a little too yellow. Combined they are just right. I don’t ever wear just one anymore.

jody Avatar

yes, i have mixed foundations of different brands (for example a matt one with a glowy one to get a semi matte foundation etc.) sometimes it works great and some brands don’t work together at all 🙂 oh and sometimes o mix my own ‘bb cream’ witk primer, a bit of moisturizer and foundation of different brands!

Alice Avatar

One of my favorite foundations is the product of mixing Estée Lauder’s gorgeous Resilience Lift Extreme foundation with Maybelline’s Fit Me. It’s an extraordinarily pretty, light, luminous coverage with a lot of neutralizing power.

CeeBee Avatar

Yes, my current foundation is one I have mixed myself from about 7 or 8 different products, including most of a bottle of DiorSkin Nude (because the pump got blocked and I wasn’t going to waste it!), some Maybelline SuperStay, some Benefit Hollywood Glo luminzer and a few other bits and pieces, including a good portion of a Guerlain foundation that was way too light for me.
It was a gradual process (and required a lot of shaking in a clean flip cap plastic squeeze bottle!) but it is the perfect shade for me, gives great coverage and lasts all day.

Mietta Avatar

::gasp:: Blasphemy! Mix a cheapy foundation with a Chanel! ::faints:: Hahah why not? I’m definitely going to follow up on peoples comments here, I think it would be very interesting to hear winning combinations of different foundations! I myself, do not…though I have been tempted. My current Revlon whipped foundation is a tad too dark but I can’t work out how to mix some MAC Face and Body white into it =S

Kelly B. Avatar

Yeah, Mietta! Off Topic:
Thank you so much for the highlight videos…I don’t use email much (hands disabled) so don’t comment anywhere on YouTube. I am so grateful that you took the time to post info on the various products…it was extremely helpful. Now I understand why Mary Lou Manizer doesn’t provide the outcome I am trying for…I honestly barely touch my brushes (the ones Christine & others have suggested) to the product and am careful with placement. I use so little that I always think it won’t even show up and end up looking ridiculous. Your comment that it shows up metallic & gold is exactly what I’ve experienced & tried to tone down. Now I clearly see that it is a great product but wrong for my coloring & goal. From your swatches, gold is a tone I need to avoid and when I can afford it will try the Gorgeous Cosmetics, Nars Copacabana or Smashbox.

Sorry to post off topic…I just wanted to say thank you!!!

Phyrra Avatar

I’ve mixed different liquid foundations together and had good results. I really like Face Atelier’s Zero Minus foundation to mix into other foundations with a good finish that are just too dark for me.

breyerchic04 Avatar

I like to add a little tiny bit of my stila illuminating tinted moisturizer to matte foundations sometimes, especially to the part that will be on the top half of my face. No one wants a shiny chin.

Mariella Avatar

Nope, never. I search for the “right” shade and that’s what I buy. I looked at Hourglass foundation some time ago and the SA basically said that the only way I’d get the right colour for me was to buy 2 different shades and mix them. At the price of Hourglass foundations, you’ve got to be kidding!

cydoniac Avatar

I’ve mixed a Korres foundation with a Burberry one (the matte one,too!)…The Korres one was a bit darker while the Burberry foundation was lighter and I was somewhere in between…it turned out just fine!

Raquel Avatar

yes, to achieve a perfect color. i bought some foundations online which turned out to be too pink for me so i mix them with a bit of a more yellowy tone. but as far as i know, they are all silicone based so the mix won’t split.

Kris (kmk05) Avatar

I’ve mixed different foundations of the same brand (Guerlain Parure de Lumiere 03 and Guerlain Parure Gold 02) and foundations and tinted moisturisers of different brands (Guerlain Parure de Lumiere 03 and Nars TM in Alaska, or Becca Luminous foundation in Tan and Nars TM in Alaska, MAC Face and Body and Becca Luminous foundation, Burberry Velvet Mat in 03 and Nars TM in Alaska or MAC Face and Body).

Reasons: 1) It’s totally fun! 2) mostly, it’s either to adjust the colour or give me more or less coverage (depending on what I feel like that day and the state of my skin). When mixing I usually apply with my fingers to really work the mixed products into the skin.

Jax Avatar

I did the make-up for a friends wedding, we matched the foundation perfectly to her face but she had a hight neck on and we didn’t allow for the fact her chest was several shades lighter. So when we did the full test we mixed her foundation with mine to get a perfect match.

Her’s was a Malton Brown (discontinued) and mine was a Mac Studio Fix Fluid. Both were matte finishes and long wearing and the combination worked well and lasted the day no problem.

To be honest it never occurred that there might be a problem, these days I’d be more concerned, but the formulas are also more complex.

Christy Avatar

I have recently. I’m trying to get rid of all of the foundation I have in my stash before I buy anymore but most of them are either too light or too dark at this point. I’ve been trying to mix and match to find combinations that are wearable. I think I’ve pretty hit a wall now though! lol

xamyx Avatar

I have too many, as well, and refuse to buy any more for a year (which is sooo hard, since I have yet to find my HG), or until I *need* to. I actually plan to purge my stash this week and just get rid of everything that’s been open for a significant amount of time, or I absolutely hate. The sad part is, I’ll still have more than I need…

Nicoco Chanel Avatar

I used to mix MAC SFF and Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse because both of the shades were wrong for me. Together they were only slightly better, and I ended up throwing them both.

I layer foundations a lot though. BB Creams (both asian and western) under foundation for more coverage, Lush’s Colour Supplement under Maybelline Fit Me…

Julia B. Avatar

If I have a foundation that is a touch too dark (which happens quite often as I am super pale) I will mix a bit of Illamasqua’s Skin Base in 02 which is a touch too light for me. I wish I could find a skin base that matches me perfectly because it is such an amazing formula. Unfortunately, there is a big difference between 2 and 3.

Aida Avatar

I do the same with my moisturizer (Origins) and foundation (Tarte), I just made sure they are both water based and that works out perfectly for me.

Enikő Avatar

Yepp, Healthy Mix Serum and Double Wear Light. They work well together, the Bourjois one lightens up the bit sticky texture of the Estée Lauder one, and both are lnglasting so there is no problem.

Monica! Avatar

I mix my Laura mercier tinted moisturizer ( the original formula) in nude, with a dash of Mac Studio Studio Sculpt foundation in Nc40 for more coverage and to darken the TM just a bit. They work just fine together, the finish is very natural and not heavy at all

Aleeyatk Avatar

I haven’t mixed foundations but I do mix Maybelline BB Cream. The medium tint is a tad too light for me and the dark shade is a little too pink and dark for me. I mix them in equal parts and it comes out the perfect shade. For reference I am a Mac NC45.

Marcie Avatar

I’m actually mixing two different brands right now! I’m doing MAC SFF and Revlon Colorstay Whipped. Seems like an unlikely good combo, but it’s amazing. 🙂

Mietta Avatar

Ooo how do you mix them together? I need my Revlon whipped to be a tad lighter but because its in a pot I can’t really work out the best (and most economical) way to do it!

Marcie Avatar

Well, I actually get a pump of the Studio Fix Fluid and then scoop out an equal amount of the Revlon one with the back of some tweezers and just mix them on the back of my hand. My MAC one is a tad too dark for me right now, so the Revlon evens it out.

blueraccoon Avatar

I don’t normally mix, but my normal base is either a powder foundation, Laura Mercier’s TM compact, or a BB cream, so there’s no mixing needed; I have a good color match in all three. I also am not much of a foundation person – I only have one liquid foundation, everything else is TM, BB cream, or powder.

Nirvana Avatar

i mix mac studio fix fluid in nc40 with estee lauder double wear in shell beige. this combo gives me a flawless match, with the mac being too yellow on its own and the EL a tad too light.

MakeupTray Avatar

I mix eye shadows. Recently mixed Satin Taupe and Naked 2 colors. I also got a lot of compliments when I mixed Almay Color for whatever eyes, in gray and Satin Taupe.

chris Avatar

Oh, Lawd yes – it is still hard to find a consistent (from the same brand) match for my NC50 skin. IMAN used to carry around her own bottle to shoots until she created her brand.

Katherine Avatar

Yes. I’m shameless about it too. I mix foundations from different brands all the time. I also will mix primer in my foundation sometimes. I had bought revlon photoready primer and didn’t like it until I mixed it with foundation and found it worked best for me that way. I’ll wear different eye shadows from different brands and palettes. In fact, I rarely use one eye palette for a look. Usually I’ll pick one shade from a couple of them and mix. I usually have 2 or 3 foundations for myself but I do have two teenage daughters that share the same skin tone as me and they pick up foundations so we have a *lot* of foundation (well makeup in general. Makeup geeks X3 here).

Sass Avatar

I saw someone on YT who mixed Revlon Colorstay with MUFE HD to get her perfect shade. 😐

I don’t mix different brands with each other…I mix within the same brand and I don’t mix drugstore with high end either. Makes no sense to me. JMO.

Rosaline Avatar

I’ve been mixing a bit of my Clinique liquid foundation with my face shop bb cream because I got a bit of a tan. Sometimes when my bb cream is too light I will mix it with a liquid foundation for some sheer to medium coverage. Since I wear serum, emulsion, then moisturizer with SPF, I don’t mix foundation with the moisturizer anymore. I just slap some bb cream on and them some setting powder because I become an oily greaseball later.

If I buy the wrong shade of foundation like the Estée Lauder double wear light where it does not have that many shades, I will buy two that looks the closest to my skin and mix them. Never have to throw away foundation because shipping them back is not nice. I don’t want to have someone buy makeup I already used. I mixed them within the same brand and type. I know some are water based or oil based don’t mix or something so I don’t want to mess it up. And it is easier for when my skin gets lighter or darker. It is not that much different shade.

charlotte Avatar

I love Loreal true match lumi mixed with a matte longwear foundation (colorstay, rimmel 25hr). It gives a bit more “life” to the matte and increases the blendability while keeping the coverage and long wear. It also increases the spf. I’ve heard of several people who mix a foundation and BB cream and really like it.

Madina Avatar

I tend to mix Skin 79 BB cream with MAC Face & Body Foundation because F&B dries so quickly that I hardly have time to blend. The BB cream gives me a bit more time for it and helps as a primer.

abigailOD Avatar

Yes but I haven’t tried mixing foundation of different brands. Oh wait.. I have! That’s how it started. I remember loving MAC Pro Longwear (color match) and MUFE HD (creaminess, texture and wear) separately, as I was telling a friend and she goes, “Why don’t you mix them!” So it begins. But those are the only two cross-brands I do. Others were MAC Matchmaster + Studio Sculpt. Then GA Luminous Silk + Maestro. MAC Pro Longwear + Matchmaster. Texture, wear and finish makes me mix foundations more than achieving a color.

Fuchsia Avatar

I’ve actually mixed Illamasqua’s Skin Base in 02 with Garnier’s BB Cream in Light. It worked a lot better than anticipated! I did it because both foundations were a little off colourwise, but by mixing them it was perfect. They also complemented each other nicely; where the Skin Base was a little drying, the BB Cream was moisturising. I also liked the coverage it gave, which was a little less than the Skin Base on it’s own, but more than the BB Cream could achieve.

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