How did you find your foundation shade? Are you happy with your match?
I got color-matched at MAC years (like eight or nine years ago!), and for me, I’m pretty much in the middle of the range with warm undertones, so I can usually eyeball my shade match. When in doubt, I use the Foundation Matrix 🙂 (Seriously, though!)
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Oh yes same here! MAC to the rescue and the color match is on point so I have never digressed 🙂
I found it through listening to my gut instinct and of course the decision was influenced by beauty bloggers. I want to believe I’ve found my match. Hihi. I am NC35 in Studio Fix Fluid. XD
I read Brightest Bulb In the Box and nabbed her favorite foundation and color. I went down to Sephora and tried that as a starting point–I got a sample of that and the color they matched me to, tried both of them a couple of times, and picked the color that worked better.
(Tarte 12-h amazonian clay foundation in Ivory. It’s great–actually light enough and pink enough for me, works well, and comes in a larger tube so is less expensive per-ounce than similar mid-range products.)
I got color matched with a few brands but I was never satisfied with the outcome. I stick with tinted moisturizers and higher end skincare products for now.
Hm for a while I was going by trial and error in person, but I’m not really near a counter so options were really limited. Then I would try to go by an online description, but it took me a while to learn I’m fairly light naturally not light medium. I’ve used the foundation matrix with great success! But I think my perfect shade & formula is still out there.
I think the best match so far has been MAC Face & Body C1 – a SA matched me to it. To find shades, I swatch in store. I find that my face can usually wear fair/light to light medium, as long as the foundations undertones are yellow or neutral (no orange or pink). By the way, I tried the Foundation Matrix, and it was pretty good– it matched me to NARS Gobi, which I swatched in store and thought was a pretty good candidate
I guessed lol, I still don’t know if it’s the right one but it doesn’t look off on pictures so hahaha
I honestly figured it out myself. Every time I’ve had it done at MAC, I get something different, both warm and cool, and a different number. I finally just asked them if I could see 5 different ones, and I found my own match. I guess I’m a hard skin tone to figure out. At Sephora I do the same thing.
I was always the lightest color in any range. Now with foundations going a bit lighter in certain ranges like NARS, I can be any of the 3 lightest depending on tone. Like with Armani and By Terry.
Same. Nowadays, if the brand has descriptive shade names (eg, Porcelain, Shell, Ivory, etc.) rather than random names (like NARS does), then I can usually evaluate whether it’s the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd shade in that range going by the name.
My biggest problem is finding something pale enough that is adequately neutral – not too yellow, but also not pink enough to emphasise the natural ruddiness in my face.
i test a little on my chest near neck
I’m the lightest with warm undertones and I pick the one that can hide the veins on the back of my hand. I know everyone says you shouldn’t match your foundation to your hand, but that’s when you really notice a wrong shade, when your hands are lighter than your face. It really pops out.
I recently found my perfect foundation shade when I got matched at Sephora (NARS Deauville!). So shades that’s described as fair or light and neutral usually match me. I can get away with more yellow toned shades as well! But it’s much easier to find a foundation now that I know both my NARS and MAC shade, the foundation matrix will always be a dear friend 😀
Because I have really flushed skin, I always thought I was a pale, cool tone. Finally did the Sephora Color IQ last year and found out I’m actually warm/yellow. Matched to Gobi in Nars, which is an amazing match.
I go to Macy’s or Nordstrom for help with the match from sale associate. I want to get it exactly right, and I feel like their eyes are better than mine at recognizing and picking appropriate shades. 3 out 3 visits have been awesome so far. I just don’t want to waste time buying and returning for something I can try out in person.
Through my experience as a MUA I got used to matching other people’s skin tones.. so it’s easy breezy to match my own now, and I can pick foundations fairly quickly now 🙂
I got color-matched at a Lancome counter 7 years ago, and found it to be quite accurate – being the same shade all these years later (I use the exact same shade in foundation). I have used the Foundation Matrix along with lines of swatches (usually Karlasugar) to see what my MAC match is, and use the MAC numbers to see what I would be in other foundation ranges. I found out from experience – that sticking with my Lancome match is the best choice for my skin.
[Lancome Buff 2W – MAC NC20-NC25]
I bought some stuff from UD’s websites & got that free prime & perfect sample with the ultra definition liquid foundation. I was on the hunt for a new foundation, anyways, so I figured I’d try the lightest shade they had for fun. It turns out the 3.5 is a perfect match for me. That was by far the easiest foundation match I’d ever have, and it was definitely meant to be.
I am super happy with my match! I’ve always had a problem looking too orange, even with foundation shades that claim to be neutral or cool-toned, so I’m happy to finally have a foundation that matches my face to the rest of my skin.
Easy — pick the absolute lightest shade. When that’s not light enough, pick another brand and try again! So far, I haven’t found an exact match, but Mac NW10 is close, and Illamasqua SB02 is the only one I’ve found that’s too light, but only slightly and only in the summer. Yeah, I’m that frickin’ light.
by buying the palest in everything ^^ but I do generally make my foundation a shade paler then I am naturally.
I bought Nars Sheer Glow in Stromboli with crossed fingers based on swatches online and it was a perfect match for me! I have stuck to it for the last 3 years and am on my 3rd bottle:)
A Sephora cast member I believe they are called told me and luckily they were right
A lot of trial and error. I only have Lancome, Clinique, and EL counters where I live. They always matched me wrong. Too pink, too dark, grey (who are these people with grey skin?). Finally I started looking online. I’ve had luck ordering online with MAC I’m about NC 20-25.With that knowledge I now research other brands in terms of MAC colors. I really like ceylen in NARS for me. I won’t let people match me anymore.
A lot of trial and error… My face is always redder than my neck and body so I really need to go super yellow.
Mac color matched me with warm undertones. NC25-NC30.
i have very fair skin so it wasn’t too hard for me to find my shade. i usually buy the 2nd or 3rd lightest shade and it matches well.
I’m usually the lightest shade and have warm undertones as well… So I gravitate to the two lightest shades and most of the time, one of those matches me well.
MAC is a no brainer. I’m NC15, the lightest warm, so I can spot it in the testers pretty quick.
I would use drugstore foundations to get where my shade is because it’s a lot cheaper so I could afford to buy several and test them out. I forgot which foundation I bought first, but I used that to kind of work my way around it if it was too dark or too light. My near perfect match is Loreal True Match, so whenever I want to buy foundation now, I just take that bottle with me and compare to the other foundations in the store.
It’s always the lightest one or lighter than the lightest one 😛 So eye-balling is fairly easy for me as well. Being so very neutral, the biggest issue I look for is whether it’s running too pink (or yellow but too pink s more common on the lightest shades). If the lightest one is too dark or leans too heavily towards one undertone, that brand isn’t for me.
I found my HG foundation by using the Color IQ service at Sephora – I had been previously color-matched at MAC before, but the shade they had chosen for me was WAY too pale – I looked like a ghost in pictures!
I also used Color IQ, and narrowed the final shade (Smashbox Liquid Halo, Shade 10), by using the testers I was given.
I’m very fair and always need the lightest shade. I’m also pretty neutral (little bit of a red overtone) so as long as the foundation doesnt have a strong pink tone, i can usually pull it off. The trouble is finding a light enough shade that disappears into my skin. It’s getting easior tho and I have purchased Face Atelier Zero Minus to help me lighten too-dark foundations.
That is such a hard question for me to answer. As an African-American women, it has been a challenge to find a color that would accommodate our various undertones. I match from my neck up, keeping in mind my undertones. I also look at foundations that have a tendency to oxidize. I am glad that more lines have realized the need for deeper shades. I remember Iman used to carry her own foundation to shoots, as they artists would not have a shade to match her skin tone.
I always just bought the lightest shade, thinking it would be pale enough for my vampire skin, but most of the time it ended up looking way too dark and orange. My only matches so far are NARS Siberia and Makeup Atelier Paris FLW1NB. Their waterproof foundation is my holy grail, so I bought the 100ml bottle. I have yet to find a concealer that is pale enough for me to use it as a highlighter.
Illamasqua has a Skin Lift Concealer that comes in shade White Light – might work for you! 🙂
Temptalia!
I usually use the color IQ at Sephora or get samples if it’s not at Sephora. If I am ordering online, I usually use the online beauty consultants. But, maybe I should start eyeballing it. Because it usually takes at least two tries for them to get it right! I am waiting for my 3 cle de peau concealer,lol! ugh) I am usually in the low end to middle of medium range with warm(yellow) undertones depending on the time of year. I wind up mixing two shades a lot. If it is a high end foundation and it requires mixing, I will skip out of principle. They should have enough shades in a foundation higher than $60 in IMO to closely match everyone.Or say I am on the brink and it’s something I will wear more in summer because of the texture, I’ll go with the darker choice and bronzer up my neck which I do once I have color anyway because my neck naturally stays more pale..the dreaded “white girl neck”
Trial and error, always testing the foundation on my neck, so there’s no line of demarcation between my neck/face. I usually take the lightest or next-to-lightest shade of any given brand. I never rely on salespeople to help me, though — they’re always trying to put me in shades that are *way* too dark for my skin.
I got matched at MAC a few years back, but I was never really one hundred percent happy with the shade (I thought it a touch too yellow). Then I ordered a korean bb cream over amazon for a bit, it comes in one color that happens to match my skin! Now I work in a cosmetics store and do color matching, so it’s easy for me to eyeball and test, but when I was picking out a tarte foundation shade, I had another coworker help me match just to get a second set of eyes on it. I’ve never worn drug store foundation (I didn’t wear foundation until I started a career and had a friend into nice makeup) so I’ve never had to run that particular gamut of guessing but I imagine it’s rather stressful!
MAC matched me to NC20 a few years ago. Prior to that I realize now that I was always using a foundation shade that was pink toned and it never looked quite right. I am a very light olive. No pink.
Years ago, all the foundations shades, both high end and drugstore, were pink tones. We have so many more choices now, not only in pink, neutral and yellow, but also both ends of the color spectrum are better represented. yea!
It finally happened last month (and 15 foundations into my life)! I went to sephora and got color matched by a handheld machine (in 3 different spots), and then I put in my skin type and finish preferences. My best match turned out to be a super yellow foundation by Hello Oxygen, it guess I just never noticed my skin color since I have both green and blue veins, but it’s a perfect match! I think the system is called Skin IQ by Pantone.
Like many others, I always pick the palest shade (which are oftentimes still too dark. Grrrr!) The biggest challenge is that many of the palest-pale shades I’ve found are far too pink for my skin! Consequently, I usually just wear CC creams or other sheerish foundations so that the imperfect color match won’t be too obvious. Even sales reps get frustrated trying to find a match for me.
Lots of trial and error. Lots lol. I started off using Google and YouTube to find other women who looked close to my complexion and started trying the products they used. From there, I was able to test them out in different lighting to finally find my match. I think the hardest part for me was understanding my undertone. Once I realized I have stronger red tones than yellow it became much easier
I was matched at a Prescriptives counter years ago and I still use it (you can still get it online). I liked their system, they had so many different shades and tones
I did try MAC once but the color they recommended was way too orange for me and I’ve never wanted to try again.
I have a pretty good eye for color and have no problem in selecting a foundation shade–if it exists in the particular brand I’m trying 🙂 I know that I’ll always be at the lighter end of the spectrum with subtle peach undertones. I prefer to try foundations on my own as I find most SA’s are easily misled by the rosiness of my cheeks and so they try to put me in foundations that are too dark and too pink.
I don’t wear MAC, but I did go and get matched for the sole purpose of commenting on blogs because MAC’s system seemed to be pretty universally understood. I’m NC15.
Foundation matching has always been a problem. They rarely have all shades available where I live and sales assistants just assume everyone is tanned or about to get tanned. I have been matched to all kinds of obviously wrong shades ranging from B10 in Chanel (way too light) to YSL BR50 (way too dark).
I got my match when I travelled to UK and found Armani cosmetics. It is the perfect match and you can’t tell I am wearing foundation.
I got color-matched at MAC (Matchmaster 1.5–my Holy Grail foundation; NC20-25 otherwise), which was perfect for my skin tone! I also got matched for MUFE’s HD foundation at Sephora, which was a good match as well (just not a great foundation for my skin type).
Usually the palest shade there is. I tend to just eyeball it, I’m pretty good at knowing if a shade is pale enough for me. But the foundation Matrix has helped me out a few times too
I went to Sephora a few years ago, but I would always get color-matched incorrectly, either too yellow or too pink. 🙁 I eventually stopped asking and stand in Sephora with a few makeup sponges and color-match myself from there. I feel I’m a neutral medium, but with the slightest yellow undertone. Lol! I’m UD’s Naked 6.0. I use MUFE HD now, the perfect match!
I quite believe that I know pretty well what shade I need, but it so difficult to find it! Sometimes I think the shade is completely ignored by producers, while I know I am not the only one who seeks it: the more I follow beauty blogs, the more I read about other people having this shade of skin. I am pale, I am greenish, meaning lots of yellow and blue, and I am neutral-cool in winter (with tanning I get warmer). I am constantly mismatched to something pink or warm yellow-orangey.
So I end up mixing pigments and concealers with pale beige foundations. From the existing ones, the closest matches are Revlon Buff (150) and RCMA KA series.
Endless endless testing, and the advise of one or two sales associates that I should be using warm undertones, which I previously had not. Honestly, the realization that I might have to mix shades and shouldn’t keep killing myself to match into a particular brand was a huge help. I also liked Lisa Eldridge’s recommendation to use the far side of your cheek and neck, around your ear, to get the best match.
My problem is that my neck is super light and my chest dark/discolored/reddish. Matching to either was not a good option, and matching to my face exactly was too jarring with my neck. So the solution has been to kind of fall somewhere in between. Now I know I should gravitate towards the lightest or second lightest warm shade in a range, and usually that will work for either summer or winter, depending on the brand and where their shades fall. I also just got Mac FAB in white so I can custom almost anything that’s too dark for me (woohoo!).
I’ve never been Mac shade tested because I don’t have much interest in their foundations, but I know I’m C1 in FAB in the summer, and guess I’m probably NC-20ish, give or take depending on the season.
Oh, and re color IQ at sephora, I’ve had really mixed results with it and was not happy with the outcome. I also ran a test where I looked at different shades they said matched the same person and do not believe those shades match the same person at ALL. So I’m skeptical, as I generally am with sales associates and things like that. BUT. I do use the website feature. I look up a foundation that I know works for me and see what else is there under the same code. And I’ve figured out their numbering system so I know what two or three codes my best foundations fall into. It’s not perfect but it can be helpful.
Trial and error…I have yet to find a company that makes a foundation in a color that I don’t have to mix.
The first foundation I ever got that matched me was a custom one by Prescriptives. It was great, a really nice foundation. Then all the Prescriptives counters in the UK disappeared! I was gutted.
After that I tried various low-end and high-end foundations, with little to no success. All the foundations were too dark for me. I ended up at the Bobbi Brown counter and was matched to their Alabaster shade. It was too dark in some formulations but I was able to wear it in their Skin Foundation (the formula of which I love). Then I moved onto their long-wearing foundation, which was a bit lighter and a better match for my colour and skin type.
I then found a blog by a lady with the same skintone as me and got some other suggestions from her. The Koh Gen Do Maifanshi Moisture Foundation in 001 was a great match but not right for my oily skin type. Mixing a white foundation into my existing foundations that didn’t match was also an option but also a pain!
This reply is long enough. Suffice to say that I discovered Covert FX cream foundation in N0 and the new Bobbi Brown Skin Weightless Powder Foundation in Alabaster, so for now I use both depending on how my skin is and I set it with the new Guerlain Meteorites compact in 02 Clair.
Phew. Sorry for the long post!
The closest MAC store is about an hour away at the Mall of America and about 5 years ago I went to be shade matched. They matched me at a NC45 which is WAY WAY too dark. The lady wasn’t very courteous and gave the impression I was bothering her. The foundation I used can be used as a bronzer for me! Don’t know how they screwed that up but anyway after trial and error with other foundations I find my shades are actually darker medium, light tan colors. Never went back to MAC to be rematched but I’d guess NC37 would be a closer match.
Trial and error, using samples as much as possible. I go with the lightest shade the brand has, and test to see whether it’s too yellow or too pink, if it works with my oily skin, etc. Eyeballing works. 🙂
I find the foundation matrix here on Temptalia to be useful, too.
I got color-matched at Sephora, but it matched me several shades too dark and warm. Totally inaccurate in my case. The MUA told me I wasn’t as pale as I think I am. Uh…
I guess I should put what works for me (pale enough, not too yellow or pink, doesn’t oxidize or melt due to face oil):
BareEscentuals Orginal SPF 15 loose mineral foundation in Fair; Everyday Minerals Jojoba Base in Alabaster (perfect dupe for the BareEscentuals shade). Bobbi Brown Stick Foundation in Alabaster. Too Faced Cocoa Powder Foundation in Fair. E.l.f. Moisturizing Foundation Stick in Ivory. Laneige BB Cushion in Light. Olay Fresh Effects BB cream in Fair to Light.
My biggest issue with the Sephora color match is that my face is more red than the rest of my body. So if I go with a color match where they only use three points on my face it doesn’t work. I thus made her do my forehead, cheekbone, and chest instead and got a much better match. Using a color from my blushing jaw line (that I’m trying to cover up!) skewed everything the first time I got it done.
The MUA I had did my forehead, cheekbone, jaw, neck and chest. Maybe it was their lighting? I don’t know if my freckles threw it somewhat, as well. It was summer, so my freckles were in full bloom. I don’t tan, so that wasn’t an issue. Maybe I should get it done again now that it’s winter. I don’t know.
When I compared Sephora’s recommendations to colors that match me perfectly, the Sephora results were 4-6 shades off as far as darkness.
I actually didn’t find it too, TOO hard, but I have the advantage of being at the end of the lighter side of the spectrum. I’m usually the fairest shade in any range during the summer, and only a few lines carry shades pale enough for my winter skin tone. (I’m always impressed when I find shades even lighter than what I need. I really feel for the ultra pale and dark folk out there, particularly the latter.)
Undertone was more of an issue – my skin is very, very cool toned in the winter, so even neutral foundations can pull too yellow. I need a pink or ivory undertone for my NW10 skin, but I can get away with a yellower base in the summer months when I’m more neutral.
I tend to have to take each brand as new, since very few make a shade that’s light enough and ‘not too pink’ enough but also not too yellow leaning for me.
Basically I just go to the counter and get some applied to my jaw/lower face area, then go outside and see how it looks!
My go to is the lightest yellow toned foundation. It’s worked thus far! If the lightest is off then it’s usually too dark.
trial & error…i never got the whole pink or yellow undertone thing for a LONG time…i still struggle with it because i have both yellow & pink undertones :-\
I was matched at MAC twice and they were completely off both times. Once the shade was too light and cool (I think they gave me a NW15 and I’m around NC20 to 25), the second time it was so dark that my ears looked white…
The first time I was successfully matched was at a Bobbi Brown counter, and I worked from there looking for equivalent shades in other brands.
A problem I have is that my forehead and temples are a lot darker than the rest of my face, especially in the summer. So whatever foundation shade I choose, it’s never a good match for my entire face – and I’m not even talking about my neck which is way lighter than any part of my face…
From the company’s representative who was holding an event at the dept. store.
Honestly, I’m just too fair to match MAC shades as a whole. It wasn’t until i went makeup shopping at a local theatrical store that I match my undertone to a Mehron Starblend powder in Light Olive. It was still too dark, but because I’m Olive (yellow/blue) nothing I lighten in the Red/pink and Orange/Yellow familly really works for me either in all brands. lol I just still look too pink or too orange in the face next to my neck and body.
I found my match just a few months ago after years of mixing foundations to get my correct match. Now I am Golden in Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation. I am so satisfied!
Trial and error… it took me forever to realize I’m extremely yellow-toned, no pink whatsoever. Lots of bad foundation days were had. I think for MAC I’m an NC20… It’s fairly accurate.
Mistakes I’ve made: I used to go too dark when I was in my teens and 20s, and those were the days of pinky foundations vs. today’s mostly yellow-based foundations. Then I agreed to go along with the jawline tests, resulting in still too deep of a color nearly all the time. Ugh!
Later I figured out on my own to use my hairline as a better test than the jawline. And to go lighter than I might have thought, without going Too light. And to use a generous amount of moisturizer(s) as a base, then add a bit more moisturizer to the foundation before applying, to produce the best dewy and radiant effect that’s the perfect color. I often have 2 foundation colors — one for summer, one for winter — and blend them as needed.
Favorite foundations: MAC Mineralize liquid NC20, MAC F&B in C1 and N2, Bobbi Brown Luminous in Sand and Beige, Stila Illuminating foundation in 40 and 50 watts, Maybelline BB Cream in Light-Medium and Medium, Origins Vita-Zing (self-adjusting tinted moisturizer for late summer).
I’m very fair and neutral leaning pink. The closest match I’ve gotten to is Chanel beige rose but it’s still not quite pink enough and also a bit dark. I think I might try to get my hands on some Mac white face and body and see if I can mix it and it work.
I too was color matched but at the Prescriptives counter about 10 years ago, I really miss them…I’m super light with a slight yellow tinge…
I was MAC tested at NW20 – but that was the lightest shade they had – really I am much cooler and fairer than that – NW15 or so. I bought the Rimmel Match Perfection in 010 Light Porcelain and that is the best match for me. I also used the Foundation matrix to help as well. Thank you Christine for devising this. All the other foundations I have tried in the past were yellow based and always looked wrong on my face – even Chanel, Napolean Perdis, Clinique etc. Probably now they have much lighter shades (which they should in Australia because there are lots of very fair complexions here), but I prefer not to test out any more as this one is fine (and often on sale!) for me.
I tried about a billion foundations and bb creams (you can’t return make up in Spain, where I used to live, which made it harder) that were all way too dark for my ghostly pale skin, until one day on a trip I forgot back home the foundation I used to mix with pure white and bought the Skin79 Green bb cream online hoping it would work. It’s the fairest shade in neutral-yellow foundation I’ve ever seen apart from Illamasqua’s or NARS Siberia, but with better coverage. It doesn’t match me 100% as I have strong yellow undertones in my neck and the rest of my body, but it’s ok. In MAC I’d be a NC05 or so, but as they don’t make any fairer shades than NC10, it’s impossible to tell.
I have been given different color matches from different MAC counters in different cities. I still don’t have a good match. I gave up.
I’ve used a combination of being matched at MAC and Sephora with being matched by the Foundation Matrix. It took a bit of trial and error in the beginning because I had a hard time understanding undertones when I first starting buying foundations (doesn’t help that MAC’s is opposite most other brands!). I was initially matched at a MAC store with NW20 Pro Longwear foundation, but NC15 is an almost perfect match for me, or UD Naked Skin 2.0.
I’ve been color matched by cosmetic people but a lot of their choices were either too light (making me look like a ghost) or too warm (showing up WAY too yellow on me). I’ve always been told that I’m warm with yellow undertones for years until recently when Bare Minerals came out with their “liquid” foundation and I was matched to a neutral shade that leaned a little towards the pink. I flush very easily and was surprised how well it matched to my skin tone. I also like Tarte’s Amazonian clay foundation in Light-Medium and was just matched in UD’s new powder foundation and concealer in Light Neutral.
I’ve had a Pantone color thing at Sephora and been color matched at Estee Lauder. Now I have their sample colors that I can match myself if I want to try something new (mostly drugstore items with smaller price tags) but I don’t use foundation much lately. I sometimes use a medium coverage foundation as concealer but haven’t found my holy grail yet.
I’ve pretty much had to go by either online swatches (I don’t live anywhere near counters/Sephora/Ulta/et al so can’t swatch higher-end stuff or get matched in person; Karla Sugar was a godsend when she was active! Beauty Professor is doing well filling the gaps here and there.), or do the old “hold the bottle up to the jawline and see if you’re close” trick for drugstore ones. My track record since 2010…
* Revlon Colorstay (Combo/Oily) in Ivory – Slightly too dark and too pink + oxidized. I’ve also tried the same formula in Nude (let’s just say the lights in the local K-Mart where I bought it were incredibly deceptive!).
* MUFE Mat Velvet+ in #115 Alabaster – Too peachy + oxidized.
* Face Atelier Ultra Foundation in Porcelain – Undertone was okay, though not the greatest, also too dark.
* Face Atelier Ultra Foundation in Ivory – Way too dark! Also, wrong/bad undertone. (Lightening it with Zero Minus did nothing to help it.)
* Illamasqua Light Liquid Foundation in #115 – Pale enough, but a little too peach (also: strange texture when applying)
* Bobbi Brown Oil Free Tinted Moisturizer in Alabaster Tint – Slightly too dark but not noticeably so
* NARS Sheer Glow in Siberia – My best/closest skin match to date.
* Becca Radiant Skin Satin Finish Foundation in Shell – A little too yellow, though I kinda like the formula.
* Becca Luminous Skin Colour in Porcelain (discontinued) – Too pink and too dark, though I loved the finish.
* Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in #110 (original formula) – Undertones are correct but it’s a little dark, so I have to mix. Also not my favourite like it once was.
* L’Oreal True Match Lumi in W1 – Correct undertones, a little too dark. (It also irritated my skin some when testing it out so I can’t use it.)
* Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer in Nude – Too dark, too orangey on me.
* OCC Skin Tint in R0 – Too pink, and too weird of a texture when applying.
* It Cosmetics YSBB CC Cream in Fair – A little too dark for me but it seems to colour adjust to my skin as it dries down or something?
* Illamasqua Rich Liquid Foundation in #133 – Waaaay too dark. I don’t remember if the undertone was correct.
* MAC Face and Body in White – I bought this for mixing with other foundations; I’ve yet to try it on its own to see if I like the formula.
I’m currently eyeing Laura Mercier Smooth Finish Flawless Fluide in Creme (I tried Vanille to see if I like the formula enough, and I think I will during the summer months when I want less coverage) and NARS All Day Luminous Weightless in Siberia (I think it’ll be a better match for me than SG!) as my next foundations.
I’ve never been matched at a MAC counter, but I’m thinking I’m lighter than NC/NW15 in a lot of their foundations. (There are one or two formulas where I may get away with NC15 but I’m not 100% sure.) I know I don’t have a match in Face and Body. I’m pretty sure I don’t have one in Matchmaster, either. That said, I can wear their discontinued Studio Sculpt Concealer in NW15.
Nordstrom YSL rep and then Sephora SA. YSL TE in B30 has turned out to be perfect for me. It did take several tries of several colors to get it right.
I just go for the fairest shade with a neutral or cool undertone and that always seems to work.
Hi, I got my shade matched at MAC about 4-5 years back , but since then my complexion has considerably changed so my preferred method is trying out the shade on a bare face before I invest. Although, I must say that the SA at Estee Lauder in my city was very experienced and applied the exact shade on me when I wanted to try the Double Wear foundation. I can never thank her enough for giving me the best product and the exact shade match in one go!
I am not sure if I found my perfect match bt the first foundation I picked was just hit n trial by matching it with the shade of my favorite blogger and it was about right for me! 🙂
I got color-matched at MAC quite a ways back as NC37, fast forward to just this past October when a VERY keen MUA at one of my favorite MAC stores introduced me to a far better match of C4.5, and it was a match made in heaven! Not as yellow, more of a softer tawny, honey beige. In summer, even with sunscreen, I know that it will go up a half of a shade.
Trial and error across brands and price points. My skin is light-to-fair, neutral-cool with slight redness. I’ve found foundations that match in a few brands, but finally found my holy grail that makes my skin glow after 3 years. Chanel Vital. Aqua in the lightest reddish undertone. It’s not a perfect match to my skin tone, but once it’s on, my skin looks amazing.
I match it to my chest, and I am pale. Almost true white.
Oh that’s easy, I always just go for the very lightest shade haha
I was matched at Mac, and now I have the foundation matrix to do the rest <3
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Start with the lightest shade available in the range that has a neutral/yellow leaning undertone and go from there! 😀
Eyeballing it/trial & error, at first. I later got color-matched at MAC (NC45, mostly) and I used that as a base reference for other brands (thank you, Foundation Matrix!). Unfortunately, I often fall between shades, which is extremely frustrating, but it does save me money! The Sephora Color IQ also helps, although a few of the recommended “matches” haven’t worked for me.