About My Coloring

I would describe myself as light-medium in color with soft, warm, yellowish undertones.  My neck is closer to light in color, while the edges of my face are closer to true light-medium and the center of my face is closer to light-to-light-medium.  As a result, I find color matches that are slightly warmer and yellower to suit me best, as true neutral foundations look rosier/pinker against my complexion. I also will lean lighter but usually go darker than my neck as I find that matching to my neck looks unnaturally light to me (a little stark) but if I match solely to my face, I have to take my foundation down quite far to avoid obvious changes in color!

I have hazel eyes (a mixture of green and brown) and black-brown hair (now with golden-copper highlights) with less warmth in my eyebrows (they aren’t true black but warmer brow colors tend to look obvious).

About My Skin

I have normal-to-dry skin overall.  The majority of my face is normal most of the time, but occasionally, I get dryness on my eyelids, around my nostrils, and on my cheeks.  I have some fine lines around my eyes and underneath my eyes as well as visible smile lines.  I have a larger line that runs across my forehead and noticeable smile lines.  As far as skin concerns go, I am most concerned with signs of aging around my eyes and evenness of my skin overall.  I feel like I have normal-sized pores, as I do not notice them all. the. time. but find they can be visible and emphasized by the texture and finish of products.  I would not consider my skin sensitive, and after trialing so many products over the last ten years, I’d actually say it’s rather resilient.

I suffer from eczema on occasion, and it’s typically on my arms and hands but can occur on my eyelids (this happened often when I tried to wear liquid eyeliner or if I fuss too much along my upper lash line with some brushes).  (This is compounded by eyes severely affected by allergies… but with respect to irritation, redness, and some swelling underneath the lid and skin around the eye, not necessarily the actual eyeball.)

I have not had any fillers or injections. If that ever changes, it will be disclosed as necessary (e.g. under eye filler would be disclosed when discussing skin care or how complexion products sit in fine lines around the eye).

Better Foundation Matches

• Anastasia Stick Foundation in Beige — 1/2 shade too light
• Cle de Peau Concealer in Almond — slightly cool
• Cle de Peau Concealer in Ochre — 1/4 shade too dark
• Cle de Peau Radiant Stick Foundation in Ochre — 1/4 shade too dark
• ColourPop No Filter Concealer in Light 20 — 1/4 to 1/2 shade too light for face, correct for under eye
• ColourPop No Filter Foundation in Light 45 — 1/4 shade too light
• ColourPop No Filter Foundation in Light 65 — 1/2 shade too dark, yellow (I mix with Light 45)
• Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup in Desert Beige 2N1 — 1/2 shade too light
• Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r in 180 — 1/4 shade too light for face, slightly yellow
• Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r in 150 — 1/4 shade too dark, slightly pink (I usually mix 180 and 150!)
• Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Makeup in 4.5 — 1/4 shade too light
• Giorgio Armani Maestro Glow Makeup in 4.0 — A bit yellow
• Giorgio Armani Power Fabric in 4.5 — A bit yellow
• Guerlain Lingerie de Peau (Discontinued) in 02 Beige Clair — 1/2 shade too light
• Guerlain Lingerie de Peau (2016) in 02N Natural — 1/2 shade too light
• Guerlain Lingerie de Peau (2016) in 02W Light Warm — 1/4 shade too light, a bit yellow
• Guerlain Parure de Lumiere in 02 Beige Clair — 1/2 shade too light
• Guerlain Parure Gold in 02 Beige Clair — 1/2 shade too light, too pink
• Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish in Warm Ivory — 1/4 shade too light
• Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish in Nude — 1/4 shade too dark, slightly yellower
• Hourglass Veil Fluid in Nude 1.5 — A touch pink
• Huda Beauty #FauxFilter in Custard 220N — 1/2 shade too dark, slightly neutral
• La Mer The Soft Fluid Long Wear Foundation in Linen 13 — 1/4 shade too light
• Lancome Skin Feels Good in 025W Soft Beige — slightly yellow
• Lancome Teint Idole Ultra Longwear Foundation in 270 Bisque W — slightly yellow
• Laura Mercier Candleglow Soft Luminous in Dusk — A smidgen too dark
• MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC20 — slightly yellow
• MAC Studio Waterweight in NC25 — 1/2 to 1 shade too light
• Make Up For Ever Lift in #2 — 1/2 shade too light
• Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Liquid Foundation in Y305 (140) — 1/8 to 1/4 shade too dark
• Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Liquid Foundation in Y315 (125) — 1/4 shade too dark
• Make Up For Ever Water Blend Face & Body in Y315 — 1/2 to 1/4 shade too dark
• Marc Jacobs Beauty Shameless Youthful-Look in Light Y210 — 1/4 shade too light
• Marc Jacobs Beauty Shameless Youthful-Look in Light Y270 — 1/2 shade too dark
• NARS Natural Radiant Longwear in Fiji — 1/4 shade too light, too yellow
• NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Cannelle — for spot concealing, under eyes
• NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Custard — for under eye concealing
• NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Macadamia — for spot concealing, 1/4 shade too dark
• NARS Soft Matte Concealer in Cannelle — A perfect match
• Sunday Riley The Influencer Clean Long Wear Foundation in 140 — 1/4 too light, slightly yellow
• Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage in Light-Medium Neutral — A bit too yellow
• Tarte Amazonian Clay BB Tinted Moisturizer in Light-Medium Neutral — A bit too yellow
• Tarte Rainforest of the Sea in Light-Medium Neutral — 1/4 shade too dark
• Tarte Tape Shape Concealer in Light/Medium — 1/4 shade too light for face
• Tarte Tape Shape Concealer in Light Neutral — 1/4 shade too light for face
• Tarte Tape Shape Concealer in Light Sand — 1/2 shade too light for face, slightly yellow
• Tom Ford Traceless Foundation Stick in Fawn — 1/2 shade too light
• Urban Decay All Nighter in 3.25 — 1/2 shade too light
• Urban Decay Naked Skin in 4.0 — A bit yellow
• YSL All Hours in B30 Almond — 1/4 shade too dark

Too Light Foundations

• Kat Von D Lock-It Creme Concealer in Light 15 — 1-2 shades too light for face, 1/2 to 1 shade too light for under eye
• Kat Von D Lock-It Liquid Foundation in Light 48 — 1-2 shades too light, a bit pink
• MAC Studio Waterweight in NC20 — 1-2 shades too light
• Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Stick Foundation in Y315 (125) — 1/2 to 1 shade too light
• Tarte Tape Shape Concealer in Light/Medium — 1-2 shades too light for face, 1/2 to 1 shade too light for under eye
• Tom Ford Traceless Foundation Stick in Fawn — 1 shade too light

Too Dark Foundations

• Anastasia Stick Foundation in Natural — 1 shade too dark
• Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup in Ivory Beige 3N1 — 2-3 shades too dark, rosier
• Giorgio Armani Maestro Fusion Makeup in 6.5 — 1/2 to 1 shade too dark
• Giorgio Armani Maestro Fusion Makeup in 7.0  — 3 shades too dark
• Guerlain Lingerie de Peau (Discontinued) in 03 Beige Natural — 1 shade too dark
• Guerlain Lingerie de Peau (2016) in 03N Natural — 1/2 to 1 shade too dark, more neutral/rosier
• Guerlain Parure de Lumiere in 03 Beige Natural — 1 shade too dark
• Guerlain Parure Gold in 03 Beige Natural — 1 shade too dark
• Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish in Nude — 1/2 to 1 shade too dark, slightly yellower
• IT Cosmetics CC+ in Medium — 1-2 shades too dark
• Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer in Sand — 2-3 shades too dark, too yellow
• Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer in Almond — 4 shades too dark
• Laura Mercier Silk Creme Moisturizing Photo Edition in Cashew Beige — 2-3 shades too dark, too warm
• MAC Face & Body in N3 — 1/2 to 1 shade too dark, a bit yellow
• MAC Pro Longwear in NW30 — 3-4 shades too dark, too yellow
• MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC25 — 2-3 shades too dark, too yellow
• Make Up For Ever Water Blend Face & Body in Y305 — 1/2 shade too dark, slightly yellow
• Marc Jacobs Beauty Re(marc)able in Beige 32 — 1 shades too dark, too yellow
• Marc Jacobs Beauty Re(marc)able in Beige 33 — 2-3 shades too dark, too yellow
• Marc Jacobs Beauty Re(marc)able in Golden Beige 36 — 3-4 shades too dark, too yellow
• Tarte Double Duty Beauty Empowered Hybrid Gel in Medium Neutral — 1/2 to 1 shade too dark, pinker
• Tom Ford Traceless Foundation in Natural — 2-3 Shades too dark
• Urban Decay All Nighter in 4.0 — 1 to 1 1/2 shades too dark, too yellow

Right Skin Tone, Wrong Undertone

• Giorgio Armani Maestro Fusion Makeup in 5.5 — Too pink to wear
• Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage in Light-Medium Neutral — A bit too yellow, wearable
• Urban Decay Naked Skin in 4.0 — A bit yellow, wearable