What has been your biggest challenge in finding a foundation?
Finding a good shade match that works with my lighter face/darker neck situation that doesn’t look too mask like!
— Christine
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Finding a long-wearing foundation that doesn’t contain cyclopentasiloxane is the hardest for me.
#1 Finding a good shade match
#2 No alcohol or fragrance
My biggest challenge is finding a formula that fits my sensitive, rosacea-prone, aging, combination skin that has the correct undertones. Not an easy task! First of all, most dewier luminous foundation formulas seem to stop at medium, and it’s usually not even the right shade of whatever it is the brand has called it, sometimes, they’ll throw a caramel in there. My undertones are of an olive tone that leans neutral. But I need a foundation that also hides: rosacea, occasional breakouts, a touch of melasma, some freckles….yeah, it’s a mess. But too dry, ie; MAC Studio Fix, makes me look OLD. But MSFLF did have the perfect shade in C4.5.
Natural, skin-like finish with good coverage, that matches my fair, olive-toned skin. My face is lighter than my neck, which is more olive, and foundations tend to oxidise too dark/ashy/peach. I find that I am usually matched to colours that are too dark or golden-yellow, so I’m grateful for the swatches online. The ability to hold up well, not sink into pores/separate/look caked is something I also look for…the woes of combination skin.
Color match. I’m fair/light but with golden undertones. It seems I’m always settling for a formula I don’t love (I have dry, sensitive skin and don’t like coverage beyond sheer/medium) or a color match that takes work to blend. My skin range is always too pink or peach or beige or white.
What I have found that works is Natasha Denona 20, Kevyn Aucoin 2/3 combo, Lamcome 140, Armani 3.25 (but I found there was nothing luminous or silky about that one) and Dior 201/300 Airflash combo.
There’s never enough yellow in the warmer foundation formulas. Shades always have either too much orange (which makes me look darker) or too much pale yellow (which makes me look ashy). I always wind up getting stuck in the middle of two shades. The struggle of the “mostly yellow undertones”. For me, finding the perfect foundation is like finding the perfect man. I know it’s possibly out there, somewhere, but I end up settling for something that’s not perfect; but it’s close enough.
Momo, I feel your dilemma and frustration. Why don’t these companies make more neutral-yellow and neutral-olive based tones at the NC40 range and darker? I am just perplexed. And frustrated! I do not want to turn into an oompa-loompa every March-Nov. when my skin morphs without sunlight!
I know, right! I don’t know why companies don’t adjust their formulas’ tones! Do they just assume “those” skin tones are all the same? But consumers may play a part in this issue, as well. Maybe not enough customers complain about the undertone choices. I often hear about a line not having enough darker/deeper color ranges, but I hardly hear about the lack of correct undertone matches.
MAC is the only company I know of who has a neutral-yellow (the Cs) and neutral-olive (the Ns) line. I’m a C7, but even that shade can be a bit dodgy at times. ?
It’s definitely finding one that’s light enough for me. My skin tone seems hard to match too since it’s quite neutral so even if a foundation is light enough it may well look yellow or pink, or just a bit weird/wrong!
I’ve mentioned before that I tend to mix these days to get a match since I also struggle to find a foundation that works for my oily skin, even if I get a colour match. For example Koh Gen Do Maifanshi Moisture Foundation in 001 is a great match but it’s no good for my skin type and it doesn’t have enough coverage at all for my redness and blemishes.
So yeah, I think finding the right foundation is a difficult thing to do for a lot of people. ?
Raising my hand, too, for Pale People Problems! I found that same Koh Gen Do foundation applied and looked like a match at first, but oxidized into a much darker shade. And, as you mentioned, not much coverage.
Have you tried Dolce & Gabbana’s foundations in shade Classic 60? Both my daughter and myself are super-pale and this is close to a perfect match for us. I’m older and need hydration, so I use their Perfect Reveal Lifting Foundation. She is almost 15 and dealing with redness, t-zone oil, and breakouts, so she uses their Perfect Luminous Liquid Foundation. They are both a little pricey, but do offer nice coverage and some skin care benefits. Good luck!
Hi there! Thanks for your reply. ?
I never kept the Koh Gen Do foundation on long enough to see if it would oxidise on me but very few foundations seem to do that on my skin.
I’ve never tried the Dolce & Gabbana foundation so I’ll definitely look into that. Fingers crossed!
Finding a colour light enough is a nightmare! So annoying. ?
Finding the rignt shade/formula combination. I’m very fair, and only a few brands have fair enough foundations. Within this limited selection of brands, I had to found a not too pink color and a long-lasting, medium to full coverage formula that doesn’t emphasize my dry patches.
Ordering the right shade when the foundation is not sold in a local store. I wait until I travel vs. returning/exchanging an online order.
Finding a neutral undertone foundation with good coverage, and most importantly, foundation with NO chemical sunscreen in it! It’s so hard to find a foundation without any sunscreen, especially chemical ones. I’m severely allergic , and it’s a very common allergy. It bothers me because spf in foundation is just for marketing. Spf in foundation is not enough to protect your skin. I always use my own underneath.
I’m the same with chemical sun block. Fortunately, in Canada most brands take them out of their foundation range because they are much more heavily regulated and it’s cheaper for the brand to do it that way. That said a lot of the higher end brands and skin care products still feel compelled to include them. 🙁
Finding fair foundation that are not shades of pastel flesh tones!!!! I think most brands never test on fair skin tone because they seem to take a lighter shade and only add white…. Fair/pale skin tones are desaturated people, not shades of pastel nude in pink, peach, and yellow… It’s actually hard to find a true yellow tone foundation and for some reason they work for me but most of the yellow shades other talk about end up running way to peach/orange on me. lol
I usually end up find only true neutrals in the light-medium skin tone range and then adding my own white foundation to correct. lol
Also finding olive tone foundation in general is hard. *___*
Finding a match for skin tone and undertones. Most brands’ “fair” shades are still too dark, and even when I find one light enough, it’s bound to run either really pink or really yellow. If I can find a skin/undertone match, then I have to make sure it doesn’t oxidize on me. (Primer helps somewhat.) Very frustrating!
Finding the right shade has always been a problem. I’m often matched to shades that are lighter than my face, mostly because my neck is lighter. I’ve been told numerous times that I should get the lightest shade in a foundation range, but I’m in no way fair!
Lately, as I’ve been suffering from acne for the first time since my teens, I’ve also struggled to find a medium to high coverage foundation that hides the blemishes and redness without looking cakey or sinking into pores.
I have been shopping for foundations since December 2015 and can’t find anything that meets my needs. I have extremely dry skin and a bit of melasma and if that wasn’t enough of a problem one of my biggest obstacles is finding something that will match my darker face (NC20/NW20) and lighter neck (NC15).
Finding the right undertone, as I am on the neutral, yet pale side.
Ugh, foundation… I have the same skintone matching troubles that most people do, and then I feel like nearly everything that I try oxidizes really badly. They tend to go dark and orange within fairly short order, specially around certain areas of my face, like between my eyebrows (I guess because of oil?). Plus I haaaate heavy feeling foundation, so it needs to be light and breathable, too. Just to add to the complication, I am sensitive to chemical sunscreen which most SPF foundations contain. I have not been successful yet; I am still trying to find a foundation that I at least can wear for special occasions. On a daily basis I will stick to concealer + powder.
I am 54 and have been searching for my Holy Grail Foundation, it seems, forever. I have finally found it(and always have a backup or 2).
Ok, I have oily skin, acne breakouts and cannot stand liquid foundations. I am light skin toned with golden undertones. I wear It Cosmetics Foundation Illumination. It covers everything, has a physical sunscreen,loads of skin loving ingredients and gives you a beautiful glow(NOT shimmer or glitter). It is not the least bit chalky. I can wear it under my eyes,too. For me, the best parts are I cannot feel it, it lasts and gives a lovely glow. Ok, I’m now off the soapbox.
Something that could cover my acne scars and look natural at the same time!
I have the exact same problem with the face/neck skin tone. My neck always seems darker than my face….especially in the summer when my skin is slightly darker and I still use the foundation I use in the winter…my face looks pink and my neck looks more yellow. I have tried a shade darker and it just looks caked on my face, which is odd because it’s the same foundation, just a little darker. I find if I just use a little less foundation, it helps. But I may have to be on the search for a slightly darker foundation….or maybe one with more yellow? I have no idea and the associates at the makeup counters don’t seem to have a clue either lol. I will have to do it on my own.
Finding a suitable shade with yellow/gold undertones to match my neck. Too many companies develop shades with red/orange undertones for African-American women.
Yes, and actually anyone who matches NC40 or darker is going to find that there is too much orange or red, and not enough yellow or neutral based shades. I wear MAC NC37-40, 37 is great for about 4-5 months of the year, but I darken as we go into spring even though I hardly go out in daylight and always wear sunscreen. I suppose it’s just my DNA, but NC40 is the right depth for me now, but TOO orangey! Tarts seems to be going more neutral, but they need to expand their range more.
Figuring out my undertone AND finding a color that matches my neck. I purchased a too dark and a too light foundation by accident so now I have an idea that I need a foundation color that’s right in the middle…just call me Goldilocks…I’m looking for one that’s justtttt right.
Finding the right finish – I like full coverage but it doesn’t seem possible without a mask look, even after blending and blending and sheering it out.
Finding the right combination of attributes: A got color match (not too warm, not too cool, not too dark, not too light) with good coverage that doesn’t feel heavy, stays on my t-zone, doesn’t let too much oil through, doesn’t get cakey and that doesn’t accentuate dry spots. The best I have found was the old formula of Makeup Forever HD. Right now, I’m experimenting with Too Faced Born this Way. It fits most of those attributes, except I’m still trying to sort out how to get it to work for my oily nose.
Most brands are too dark/yellow. What they call fair/light makes me look tan. Not in a natural way-but like a mask. Even ‘makeup artist’ lines don’t make a color light enough with a truly cool undertone. Texture is my other issue. To thick, don’t blend well. No matter what price range.
Finding the right shade, for sure!! Being fair, for years, I didn’t wear it, because I didn’t really need it, and most shades were too dark, anyway. Now that I’m older, and my skin needs some help, I would just buy what I thought was right, usually the lightest shade at the drugstore, but it always looked wrong on. In the past, when I would ask for help, I would ALWAYS get recommended something too dark–I would be told to use foundation to add color to my face, and end up looking orange.
Now, there’s so much more emphasis on matching and undertones, and soooo many more foundations for fair skin available. My mom had a Color Me Beautiful party when I was a kid (WHO REMEMBERS THAT???), and I always knew I was strongly cool-toned in terms of clothing, so I always bought cool-toned foundations, but they never quite looked right. So I went to Sephora to get matched by someone else. She used the zapper thing as a starting point, which read WAY too dark, but then adjusted from there, using swatches on my jaw. I ended up needing more neutral tones, which at first I resisted–I KNEW I was cool-toned!!! But yeah. The neutral shades worked sooo much better. So I guess finding a light enough shade, and losing my preconceived ideas about what I should wear.
FREAKING FOUNDATIONS
Matching my skin is so ridiculously hard, especially since I stick to the drugstore more than anything else. I’m fair with neutral/yellow undertones. Foundations are a nightmare: they either run straight yellow or way too pink, neutral looks just orange on me, and there are like three DS brands that actually go up to my level of pale. By far it’s not lacking as much in the pale range as shades for WOC but it’s still frustrating.
And then there are the ever-present skin concerns. The Maybelleine Fit Me Dewy + Smooth feels perfect on my skin which leans incredibly dry in winter/spring mountain weather. Problem is that it’s usually only carried up to 115 and I wear 110/112 in the Matte + Poreless line. Trying to mix the two sometimes works really well but other times means I get half oily, half dry, and caked up everywhere it isn’t one or the other.
Foundations are hard, man.
Finding the right shade for my light olive undertones and slight yellow overtones. I’m ultimately very neutral in my complexion, but ‘neutral’ is often interpreted as a mix of pink and yellow tones.
Finding the right shade. I have extremely fair skin and strong cool olive undertones. I finally found good foundation for summer – MUFE Ultra HD in 117, but in winter I get much paler and it starts to look orange-y on me, especially in the lower face area. My neck is basically white with a hint of teal and my face starts to look like a mask
-Finding a shade that’s light enough and yellow enough to match my neck. If we’re talking the perfect, “I don’t have to adjust this myself” shade, then the shade can’t be primarily white or it makes me look like a ghost, but it also can’t be orange, tan/beige or peach. I’ve bought a slew of light warm toned foundations but in most of my pictures (I take a lot of pictures to see how foundations look on me) it’s basically just different variations of light white/tan/orange/peach foundation tones on top of a light yellow neck. Why is light and yellow so difficult to find? Even the foundations that LOOK yellow in the tube/swatched often change to white or peach once applied.
-Finding a formula that will not catch on Every. Single. dry spot.
-Finding a formula that will not make my skin glow/shine like I just came out of the water (I don’t need matte foundation, but I detest looking shiny).
Can’t say I’ve come across one yet that meets all those requirements.
Funny, i have the opposite problem with a lighter neck but darker face. I attribute it to wearing the wrong shade throughout my late teens and 20s. Mac first came out when I was in my late teens so of course I was all over them with the foundation as if it were the latest and greatest thing to hit mankind. However, I think at that time they weren’t very familiar with Asian skin tones and gave me the wrong shade. Since they are professionals I figured they were right, but as I got older, I realized, looking orange is not the way it’s supposed to be. I feel that because of the consistent use, the skin on my face is permanently stained an odd colour that won’t wash or exfoliate off. So yes, definitely finding the right match is most important to me. Although, I hardly wear foundation anymore after that, I mostly stick to tinted moisturizer since I figure it’s not as pigmented but can still even out skin tone.
Finding one that matches my skintone/undertones, long wearing, good coverage (needs to covers my redness). I always use a primer but it needs to last a long time combined with the primer as I don’t want to see redness coming through halfway through the day.
I’ve nearly given up. I got so tired of having to buy two shades and mixing them! I pretty much stick to tinted moisturizers or bb creams. They are much more forgiving when blending. Not a lot of coverage, but that is okay with me. Currently I am enjoying Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer in Nude ( I confess I bought the shade Natural as well just in case. ?) then I use Laura Mercier translucent powder to set.
Priscilla…I am in TOTAL agreement with you! I had an SA suggest that I mix two foundations to get the right color. I do NOT like to spend a lot of time with makeup application and the the very thought of daily foundation mixing was a giant STOP sign in my brain! I’m going to take a look at your Laura Mercier combination!
Finding a formulation that does not emphasize my large pores and uneven texture.
Without a doubt my biggest issue is finding a matching colour for my fair, dry, aging, neutral/yellow based skin. Most foundations for fair skins are too pink. My best match so far is the Bobbie Brown serum foundation in 2.5 but it contains so much fragrance! It smells like lavender to me. I have literally been searching for years. It’s so frustrating.
Finding one that doesn’t look like a mask on my skin has been my biggest challenge.
Shade match and texture solutions for my skin.
All that the stores match me to are too yellow. I have to mix shades to match my skin tone. Then the battle of blotchy neck coverage begins.
I am very pale and have the problem that nearly all foundations are too yellow for me Even in the lightest shade. I try to fix this problem by mixing foundation with lavender toned primers.
Another problem is that the few foundations which have the right colour for me do not have the right formula.
So I have some foundations I really like because of the colour Match or because of the formula but no foundation with the right colour AND formula.
I love Marc Jacobs foundation concentrate in ivory 10 but have problems with applying because it dries so fast. The colour Match is really good.
I have the opposite problem. I’m practically paper-white, but have a yellow-olive undertone and most light foundations run pink (when they make them fair enough). Have you tried Too Faced Born This Way in Snow or MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NW10? Those are two that I know for a fact run very pink-toned pale. Hope you can find something that works for you! I’m still searching!
Yes I have Mac NW10 and it looks good but not very long.
The too faced Snow is on my wishlist
Recently tried tarte full coverage in the lightest shade but it is a little bit too yellow and the new nars foundation in Terre neuve, this colour looks so light when you search the Internet for swatches but in real life it is also a Little bit yellow, thought this colour Must be a Perfect Match from the swatches but it is not
I still haven’t found one! My skin is very very pale, not prone to breakouts but dry and can be sensitive, and my nose gets quite shiny quickly. I also have very visibly pores. I’ve tried Touché eclat, ultra HD, NARS sheer glow and matte velvet, pro long wear, CT magic foundation and many others but none has worked. It seems trying to get medium-full coverage that doesn’t irritate or sink into pores is really tough.
The ultra HD is also on my wishlist but I find it difficult to find the right colour because I have no Store here in germany and would have to buy it “blind” from sephora
I found the ultra HD really emphasised my pores and sat really badly. It’s a shame they don’t have the old formulation anymore as I think that was better.
I cannot find a good, medium-full coverage foundation for dry skin.
The right foundation for me does not exist – as far as I know. I suffer from severe eczema, but I am also incredibly pale and yellow-olive toned. I’ve tried hundreds of foundations, but either the foundation is too drying, too dark or too sheer. I am a perfect match to NARS Siberia, but their foundations crack horribly on my skin. Too Faced Born This Way foundation is hydrating enough and doesn’t give ideal coverage, but gives the best I’ve found, but they don’t have my shade. I’m sick of there only being “tinted moisturizers” as options from major companies for dry skin. I worked as a makeup artist for years and have found it’s a much more common problem than you’d expect.
Finding a shade that matches my weird skin tone is the biggest problem. I have fair to light olive ish skin. Neutral and cool tones are way too pink, but warm/golden ones are too orange/yellow. Fair is too light, but light is too dark. Then, on top of that, my skin is super oily and eats away at everything within a couple hours.
I share that issue, albeit I have dry flakes but oil up easily, too.
Have you found a foundation which works?
Honestly, the colors I hAve still don’t match perfectly, so I just blend them down my neck and load on powder and primer to keep them from sliding off. I’ve been using tarte’s 12 hour Amazonian clay in light sand, but it would probably be better mixed with fair sand. Nars all day luminous in gobi is also pretty close and that one has extreme coverage! A mix of MAC’s nc15 and nc20 is decent too in the studio fix fluid. Their prolong wear runs darker, so the nc15 is kind of similar to the mixture, but I don’t like how it feels. Loreal true match in w2 is pretty close too. Hope that ramble helps!
My complexion color is the very definition of neutral. All of the tricks for determining undertone do not apply to me. Most foundations, even though they claim to be neutral still lean to the cool or warm side. I have frustrated one than one SA in the quest to color match a foundation to my skintone…even MAC!
The other is finding one that is lightweight enough but still overs coverage. I can’t stand to feel like, “oh, there is foundation on my face”. I thought I had hit the jackpot when I finally found a great color and lightweight texture in the Pur Minerals 4 in 1 pressed powder. I wore it with great success for about 3 years, but as my skin became drier, it made me look old. I’m back on the hamster wheel with 2 failures in the last 8 months. Right now, I’m wearing the best of the worst.
My challenge is finding a match for my Living Dead Girl look! 😛 Joking aside, it has to be quite pale, and then I have to worry about price. For example, I want to give tarte’s Amazonian something something a try in the wide brown tubes, but that won’t happen because it’s $42 after tax and I’d like to keep a little money! >_< I was able to get Kat Von D's Lock-It foundation in Light 42, the perfect match for me, since that's a teensy bit easier on the wallet. Drugstore foundations, which I usually go with, just don't match but I suffer through. The lightest of the light tends to be too dark; Maybelline Fit Me! has rectified this but I need a place with a good return policy on cosmetics if I hate the formula + that's more work to find a good price. On top of all that, I have to be weary of the addition of sunscreen because it's often times titanium dioxide based and my allergic reactions look like giant clusters of severe pimples. 🙁 Not fun. In very small amounts, I can handle it in a liquid/cream foundation. It doesn't affect me in powders because those sit on top of the skin without being absorbed. Because of that, I can't use the mixing drops sold by NYX and the Body Shop for lightening foundation (ugh!).
I can't win LOL. Another reason I can't win, I might have to run around to multiple stores to get the ONE color I need! I went to three different Sephoras till I gave up and went to Sephora inside JCP where I finally found a few bottles of Light 42. It's ridiculously popular here apparently… But not many of the Beautyblender for KVD sets had been sold ironically.
I’m actually so pale a lot of the lightest shades don’t work for me (which is nothing compared to the problems darker skinned ladies/gentlemen have when looking for foundation though). I also find because I have really red cheeks because of rosacea, if I try to get shade matched in-store a lot of the people go for something with more pink undertones instead of neutral or yellow, ignoring the fact that I have cool undertones instead of warm ones on my face. They always end up wiping that one off as it doesn’t work and reaching for the one I recommended we try first… I also have sinus issues so I reach for tissues a lot so it’s hard to find a foundation that stays in place with constant nose blowing.
1) finding a color match with all of the below requirements
2) finding one that is matte but not cakey or TOO matte because I have sensitive, combination skin with drier areas where I have/had acne but a super oily t-zone
3) finding one that is LONG lasting. I have a 16 hour work day typically so this is really important
the only foundation I’ve found that works for me with all of these is the loreal pro-matte liquid, applied with the real techniques sponge wetted with MAC fix+, with hourglass mineral veil primer all over my face and becca ever matte primer on my nose and forehead
A foundation that works for an aging ,oily skin with large open pores.nothing seems to work apart from Bare Minerals original foundation. But I really really want to be able to use a liquid or cream foundation. I have tried so many primers , but no matter how I apply them they still just settle into the craters I mean pores on my face.any one have any suggestions? When I go to make up counters and I ask what they have for my problem I always seem to go away with a product that I don’t really want, but I feel guilty walking away with out buying some thing.!! Stupid huh. Oh well.
Like everyone else, realising that the shade I had been using most of my life did not really suit me (yellow undertones) and that really I needed a fair, porcelain, ivory one with pink undertones. It has made all the difference.
I use Rimmel’s Match Perfection foundation in light porcelain.
It is always a challenge! When I found the perfect color through the internet I have to find out if the color oxidizes….
I have tried every foundation out there. My skin tone is way off. I look for the correct undertones, too much yellow I look like a banana . Too much pink is not for me either. I also have a problem with the foundation creeping into my wrinkles. UGH!!! Too dewy or luminous also make my wrinkles go pop!!!!. Then is the issue of staying power and blending. After all these years of the makeup industry creating so many different types of makeup, you would think by now they would have perfected the perfect foundation for every skin color,tone,and complexion type.
I don’t really struggle with finding a shade match, but I’ve yet to find a foundation that doesn’t emphasize my dryness or forehead wrinkles.
Finding a formula that doesn’t spotlight texture issues with my aging skin.
Backround: My face and arms are about a shade or two darker than the rest of me (I was such an idiot with sunscreen, but I’m getting better now). My body is light but my face/arms are about light-med (leans a bit more towards med), depending on what foundation.
Issues: My biggest challenges are shade and undertone. It’s always so hard for me to find the right shade for my face that’s not too light or too dark without mixing shades. I’m just barely warm toned so a lot of warm foundations seem to lean so yellow, so I mix it with a neutral/cool shade or I buy the opposite and mix with a yellow. On top of that though, I have combo-oily skin so I prefer a med-full matte coverage that can actually last (not much luck there either). I have a collection of foundations in my room now that make me feel like I’m a scientist trying to find the perfect ratio.
Finding a pale shade with the correct undertone. All the ones I’ve tried are either too pink, too peach, or too yellow for me.
#Foundation problems! Seems like a lot of us have problems matching foundations to our skin. Finding a good colour match to my skin tone is easier now, but I’d like a more moisturising one. Most foundations show up my dry patches which is not what I want! I agree with Autumn that it’s difficult to find one that suits your dry skin without looking caked on. I always prep my skin with exfoliator, lots of moisturiser, and sometimes use a primer and STILL it shows up my dry patches! Doesn’t matter whether I wait 10 mins after moisturising my face or do it straight after, I still have problems unless I use a really good tinted moisturiser, mixed with a bit of my moisturiser.
My greatest challenge has been finding one that agrees with my skin. Foundation is the only type of makeup that will cause me to have a reaction, so I stick to the two that I know will not cause any problems.
Finding a match to my in between shades face/neck. My skin is slightly pink while my neck is more yellow/peachy so yellow tones look bad, pink tones look bad, and not many brands have a shade that has peach undertones. Neutral shades look too gray. I found the perfect match, though, in YSL Touche Eclat! (It’s too bad, though, because I love, love, love the way NARS foundation looks on me–but I could not find a color match.)
I have aging, dry skin. I have an excellent skin care routine and was blessed with good skin genes – although I do have a few wrinkles. I use a moisturizer with sunscreen before applying foundation, but some foundations look patchy on me as the day wears on. I want a medium coverage, moisture-rich foundation that doesn’t slip around on top of my skin or look cakey with powder over it. I want a dewy finish, not matte. The best foundation I have found that works for me is Naked Skin by Urban Decay, but the finish is more matte than dewy. I have tried about a hundred (no lie) different foundations over the years, from drug store t high end, and “the one” has eluded me. I can generally find a color match (lucky me!).
I read about Guerlain Lingerie De Peau Invisible Skin Fusion Foundation SPF 20 on this web site. I gave it a try in their lightest color #01 Beige Pale. I bought it from Sephora.com. It is THE BEST foundation I have ever tried, and I have tried many foundations over my 68 years. Now I see that Sephora.com also has a powder version of the same product which I could carry in my purse. I found out by corresponding with the Guerlain company in Paris that Guerlain Lingerie De Peau Nude Powder Foundation SPF 20 #01 Pale Beige is only available in Asia or ordered from one of the Paris Guerlain boutiques, with a shipping price of approx. $64.00 US Dollars. Quel douleur!!! There are us fair-skinned ladies all over the world, not just in Asia!!!
Finding one that doesn’t cake, emphasize dry patches, or get into pores as my skin is now “mature” and have rosacea issues as well.
Well the first is, it gets discontinued or no longer is sold in the States. Example Max Factor. But I would say, a foundation that doesn’t stay on, or is hard to go on. If it feels too heavy, yet doesn’t cover. Too light and doesn’t cover. The change in a color, the orange or yellow look, and the mask look. Ugh, all the way! 🙂
Perfect color and undertone ( yellow) match sheer, yet which works for all seasons. Something which has high spf is perfect for day time wear ( so that i can skip the sunscreen); and something which gives a glow from within look for evening time ( sometimes i add a bit of liquid highlighter for that subtle glowly look). But I donot prefer a heavy full coverage foundation at all.
I’m super pale and like to be as pale as realistically possible so finding a foundation pale enough for me has always been difficult, especially when I was a young teenager with limited funds. I always wore Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse in Porcelain and was ecstatic when they brought out a lighter shade, Champagne/Light Porcelain. Nowadays many brands have extended their shades to accommodate both paler and darker skin tones, which is great. I wear Dermacol Makeup Cover in their lightest neutral shade which is a great match for me. Others I like are Illamasqua Skin Base in SB02 and YSL Touche Eclat Le Teint in B10.
Finding one that matches my light yellow skin and also completements my older, oily skin by not setting into my pores and lasting all day. Oh, should have an spf of 30.
I am fair with a bit of pink undertones (I think). I found Buxom Tickle the Ivory (can’t find in Sephora stores anymore) and Tarte’s BB Tinted Primer in fair look best on me. Everything else was too dark or too yellow and I tried quite a few.
I live in the middle of nowhere with no Sephora or Ulta close by, so I have to do lots of guessing and many mail-back returns just to find a color that works!
Like you, finding that color match for my light medium skin as well as the most skin like feel and finish. If I spray tan matching us easier but No match without. My ideal almost exists- Bare Minerals powder foundations give good coverage with a very light feel and skin-like finish. Problem is finding a liquid that does the same in the right color. My quest continues….
Color – I’m fair/light, but olive-leaning-neutral undertones. MUFE UltraHD in Y235 is the best match I’ve encountered & I will be very sad if it gets discontinued.
Then it has to not irritate my dermatitis prone skin.