Tuesday 1 July 2014

5 Foundations that Don't Match


I like to group my foundations into two categories - the ones that DON'T match me, and the ones that DO. I know, that sounds completely ridiculous and superfluous that I even own foundations that do not match my skin tone, but it has taken endless trial and error to figure out the right foundation shade and tone.
Over two years or so, dollars and tears have been shed in attempts to locate a very light, yellow-based (around NC15) foundation. I prefer not to think of it as a waste of money because each failure brought me just one step closer to figuring out what shade best suited me.

Just for a bit of a laugh at how stupid I was during my early makeup endeavours, I decided to put together all my ill-matching foundations and do mini reviews on them. For swatches, refer to the end of this post.


Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation in 100 Ivory (AUD~15)

My review of this wasn't too positive but basically this foundation offers sheer coverage so I guess that works to my advantage with it being the wrong shade. 100 Ivory is anything but. Ivory has the connotations of something very light, and yet this foundation is definitely too dark for fair skin girls although it does look like it is yellow-based. 

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in Light Porcelain (AUD$17.95)

Now I had high hopes for this one considering it is named Light Porcelain. I remember buying it on impulse while thinking "Yes! Finally a shade light enough for me". While the degree of 'light-ness' is spot on, the undertone is sadly not (it's more pink based). But this foundation does offer a lovely dewy finish with light, buildable coverage so if you are fair skin with pink undertones and often struggle to find a foundation light enough, I would say check it out!

Essence Soft Touch Mousse Makeup in 01 Matt Sand (AUD$6.50)

I remember using this foundation frequently for a period of time before I realized it was too dark and that it created an obvious splotch on my cheek that was more er, "tanned" than the other parts of my face. It has an interesting mousse texture that has a powdery finish. Unfortunately you can't build it up too much or it might look like your face was crumbling off but it is a super affordable, everyday option. 

Maybelline Superstay 24Hour Foundation in Sand Beige (AUD$21.95)

This is probably the most disappointing. Clearly, I was fooled by store lighting and my brain again as I went home with a foundation that was much too dark. The preceding shade was too pink so my thinking at the time was that Sand Beige would be a better match. Like the Rimmel Stay Matte, it is more suited for medium, yellow-toned girls. 
It also claims to be "No-Transfer" and yet it did seem to like staining my clothes. Although the coverage was certainly there, it didn't look very natural at all and accentuated any bumps or unevenness. 

Covergirl Clean Foundation in 140 Natural Beige (AUD$15.50)

Do you ever see someone sporting the classic "orange-foundation-look" with that really bad foundation line and then mentally judge them? I admit that I'm guilty of that, but I too went through that embarrassing phase. This was my first ever foundation and naturally, I had no knowledge of the right way to colour match myself so what did I do? Stare at the colour of the bottles, cross my fingers and hope for the best. Let's just say, Natural Beige turned out to be UN-natural Beige (see swatch below). This was what I wore for a dance recital 4 years back so my oompa-loompa look is documented on DVD forever. 

Not only does this foundation feel horrifyingly greasy on the skin, it also has the strongest paint smell I've ever come across in a foundation. I can already feel my face starting to itch just writing about it. 

essence matt sand rimmel ivory maybelline sand beige covergirl natural beige light porcelain
L to R: Essence Soft Touch Mousse in Matt Sand ||  Rimmel Stay Matte in 100 Ivory || Maybelline Superstay in Sand Beige || Rimmel Match Perfection in Light Porcelain || Covergirl Clean Foundation in Natural Beige
Above foundations blended out
I know that foundation shades are obviously subjective but I thought it might be helpful for those as pale as myself and that my thoughts on these foundations might be of interest too. 

By the way, I've decided to start getting more connected with my readers so I've created an INSTAGRAM for this blog. Go check it out here and follow if you want to chat and get updated on posts!

Are you an expert at finding your perfect shade?
Or if you're completely hopeless like me, I'd love to know too!


36 comments:

  1. Wow! That natural beige is soooo dark!
    I am also not very good at finding a shade that matches me when I'm in store. When I worked with Napoleon makeup, I took a sample home that I thought matched my skin but ended up having to mix shades to make it match. Sigh.
    I love getting matched for foundation at the cosmetic counters though!

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    1. I've never gotten matched because I feel like I know my shades pretty well now but having to mix shades is such a pain! Store lighting is tricky tricky. x

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  2. Wowza - that CG foundation is dark! Ahahaa I am so guilty of judging girls with 'the line', there is one girl in particular in my grade who cakes on orange foundation erryday - it literally looks like she sets her foundation with orange bronzer. Not a good look. That sucks though that you have such a hard skin tone to match! I'm pretty lucky that most medium shades suit me.

    Tasha // shiwashiful.

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    1. Haha I know right, why was I so blind back then?!
      Same here, I've seen so many girls with that foundation line, but none quite as bad as the Covergirl Foundation haha.

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  3. that last one is so so dark! but yes this is so helpful I own some of these myself... I used to wear foundation that was too light for me so I'd look pale lol now I'm slowly transitioning to a more natural shade that suits. It's hard to get out of habits though. http://maybemayhemmakeup.blogspot.com.au/

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    1. I know what you mean!
      My skin is super pale now due to wearing foundation and so now my face is lighter than the rest of my body xD

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  4. O.M.G. I struggle so bad when it comes to choosing the right foundation shade! I would say that I'm like neutral toned with more yellow but I'm pretty light so sometimes brands don't cater towards that shade!! :( I have tried the Maybelline one in Sand Beige and holy crap its so pink based my skin looks so awkward in it!!

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    1. Same here! "Light" is always just not light enough for me! And yeah Sand Beige looked really off on my skin too. x

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  5. that covergirl "natural beige" is way too dark from usual natural beige in my expectation !!
    Maybe you can try asian BB cream, it will turned into your skin tone in 15 minutes so you don't have to worry if its not match your skin

    http://amourpixie.blogspot.com/

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    1. I love asian BB creams and I recently did a review of some here http://berrixbeauty.blogspot.com/2014/06/battle-of-bb-creams.html

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  6. DANG, that cover girl is seriously so dark! Asian brands with the shade name 'natural beige' are like a light flesh color not such a deep tan! Great for tanner and deep skined girls I guess! I had a horrible run in with the stay matte foundation because it's so sheer and NOT matte! I couldn't believe it and threw it out really soon after buying it! I don't have a hard time buying foundation though, although I've been ordering more bits recently. I'm usually the second lightest shade? at least in asian ranges but something light and yellow works for me! My body is quite much tanner so I can work with something thats a bit beige too.

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    1. I suppose it is natural for those already with deeper skin tones eh?
      I agree! The Stay Matte offers hardly any coverage and feels kind of oily.
      Oh I see, I'm usually the lightest yellow shade!

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  7. These swatches are really helpful!! I will make sure to never buy this shade from cover girl because I am even paler than you so it would be a disaster! I only own Wake me up foundation by Rimmel and I am 100% sattisfied!! Nice post! Keep in touch! :D
    Maria xox
    http://aresmar.blogspot.com

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    1. I think Rimmel's Wake me up and Match Perfection have really light shades, which would suit you! Thank you! x

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  8. I struggle finding the right foundation! I use Rimmel Match perfection at the moment and it seems to be my favourite so far! These swatches are helpful though! :)

    The Sunday Chapter
    Angela xo

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    1. The formula is great, although I just suck at choosing the right shade. Thank you! x

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  9. Thanks for the roundup of foundations! I'm terrible at picking my own shade, it takes multiple attempts for me to get the perfect foundation color!
    <3 Pauline, ­­Addicted to Makeup

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  10. I actually dont own any foundations because I know I will be the type of person who struggles to find the right shade! So I just stick with BB creams :)

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    1. If I had good skin, I would totally stick with BB creams. I feel like foundation just clogs up my skin and make it hard to breathe. x

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  11. Oh the struggles of finding the right drugstore foundation! I was a lucky teenager, I never bothered to wear foundation, so I never had the problem of being oranged face (which I would have, because I too am super pale). Thankfully it didn't take me long to find the right shade, and when I go foundation shopping I use Bourjois healthy mix 51 (the new formula unfortunately is now a little too dark!) as a guide to find the right shade.
    Also, the new Rimmel Stay Matte formula is way better than the old one!

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    1. The Stay Matte Mousse one right? Yeah, that one sounds much better and actually offers some coverage.
      Bourjois is pretty good in terms of light shades :) x

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  12. I don't think we have some of these foundations in the UK as I don't recognise some, except the Rimmel Stay Matte. I've had the 'too pink' problem with their makeup before also, I'm quite fair and I find that a lot of light foundations make me look like Piglet! The perfect foundation struggle, hey :) I think my favourite drugstore foundation is Revlon PhotoReady, I've repurchased around three times and always go back to it!

    Meg xo
    Meg Says | Health & Beauty

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    1. Oh that's interesting, you don't have Maybelline Superstay? I know UK doesn't have Covergirl, but it's not a shame that you miss out on the Clean Foundation.

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  13. Sheri, have you ever heard of EX1? Apparently their foundations are specifically for those of us with yellow undertones. I'm gonna check it out once I go through the 3 foundations I currently own! :)
    http://www.lookfantastic.com/brands/ex1-cosmetics.list

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    1. Interesting! Never heard of them but that sounds like music to my ears. Thanks for the heads up! x

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  14. It's kind of hard for me to find the perfect shade. I don't know about foundation since I don't use it. But when it comes to BB cream I usually pick the second shade just to be safe, so it won't be too light or too dark for me.

    xx
    http://felishmichelle.blogspot.com

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    1. It's interesting to hear how people pick their different shades. I'm usually the second lightest shade too. I think I'd rather go lighter so I can colour match using powder. x

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  15. I'm so happy I found this post because my foundation is just about to run out, and they no longer make it. I think Match Perfection in Light Porcelain would be great for me because I'm really pale and my skin has pink undertones. It's true that even with the lightest shades, they are sometimes too dark for pale skinned girls.

    Pnk Cynthia

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    1. Definitely check it out! I was so excited about the pale-ness that I didn't even look at the undertones >.<

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  16. I'm terrible at picking out foundation shades as well, it's so hard to pick the right one when the artificial lighting in the store is so bad, I always walk out with strips of orange swatches on the back of my hand! But I definitely need to check out the Rimmel Match Perfection foundation!

    Yet Another Makeup Blog.

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    1. Darn store lighting... such trickery! x

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  17. ...WHAT WERE YOU THINKING WHEN YOU PICKED UP THAT CG FOUNDATION AND HOW DIMLY WAS THE STORE LIT?? One of the first foundations I ever picked up was that CG one too, and thankfully, I managed to return it because...it sucks. Also, is it just me or is it super hard to find a yellowy foundation at the drugstore? I've basically just resorted to buying BBs at the drugstore :(

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    1. Haha I know!!! I was a complete fool. I think I was stressed at the moment so I was like just grab any foundation and go.
      I don't think we can return foundations here but if we could...
      And yeah, a lot of drugstore shades are quite pink!

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  18. Great post, very helpful. Have you tried Neutrogena Healthy Skin Liquid Makeup? It's my favorite drugstore foundation, a dupe for Nars Sheer Glow.

    xoxo,
    Bobbi
    www.busyandbeautiful.com

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    1. I haven't tried it because we don't have it here but I really want to, heard great things about it. x

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