With the whole Fenty effect and the general expansion of available foundations shades happening all over the place, you’d think that finding an exact foundation match would be more commonplace, right? But I’ve still yet to experience it. Right now the closest I can get is the Honey Bronze shade in the various Estée Lauder Double Wear Foundation formulas, but it’s still not an exact, dead-on match for my skin. It leans sliiiightly warm.
Really darn close, though.
I also get close with Fenty 310 (but it’s also a little warm).
I’m guessing that most people aren’t able to find a a perfect, exact foundation match, because people are complex. There’s only one you, after all, and finding an exact match with a product right off the shelf would be like finding a needle in a haystack, right?
But I don’t know…
One of these days, I’d like to try a custom matching service like Lancôme’s, but it’s $88! That’s so pricey, but it might be worth it just to try once.
How about you? Have you ever found a perfect foundation match from a product right off the shelf without having to mix it with anything at all? Inquiring minds want to know.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Most of the time, I get as close as possible. I don’t mind when foundations lean a little warm on me. I don’t like when they are too yellow or peachy either. I have been using tinted moisturizer lately, so a little warmth is good for me especially in the summer months. I also have redness on my chest so that can complicate things. I can always balance it out with bronzer.
I’ve had a really hard time finding a true match for my skin. I’m Chinese, and my skin is on the tanner, yellow side, but it also has pink undertones. I also have freckles. I’m wondering if any other Asians have this issue.
I once had a Prescriptives custom shade done back in the day, but I hated the texture of it. Now I really only wear a basic BB cream because finding a true match is so hard.
I’m half-Asian and have a difficult time finding close matches for my skin tone. Well, except for, L’Oreal’s True Match. It is the closest I have found and I like the amount of coverage. Also, Exuviance Skin-Caring foundation, which is almost an exact match. The Exuviance isn’t as full coverage as I would like though for my 61-year-old skin.
Yes! Chinese gal here too. Most foundations look too yellow on me, because my skin has definite red/pink undertones. I want to try Shiseido, hoping that an Asian brand will have a color that matches me.
Being a pale olive skin tone with lots of gray and only slightly yellow undertones, I don’t think the beauty industry will ever make a color for me.
I once discovered an EXACT match though… only to find out that that particular color was discontinued and they hadn’t removed the tester from the shelf LOL. It was Armani’s Maestro Fusion foundation in 4.75.
BTW – I did try the Lancome custom foundation. It was… ok. The assistant who made it for me kept trying to make it warmer than I wanted. In the end, the color match was pretty darn close (although still not as good as the Armani). But, for $88, the formula was only eh, and my dry skin just sucked it up. I used it three times and used around a quarter of the bottle before the bottle broke. I called Lancome customer service to order a new pump, but they said my only option was to return. I appreciated that they refunded me in full, but I just wanted the foundation LOL. I have an easier time in summer matching, with a full tan, but in the winter, forget about it.
There’s also the fact that my face is naturally darker than my neck, even without makeup, making me look like I have the wrong shade on my bare face.
Even brands that specialize in olive skin types, like EX1, don’t make a pale enough color for me (and I’m really not that pale… around NC25 in winter, NC30 in summer), but most everything is just too yellow for me.
Le sigh.
I think the exact shade match was Bobbi Brown in 4.75 Golden natural, but since Bobbi Brown is expensive it’s like not having one.
I also remember Fenty and Estee Lauder being good matches, my main problem is that my undertone is yellower and greener than yours; there’s been some foundations that work on you, but end up being ashy on me.
I feel like the light-to-dark aspect has been more adequately addressed, especially lately, but I have yet to find a 100% match due to the issue of undertones – my skin is a medium shade but it is also very olive. I feel that olive skin tones are VERY misunderstood in the beauty industry in general. There is a misconception that olive means golden or bronze, and it doesn’t! It means green, thus the name “olive”. If it meant golden or bronze, that’s what it would be called. Things that make you go hmm! Yes, we tan easily, but we don’t often look good in makeup that is too warm or too orange. Most lines offer pink undertones (looks gray on me), yellow (looks mustard-y on me) or “neutral” (which usually means pink + yellow= peach : nope!) So it’s the sheer stuff only for me!
Bobbi Brown stick foundation I think it’s porcelain is an exact match for my skin. Or at least the closest I’ve ever gotten. Most tend to oxidize red on me so if I do find a good match it’s not by the end of the day. The stick foundation doesn’t do that.
Yes! The Urban Decay naked skin foundation in 3.0 🙂
I have tried the Lancome foundation and don’t like it that much. Even though the colormatch is excellent, the formula just sits on top of my skin and does ‘t blend very well.
Other than that, I also think it’s so hard to find a match since even my face has different tones in itself!
Never! My undertones are truly very neutral (I’ve known this since we drew portraits in middle school ?), and I think being heavily freckled complicates things – my freckles are quite a bit darker in summer, but I wish they were the summer color year round (obviously I just need to somewhere sunny mid-winter). I tend to go sheer because of the freckles, and for undertones, I’d rather veer warm than cool, but it looks odd if I go too far either way.
When I first started wearing foundation about 8 years ago, I tried Maybelline Fit Me Matte and Preless shade 220. It was an EXACT match, thus, setting me up for disappointment with every other foundation I’ve tried. I’m not as oily as I once was so I mix it with moisturizer and call it a day. I’m also into tinted moisturizer these days and don’t mind if it’s not a perfect match since it’s light coverage anyway.
The pro to this is that I never developed the view that high end foundation is any better than drugstore ones.
My answer. No. Never.
You and I have similar coloring. You would love Armani luminous silk. Either in 7.5 or 8. Flawless!
No, I don’t think I have ever found my perfect foundation. Even if I find almost the right shade, something is wrong with it – like it’s not full coverage like I need or it oxidizes or it wears poorly. Even though I agree $88 is a TON of money for a service like that, I think I would fork it over because of how many issues I have finding a foundation that works for me. I am super pale and have so many issues with foundations oxidizing and going orange, and on my skin, that is not okay! Or even the lightest foundation in a range is still too dark for me, or they only have one undertone and it’s not neutral, it’s warm, but I need cool. Uuuughhhhhh. It’s just super annoying.
Apparently my skin is like Loki, the Trickster god. When I wore the lightest BareMinerals original, it was the Cinderella of fits. Then I turned 50 and it no longer worked, not because the shade was off, but because I aged out of it. I glommed onto the IT CC in a tube in fair because that’s what everyone my age wears, but it’s a bit too dewy on those days when I’m out and about for hours, and it’s also a little yellow, in the last year, the hunt resumed. And that’s how long i searched. It took multiple consultations at MAC to finally get the right shade … NC10, which is more neutral than warm and three tries to discover I’m also Fair Neutral in Tarte Aqua Foundation. I will now wear these foundations forever, except on vacation, as it’s easiest to pack the Wet n Wild cushion in the lightest shade. As for my two hugely expensive foundations (Guerlain and Chanel … at least they were on sale) too dark and pink for me? That’s why they sell mix-in drops.
If it’s drugstore brand I make a guess.
If it’s department store I get matched . I usually go to Blue Mercury and they have makeup artists who are very helpful .
I’m presently using Hour Glass Illusion . I also have the stick .
And ambient powder in dim light .
Picture perfect !
In my late teens/early twenties I worked for a Prescriptives Counter where we did custom blend foundations and powders. Both the powder and the foundation were the most perfect match, ever. I have yet to find another perfect match since. Such a shame because Prescriptives really had some awesome stuff.
You can still buy Prescriptives online, even the custom liquid foundation. I know it’s not the same as physically going to a counter, but it’s still an option. Since you worked for Prescriptives, you’ll appreciate this: I’m a perfect 4.5 (which doesn’t exist) with yellow-orange undertones. #GingerAntelope ?
I have a medium skin with a very cool tone pink undertone to it, even when I’m tan.
Three close matches in no particular order:
Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue in Suede 04
Neutrogena Hydro Boost hydrating tint in soft beige 50
Armani Crema Nuda in 04 (when I wear this one, people comment on how flawless my skin looks) , I tell them I wear my money on my face 🙂
It, Josie Maran, Edward Bess and Laura Geller products give me a good match. I used to wear the original BE foundation, which was a perfect match until they changed the shades. With all the shades Fenty has, I was amazed that I couldn’t get a match with just one product. I would have had to mix two shades and that seemed like more work that I wanted.
Do not do the Lancôme match foundation!! Thataylaa on YouTube did this and IT STILL didn’t match her skin tone!!! Also when it’s time for a refill, you pay the 88 dollars AGAIN!! You would think for that type of money you would pay the high fee upfront and the regular price for refills since they know h9w to match you. Nope.
Never! I gave up on foundation and started only using CC cream. They all look orange or ghostly :$
have you tried the armani luminous silk karen? 6.5 is the closest match i’ve found (though fenty was close as well, though it was too heavily scented/broke me out). It’s not ‘exact’ but I really like the finish and its close enough where it’ll blend out so I only need to use it on certain spots on my face
Karen I am so glad you posted this because I seriously thought I was the only one with this very same issue! I tried the BM match were you take a photo with your phone and like magic the color is supposed to work ? we all know how that ended up! It’s gotten to the point that I’m so self conscious of the color being off I’m ready to stop using foundation all together! I’m jealous of those that can buy the $6 foundation at cvs and look amazing with it!
Bobbi Brown Warm Ivory is the closest match I’ve found for foundation. Paula Dorf tinted moisturizer in Capri was probably the closest overall, but of course it’s discontinued. I’m currently using Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue in Birch. It’s a bit too orange, but manageable since it’s sheer.
LOL. I went through several shades of pink, purple, grey and orange before actually understanding my colouring. I have neutral yellow/olive undertone with warm overtone (surface redness). I’d look warmer Any foundation that says “warm” usually translates to orange on my face. But the usual beige/neutral shades can easily turn my face pink/purple/gray. For the cherry on top, I am SD/PD-prone and avoiding cylopentasiloxane (it’s in almost EVERY base products), so that narrows my options by a lot.
So far, my most exact match is MAC F&B C3/C4/C5.
Fenty is getting there to but I have to mix 290 (too grey alone) and 310 (way too orange alone), the ratio of course depending on the depth of my skin at a given time. The same with Guerlain LdP, I had to mix 03W and a wee bit of 04W.
NARS is lauded for catering to yellow skintones? LIE. Almost all of them are way too peachy. I only have one match which is Stromboli in the ADLW formula which is a true olive-yellow. But it only fits me at my palest (i.e. winter time).
The latest match I found was Benefit Hello Happy Soft Glow 7. I think it’s still a bit too warm, especially stark between my jaw and neck. But from front-view, my face and neck/chest look even.
I’m also kind of olive, light to medium (depending on the season) and everyone wants to match me warmer than I am. I read that in bergdorffs in NYC the Kevyn Aucoin counter will custom match you in the Sensual Skin Enhancer formula, which retails for $48 for one of the in stock shades. So I went and they actually did a really bang up job. I guess I should have asked the price before because at the end I found out they charge over $100 for the custom match ?! but like I said it is the closest match I’ve ever gotten and it is lasting forever! A little goes so far I have barely made a dent in it 5 months later. I just am mixing a bit of the drunk elephant bronzi to darken it a bit for summer.
I think my closest match is Mac NC10 when I’m fair but I haven’t found a colour that works for me at my “tan” stage. I am quite olive when I have a tan but way too fair for most olive foundations, I find that a lot of fair foundations just read super orange on me. I feel like my skin tone is ever changing though, like every tiny thing effects it. I haven’t really looked at a lot of the newer brands such as Fenty because I live so very far away from any stores & I don’t risk online ordering. I’m definitely looking next time I’m near a store.
I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that I thought I had a perfect match with every brand I’ve tried. Clearly I’m not looking hard enough. I shudder to think what other people see. It’s probably for the best that I always go with sheer coverage!
My best match is the bobbi brown skin foundation stick in cool honey. I have medium-tan skin with neutral undertones, but most foundations are too yellow/golden base for me and then darken/oxidize. I am currently using the Lancome Skin Feels Good foundation (it’s more like a bb cream or tinted moisturizer, the coverage is light but nice) in 4N Golden Sand.
I have a hard time shade matching a lot but Make Up Forever Ultra HD liquid in Y215 is the closest I’ve ever gotten so if I’m at Sephora I’ll swatch that on my hand and compare other foundations to that for a shade match! It’s also hard because my neck, face, and chest are all slightly different shades so I’ll have to compromise, and I do get a bit tanner in summer.
Surprisingly, yes! MUFE HD Y225 surprised me, I got a sample from Sephora and it matches me EXACTLY. I love the formula too, so it’s a huge win.
I have tried at least 50 foundations in the last decade with minimal luck. Most of the time I’m between shades, but L’Oreál True Match in W8 seems to disappear into my skin, followed closely by Too Faced Born This Way in Brûlée. The NARS Pure Radiant TM in Seychelles works well & I loved the finish of the Lancôme Teint Miracle in 460W, but something in it makes my face itch. I tried the Prescriptives Custom Foundation, but it wasn’t perfect. I have a bottle of the Lancôme Teint Particulier. The first “color match” was peachy-pink, which I’m not, so I had to have it redone. The revised color is MUCH better, but I still think it’s a hair too light. I think I like the Teint Idole Ultra in 435 Bisque W better. I just wish I’d discovered that before spending the $88! Bobbi Brown’s newest foundation in 6.25 Cool Golden is pretty close, too.
No, oh gosh, still hunting. Hourglass Immaculate in Golden Amber comes pretty close, but slightly orange-y (who has orange skin — no-one — and yet why are so many tan to deep shades so orange?!?). The most human looking shades for my tone seem to be MUFE, Y455 comes pretty close. Right now I’m wearing their HD Skin Perfector in shade 9 and that’s a nice golden carmelly shade that doesn’t skew orange.
There seem to be a lot of olive skin ladies no here. I’ve heard good things about Cover FX for olive skin tones.
Ack, I meant MUFE Y445, although, 455 is good too, a little more golden than 445.