5 women with different skin tones talk about finding the right foundation
Alexandra - fair skin with a neutral undertone
What has been your biggest challenge in colour cosmetics?
The main issue is finding something with full coverage in my very light skin tone that is neutral. I think that if you’re on extremes of the colour spectrum, either really dark or really fair, it gets a bit tricky. For me, the shades I find are either too cool or too warm, there isn’t enough offering in neutral skin tones.
What would you like to achieve with your foundations, i.e. coverage, etc?
I would like full coverage, but because my colour is never accurate I often go for medium to sheer coverage. On top of that, I’m no professional makeup artist, so I’m not good at mixing shades and blending - I would just love a simple product, my go-to colour and brand.
What products are you currently using?
Currently, I’m using Armani silk foundation and primer - but always on the lookout for something better.
How do you think brands can help in the shade and foundation-finding process for consumers?
In my opinion and according to my challenge with colour cosmetics, I think it’s a fundamental issue of shade diversity. I know its something not common for a fair person to be saying this as I know darker shades have the same issue, but I think it should be quality over quantity. Yes, there are brands with 60 shades and so on but I feel those shades are not representative of the in-between shades, they could just be the most common 60 shades. But skin tones are so complex, I wonder if it’s something brands could ever master. Perhaps that may seem farfetched for where the industry is with diversity. So for now, it would make a huge difference if I just received more in-depth consultations in finding my shade. From helping me correctly determine my undertone and the best matching shade of 100 of options.
Melissa - light skin with a warm undertone
Have you ever purchased a foundation online?
I have not really bought foundations online. I am too nervous about how it will actually look on my skin because there isn’t much information on how to correctly match it to my specific shade.
How did you find your shade and was it easy?
I’m not completely sure I’m even using the right shade but I went into a store to test them out on my hand, I generally saw a wide range of medium tones so it was quite simple to find my shade.
Why do you use the products that you use?
Generally, I really just go by in-store recommendations and trust them more if they are popular brands. My go-to’s right now are REVLON, Wet-n-Wild, and tarte.
Shauneez - light brown with warm undertone
What has been your main struggle with colour cosmetics?
My main struggle is finding a foundation that is the perfect balance between dewy but not too oily and not matt either i.e. so hydrating but not oily. I found that not many brands provided skin care benefits or skin type related information on the foundation.
What do you like about the Skin Match Technology Foundation finder?
What I love about the Skin Match Technology foundation finder is that it cross-matches from other brands, so if I want to try a new foundation I don’t have to go through the process of finding a foundation that’s a perfect balance (as mentioned above) the shade finder will recommend one similar.
What are your current products and why do you use them?
I switch between an oil-free tinted moisturiser with SPF 50 from Heliocare shade brown for summer and the Rare Beauty Tinted moisturiser shade 36C for winter as well as the Brulée Beauty concealer in shade 4.
I’ve found that my shade is really in-between, I was using the L.A girl pro-concealer but it was always a lucky packet, I’d never find my shade all the time and I’d find myself using either a shade similar to the same line which would lead me to avoid wearing concealer altogether.
However, since I found Brulée Beauty, which is a brand specifically for golden skin tones, I’ve literally found the perfect shade because of its formulation with a built-in colour corrector made for warm undertones. So, I guess it’s a matter of finding a colour cosmetic brand that truly understands certain skin tones.
Pro Tip: The foundation finder by Skin Match Technology is built from an extensive database of 10’000 Products from a wide range of brands and 112 Different Skin Tones. Talk to us to find out how it could work for your brand >>
Noelia - brown skin with warm and cool undertones
What to do when your current Foundation gets discontinued?
I didn’t know that you could return foundations and I usually pay around $60-$90 for a foundation so I won’t buy at all unless I am completely sure they fit my skin tone. Especially when a company discontinues a line. When the original Dior Forever Skin was discontinued I didn’t go get my current YSL Foundation until a long search of 2 years.
Even though Sephora in the US (and other stores, maybe) offers the shade match device solution in-store other countries aren’t so lucky. I’ve been to a few countries where I had to go from store to store to get find a different shade but couldn’t because nobody could really help in shade matching a new product to my existing one.
Google says that more than 60% of online beauty shoppers have decided not to purchase a beauty or cosmetic item online because they didn’t know which color or shade to choose. Additionally, 41% have returned an item because it was the wrong shade.
What has been your experience when using brands that have the Skin Match Technology Foundation finder?
I love the detail of the foundation finder. When I am completing it, the questions aren’t just the “basic” questions. It is detailed to get my full profile before making any suggestions. It also lets me cross-match the exact shade of a discontinued product to find a new one. The results also confirm that it has taken all my needs into consideration with the “reason why” for each suggestion.
Noeila’s best matches for an optimal foundation base:
Fenty Skin Flash Nap
Fenty Skin Hydravisor
Clinique Moisture surge
Maybelline Baby Skin
Smashbox Photo Finish
Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer
Does your skin have its own unique needs when it comes to foundations?
Yes! The outside of my face is cool and the inner is warm. I am using cool, however, for my entire face and warm concealer to try to balance it out. So I require different shades just for my face alone.
Valéria - deep skin tone with a neutral undertone
What is your go-to brand and why?
My favourite brand is Fenty Beauty because it offers the shade I needed. It is a struggle to find my skin tone and a foundation that not only covers that but also gives me comfort all day long. So far only Fenty has given me this and I only found out about it due to a friend’s recommendation. I am missing professional consultation that is respecting my individual needs.
What were you using before Fenty?
Before Fenty, I would constantly be trying new brands, so I didn’t have one go-to which was a little frustrating. Sometimes I’d have to switch because my shade is out of stock or I thought I found a foundation that could be better and more accurate for my skin tone.
💡Did you know: 70% of Black and Asian women feel their needs were not met by high-end brands, read more here
The common denominator here is that each woman needed help in some form to discover the foundation that best suits them. Not only that but each woman had a different skin tone and skin type too. This goes to show how much more assistance customers need and how much further brands need to go to achieve the best customer experience when it comes to foundation/ colour cosmetics
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