The Foundation Series: How to Find the Right Shade

Tinted moisturisers, BB creams, powder foundation, liquid foundation, you name it, I've tried the lot. And now, I have a cemetery of unusable bottles forlornly sitting in my cupboard. 

RIP: My foundation cemetery.

All too often, I've bought a product which looks great in the shop only to get it home and find it's completely the wrong shade. 

As I said in my ode to Nigella, a good colour match is key when it comes to your base, but this is often a lot tricker than it should be. Here's why:

1. Inept sales advisers

In my time I've been "colour matched" with foundations four shades too dark. Um, that's not really a match is it, love? I've been "colour matched" over the top of a foundation I've told them is the wrong shade. Pass me a wet-wipe! I've been "colour matched" to the shade on my wrist. I don't wear foundation on my wrist!

We trust these women because they are paid to know what they are talking about. Trust your instincts instead - if you don't feel that they've matched you correctly, tell them. If you're still unsure, walk away.

2. Bad lighting 

Shop lighting makes it really hard to buy the right foundation. What looks like the perfect match in the shop can look like it's been bought for someone else when you get it home. There are two ways round this. 

Firstly, try a couple of shades on both sides of your face - cover a decent area, not just a small strip - and go outside to take a look. Granted, you may feel like a prize poser for gazing into a mirror in the middle of the high street, but you're far more likely to buy the right product this way.

My preferred option is to ask for a small sample to take away. Most premium counters will oblige, although annoyingly, some still don't. Samples from drugstore brands are virtually non-existent, though it's worth taking in a small pot and asking if you can fill it with a few pumps of the base you'd like to try. Trying a product at home enables you to see how it looks in different lighting and how it wears throughout the day. It also means you can apply it yourself, as opposed to having a sales assistant apply it for you. Most days I use my fingers, whilst they tend to use a brush and this creates a different effect. 

3. Limited shade ranges

Some brands - the likes of Bourjois and Rimmel, for example - offer some great formulations but unless you match with one of the few, mainly Caucasian shades on offer, you're scuppered. If you do find a match, lucky you. If you're particularly pale like me, or you have a darker skin tone, you may struggle and it's worth upping your budget and shopping around. This problem isn't just confined to the cheaper drugstore brands though - I've yet to find a match at Chanel or Smashbox, who also have limited ranges.

And so, my hunt for the perfect foundation continues...

Love,

Miss Mojito
xxx