Adventures In Foundation Matching

I’ve been having a few added problems with getting ready in the morning recently. It happened rather suddenly. Or maybe the issue has been there for a bit longer and I just didn’t notice it until recently. Though, I think that I’m pretty perceptive when it comes to this sort of problem.

What happened? Suddenly, foundations and BB Creams that were great color matches for me for the last 6 months or so just haven’t been working. At all. At first I was able to mix in a little bit of concealer that was too light for me, but after a few days I found myself only applying to the center of my face, blending like crazy and wiping off any foundation/BB cream that was on my jawline. I lived in fear of a line of dark foundation on my face.

So, it was time for a serious redo. I’m usually the one saying that you should re-evaluate your foundation and concealer matches every season, and usually this is something I do in late October/early November. That’s about the time I notice that my skin is a little lighter after the summer, but this was more pronounced than usual (and really, I’m due with baby #2 in a few weeks, so it isn’t like I had much time), and I needed to remedy the situation ASAP!

What I Matched Before:
• Pond’s Luminous Finish BB+ Cream: I’m ready to cry that I no longer match my favorite BB cream! But, I was already using light and since this BB Cream has so much coverage I can’t really bluff it any more.
• Kiehl’s BB Cream: I really like this BB Cream as well, and there is 1 shade lighter than what I usually match. However, it isn’t pregnancy friendly and I haven’t been able to check out the lighter shade (the nearest store with Kiehl’s is about 45 minutes away from my house). If I’m there soon I might check it out for after I deliver.
• Yves Saint Laurent Le Teint Touche Eclate Illuminating Foundation (my YSL Le Teint Touche Eclate Foundation review): This foundation is lighter coverage than the Pond’s BB Cream so I was able to use (with a lot of extra blending) it until I had time to go find a new color match.

My New Matches:
I found it annoying to have to add in the steps of moisturizer and then foundation, when I’ve been used to using a BB cream with great results every morning. Since I already was on the lightest of the Pond’s BB, and I know that the lightest of the Maybelline and CoverGirl BB Creams are a tad too dark (they were hanging out in my vanity drawer), I hightailed it to Sephora to look at Tinted Moisturizers/BB Creams. After the new baby is here in a few weeks I definitely don’t want to be using a foundation!
• Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer: It’s a classic, I had to try it!
• NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer (my NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer Review): Strangely enough, I previously had used this in Alaska when I reviewed it, though most of the time Alaska was too light. I tried it out when everything else was too dark… and so was Alaska. I’ve had to go lighter 1 shade to Norway.
• Dior Diorskin Nude BB Creme

To get my new matches, I headed to my nearest Sephora. I wanted to rematch myself to the NARS, I keep hearing about that Dior, and yes, the LM was one I had to try again (I don’t think I’ve used it in over 5 years or so). I have a lot of problems matching myself, my neck is a good 5 shades or so lighter than my face, my chest is no where near my chest, and really…. is Sephora ever going to fix the lighting in their stores? It’s all over the place!

I started out on my own, looking for shades that looked like they’d be a decent match. I never rely on what things look like in the bottle, instead I put a little on the back of my hand. Then I applied the best options to my jawline up into my cheek, blending and looking for which shades seemed to disappear into my skin the best. After matching myself to the Dior, one of the Sephora sales associates came over to help, and I wished I had her help the whole time! (I made her double check that Dior match later, she agreed with me.) She said since the lighting in the store was so variable, they had scoped out the best places to match foundation. She told me that none of the girls that work there would match their own, they all seek out a lot of opinions, and they all come and stand in that same spot in the store to do it. After trying out our choices at home, I have to say that I think she was spot on in her recommendations. The 3 I purchased have all looked great at home when applying at my vanity and later on in more natural light.

While I was at Sephora I also repurchased my favorite concealer, Amazing Cosmetics Amazing Concealer. I usually wear light golden, it is very, very slightly too dark. I bought the travel size of fair golden to try at home, and it is perfect! I’m picking up a full size the next time I’m near a Sephora.

Am I the only one with this problem right now? Have you changed up your color match for the fall/winter yet?

Check out more tips, hacks and product reviews in the Foundation Guide!

I Bought It, Affiliate Links