A few months ago I was a little frazzled trying to buy a new foundation. I was with Edison, it was super busy and to be frank, makeup stores just scare me. I’m always so overwhelmed. I have no idea and usually, I ask Monica to shop for me, or we buy online together because she knows my skin, and knows exactly what shade I need. It was my experience that inspired this blog post. I left a well know beauty store in Dubai Mall with a foundation that was probably 4 times darker than what I actually needed. It was a disaster. Monica was not impressed! lol. (The photo below demonstrates what I did when I got home and realized I had made a makeup mess up)
That time when your foundation was not the right shade…
We’ve all been there testing a foundation at a beauty/makeup store being sure it’s the right one for you, you buy it and go home. The next day, you put it on and it’s either too light, too dark, too pink, too orange, too yellow….the list goes on and on.
Here are my tips to avoid this from happening again:
- Ask for a sample. Most makeup stores have samples available, don’t be shy to ask for one. This way you can go home, test it and be 100% sure you like it. Then go back to the store and buy it or if you don’t want to go back you can get it online but now you know exactly what shade is the one for you.
- Don’t test it on your hand. We might not realize this but our hands and our face are regularly not the same shade. Not even our neck and face are the same. The best area to test a foundation, if you don’t want to test it on all of your face, is actually on the jawline. Pick two or three shades and literally draw a line with each that goes from the jawline to the neck, the one that is less visible would be the right choice.
- Ask for an in-store application. Most stores have makeup artists that can apply the foundation on you. They are all trained and should be able to help you. They are also trained to clean and disinfect their brushes after each application, or if you prefer just bring your own brush/beauty sponge.
- The light in most stores is not the best one, yes I know it makes no sense but that’s how it is. The most important thing when choosing the best foundation shade for you is looking at it in the perfect light, which is natural daylight or a light that imitates natural light. So even after having an artist at the store apply foundation on you, I recommend you still go outside and make sure it looks good in daylight.
- Ask your makeup artist if she/he offers a personal consultation and shopping experience. Some beauty experts offer as part of their services a consultation and personal shopping experience. This means they help you choose the best products for you and sometimes even come with you to the store to choose the perfect foundation for your skin type as well as the shade that suits you.
Hope this is helpful, let me know if you try any of these tips next time you buy a foundation.
Happy foundation shopping!
Until our next beauty encounter,
Monica MHG beauty
