How do I know when I've got it right?

[Briar]

Anyone have any ideas or tips on how I can tell when my mineral powder foundation color is "just right". I've gotten myself inundated with samples from various companies, and I have a good idea when a color is way off but so many of these shades are so close to each other I'm having a really difficult time determining if they are right or not.

Some of them look fine in the morning when I put them on (under flourescent light) but when the sun finally comes up I look washed out and dull.

I've been trying to take pictures with my camera's flash on, then looking at the pix. I've noticed that with some foundations my neck looks much darker than my face, and in others they match better. Should I assume that if they match under a flash, its a good match overall?

 

[noahlowryfan]

the only way to tell if its a good match is to check it in natural light. i mean by that is once you put your foundation on, go outside and look into a mirror to see if it blends well. if it blends well with your face and neck, its a good match.

 

[newagetomatoz]

Generally, I try to find what looks the least distorted in all lights. But I have to agree with noahlowryfan in that you should compare yourself in natural sunlight. Blending is key because it minimizes any noticable color change.

On a day when you aren't planning on leaving the house, put several on at once, like stripes on your jaw, and compare in a bunch of different light settings and see that way which looks best.

Hope this helps some!!

 

[wolfsong]

I agree with the natural light + swatching on face to neck idea.
Also some can oxidize after 20-30 minutes, so they may look perfect when applied, but will be too dark/orange etc after a while - this can apparently be due to oily skin though. For this the only thing i would suggest is Fyrinnae mineral samples - if you havent already got these (they are my holy grail foundation!) as they dont oxidize as far as i know, and are the best foundation ive ever come across (this goes for all foundation types - liquid, powder etc as you can mix them with moistuiser to make them a liquid foundation).

Fyrinnae has a large selection of foundations for all skin tones/colours, and even if you dont find one that suits you 100% you can have one custom made from 2-3 of their foundation colours at no extra cost. They come in Mica-Free, Regular and Superpower - either matte or sheen (makes your skin 'glow' like natural skin does when its healthy), and generous samples are $1.50 each with really cheap s&h.

http://www.fyrinnae.com

I cant rave enough about these foundations!

 

[Briar]

Thanks, I'll put them on my samples list. So far I've tried Everyday Minerals (make me itch), Lumiere (nice but never could find the right shade), Meow Minerals (very nice, still trying for correct shade), and I have more samples from Meow and some from MAD minerals coming. I have some of Fyrinnae's e/s and I like them a lot (heavily pigmented!) so I'll give the foundations a try.

I've never had problems with anything going too dark, only stuff being too light. I must think I'm paler than I really am, and I'm really afraid of getting that "dirty mask" look that too-dark foundation can give me.

 

[muscidae]

I used the "stripes on the jaw" technique, and found more than one match. It was a great way to see which were the best ones. Some looked great near the jawline, but were obvious "higher up".
The good ones I could not see. It looked as though I had left a "stripe area" empty.

I also changed the light bulbs in my bathroom to "daylight glow", and that helped me getting the look I had at home stay that way! It's not as easy on the eyes as "soft glow" light in the morning, though.

 

[Briar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by muscidae I used the "stripes on the jaw" technique, and I also changed the light bulbs in my bathroom to "daylight glow", and that helped me getting the look I had at home stay that way! It's not as easy on the eyes as "soft glow" light in the morning, though.

Ohmigosh, I'd never thought of changing my bulbs out to natural spectrum bulbs but that makes so much sense. Thanks very much.