The Disappointing Drugstore Dilemma
Foundation for Asian skin is the ultimate drugstore dilemma. A while ago, I asked my followers on Instagram what their favourite foundations are, and I had a mixture of responses, from Revlon to Armani!
I’d spent the whole afternoon in Selfridges’ beauty hall with my sister, trying out almost every foundation. We’ve both worn MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC42 for as long as we can remember, and have never found another foundation that lives up to their signature yellow undertone! At the time, we thought we loved the yellow ‘jaundiced’ look, but since then, I’ve made it my mission to find new foundations that suit me. -It’s been tough!
Drugstore Dilemma for people of colour
I’m sure most Asian women will agree that drugstores simply don’t cater for our skin tones. Shelves are stacked with 50 shades of ivory while brands such as Sleek are too dark for us. I’ve spent countless hours on Findation and in Boots and Superdrug scrutinising the make-up displays for something remotely my shade.
The foundations I bought were;
Revlon Colourstay in 330 Natural Tan
Revlon Photoready in Golden Beige
L’Oréal True Match in W7 Golden Amber
Maybelline Fit Me foundation in 315 Soft Honey
The one thing all of these foundations have in common is that they’re all too pink for me.
The Revlon Colourstay foundation is completely the wrong shade for me, I look like a ghost, so I think I’ll save that for Halloween! The Photoready foundation has an unpleasant smell to it, I think it’s too heavy and felt cakey on my skin. Aside from being the wrong shade for my skin tone, I wouldn’t recommend this, as I didn’t like the formula of it.
I had high hopes for both the L’Oréal True Match and Maybelline Fit Me foundation. –they were soon to be shattered! The True Match is a decent match, but not good enough. People with a keen eye will probably be able to spot the pink undertone even though it’s subtle. It doesn’t have enough coverage for my liking, and to top it off nicely, I had a breakout on my chin after using this, which is a first for me! -Great!
Maybelline Fit Me seemed like a good match at first, albeit slightly pink, I found a way to make it work with a dusting of MAC Studio Fix Powder in NC42 to get my fix of yellow undertone! Within an hour of putting the foundation on, it oxidised on my skin, becoming darker during the course of the day. I looked like I’d gone overboard with the self-tan -or like a sliced apple that has been left out for too long!
In conclusion, I’ve now banned myself from drugstore foundations!
On a more positive note, I have found some foundations I love! <3 -Yay!
Have you had a disappointing drugstore dilemma?
