@rms1954 wrote:
I love the way the vendors provides us "great information" on how to choose their shades. So Dimitri is on HSN and he's going to go through the shades. "Fair, you know who you are. Light, is light. Medium is medium. Medium Rich is a little darker than Medium. Tawny has more olive tones. And, last but not least, Deep is deep." That was soooooo helpful. Ha ha ha.
@rms1954 I've never watched him, so cannot comment on his descriptions of shades, BUT foundations are and always will be tricky to purchase without being able to try them on. Some guidelines: Fair is usually very light with a pink undertone (always burns in the sun), Light is darker w/ a yellow or more neutral undertone (burns, but could tan afterwards), when you get into the Mediums, you're usually beige or neutral or olive depending on how many shades of Medium are offered, Deep also should have a lighter shade of deep, a medium deep and a darker shade called rich.
If foundations are limited to 4-5 choices, they've grouped too many possibilities under each name and the "match" will be really difficult. For example: If just one Medium shade is offered, it most likely includes everyone who doesn't fall into the Light or Deep categories. Uh, don't purchase unless it can be returned because it's a cwap shoot whether it'll be even close to your skin color.
To make matters worse, there are no standardized shade matches across the board in all lines. If you're Fair in one brand, you can be Light Beige in another. Some dept. store brands go by numbers which are impossible to decipher.
Don't feel badly because we makeup artists are rebelling, too. We're not able to stock so many shades in our kits. We're choosing a few brands with tried and true color matches. Yes, Bobbi Brown who has an accurate shade finder w/ photos online (still not as great as being personally matched), MAC which stays consistent and Estée Lauder Double Wear (has a few finishes). BB has many Fairs, Lights, Mediums and Deeps...descriptions of each.
Yes, most foundations have gone on the yellowish side to color correct any redness...the main complaint women have expressed. I have pink undertones, but prefer a Fair Neutral instead of a Fair w/ pink. I use the lightest BB shade called Alabaster which has a hint of pink, but have to mix it w/ the next fair shade Porcelain which is neutral. I like to start out w/ a blank canvas and then add back my color. If my foundation already has pink in it, it's difficult to match concealers (need ones w/ pinkish cast) and blushes tend to be overpowering because the "base" layer is already pink.
The vendors do not adequately describe the foundation shades because they don't know through the TV screen what will match and just want to sell. There's a 50% chance you'll make it work and not return it.
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