AIBU to be pissed off with the entire experience of shopping for foundation?

[Nicebucket]

I love makeup, but I hate shopping for it! I don't want to me harsh because I know the people at makeup counters are just doing their job, but they really upset me sometimes and it kills the whole experience.

For starters, they ALWAYS try to match me to a shade that's wayyyyy too dark for my skin. I'm a MAC NC 25/30, so I'm definitely not pale, but I'm not exactly dark either. But for some reason, the foundation shades they match me to at counters such as Bobbi Brown, Nars, Clarins etc. are proper dark.

I don't understand why this is? Is it an assumption that everyone wants to look tanned and slightly orange? Or is it because I'm of Indian origin and Indian skins are generally a bit darker so they assume I must be too?

I genuinely don't understand. Could I be blind and unable to understand my own skin tone?!

I hate foundation shopping as well. I have ivory pale skin but it isn't terribly pale and I have golden undertones so finding an ivory-ish shade that doesn't have pink undertones or isn't too pale is hard. I've had several makeup salespeople turn me into Jasper the Ghost before as well.

I found illamasqua very good for getting the correct shade, expensive but does look really good.

Boots skin matching magic thingy really REALLY works for me.
I have a tendency towards the scarlet end of rosy cheeks, and it covers the lot...and all the wrinkles and age spots and rogue hairs and all the lovely parts of my face that seem to appeared since I hit 50.
Plus, it is bargainous!

I also like the Boots machine thingy.
I'm mixed chinese / european parentage, very pale, with freckles and acne attractive huh! and they managed to get me natural looking foundation that doesn't cause spots...

I feel for you, I'm quite pale and I have somehow come out of various Dior counters with different shades of foundation,
So much can effect your skin tone on a certain day, your temperature, hormones. The lighting in the store is also a bit of a dependant.
Make them put it on you, go for a walk about, take a few selfies, look in a few mirrors, check that it's right, if so go back and buy it.

I used Laura Mercier for several years but either my skin has changed or their formula has. Between one bottle and the next, it didn't apply smoothly, seemed to cake and went patchy really easily. I tried a primer and it didn't seem to help.

Quite tempted to try the Boots machine thingy. I love the Face Atelier but I'd feel better if I had something on hand just in case which I didn't have to buy online.

Thing is with the boots service, even if you're not happy you've only wasted at £10-16 quid. I've lost count of how many £30/40 foundations ice bought in the past which were a total waste of money. Never been unhappy since going to no7

I've been matched twice at Boots. First time, she aimed the machine at the reddest part of my face (I have rosacea), because 'that's the colour you want to be evening it out to'; result, a worrying flash forward to my 'hot flush' years. I then slunk back a few weeks later when a different assistant was on, and this time she pointed the machine at my freckles because 'we always go by the darkest tone on your face' ; result, I looked like my head had been on holiday to Koh Samui for three weeks while the rest of me had gone to the Orkneys.

Now I just get Bourjois Healthy Mix in Very Pale Woman, and am done with it.

If you don't fancy a high end foundation Boots/Superdrug etc have lots of samples which I've often tried... Bloody awful mirrors, lighting in those shops though!

I was told (why would this be true??) that an assistant who's eg red haired and green eyes will make you up the way suits her (I think discount that though can't be true!) - some high end stands even MAC look like an oompa Loompa has run riot on their faces, so I generally go to a stand where they're made up how I'd like to be. Take an honest friend. Step outside to look at it in daylight (space NK are quite good for suggesting that last time I was there very recently). Work out what coverage you want, do you want a luminating one, anti ageing etc.

Reviving old thread, because same thing has bloody happened again, ughhhh.

Soooooooo annoyed! Like I mentioned before, I'm a MAC NC 25 (shades below for those who aren't familiar)

and this is the shade clarins matched me to-

Surely either I am blind or they are? How does one go from the third lightest foundation in one brand to the darkest one in another?

Honestly, I'm sticking to my MAC foundation now, not bothering to experiment.

I'm pale skinned and every foundation option in every range closest to my colouring is either White As Whote Can Be or Tango Orange with no bastarding inbetween. One day I bought both to try out and ended up mixing them to make one lovely normal colour, and I've never looked back!

I don't allow counters to match me any more. There isn't always a match for me in every brand's range, yet for the sake of getting a sale they will will match me to the closest shade, even if it's too dark/light. This is often a problem with brands that only have a limited range of shades.

So I ask if I can match myself. So far I've had no problems. If there isn't a match for me in the range, I won't buy.

I've never got on with foundation apart from occasional nights out/weddings. My strategy is to concentrate on addressing individual issues (like dark circles, pallid complexion, spots, redness) which can be remedied much more effectively and give a more natural & flawless result with dedicated products rather than trying to solve everything with a coating of foundation. If you have any specific issues I'm sure I and other posters will be able to recommend products.

The best advice I've read on foundation is that you put a few close shades on your face and only pick one if it is invisible against your skin.

It's unbelievably expensive but Versace used to sell a range of foundations in some of the department stores. It had a wide range of pale colours and is still (20 years on) the only range I have ever seen where I was not the very palest!

I do the same piper, i'm dead colour (including stylish black-eyed effect!) so buy the palest for everyday use and mix it with a slightly darker one if im doing 'fancy' makeup

I used to have this problem, I have very pale skin with pink tones.

Last time I went to Chanel the lovely lady said non were suitable as most of their foundations have a yellow tone. I was impressed she didn't try to sell me an unsuitable one as others have in the past.

Now I do my own research into what type I would like by looking at the beauty bloggers on YouTube. Then I order a couple of samples off eBay to get my correct shade and to see if I really like it.

Nars seems to have a lot of shades. I am currently using their sheer glow. Good if you have dry skin.