Why oh why am I never shade matched correctly

[ExplodingCarrots]

I'm pale. It's been a battle finding products that match my face and neck.

After a few bad experiences a few years back I shade matched myself as best as I could. But recently decided to bite the bullet and try counters again.

Mac lady tried to sell me a concealer at least 2 shades too dark. I've just come home from being shade matched for another higher end brand foundation and lo and behold too dark. In the shop , not great lighting, it didn't look too bad, but as soon as I got home my face is orange and my neck ghostly white. I'm fed up. Luckily I can return the foundation.

I suffer with anxiety and HATE returning things like this. Will I come across a dick if I basically say you've done a shit job give me your lightest shade please

@ViolaViolo it was Cool Vanilla . I've just looked it up on the website now and it's not even in the pale range. I'm quite mad now. It's so so wrong.

I got matched at a Clinique counter as I wanted to move from their cc cream to their beyond perfecting foundation. I had a sample but it was too dark however I loved the feel of it. She made me orange. I'm not a satsuma, I don't want to be orange.

Disappointed as I'm very rural and 30 miles from a Clinique counter so have yet to find my perfect shade although did order an ivory sample off eBay which is close but not quite right

@SukiTheDog apparently BB is known for using yellow to tone down red in the skin (so I was told my an mua) so their foundations may tend to be a bit more yellow than others. Like you I got a good match at LM but in the long run it turned out too chalky for me.

If you have very light cool skin there is a fine line between light and chalky/masklike. I think the formulation has to be sheer/buildable, and you need to be careful with matte finish, which can look grey or chalky. You don't want the floating face effect (lol), but for most of us anyway, you don't want to exactly match your neck either.

Yy @ViolaViolo, spot on. If you're used to being mismatched with foundation that is too warm you might think it needs to be lighter when it just needs to be cooler. I think the very lightest shades (in good brands with a big spectrum of colours) are usually only suitable for the milkiest young skin.

Urgh, if you're one of the gin blossom lot it will change the whole thing again. Broken capillaries mean my skin is darker in places but not more orange. If I cover them with very light foundation/concealer they break through and look worse and under light foundation surrounding skin looks papery. I now accept that like Cinderella my nose can't stay out after midnight, unless I do an Oprah and have someone following me around all night applying touch-ups.

@EatSleepRantRepeat x post re BB and lighter vs cooler.

I use BareMinerals powder foundation (over a Supergoop CC cream) and love it, but if I'm too heavy-handed it makes me look a bit grey. I might try the liquid. After such a cold winter suddenly the CC cream is suddenly (like overnight) making my face look a bit dirty.

Im also pale, with a much paper neck than face. I ask them to match my neck, which means I'm usually a shade or two lighter than my face. Currently using Clinique "even better" foundation in alibaster.

I am pale but not heinously so but having so much trouble getting colour matched now I’ve moved to a new UK city as a very popular look here is still 1. Fake tan 2. ‘Warming’ foundation 3. ‘A bit’ ie a couple of shovelfuls of bronzer etc etc... the Laura mercier person was so baffled and disapproving of me being like ‘er, just a plain, skin coloured foundation pls’. I really think she was just waiting until I left to be like ‘you know that woman could be a damn sight better looking if she just got a bit of colour on herself’

@EggsRoyale this is me spot on. My neck is whiter than my face and I always match the neck but this lady wasn't having it.

Urban decay allnighter in 0.5 is my perfect shade but it oxidises so bad and the formula doesn't agree with me

I'm v pale and cool toned. These work for me

Dollish veil vita BB cream in purple (eBay), decent coverage and so easy to slap on, on my third bottle
Lancôme teint idole in 008 (005 is darker!)
Makeup forever HD foundation in pink porcelain/shade 110 (comes in paler shades too)
L'Oréal infallible in porcelain

I'm a cool winter who is also deathly pale. I couldn't even wear Double Wear in Shell, even with lightening white drops, it was just way too pink.

I absolutely find that I have to wear a neutral pale colour. I was so happy when Esteé Lauder brought out 1N0 Porcelain which is as light as Shell but with a neural colour.

I also wear Nars in Siberia which is a neutral fair colour and for light coverage I use Mac Face & Body in N1. I love this for when I want something quick but without the full makeup rigmarole.

I never let someone colour match me as they always want to warm me up and add several shades of orange.

For my eyebrows I use ABH in granite dipbrow, its brilliant and perfectly ashy.

That is my 2 pence worth.

@sweetmonkeys, that’s a good idea. Buy WITH a sample and then it’s nots a waste of money if it doesn’t suit IRL.

@Era, I wanted to sample Mac F&B but they wanted me to try on my neck/cheek and buy. I walked away.

I'm praying their palest shades work for me because my make up artist who's doing my wedding make up this summer only uses double wear and she won't have my shade. She'll have to use my L'Oréal infallible if all else fails.

Have exact same issue, am pink undertones and paler than my red haired friends....

Just bought a CYO foundation in boots. Was a bit cynical but it's great. And hasn't oxidised like my old bourgois one did. I got shade 101.

There were two other equally pale ones with different tones. Definitely worth a look at for the price.

Me too!

I use Bobbi Brown in porcelain. Only one that I've ever found that matches.

I believe Nars is good for shade matching - DD swears by it after years of buying the wrong shade. And the product is lovely. Pricier than I would pay but it's so nice (I sneaked a dab to try) that I am now converted!

With any make up get them to put it on you then walk around for a couple of hours, look in the mirror outside in natural light and only then, if you’re happy with it go back and buy it.

I’m pale too and a lot of makeup counter women seem to not understand that not everyone wants the permatanned look!

Try No7 color matching but ask for a tiny tester. Don't buy until you've tried it at home.

NARS are always too yellow for me. DD is so pale she blends into writing paper. She used to use Pixi until they made it darker and now is reduced to using Kevin Aucoin in the palest shade possible. Not cheap by any means.

Look for neutral tones and try thinning it out. I use Bourgois CC cream in the palest colour, thinned with some moisturiser. It's not a thick coverage but I get a pale evening out of my skin which is good enough for me.

Best matching I ever had was on the Clinique counter in Boots on Oxford Street.

The SA was amazing.

I have anxiety about this too and so can only buy foundation at the airport duty free. (I guess if it goes wrong I can get as far away as possible really quickly?!) I've had great results with chanel but especially YSL. BUT I hve also said I want natural look and said I want to check this in other lights - they normally agree and lend me a mirror!

Look up Thataylaa on youtube. V. pale beauty blogger who tests all the foundations and very pale shades.

The trouble with going yellow (for me) is that then, I need to faff with other makeup, to make me look “normal” again. I don’t want it to be that much work!

No7 calico is pale but it's a bit 'blue' I think.

@thethoughtfox she's my favourite . She's currently doing 15 days of foundation again so got my notepad out .

Even with the lightest mac shade I was orange. My friend has starting using Mac and i noticed an orange tinge to her face