I'm 40 and still to find the one :-(

[DippyDuck123]

HNY to all,

I'm hopeless at 40.... I need a medium to full coverage foundation. I have dry skin round my nose and make-up loves settling in creases, lines and my huge pores. My complexion is mostly clear but I do have a little redness around my chin, nose and cheeks.

I've tried umpteen and more primers. My skin care is good (my job causes my red patches and my sore-dry nose but aveeno is my friend here). Primers do not seem to work for me.

Despite this I have settled on No.7 products, I like the foundation drops/stay perfect and airbrush away. My issue is I'm never colour matched the same . Each consultant recommends a different shade, the device frequently gives me a change between 3/4 shades. I'm told I'm cool toned one visit then warm the next. Although I realise colour match might be different between height of the summer and the depths of the winter, I've still been matched differently within a space of a couple of weeks.

I'm useless at deciding myself too. I'm not pale skinned but on the fairer side of the scale, I tan easily and rarely burn. I'm currently wearing the recommended warm beige as I was told I'm warm toned- it's bloody orange!!! Extremely orange on first app but I've managed to blend it enough to just about get away with it- but still I feel umpaloompah at age 40!

How can I get this right without continuously wasting money? I love the No.7 products and there must be a correct colour match there somewhere.

No one? I'll eternally be orange

Could you get matched at MAC? Not to buy it if you don't want to, but if you know your MAC colour then it's often easy to find cross references online which tell you what colour you'll be for other brands. The staff are generally very good if you go at a quiet time or book an appointment.

Another possibility - have you tried getting your closest two colours and mixing them together?

If you're coming out looking orange, you might want to go a shade or two paler than you think. Possibly you're paler than you look on first sight?

@Topofthehills I've never tried MAC but aware they get good reviews etc. Would you say their consultants are let's say more accurate?

I've been matched before in Calico which is No.7 palest shade. I am not that pale!

Why do you say "I'm not that pale"? Because the colour actually looks bad on, or because you assume you wouldn't be the palest shade?

I ask because I'm a genuinely very pale person, and there are many brands that simply don't start anywhere near my skin tone. Can't speak to No.7. But the palest colours in lots of brands are not light enough for someone you would actually look at and think "gosh, she's pale", iyswim.

What they'll do at MAC is try a few stripes of different ones on your face and discuss with you which one you think works best.

@Topofthehills, I get what your saying but I've tried the lightest shade too and that leaves me washed out/ashen.

Darn, was near a Mac store only last week. Do you have to pre-book?

I feel your pain. I use No7 foundation and I get different colour matches all the time. My main shade is cool ivory but then sometimes its warm ivory and sometimes cool vanilla (which is too pale).

It is difficult to know which shade is best. I always like a touch darker shade but then again I don't want a tidemark round my neck.

Which shade have you now settled on?

I don’t trust that machine thing to give a reliable result and no7 doesn’t have enough colour options really.

I agree with trying a brand with a broad colour range, like MAC or NARS. I’d also go to a stand-alone store rather than a department store counter for light reasons. You are more likely to get natural light (a big window) in a stand-alone store than at a counter which is in the middle of an artificially lit dept store. The foundation colour will look v different in the artificial light of the shop compared to daylight. Which is why what looks blended and matched at the counter in the back of Boots looks like you’ve been Tango-ed when you get out onto the street.

Ah I feel your pain too! You are describing my foundation issues from my teens when ‘everything’ went orange on me it seemed. I eventually worked out that: it was partly skin chemistry rather than skin tone (the colour was changing in reaction to my skin in spite of looking ok in the bottle), and any hint of pink seemed to do the orange thing too. Nowadays I use BB cream more than foundation and find it often looks more natural. Also, if you use powder to ‘fix’ your make-up, that can be an ‘orange’ culprit too, especially if it’s got Titanium-based pigment in it.

Clarins Double Wear sounds exactly what you need, and they are brilliant at matching you. Expensive but lasts a v long time (and all day!).

Rimmel with the red lid is phenomenally good for the price. I used to use high-end foundation but tried it on a whim a couple of years ago and would never use anything else now.
www.boots.com/rimmel-lasting-finish-25hour-foundation-with-comfort-serum-10117583

I recommend NARS or Urban Decay. NARS is lovely and light but buildable. UD can be heavy depending on what one you go for.
Have you tried a BB cream? I use NPSA which is cheap from Asda and I'm so pleasantly surprised! Your dry skin needs skincare to fix - have you tried any oils like Rosehip or Marula? I have oily but dry skin and find those wonderful.

Going really orange is a sign of oxidisation which is the foundations fault not yours - I loved Hourglass but cannot wear it for the life of me.

Do you mean Estee Lauder Double Wear, Lucking?

FWIW EL double wear is very heavy coverage. I find it mask like. It doesn’t work well on my skin.

Clinique Beyond Perfecting is awesome. Ask for a sample

Bobby Brown’s Bb cream is really good.

Any dept store counter should give you a sample to take away and try after colour matching you. Estée Lauder DW or DW light are brilliant for coverage and staying power.

Thanks for all the suggestions, I will have a look at all your suggestions.

Unfortunately EL doublewear does not blend at all well into my skin- it sits in every pore and every line. As for my dry patches it makes me look distressed antique 😬

Though saying that I haven't tried DW light and have heard good things. Still slightly dubious as the last time I went to an EL counter they colour matched me tangerine!

I had the same problem with foundation. My DP gave me a FOREO UFO face mask thing for Christmas and it is truly amazing. My skin has never looked so good, people keep commenting and my foundation sits perfectly now.

Definitely as others have suggested take a sample home with you to use yourself, Clinique always good for this.

Get a colour match sample of ysl touché eclait I'm a similar age skin type and I love it.

Huge range of shades

When I next get a chance to go to a department store I will try and get a good selection of testers and go from there...

@hugsee I will take a look at your mask thingy too.

Thanks all

Maybe you need to sort out skincare first?

Am late 40s and need good moisturizer more than foundation!

For me that is la roche posay b5 cream

I use nip and fab pads regularly which have stopped this issue. I only tend to get away with no 7 tinted moisturiser or bourjois healthy mix.