Shopping for foundation was a miserable experience.

[Nepenthe]

I'm not used to wearing foundation, if I'm going to wear make up at all, it's usually just eyeshadow in subtle browns and greys, black eyeliner and mascara, and sometime a neutral lip colour. I'm starting to feel like it's sometimes not enough, and when I want to make a special I could do with something more. So I went looking for a foundation and a concealer today. I ended up feeling stupid and overwhelmed, and came home with nothing.

There is not a lot of choice locally (a medium-sized Boots, and a small Superdrug), so I went to Boots and looked at nyx. Found a couple of shades that looked like they might be worth trying but those shades had no testers available. Found a tester for one, the colour looked good, but there were none in stock. Out of ten or twelve shades, only about half had testers available. One of them was super runny and splurged out all over my hand. I had to find a member of staff and ask for a tissue, because there were none nearby.

I tried a different brand, not sure which one, might have been L'Oreal. There were some testers available, so I opened one up and it had all separated in the tube, so loads of oily liquid came out, and no colour. I thought it didn't bode well, so moved on.

I tried a third brand, this one was in a bottle, but the nozzle was blocked and the stuff exploded all over my clothes. I had to zip my coat up, even though I was already too hot, and I can't cope with being too hot, so I figured that the foundation gods were not smiling on me today, and gave it up as a bad job. I didn't want to risk looking for a concealer.

I'm not great at talking to people, it was hard enough asking for a tissue, so I don't really want to approach one of the counter assistants. Besides, they all work for particular brands, so they won't necessarily help me find the one that's right for me.

So, when you have no idea where to start, how do you go about choosing a foundation? Just keep buying them at £10-£20 a pop until you find the right one? Or can you order samples anywhere? I'm not really familiar enough with any one brand to have a preference, so I can't even use that as a starting point.

I don't want to look heavily made up, I just want to look in the mirror and not think I look rough AF. Maybe that I even look nice!

You can often get samples on ebay too if you're finding it hard to get direct from brand website

I hear that Primark have a super dupe of Double Wear. Not my kind of foundation but if you're looking for matt it may be worth a try. Think it was some make-up guru that recommended it last year sometime?

I use DW but didn't think the Primark version was anything like it.

I would strongly advise getting properly matched for DW as if you get it wrong it looks awful and there are so many different shades.

Clinique City Block 40 (SPF) I've been using for the past few months which is tinted sunblock - gives a dewy effect and also Chanel Vitalumiere which is a proper foundation (dewy, glowy effect).

Whenever I've tried cheaper foundations apart from the Primark Double Wear dupe they make me look caked or older. I'm 50 but have been told I look in 30s.

@MrsPelligrinoPetrichor

Go to a No7 counter,they are really good at colour matching in my experience and will swap products if you don't get on with them.

Agreed, I did this last summer and they gave me a tester with enough to try for a few days. I thought it was too dark so went back and they recommended the next shade lighter.

I also used Dcypher after a recommendation on here. They'll match a foundation to your skin and send you a sample. It's lovely stuff but quite expensive. However, if you don't want to buy a full size you can at least use the sample when you go shopping to find something similar.

@Puffalicious Thanks, but no Primark or Body Shop here either. I'm on the Isle of Man, so it's not simply a matter of driving to the next town - there literally isn't one on the Island!

I guess my budget would be in the region of £15, is that reasonable? I think they were £10 - £18, the ones that I saw today.

I think a PP suggested I have a neutral skin tone, and I think that's probably correct - I tend to be drawn to cooler colours, blue, teal, turquoise etc, and the warm golds and browns (in eyeshadow) don't suit me at all.

I'll look at BB cream too, that might be a way to ease myself in gently.

I feel like I have a starting point now - I can make a list, and go back into Boots and find them, or look online and see if I can find samples. That's such a huge help. I feel so much better about things when I have a specific plan.

Thank you again everyone for your help.

Boots no.7 cc cream is excellent on my very fair combo skin, I also quite like l'oreal and the Olay one..

I found a couple of really good matches for me (colour and coverage-wise) by using findation.com and then buying testers of the recommendations from eBay.

It wasn't a quick process but it was successful and I didn't have to make any expensive mistakes.

If you'd be open to shopping online you could consider glossier - the skin tint is very subtle, not a 'proper' foundation, but I find it easy to apply and good for evening skin tone. It's very sheer, so colour matching is easier and there are decent charts on their site to help.

The stretch concealer is very good too, and comes in matching shades to the skin tint.

www.glossier.com/products/perfecting-skin-tint

I'm very pale and like Laura Geller's Balance and Brighten, I buy mine from QVC as you can try it and if it doesn't suit you send it back for a full refund. Otherwise I liked Clinique's Almost Powder or BB anti-blemish.

Boots no7 Intelligent Colour is FABULOUS stuff. I hate foundation on me but find this evens everything out and feels just like putting light moisturiser on. I'm so worried about them discontinuing it that I buy several tubes at a time. I'm 56 btw if that matters.

I hate the feel of foundation so I have with pp who suggested Laura Geller. I'm currently using no7 mineral foundation. It looks a bit too dark in the pot but it's a good colour when it's on.

@OperationRinka

BB cream - much less stressful

There is a simple solution to this. Ring up a department store and ask to book a testing session with a makeup counter. I recommend Kat Von D or Fenty Beauty. These are high end but reasonably priced and exceptional quality.

The person will try things on you and you have no obligation to buy. I think they get commission so they will be doing their best to find you the right things and that includes the right shade of foundation.

You could look at Lily Lolo. It’s mineral foundation and it’s good. You can order samples. The price of a full foundation looks to be in budget for you.

[quote Nepenthe]@Puffalicious Thanks, but no Primark or Body Shop here either. I'm on the Isle of Man, so it's not simply a matter of driving to the next town - there literally isn't one on the Island!

I guess my budget would be in the region of £15, is that reasonable? I think they were £10 - £18, the ones that I saw today.

I think a PP suggested I have a neutral skin tone, and I think that's probably correct - I tend to be drawn to cooler colours, blue, teal, turquoise etc, and the warm golds and browns (in eyeshadow) don't suit me at all.

I'll look at BB cream too, that might be a way to ease myself in gently.

I feel like I have a starting point now - I can make a list, and go back into Boots and find them, or look online and see if I can find samples. That's such a huge help. I feel so much better about things when I have a specific plan.

Thank you again everyone for your help.[/quote]
Not sure your age. I'm 40. I don't scrimp on my face because it won't work. I'd look worse. So I use Fenty concealer in a shade that is light for my skin, blend that in certain areas; outer eyes, side of nose, chin, frown line. Then I take care of my diet and skin so that the rest of my face has a glow and then it's just mascara and eyebrows and winged liner. Maybe a natural brown eyeshadow in my crease. This would be made up for me. I get high quality products where needed; the concealer, the eyeshadow. The rest can be cheap.

If I've got something big on I get lash extensions, they make all the difference.

Or if you want to have a go at ordering online, I'm very happy with Trinny London. I'm using their tinted serum. I'm mid forties and pale, and I like it a lot. Also it doesn't require any precision at all when putting it on, which is a distinct bonus

I just remembered another product that I used by a branch Catrice

It was one that suited all skin tones and gave the look of a foundation. I loved it (stopped bothering with make up since masks)

Brand

I've just been wearing bb cream for years. The garnier one. Is like a tinted moisturiser. Super easy to put on and looks great.

I sound very similar to you... 45, don't tend to wear foundation as a rule (just a little bronzer), but starting to feel like I need a little extra. I have wasted £'s in the past on expensive foundation only to find I can't stand it in my skin.

I went to a fairly small (no "designer" brands) Boots and was recommend the following : www.boots.com/no7-hydraluminous-moisturising-foundation-10262468

I love it! No idea what shade you'd be though.

You don't need to go looking for the no7 match. If you ask someone at the no7 counter they'll hold their magic took next to your face and tell you.

No 7 bb cream is nice instead of foundation though

Hi OP, lots of good recommendations here. I found the Fenty Shade Finder so useful - it perfectly matched me, and once you have a recommended shade, you can use a website like findation.com/ to find a cheaper version to test if it'll work for you. (I do recommend Fenty foundation but it's a bit pricey if you're worried if the shade will match!)

Give it a try and let us know how you get on, someone may be able to recommend foundations based on your match.

fentybeauty.com/pages/fenty-face-shade-finder

The ordinary serum foundation is great for a light coverage. It's cheap £5 I think and comes in a lot of shades. So get matched somewhere and then match the shade.

I used to work on a cosmetics counter, pretty much all of the big brands will provide you with a sample to try in the right formula and colour for you. They will be over the the price you had in mind but if you try a few different ones over the course of how ever long you will find one you like. If you just pick one from the shelf and buy from the likes of NYX you could end up spending £10-£15 on one and not liking it.

Estée Lauder are great at giving samples and do other formulas than double wear.

Clinique do loads of different formulas in plenty of shades. They def do samples.

YSL, Lancome and Dior all do samples do but I am not as familiar with their products.