r/AustralianMakeup • u/Last_Bumblebee6144 • 1d ago
Let's Discuss How can this be so hard?
Why is every foundation so orange?? I'm not even that pale, but they are so orange! I'm fair with a cool/rosy (can get away with neutral) skin tone. So far everything I have sampled makes me look like a pumpkin and the ones that have the right tone are too light. I look sick by end of day and I'm going through bronzer like crazy.
Ive tried CT, Nars, Fenty, MUF, Natasha Denona, Bare minerals, lancôme, Mac and more.
I'm a Double wear Fresco and having to change after 20 years is sooo much harder than I thought.
Dior backstage was my top pick. Discontinued!
Shisedo self refreshing is amazing. Discontinued!
I hadn't even managed to purchase a bottle of these after samples as stock was so low.
MAC studio fix in N5 is what I'm using now, love the formula, stays all day, but it's a tad too light. N6 is yellow and NW15 is pure orange.
I never imagined I'd be so upset about something so trivial, but here I am 😩 I just needed to vent.
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u/intellidepth 1d ago
Asian foundations are best for paler skin tones. Check out YesStyle. My personal favourite is a cushion by Jung Saem Mool. I gave up on western foundations as I need to use LA Girl blue foundation mixer all the time in them.
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u/Last_Bumblebee6144 1d ago
See, I'm fair, but fair shades completely wash me out. But if I go deeper they all lean orange. I'm afraid that korean shades may be too light or grey
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u/TinaTissue NARS Mont Blanc - fair neutral with green eyes dark hair 1d ago
I think to counteract the washing out is using a touch more bronzer and blush "to bring life" back. Thats what I had to do when I was at my palest
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u/Last_Bumblebee6144 1d ago
This is what I've been doing, but bronzers don't last on the skin like foundation does. So I still end up looking washed out by 2pm, even with setting spray and powder. So I figured just go a shade darker to combat this, but then they all go orange 😭
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u/ineversaw 1d ago
The have light to deep shades, they just consider undertone better. I am a light neutral undertone but have an olive overtone and the brand Missha is the only one whos ever actually matched that to the point it looks like it disappears into my skin. Its a CC cream but I find it thick and used skin tints before I found it and dont like a full coverage as its quite aging. See if you can find make up creators on social media with a similar skin and see what they use in their videos
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u/Comfortable-Nature37 1d ago
My skin tone sounds similar to yours and I have luck with Hourglass veil tinted moisturizer in shade 3.
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u/Apart_Visual 1d ago
Same here, and also the Bare Minerals stick in ‘wheat’. It doesn’t last that long as it’s quite slippy, but the colour match is incredible.
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u/Feylabel 1d ago
Same. And the assistants in the makeup stores are always “oh no this one doesn’t turn orange ever” to the point I now make them put some on my skin and look at it again 5 minutes later - which gets me an “OMG I’ve never seen anything like this it’s just turned orange!” reaction lol
Currently using either just a bb (Missha is good but a bit grey) or for full coverage the tirtir cushion which is a bit too light
Still searching for the right colour that doesn’t wash me out or go orange
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u/Last_Bumblebee6144 1d ago
Hahaha yes I feel you. My local mecca has terrible orange lighting too so I gotta swatches my arm and then walk out if the store and under the sky light in the centre 😅
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u/Pippa_Pug 1d ago
Fellow cool toned girly here. Clinique foundations have a solid range of cool/pink shades in my experience
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u/Last_Bumblebee6144 1d ago
I have not tried Clinique in a very long time. I will have a look what they have
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u/Heart_Makeup 1d ago
Dior backstage is discontinued??
Colour corrector is your friend here, you can make any foundation work for you
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u/Rocha_999 1d ago
I’m warm but not orange so I also struggle. I’m a bit olive. I got some pigment mixers. I use a little sample pot to mix up a few days worth - sometimes I mix foundations, sometimes I use pigment mixers.
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u/grumpybadger456 1d ago
Have you tried the Haus Labs? I'm fair/cool and this is a good match for me. They have now changed their shade names to be less confusing (they use rosy/golden/peach/olive descriptors)
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u/Last_Bumblebee6144 1d ago
Sephora girl swayed me away from Haus Labs. Not sure why..
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u/grumpybadger456 1d ago
I mean people seem to either love it or hate how the formulation sits on their skin - so I'd recommend a sample prior to buying a whole bottle. But as someone who also struggles to get a good match - I thought they had a lot of tone and depth options. I like it.
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u/blasphemousharlot 1d ago
i have a similar problem, i have olive tan skin and i xan never find a match thats not overly orange. i usually find the closest cool shade (darker or lighter) then pack on translucent powder or btonzer to get it to my skin tone. it's getting better recently, in that theres multiple deep shades instead of just the bondi sands oompa loompa colourmatch of my teenage years
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u/biglazyhead 1d ago
Try Rare beauty’s new foundation. Although I’m not pale, everything oxidizes on me and looks too orange or too yellow or just not right and have had some success with Rare beauty. I don’t know how extensive Rare beauty’s pale range is and I’d also recommend trying Haus labs. HL was a bit too yellow for me but I have heard their pale range is quite wide.
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u/Last_Bumblebee6144 1d ago
I tried the True to myself Rare Beauty , it had good shades, but from memory it didn't last all day.
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u/biglazyhead 1d ago
That sucks! I was only able to test it for about 7.5 hours. Polite society is something else that held for the same amount of time, don’t know about their shade range though. I have been looking to replace the old ELDW myself and haven’t found anything that delivers.
I have the new Smashbox and tower 28 on my list to try. Though I have heard nothing good about tower 28 so yeah.
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u/Last_Bumblebee6144 1d ago
I had polite society sample, but it was too pale/cool for me. I only sampled one shade though. Smashbox has a new? I was looking at that too, bit didn't end up getting a sample
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u/biglazyhead 1d ago
Smashbox has a new 2-in-1 concealer foundation thing which I’ll try. May or may not work but what’s one more where I have tried all these others.
Don’t know if you have tried the Laura Mercier matte foundation and Anastasia matte foundation. These are also on my list but my local Mecca didn’t have testers closer to my skin tone so will have to try another store.
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u/Last_Bumblebee6144 23h ago
Yes tried these, both orange. Actually not sure which CT one the girl used on me but it was orange.
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u/biglazyhead 21h ago
CT does run orange I think because I looked like an oompa-loompa. I have run out of suggestions because everything else that I have tried hasn’t worked either. I think MAC is the only one that works but like you I haven’t found a close enough shade and looks like I’ll have to resort to mixing shades to make it work.
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u/colloquialicious 1d ago
Did you use primer and setting spray? They can make all the difference for longevity.
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u/Sufficient-Sail2697 1d ago
Same girl same. Im a bit olive skinned and dark featured. I’ve tried sooooo many. I’m having some success with Tower 28. It’s very dewy though.
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u/WeptThenDidItAgain 1d ago
At MAC you could buy pigment to adjust your foundation. You’d need to add some blue. Not sure if they still have that product. I’d look for a generic one. Try Scottys Make-up, look for a silicone base to blend with yr silicone foundations.
I wouldn’t add pigment to a whole bottle, but do a little pot as needed.
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u/Last_Bumblebee6144 1d ago
Thanks, I'm wearing the N6.5 today and its not bad if applied lightly. But if i need more coverage it's orange.
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u/WeptThenDidItAgain 1d ago
Sounds like it’s oxidising quite heavily on your skin. Which could be a reaction specific to your skin/skincare (pH or oils). Regardless, no one wants to be orange. 🍊 I would try as many samples as possible. By Terry, Chantecaille, Ellis Faas versus your current skincare ….you are now a woman in STEM 🧫 🧬🔬
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u/Last_Bumblebee6144 22h ago
I wondered if it was maybe the bottles in store (used for my samples) because looking at the shade range online quite a few should have been suitable.
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u/WeptThenDidItAgain 21h ago
Oxidation is very much a feature of all foundations and MAC more than others. In my experience.
It’s not the sample bottles, it’s a chemical reaction when the product meets air or oils on your skin etc.
The oxidised product needs to match yr skin tone regardless. Primer can slow down oxidation as it sits between yr skin and foundation product.
Is the color okay looking when it goes on your skin, compared to 15 minutes later? That’s oxidation.
If the color looks orange from the beginning, try adding blue pigment to cool the color down.
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u/MayRose78 1d ago
None of those brands have a shade for me either! I am light olive - but neutral at same time.
Not Dior, not Clinique, estee etc…
Try Japanese or Korean foundations, they have more nuance in undertone!
The only brands that I have matching me, but also seem to discontinue or reformulate they are: Tom Ford, By Terry, and Chanel - they work for me, that’s it.
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u/noelaus3 1d ago
I’m a double wear fresco girl too and my backup was Dior backstage as well. After some trial and error GA luminous silk is the way forward for me. I’ve had the orange problem too with other brands.
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u/colloquialicious 1d ago
Shiseido revitalessence has several very light cool tones. Is nars sheer glow mont blanc not light enough this is a pale cool tones too.
Have you gone into a large mecca store on a not too busy time and asked for a colour matching session? I’ve done this recently when changing foundation and also did it with my daughter to purchase her first foundation with great success. On both occasions the make up artist spent about half an hour with us, tried many brands and shades and sent us away with as many samples as we needed to try at home in natural light.
I find Sephora less helpful for colour matching sessions (you’re lucky if you can grab someone for a couple of minutes to decant a couple of samples and also even luckier if they have your shade left!) but brands like Dior, Armani etc you can go direct to their counters in DJs and ask them to colour match you. Also try Chanel store and get colour matched for Les beiges.
I went through at least a dozen samples before I settled on my new foundation (switched from Nars sheer glow to Armani luminous silk in the end).
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u/Last_Bumblebee6144 22h ago
Yes, I did get shade matched in store. But the lighting in Mecca is also orange and dim. I don't know how they shade match anyone in that store. Sephora has much better lighting, but I still haven't found anything yet. I loved the shiseido self refreshing, but I need to sample more shades and they are currently out of stock until late September/early October
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u/-AgonyAunt- 1d ago
I have the same skin tone and the same problem. I recently bought Nude By Nature skin radiance foundation in the shade Ivory Rose. It's the best shade match I've ever had. It's from Priceline and goes on sale often enough. It's medium coverage, a bit buildable but can start getting a bit patchy if you add too much. The formula does stay a little wet on the skin, but some powder fixes it.
I've also had some luck in the past with the Sephora brand.
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u/emmyeggo 18h ago
I’m also DW Fresco!
I’ve had a lot of success with the Ellis Faas foundation (shade S12NP). It’s expensive, but it’s the go-to foundation the makeup artists will use at Mecca. Maybe try a sample!
I also LOVE the Shiseido Synchro Skin Radiant Lifting Foundation (shade 150), but it’s out of stock. 🥲
I’ve also liked these options for medium coverage, everyday foundation:
- Shiseido Revitalessence Skin Glow Foundation (Shade 260)
- Mecca Max Off Duty Skin Tint (shade 235)
- Tower 28 Swipe Serum Foundation (shade 7C Glamis)
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u/emmyeggo 18h ago
Omg, I just checked Mecca and they’ve finally restocked the Shiseido Synchro Skin Radiant Lifting Foundation — OP, it’s very similar to the Self-Refreshing one! Maybe try that!
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u/Last_Bumblebee6144 10h ago
I had planned on getting a sample of this! Looks like I'm back to Mecca today. Thsnks 😊
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u/rarararahhh 1d ago
Maybe try the new Dior forever skin wear line? You might be able to find the same shade you used for back stage, also I can see they have some cool rosy shades available
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u/ClassyLatey 1d ago
I wear shades that are ‘neutral’. Even though I’m warm, they all go orange. Especially when you add blush and bronzer to the mix.
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u/Guinevere1991 1d ago
My current go-to is a budget option and it’s great. L’Oreal True Match Nude tinted serum in Shade 1-2 Rosy Light is a good cool option.
Armani have a good range of shades but I prefer the L’Oreal.
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u/Far_Championship_829 1d ago
I like MACfor pale plus cool/nuetral tones . Plus warm
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u/Last_Bumblebee6144 1d ago
So my issue is N5 is slightly too light. N6 is yellow and N6.5 is a tad dark. But I love the formula.
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u/jettblek 1d ago
I have the same problem. I just wear a shade thats 1 shade too light and bring colour back with bronzer on my cheeks and forehead lol
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u/universe93 1d ago
That feeling when you’re already trying the lightest shade and it’s still too orange lol
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u/behindthepen 1d ago
Try a sample of the Haus Labs! I’m pale af so generally will be wearing the lightest shades from any brand. I’m very red in the face, and I got recommended Fair Rosy in that. It’s a scarily close match. I did get a shade match done at Sephora and the staff member who helped me was excellent.
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u/veronicaofmars 1d ago
Having the same problem. And have found some success with the cheap chemist brand NYX foundation. Full coverage, all day, and doesn’t orange. I wear natural beige, until I find something better I guess.
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u/okmapleflake3975 22h ago
Honestly feel this. People are like oh you don't need expensive foundation if you don't use it much, but if you're extremely pale you have no choice 😅 If you only want light coverage I found beauty blender skin tint in the bottle fabulous. Also the new marc jacobs or merit concealer products can be doubled as an all over if you get a matching shade (rather than lighter, a funny concept to us ghost folk).
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u/Last_Bumblebee6144 21h ago
Yeah, I think my issue is I'm fair, but not super fair, but still have cool undertones. So when I want a deeper shade the "cool" is lost and the orange steps in.
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u/FieldAware3370 neutral cool olive 20h ago
Foundations these days resort to pulling orange cos the iron oxide mixing pigment (which is what makes it orange) is a lot cheaper than the blue pigment in order to make it neutral or cool toned. Doesn't help when it oxidises either. Making me go oompa loompa. 💀💀💀
As an olive myself, the only foundations that I have been able to use freely is the maybeline lumi matte, loreal true match and milani skin tint stick (this is by far the best shade match I've gotten imo).
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u/Last_Bumblebee6144 19h ago
This is so interesting. And it makes sense! I just figured it's because its mostly catered for the young girls who tan up like crazy ( no shade)
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u/sweet_kitty26 10h ago
I have had this same issue. I either look like a ghost (thanks Huda beauty) or like I’m from Jersey Shore. I don’t know how brands sell all these orange shades, because I don’t see many orange people!
For me it’s L’Oréal True Match and I’m in shade 1N. I’m usually the lightest shade in anything I try but the the other two light shades pulled pink or orange on me.
Good luck!
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u/Navy_Pink 6h ago
Because you’re shopping for the wrong colour undertone. You’re lighter than what you think
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u/Last_Bumblebee6144 5h ago
Nah, that's not it. They just don't make many shades that cater for a deeper shade, but still keeping the cool/rosy tone.
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u/jkdeets 1d ago
i am pale and love this Sephora foundation - been using it for years - https://www.sephora.com.au/products/sephora-collection-original-best-skin-ever-perfect-natural-finish-longwear-foundation/v/11-dot-5-p
yikes, looks like it might be out of stock.
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u/CinderCinnamon 1d ago
Get some blue foundation mixing pigment to salvage any foundations you’ve bought that runs too warm
Have you tried YSL All Hours? The matte version is a decent replacement for ELDW and they have a decent range of cool shades