I Got My Foundation Matched At Four Beauty Counters
Some of them made me look like a corpse.
Hey guys! Nina here. I'm a pretty big fan of makeup. One of the hardest things for me, as a woman of color in particular, is finding the right shade of foundation.
Like a lot of people, I have a hard time matching my skin tone. Hell, I don't even know what my undertones are. And do you match to your neck? Your forehead? Your arm? IDK! So I rely on helpful sales associates to assist me in finding my perfect shade. But I've had experiences in the past where sales associates have barely looked at me and chosen a super dark shade, because I guess all dark skin tones are the same to them.
It can be really disheartening and difficult to find the correct shade, especially if the selection is limited. So I decided to visit four beauty counters to see if they could help me get the best shade!
BuzzFeedYellow / Via youtube.com
I started at Sephora, where I found an excellent match with a Make Up For Ever foundation.
Foundation: Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Foundation in 170 = Y435 Caramel, $43.
My experience at Sephora was wonderful. I went in and the sales associate immediately recommended three brands. I let her choose her favorite. She then tested two different shades on my chin and let me pick which one I liked better. You can barely tell I'm wearing makeup! This foundation and shade really captured the warmth of my skin tone. I felt like it did what all foundation ideally does, which is even out my skin tone without making me look cake-y or ghostlike. She knocked it out of the park.
Rating: 5/5
Nina Mohan / BuzzFeed
Next, I went to a Chanel counter, where I wasn't too happy with the Vitalumière Aqua foundation shades.
Foundation: Chanel Vitalumière Aqua in 52 Beige Rosé, $48.
Chanel was definitely the biggest disappointment. I look very ashy and washed out. This is what I'd look like if I had pneumonia. The shade the sales associate gave me was THE DARKEST SHADE THEY HAD. She said darker shades would be coming in, but if you look on their website it appears it's the darkest shade available. I would hate to imagine a person with darker skin than me trying to buy foundation from Chanel. It's sad because I really like the consistency of it. I'd recommend it in a heartbeat if they actually carried darker shades.
Rating: 2/5
Nina Mohan / BuzzFeed