083. Seeking Foundation
Hi, I’m Maggie, and welcome to Tender Forms Off-Camera: a weekly newsletter on all things slow: beauty, fashion, living. Links in this newsletter may include affiliate links or discount referrals. If you enjoy and would like to support this newsletter, click the button below or shop through my links! No pressure but thank you if you do.
I alluded to my foundation journey a few newsletters back and am excited to finally talk in-depth about the search. To understand my ideal complexion product is to understand the qualities I seek in one. Let’s start at the beginning.
I. Intrigue
I have always been drawn to complexion products though I don’t use them often. I just find something about it absolutely alluring. When a brand comes out with a new complexion product, my heart skips with excitement. Of course, 99% of the time, I don’t actually buy it since I don’t wear foundation or concealer daily. However, in the past year, with the speed and stress of work, I’ve been seeking a bit more coverage. My health has changed for the better. And this resulted in quite a shift in my body and the pigment of my skin. While I had three foundations in my collection, all three no longer matched or provided the wear and finish I sought after. Thus, I began a new search trying various brands that have caught my eye in the past and recent times.
II. Variety
The only accurate way to find one’s shade match is by using the product. And the easiest and most affordable way of doing that is through samples. So throughout 2021, I ordered both samples and full-size products from various brands: Alima Pure, Bare Minerals, Gressa, Kjaer Weis, Kosas, and Orcé.
III. Color Recipe
Before diving into shade matching, the most important thing I’ve found is knowing how your native skin tone will interact with the tones in your complexion product. The skin on everyone’s face is different, and plenty of factors play into how a complexion product will look on you versus someone else who might use the same shade as you. I used to think of these factors as “quirks” of my skin, but the better way to describe them is as the “qualities” of my skin.
My face is much darker and warmer than the rest of my body. I attribute that to the many years of not wearing SPF yet being in the sun (ha). My neck is noticeably lighter than my face, and the same goes for my hands and arms. You must be asking, “why is she talking about her hands and arms?” Well, I’m an expressive talker and tend to motion with my hands often, and I am not the only one. If you are, too, you also know how one’s hands often appear by their face.
For this reason, I tend to notice when someone’s face is drastically lighter or darker than their hands. My arms and neck match exactly in shade and tone, but my hands run slightly cooler and darker, though not as dark as my face. This is why I tend to go with lighter shades, so my face will match my neck, arms, and closer to my hands.
IV. Formula
This is where the meat of it all lies. When people think of shade matching, they usually stop at matching the depth (light–deep) and tone (undertone). But to find my perfect complexion product, I had to learn how depth, tone, saturation, opacity, and finish affect how a shade translates on me.
Please note I am not a makeup artist or cosmetics chemist. The following “definitions” below are simply how I perceive them in reference to complexion products!
Depth refers to where a shade falls on a scale from light to deep.
(fair/very light, light, medium, deep, very deep)
Tone refers to the undertone.
(cool, neutral, beige, warm, olive)
Saturation refers to hue and pigment intensity.
(desaturated/muted to saturated)
Opacity refers to where pigment falls on a scale from transparent to opaque.
(sheer to opaque/full-coverage, also dependent on the finish)
Finish refers to the amount and quality of dry-down.
(no dry-down/dewy/glowy, satin/skin-like, fully dries down/matte)
You’ll notice I didn’t include a coverage category. This is because I often find coverage misleading. A product’s coverage description is a good starting point. Still, it’s the above factors combined with how the item interacts with your skin and native tone that form the actual coverage level. An example would be how a “light” coverage product can appear fuller coverage on a good skin day. Or how a matte full-coverage item can appear fuller coverage than a glowy full-coverage item.
Let’s dive into some swatches to see how all this compares.
I first grouped everything I had by product type, as that’s how I usually categorize complexion products. I also interchange foundation and concealers (meaning I use either for both of these purposes), so the product type is where the lines are drawn, and a distinction is made.
Creams
Westman Atelier Vital Skin Foundation Stick (full-size)
Kjaer Weis Cream Foundation (full-size)
Kjaer Weis Concealer (full-size)
Liquids
Kosas Revealer Concealer (sample)
Orcé Come Closer Foundation (sample)
Bare Minerals Original Liquid Mineral Concealer* (free sample)
Oils
Gressa Minimalist Serum Foundation (sample)
evanhealy Tinted Oil Serum Foundation (not pictured, head to Newsletter 067 for swatches)
Powders
Alima Pure Satin Matte Foundation (sample)
Alima Pure Pressed Powder Foundation (full-size)
As you can see, I don’t have any in the balm category (though I was curious about the recent Salt New York Sneaky Balm release). But I’m not too fond of anything too dewy or overly glow-imparting, so it’s not a type I look for or purchase.
It’s so interesting to see all these swatches side-by-side. You can see how some pull extremely yellow, while others can fall almost grey.
Let’s dive into some arm swatches and mini-reviews.
Westman Atelier Vital Skin Foundation Stick in N ($68, .31oz | 9g)
For a long time, this stood as my favorite fuller-coverage foundation. I have a full-size I purchased myself, and though it’s past its 18-month PAO, I haven’t seen any change in scent, texture, or performance. However, something about the feeling of this foundation on my skin now doesn’t sit quite right with me. It feels heavier, and that’s likely because I’m comparing it to my current favorite base. This definitely gives me the coverage when I need it, but the shade doesn’t match me anymore (appears pink on me).
Kjaer Weis Cream Foundation in Like Porcelain ($46 refill, .2floz | 5.8ml)
I prefer the finish of this versus Westman Atelier. The WA has a dewier finish even when blended out, but the Kjaer Weis Cream Foundation fully dries down. Of course, this means it catches on any dry patches, and if you haven’t fully prepped your skin with some oil or emollience and slip, this can look drying and cakey. But I love the amount of coverage it gives. Unfortunately, this pulls too pink on me. I imagine the undertone of Weightless will match better, but my fear is it won’t be light enough, similar to the next item.
Kjaer Weis Concealer in F120 ($30 refill, .14floz | 4ml)
I am super bummed about this concealer because it’s one of my closest matching undertones, but it’s too dark! I rather like the doe-foot and very crème-like consistency of it. It looks a bit grainy in the other swatches, but it blends out great on my skin. I also need the tiniest amount. I often find myself reaching for this because I like how it performs. If only it were lighter! I also reached out to customer service, and unfortunately, they didn’t help as much as I had hoped. There doesn’t seem to be a fairer shade with the same undertone, and I don’t want to buy two and mix shades daily.
Kosas Revealer Concealer in 02W and 3.2O ($5 Try at Home sample card)
I feel as though everyone loves this concealer. It’s certainly a crowd-pleaser, but I just haven’t had as much success with it. It doesn’t sit well on my under-eyes which is the one place I choose to conceal. It just looks heavy and crepey. I had heard olive-toned people rave about how 3.2 is a true olive, so I was excited to try it. Indeed, it is olive! However, it’s just too dark for me, which was a bummer. 02W is surprisingly too cool once it sets, but the depth is good. Luckily, I didn’t fall in love with the formula, so I don’t particularly need to find a shade that works. However, with the launch of their new foundation with SPF, I am curious if they came out with an olive shade that’s paler! At a quick glance, maybe Light Neutral Warm 130? Also, why is naming and numbers across all their complexion products different? It’s quite frustrating.
Gressa Minimalist Corrective Serum Foundation (Find Your Match Kit in Fair–Light)
One of my tried and true loves. The amount of coverage in this foundation is crazy good. However, if you don’t prep your skin, like the Kjaer Weis Cream Foundation, it can cling to dry patches. When I used this foundation consistently (just 1 drop all over the face), my skin was happy and healthy. I hadn’t tried the new shades from the last shade range expansion, so I reordered the Find Your Match kit in Fair–Light. 1.5 is a better undertone match, but 01 is still perfect in depth. Thus, it’s a bummer that there’s no solid match, but I can make either of these work when worn in a sheer layer. I am still looking forward to when their concealer finally releases!
Bare Minerals Original Liquid Mineral Concealer in Fair 1W* (free sample)
I got this as a free sample in a Sephora order and was excited to see if there was a shade that matched me. Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of the shade or formula. There’s nothing special about this concealer, and it doesn’t sit or look the best on my skin. Fair 1W is also not a match.
Orcé Come Closer Foundation, Experience Set in Light (samples)
In all truthfulness, I had extremely high expectations for this foundation, which probably didn’t give it as good a chance, to begin with. The first surprise was the texture of the foundation straight out of the tiny dropper bottles. This is a thick, cream foundation. It does melt somewhat with the heat of your skin, and it also has pretty high coverage. But the combination makes it difficult to thin out on the skin, and no matter how I tried to use it, it looked cakey and extremely makeup-like. It was also one of the hardest foundations to remove. Even with oil cleaners, I had to go in deep, massage thoroughly, and double cleanse.
I was most excited to try this in terms of undertones as the founder created this brand specifically for Asian skin tones. 010 Finea, the lightest shade, is not fair enough, which was a big disappointment as there are plenty of Asians much lighter than me. 020 Celaine is too peach and too dark. All three also oxidize and become darker on the skin. I did see the brand may be expanding the shade range, so I hope they’ll accommodate a wider range of skin tones in the future.
Alima Pure Satin Matte Foundation in Olive 0, Beige 1, Beige 2 ($2 individual samples)
I think it’s time to call it on this one. Across all the years I’ve been wearing makeup, I revisit this often because of its rave reviews and cult status in the green beauty realm. However, it’s just not for my skin type. I find it very drying even when using a light dusting, and personally, loose powders just aren’t for me. However, it does give a decent amount of coverage! Olive 0’s undertone is excellent but slightly too dark. This is unfortunate since that’s the lightest olive available. Both Beige 1 and 2 pulled too peach on me. Despite its incredibly extensive shade range, I’m sad there isn’t a paler olive shade. However, I’m not wholly heartbroken since I found another complexion product I love from them!
Alima Pure Pressed Foundation with Rosehip Antioxidant Complex in Sesame ($26 refill, .31oz | 9g)
Have I saved the best for last? Indeed I have. This is the closest shade match I have ever found. It matches my neck spot on. Everything about it is right for me and my skincare and SPF: depth, tone, saturation, opacity, finish. I’ve fallen head over heels for this one. You can read a brief rave in my recent Beauty 2021 Index, but stay tuned for a dedicated newsletter on this gem.
As mentioned above, the shade I always try to match is my neck. Color is so nuanced, and I must admit, I’m still trying to figure out mine. I know there’s a lot of green in my skin, but I’m also very fair. So I would say I’m a fair olive. I’m also still wrapping my head around the entire muted and saturated olive description. If I had to venture a guess right now, I’d say I’m a saturated fair olive (but don’t hold me to that).
V. Resonance
Aside from finding a shade match, the most essential quality in my complexion product is the finish. And it’s not always about the product’s individual finish, but how it meshes with my skincare and SPF. If my SPF has a tackier finish, my ideal complexion falls anywhere from satin-matte to matte. However, if my SPF is more on the matte side, I look for the emollience of a cream complexion product. Overall, I don’t mind if there’s a remnant of tackiness as long as my stray hairs don’t get caught on the face (long-time subscribers will know this pet peeve of mine).
In the next newsletter, I’ll share an in-depth look at the complexion item I’ve been loving the most.
Thanks so much for reading! Have you had a long and challenging foundation journey, or is it just me? Are there any complexion items you’ve loved lately? I’d love to know! You can always leave a comment or reply to this email to chat privately!
As always, I hope you have a great start to your week. See you Feb. 27!
As always, you have always broken down everything in such depth. Foundation is one of the harder make-up item for me to find. Finding a perfect undertone match is so tough and my forehead is darker than the rest of my face (it's not as bad now) from teenage years of not using sunscreen but love playing outside. I have tried many and I always end up having to mix two products and it's always not worth it at the end because I'm not a heavy foundation wearer. However, like you, I'm also enchanted by foundations or any skin coverage product. Saying that, I bought Ilia True Serum foundations last year and it was the closest match to my skin I ever got to. Their concealer was also really nice on me. I like that you mentioned both Kjaer Weis cream foundation and WA stick foundation in one post. I really enjoyed KW cream one actually, it was never cakey on me and it sets beautifully like skin. Hard to tell I was wearing foundation but that was ages ago. Unfortunately, I could not find the right color match and since I'm wearing a veil over my head the difference does not really show but still.. it's a deal breaker. I also have always wanted to try Orce but the choices are so limited - I'm just convinced I would not be able to find a nice match. Alima Pure has also been around for so long. I love their new branding now! I remember trying their powder foundation in replacement of the bare mineral ones.
Thank you for this, Maggie. I always enjoy your posts. I've tried a few foundations—many of those you mention here—but I find I'm not comfortable wearing them. My skin is normal mature. I've decided to concentrate on skincare, diet, and exercise, and show my skin with its imperfections. Sometimes I use a tinted sunscreen for slight bit of coverage. When I want to look more polished I add a spot-conceal application of Rituel de Fille Ethereal Veil Conceal and Cover in Ceres to clean, moisturized skin. (My skin is pale with a neutral cool undertone, and I thought I'd be Nix, but I'm Ceres.) I add mascara, cream blush, and lipstick from RdF, Kjaer Weis, or Henné. After I'd begun using RdF, I was surprised to see Sarah James (@Whoorl) uses it as well. She has a demo video that I'll add here. I use my fingers, she uses a brush. I'll try a brush at some point in the future. https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17864291812411546/ The one foundation with more coverage you mention that I've tried and like is Alima Pure Pressed Foundation in Birch. I'd like to become more adept at using that. Happy Sunday. Have a wonderful week.