MAC Virgin!

Nov 9, 2011

Opalline S.

OK so I'm sick of never, ever, EVER being able to find a foundation in a shade that actually matches my skin. I must have tried 30 different ones in the last two years and none of them were right :( I have olive toned skin and everything just looks orange on me! So, I'm biting the bullet and driving two hours to my nearest MAC counter to get properly assessed... I'm praying MAC will have a shade to suit me. But. Other than a couple of lipsticks, I've never tried any MAC products before, so I wondered if anyone has recommendations for the type of MAC foundation I should be looking for? I want something with a bit of coverage (because my skin is far from flawless) but am far too prone to spots to want to clog my face up with anything super heavy, so a full coverage is out of the question. Is it better to get a sheer one and use a concealer, or a medium cover foundation? And which ones of theirs count as which coverage? Thanks :)

Nov 9, 2011

Yasmin K.

I read so many complaints about M•A•C employees not properly matching customers faces with foundation so you might be disappointed (and royally ticked for having driven the distance). Also note that other complaints about M•A•C foundations is that they cause even more breakouts.

My recommendation is actually this, you have an olive complexion as do I, and I found that Coastal Scents Exotic Skins mineral foundation to be perfect for my skintone. The cost is $4.99 for four sample sizes of different colors. I use this in conjunction with BB cream as a primer. I will say that as the weather is becoming more dry in my area that I'll be switching back to liquid foundation as needed (I use MUFE HD in 153 Golden Honey but mix it with BB cream to get the right shade for me since 153 is too dark and 140 Soft Beige is too light).

Nov 9, 2011

Opalline S.

Hmmmm that's disappointing about MAC :( I was hoping they'd at least be able to get my shade right and then even if their foundations weren't that great, I could use it as a reference for finding matching shades in other brands, since people seem to say things like "I'm an NC20" and then other people pipe up with "oh well then in brand X you'll need to use 'honey beige' shade".

I don't think we have Coastal Scents or MUFE in the UK, but maybe I can find them through another supplier or Ebay??

Nov 9, 2011

Yasmin K.

Coastal Scents does ship internationally.
http://www.coastalscents.com/shipping

Nov 9, 2011

Angel M.

You might not have to go through all that especially since you will not know if it works for you since you can't color match over the internet. I also have an olive under tone and the problem is very few to no makeup line makes foundations with an olive undertone since more people have a yellow based undertone (something like 70%) or a red based undertone (something like 22%). So, sadly makeup lines do not see any reason to invest in 8% of the population. Here is what I do to counter act this dilemma, I find a red based foundation in my skintone. Since you have MAC available to you I will reference their shades. If I used MAC liquid foundation in NC45 I will look very sick and sallow (being yellow based) so I would opt instead for MAC NW45 liquid (a red base). This foundation will seem a bit darker than my skintone only because it has a red untertone...it will not be enough to form a visible line on my jawline...it'll just be a difference between the very visible olive tone in my neck to now the red tone in my face. I then apply a powder that is yellow based so for powder I'll reach for the NC45 shade again. Esentially, I would have mixed a red based foundation with and yellow based powder and I will come out even again. If you need to see how this look, you can check the pictures on my profile. No body can ever tell they just think my foundation is a perfect match and it's the same method I use when working with a client with an olive undertone.

Nov 9, 2011

Zoe C.

I've heard horror stories of the staff not matching the foundations correctly, and the foundations are HORRIBLE! They're all orange and cakey >_< MUFE, Rimmel, Max Factor and Lush have much better foundations :)

Nov 9, 2011

Soma S.

MUFE is perfect for my yellow/olive toned skin... They have a great color range too!

Nov 9, 2011

Shelly T.

MUFE *is* available in the UK.

http://gurumakeupemporium.com

Nov 11, 2011

Samantha G.

everytime i go into mac, they match me with a shade that's too light. i tell them i want a deeper shade and i'm told i'm wrong and it looks fine. i would skip mac. there's a lot of make up related drama/horror stories there.