Fair Neutral Skin- Concealer and Foundation Swatches

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*PR Samples 

This is a blog post I've been wanting to write for a while now. I know it will only be helpful to people with skin tones very similar to mine but I wanted to post it anyway. One of the things I do when I'm researching a potential base product is look for images of swatch comparisons. Over the past few years in particular I've gotten quite adept at shade matching myself online. I find the swatches on brand websites can often be unreliable so I try to find swatches from online reviews. Particularly those that compare different brands as that's the best way for me to see if a shade might match me. Keep in mind that these are more saturated swatches than the amount of foundation you would apply to your face and they are dried down for the most part. It's not so much about the depth of the shades compared to the skin on my arm as it is about the tones and undertones compared to one another. Hopefully, this is helpful if you're looking for your shade match in the Kosas concealer for example and you know your shade in the Lisa Eldridge foundation, you can easily see if they are comparable. I know everyone wants different things from their foundation or concealer whether it's having the perfect match, one shade deeper, a concealer that perfectly matches their foundation or one that's a tiny bit brighter for under the eyes. As you can see the range of shades is quite wide as are the undertones. All of these shades work for me, some better than others. It completely depends on the coverage level too as a sheer skin tint is more forgiving if it's not an exact shade match because there's less pigment. There are a wide variety of brands here, drugstore, mid-range, high end and luxury. If you would like to see a full, in-depth review of any of these products with before and after photos, application techniques etc. please do let me know. I have dedicated reviews of the IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream and Lisa Eldridge The Foundation. I've featured many of these products multiple times on this blog and on Instagram so if you want to see more you can use the search bar to find specific posts. I've posted two different swatch photos so you can see the differences in lighting. I have fair neutral skin and I like to match my neck more than my face because I have a mixture of undertones on my face as well as pigmentation and freckles which is why I can get away with such a variety of shades. If you have a similar skin tone to mine, you might find this helpful in some way. 

1. Givenchy Prisme Libre Skin-Caring Concealer (N95)

2. Kosas Revealer Concealer (01N)

3. NYX Professional Makeup Bare With Me Serum Concealer (Light)

4. Sculpted Satin Silk Longwear Concealer (Vanilla)

5. *Note Cosmetics BB Concealer 

6. *YSL Beauty Touche Éclat Illuminating Pen (1 Rose Lumière)

7. *Maybelline Instant Anti-Age Eraser Multi-Use Concealer (06 Neutralizer)

8. *Rimmel Kind & Free Hydrating Concealer (10 Fair)

9. *IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better Nude CC+ Glow (Fair Porcelain)

10. *IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+ Color Correcting Full Coverage Cream (Fair)

11. *Lancôme Teint Idôle Ultra Wear Foundation (120N)

12. *YSL Beauty Nu Bare Look Tint (Nu 2)

13. *L'Oréal Paris True Match Nude Plumping Tinted Serum (0.5-2 Very Light)

14. *Lisa Eldridge The Foundation (No. 5)

15. *Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Oil Free Natural Skin Perfector (0N1 Petal)

16. *bareMinerals BAREPRO Performance Wear Liquid Foundation (01 Fair)

17. *bareMinerals Complexion Rescue Foundation Stick (Opal)

18. Shiseido Synchro Skin Self-Refreshing Foundation (140 Porcelain)

19. No7 HydraLuminous Moisturising Foundation (Porcelain)

20. LYS Beauty Triple Fix Serum Foundation (LN3)

21. Nabla Skin Realist Beautifying Tinted Balm (Fair)

22. *Lancôme Teint Idôle Ultra Wear Foundation Stick (Beige Albâtre)

23. Typology Tinted Serum (Type 1 Fair)

24. *Rimmel Kind & Free Moisturising Skin Tint Foundation (10 Rose Ivory)

25. Bodyography Oil Free Natural Finish Foundation (100)

26. Glossier Stretch Concealer (G11)

Thanks for taking the time to read this post and if you have any questions you can always send me a DM on Instagram. 

Emma x

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Voluptuous Nude

The Emmy Awards were on last weekend and as usual I was more interested in the style and makeup than who won what (although I was very happy that both Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Bill Hader won awards). I follow a lot of celebrity and editorial makeup artists on Instagram including Jenn Streicher who often does makeup for Mandy Moore, including on Sunday night. She looked stunning in a red and pink dress but I was especially enamoured by her hair and makeup which was classic, glamorous and understated, the perfect accompaniment to such a colourful dress. From a distance it seemed like a typical brown smokey eye and nude lipstick, but the glitter was an unexpected addition that gave the look some extra dimension.

I immediately wanted to recreate the look as it was so beautiful on Mandy Moore and it's been a while since I've done something smoky like this. Jenn used Lorac products for the look so I decided to break out my Lorac Pro Palette that's been sadly underused over the past couple of years. I used the shades Cream, Taupe, Mauve, Sable and Pewter to create a rounded but slightly winged out shape with a deepened crease, lighter lid, some bronze liner along my waterline and topped it off with some bronze glitter from the Pixi Glitter-y Eye Quad.

I used Glossier Cloud Paint in Dusk on my cheeks as the overall look is quite warm and tonal so I wanted my blush to be a neutral shade. The lipstick Jenn used is quite a light nude so I brought out the palest nude I own, Voluptuous Nude by Givenchy which is now sadly discontinued but it's a gorgeous shade and paired with the Pillow Talk Lip Cheat from Charlotte Tilbury it turned out a bit darker and warmer than usual. Obviously you could recreate this look with any colour palette or tones to suit your skin. It's quite a simple look overall but it's so effective and the perfect red carpet look with a slight sparkly twist. I love seeing red carpet makeup that has something different to it.

*bareMinerals BAREPRO Performance Wear Liquid Foundation (Fair)
*bareMinerals bareSkin Complete Coverage Serum Concealer (Fair)
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz (Medium Brown)
Glossier Boy Brow (Brown)
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion Anti-Aging
Revlon So Fierce! Vinyl Eyeliner (Mighty Mocha)
KIKO Glamorous Eye Pencil (401 Golden Hazelnut) (Discontinued, similar here)
LORAC PRO Palette
Pixi Beauty Glitter-y Eye Quad (RoseBronze)
L'Oréal Paris Paradise Mascara
YSL Beauty Touche Éclat (1)
Fenty Beauty Match Stix Matte Skinstick (Amber)
**Glossier Cloud Paint Cream Blush (Dusk and Beam)
Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Liquid Highlighter (Moonstone)
*L'Oréal Paris Infallible Magic Loose Powder
Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat (Pillow Talk)
Givenchy Rouge Interdit Lipstick (Voluptuous Nude) (Discontinued, similar here)

*Press Sample
**I bought Dusk, Beam is a press sample

What do you think of this look?

Emma x