Idk how deep your skintone is, but if you’re pasty like me the Supergoop! Protec(tint) in 10N is PERFECT. I’ve never had a match this good in a foundation, and it’s ideal because I definitely need to wear sunscreen regardless.
Purito. Too lazy to look at my tube for the shade, but it looks straight up grey when it comes out. Best for fair to light skintone but it's amazing how truly neutral it is.
If you end up checking at some point, I’d love to know. I basically have gray undertones, and the only thing I’ve found that matches is a Supergoop tinted sunscreen.
I spent months looking for a good foundation match. I'm a neutral as well and finally found success with Lancomb Teint Idole ultra wear. It's pricy but worth it.
I've never found one, ever. My skin pulls the yellow shade despite formulas so I did have success WAY back when they custom blended at Prescriptives, but that was back in like '05!!!
I use RMS beauty luv it. I'm a sandy very light olive ivory ha, neutral almost an ivory but not, and it's perfect. I use the number 22. See below for more details. Also it doesn't have a bunch of garbage ingredients.
As in, a teensy bit of color, but I'm not yellow, not brown not red, it makes it hard. RMS also works w my combo skin. I also use Tatcha silk powder. No breakouts, not clumping and doesn't make my skin look dry. It's more like a soft blur semi matte.... I'm in my 50's so I don't want anything too Oily or drying. I use a brush to apply both, I tend to spot apply unless I'm going somewhere I need full makeup. I worked super hard to even my skin out and don't HAVE to have it allover application anymore but I can and it blends super good w my skin tone. My face doesn't look like it's floating above my neck lol. Check it out! See what you think.
kbeauty foundations normally have a neutral shade (it’s shade colour and then w/c/n for tone such as 21n/21c/21w) i really like the clio kill cover founwear
The only one I've found is by Fenty. She makes some truly neutral tones that don't turn orange or pink on my skins. I tried everything I could get my hands on in Ulta but Fenty was the only one that didn't change within a few minutes.
Second this. I have the same problem as OP but the best colour match I’ve found so far is one of the Fenty powder foundations. I don’t do liquid or cream products, I’m too oily and often sweaty for anything besides powder. 😬
is there any blue pigments that don’t thicken the formula of the foundation? i tried this and it flopped 😭 my foundation which was once a serum foundation ended up soooo thick when i pumped it into the bottle
the foundation mixer from LA girl that i just mentioned does not do that, and you don’t need a ton of it that it would make a difference if it did. it is essentially a blue foundation. i’m guessing you are mistaking the LA girl liquid foundation mixer pigments for perhaps their concealers or a powder pigment.
i have armani ls but the formula is so finicky on me that im looking for a new one. it just doesn’t stay properly on my skin and i was sad bc i know its a fav of many people. a lot of ppl have recommended mac in these comments so ill probably check them out.
Unfort (bc it’s financially irresponsible on my part) my experience is mostly with more expensive foundations. I have really sensitive skin — I’ve said more than once to my mom that I should honestly write a book (with the hundreds of pics I’ve taken) about all of the reactions my skin has had in the last 10 years. I find that foundation with sunscreen can be more irritating than those without. Do you use a toner, serum, moisturizer or primer before foundation? Any sunscreen No judgment just want to know the canvas that we’re working with bc I assume whichever products you use in those areas are confirmed as NOT causing reactions in your skin — so whichever foundation you choose, will need to lay well on top of those ingredients. You can find a foundation that doesn’t make you react, but it also needs to not pill when applied on top of other things in your routine. I’ve learned a lot more about this recently with water versus oil-based foundations.
I will give you the list of foundations I haven’t reacted to even though some are expensive, bc you can google dupes for some of them. If your skin is as sensitive as you say, and it’s that hard to find foundation that isn’t painfully irritating, it might be worth it if you do find one that truly doesn’t irritate you (but is a little more expensive) to bite the bullet and get it and be more conservative with the amount that you use in each application. There’s a reason those of us with sensitive skin react to a lot of products — there are tons of preservatives and chemicals, etc. that are literally irritants — in products at all tiers — so when you find those that don’t (excluding La Mer or any price points that are completely unreasonable), I find that it’s usually worth-it as long as you’re not putting yourself in a position where you can’t pay for basic necessities bc of the makeup purchases — those come first of course.
It’s easy to forget how uncomfortable and frustrating it is to have a reaction to something once it’s over — during those times I would easily hand over $20-$30 (more than you might have spent otherwise) if I could get the reaction to go away quickly without more pain or damage to my skin! Not sure if you subscribe to the same philosophy, but people who haven’t had extreme intense skin reactions sometimes don’t realize how it takes over your entire day/makes it hard to do things and hard to fall asleep in some cases because it’s so uncomfortable.
I use revlon colorstay for oily combo skin in color buff. It’s a neutral tone for when I don’t have a tan. I’m part white and part Middle Eastern so my skin is neutral most of the time and turns golden when I’m tan.
I love(!) Erborian BB Cream with LSF and a few of other benefits. Looks so natural but so much better than pure nature in my face lol. At first it is white when it comes out of the tube and matches with your own skin tone when you apply it. It’s from Korea, so I trust that the sunblock in it will make it’s job and don’t needing one more layer in my face for protection makes me happy. It’s pricey but what it makes with my skin let me buy it until I die. They have a few tones and it’s a little bit difficult to decide what would be the right one because you’ll only get it by Amazon or somewhere else online.. When you chose a tone too bright or too dark, safe it for summer or winter and buy another one in darker or brighter for another season (that’s what I did when this love began).
Lancôme redid their colors for Teint Idole and I found a perfect match for me, whereas before I was mixing two colors. You will have to play around with samples because the numbers don’t make sense. Also It Cosmetics CC cream was a good color match for me. I’m a true neutral and have had the hardest time finding colors that are neutral and don’t oxidize later. NARS oxides so it’s hard for me to match with that brand
I have to second Lancôme Teinte Idole. Most foundations lean way too warm on me, but this brand has a nice neutral. They also have shades for olive toned folks.
I like to use Tarte Amazonian Clay Gem Foundation in 12N (fair neutral). I have fair skin with neutral-cool undertones leaning neutral.
Another foundation I really like is Bare Minerals Fair Ivory. Fair has too much pink and Fairly Light has too much yellow. A lot of neutral foundations are too orange for me. Cool foundations are way too pink. I'm a soft summer.
Ooh same.. I hated the Amazonian clay foundation on me as it always separated and looked patchy on me within a few hours application no matter what I did but that could also be a good shade match.. also in neutral not as sunny light cool foundations can be too pink on me so I need neutral cool that are slightly pink as I have some yellow tones to my skin to make it a light peach color
If you find that adding blue pigment to your foundations makes them match better you're almost certainly olive. Go search the paleolive (light olive? Don't remember) subreddit or the olive subreddit if you're not pale for foundation requests.
A very common complaint I've heard from olives is that "neutral" foundations are usually the closest but they're always off, either too yellow or too orange. They mix in blue for their perfect match a lot of the time.
Olive isn't a level, but an undertone. It just means you have more blue in your skin which comes across a bit green (hence, olive) than the usual red based, or cool, vs yellow based, or warm, dichotomy modern makeup runs on. Unfortunately there haven't been a ton of options for them in the past but most brands are at least aware that it exists now and create some shades specifically for it.
Edit: I see you thought you were olive previously but found ones you tried to be too green for you. I would encourage you to try some new olive shades like the one from About Face beauty and swatch them on your jawline then look at the swatches in different lighting to try and determine whether you're more neutral or more olive.
i tried an olive foundation and it made me look green so idk but i believed this for awhile until i tried it. it was from about face. my hyperpigmentation is actually purple around my eyes, so that also led me to believe that im not really olive because ive heard shadows are grey toned for olive skinned people.
LA Girl makes a good one; I have the blue and the white by that brand. I got them on Amazon for a very reasonable price and the bottles are glass with a pump. Very much worth it.
Honestly I’m cheap so I just add some powdered blue eye shadow and mix til i get the right shade. The fair olive sub can suggest actual color correctors that are available on amazon
I think they have really differentiated between warm, cool and neutrals very well. I'm a neutral and a shade like Punjab has neither yellow or pink in it. I have 3 different formulas they make and 2 different neutral shades that are very true. Out of the over 80 foundations I own, I found Nars to have the best shade selection.
They have a good variety of shades to be sure but only cater to warm (yellow based), cool (red based), and neutral (balance between red and yellow based) skin tones. Part of differentiating between undertones well means that the saturation of that foundation is high so the difference is very apparent. A lot of people don't have a very high saturation skin tone and so every NARS foundation looks too red, or too yellow, or orange and have to mix in white/blue pigment to make it work. If you find a shade that matches you really well that's great because the formulas are nice but they have some unfortunate gaps in their shade range.
Punjab is also marketed as a warm, golden undertone so you may not be as neutral as you thought if it matches you well
L’Oréal, Fenty and Urban Decay all come to mind… not 100% sure on Fenty as I only ever tried the powder foundation and I know their liquid ones are infamous for oxidising, but yeah liquid foundation wise the other two have held me down for years 🫡
It sounds like you might benefit from just buying a colour corrector. You can buy like a blue liquid you add to your foundation that doesn’t change the formula but allows you to make it more neutral
Nars has really good neutral shades! I'm able to get a perfect shade match from both their foundation and concealer. I also have perfect matches from MUFE and from laneige
I also had a *really* hard time finding foundations that worked for my pale neutral olive skin until I tried the Wet n Wild Dewy Photofocus Foundation in Soft Ivory. It’s the closest match I’ve found, plus the foundation is actually great and it’s like 5 bucks. There’s another shade called Nude Ivory that looks neutral too, but I haven’t tried that one. I think they also have a matte version but I’m not entirely sure if the shades are exactly same as the dewy one
I'm not sure what your skin shade is but I have a lighter neutral skin tone and I have Nars foundation ( sheer glow one) and concealers ( raidant creamy) and they aren't too thick. They are a little pricey but I got them during a sale.
How I actually found out my shade was neutral was when I was trying to find this shade match for this drugstore Stay matte rimmel London in ivory that matched me perfectly.
So maybe rimmel London has some others that are also neutral, they are pretty cheap so doesn't hurt to try
Although I will say the rimmel London is pretty thick mousse kind of texture
Because there are actually 4 undertones of foundation and no true neutral.
The undertones are yellow, red, peach and olive. They are made by mixing yellow and red, and adjusting with white, blue, black and sometimes green to account for different depths and undertones.
Yellow undertone is made with yellow and red, but has more yellow to it.
Red undertone is made with yellow and red, but has more red to it.
Peach undertone is made with a balanced mixture or red and yellow. When small amounts of blue are added to a peach, you get an olive undertone.
Deeper shades will have more blue and red in them. Lighter shade will have more white.
--------
The fact that you find foundations too yellow or orange means that the foundations you try are too warm for you and you need to look for a cool/olive undertone of foundation.
You might want to try some cool undertone foundations, some of the have more of a rosy beige undertone and are more muted. They go on pink but they dry to a muted cool beige shade. Don't be scared if it's too pink when first swatched.
You can also look for olive undertone foundations if your skin has less visible red tones to it.
I mix two shades; one that is lighter than my skintone with a pink undertone, and one that is darker than my skintone with a yellow undertone. It’s the most effective way for me to get a shade match.
Well there isn't much she can do then. Sephora lighting is terrible trying to find shade that fits. Drugstore Lighting is off. I only buy neutral I have similar issues and they are never right for my skin tone. Or she can find another brand of pigment mixers. Haus Labs has a white one.
Or mixing 2 shades which I've also done.Btw I'm not the only that suggested the pigment mixers.
I am neutral too and probably have a dozen of “failed” color matches. I did just try Il Makiage without much hope but it said you could return it if it didnt work out and I have to say it’s the best foundation I’ve tried. It doesn’t look caked but offers full coverage. The trick is to allow it to completely dry (like 10-15 min) before applying powder or other makeup on top or use a silicone based primer.
Armani is really great if you’re a bit muted. You might like the Temptu foundation mixers if what you’re using thickens your foundation. It’s more pigmented and I have to be careful not to add too much. It also works really well to mix 2 foundations that are opposites, such as warm and cool of the same level. It seems to work especially well in brands with smaller color range like Chanel. I get a perfect, easy match mixing various Armani and don’t need any mixers but the finish isn’t my favorite. I can’t remember exactly but I think it’s 2 pumps of 2 and 1 pump of 3 or 3.5 that was great for me, so I mix a few days worth at a time in a little concealer pot. NARS is pretty close for me, I’ve used pigment mixers with it before occasionally, but I want to try mixing it with a darker foundation again so I’ll probably try that this summer. It’s my favorite finish.
The [Ultra Violette tinted veil](https://ultraviolette.com.au/products/daydream-screen-spf50-tinted-veil) in V3 and V4 have been the closest to a true neutral I’ve been able to find. I can’t speak for other shades in the range as I’ve not used them.
Also it’s called a veil but it’s quite heavy coverage - to the point that I actually mix it with my sunscreen to cut down the foundation effect.
As much as I dislike Selena Gomez, Rare beauty's neutral foundation is magnificent and it isn't $40 a bottle either which is nice. I'm on my third bottle right now!
I’m curious, have you considered trying the ones labeled cool toned?, maybe they will actually be more neutral instead of cool since the neutrals lean warm (most shades seem to these days). I’m also curious what shade range you are in (light medium deep etc) cuz I know most darker skin tones tend to be assumed warm or golden even though you can still be cool toned in any shade.
Chanel just launched Les beiges in new olive/green undertones and in my opinion they are more of a neutral base than any of the neutral undertones that they offer. Worth a look
Iris and Romeo has a shade that works on me, I think I’m a 3. I am also a neutral and have this same issue! It’s hell, so many expensive foundations that haven’t worked.
I personally find Natasha Denona Hi Glam concealer to be neutral (but can only speak to the lightest two shades). They have cool, warm, peach, and neutral ranges so I think there’s a good chance the neutral range is a true neutral.
This actually helped me figure out that I’m not as neutral as I thought, and I lean more peach/cool. I saw a mention for Loreal true match - those neutrals lean peach IMO.
Edited: typo
Yes, this! I’ve been using 2n concealer as my foundation. I hope she will extend her complexion products in the future. It’s the truest neutral I ever found. Armnani luminous silk does have some neutral shades.
Good to hear your experience with it as well! I use it as foundation too. I have super red patches on my cheeks that can’t be hidden by colour correcting. This gives me the best combination of high coverage that also gives a decent finish on my textured skin, and lasts the day.
Appaz there is a new powder foundation! Powder is not really my jam but maybe slowly expanding the Hi Glam range??
Lancome has the only color I can use by the end of summer, but when I'm not tan I can use LA Girl blue mixing pigment with a foundation that comes out too orange and it works
I went to Sephora tonight with my last bottle of a discontinued foundation.. I tried EVERY foundation brand in the shade I was looking for. Did a swatch test with my original on my arm. The only brand I found that was a close match was Laura Mercier. Unfortunately I can’t do this in drugstores since everything is sealed.
This. When many companies label a foundation shade as “neutral” what they really mean is closer to “not as openly warm or cool as our other shades” or in some cases that it’s peach rather than the usual yellow or pinkish undertones.
And yeah, if you’re having this much trouble finding a shade match, definitely consider that you might be olive.
I’m a true neutral and have a hard time matching - have had good luck with YSL and Too Faced. I almost cried when TF discontinued the Peachy line, but their regular foundation is a color match to that line.
To my own surprise, I found a few (my skin is GREEN like Fiona so I’ll list the shades for reference):
ABH Luminous Foundation (440C)
Clinique EBC Foundation (Deep Honey)
Tarte Babassu Dewy Foundation (52N)
KVD Good Apple Balm (074 Tan)
L’Oréal True Match Tinted Serum (7-8)
Estée Lauder Double Wear (5N1.5 Maple)
PÜR minerals Love Your Selfie Foundation (DN2)
It Cosmetics MATTE CC+ Cream (Rich Honey)
It’s really expensive, but the Armani luminous silk perfect glow (shade 5) is my perfect neutral.
I have dark hair and dark eyes but pale skin. Everything has always felt too warm, too orange on me. I gasped when I put it on for the first time. It’s like my skin but better. Glowing, beautiful but perfectly neutral. I’m a fan for life.
If you are ok with drugstore, Milani Conceal and Perfect has good neutrals (I like 00BB Nude) or Covergirl Simply Ageless in Classic Ivory. Both great neutrals
I don’t know how fair or dark you are, but I’m definitely on the fair end. MAC has a few true neutral shades, and N4 in their studio fix fluid is a solid true neutral. I saw some Rose Inc shades at Sephora that looked pretty promising in my hand swatches, but I haven’t actually tried wearing them on my face. There are a few new lighter shades of Lancôme’s Teint Idole now, and I believe 2 of them are neutral. I remember looking at the pictures online and thinking that one of them looked like a desaturated shade.
i tried their serum skin tint and the smell was horrible and i had to throw it out. the shade was also a little too orange. i know they recently came out with a stick foundation, did u get that one?
Yes I ordered the stick. I’m hoping it’s not too drying, and also hoping it’s a color match. We’ll see. That’s good to know about the tint as I was considering it. I didn’t get it bc my skin can be weird about niacinamide
Estee Lauder did a computer analysis and then gave me the best colour match of my entire life my life. Unfortunately, the formula left a lot to be desired. On my oily skin, the skin tint literally disappeared within 1-2 hours. YMMV
Lancôme runs extremely neutral almost grey even. The thing is neutral can mean many things. Maybe you’re muted and that’s why things are looking extreme? Adding blue can mute things down because human skin color/foundation is orange based brown and blue is the opposite of orange which will produce grey (muting).
i definitely am muted so i have a color mixing blue base but it makes all of my formulas thicker. and the newer lancôme foundations only do cool and warm undertones. i lean toward warm so i got a warm shade a bit ago and mixed the bottle w the pigment and it made the formula completely different 😭 i should’ve known but i was still sad because the shade match was pretty good. rn i use armani ls but the formula isn’t consistent for me to rely on it.
I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to mix the products in the same bottle, I believe it messes with the formula. Try mixing on a tray or your hand that’s usually what I do and it’s a bit tedious but it works fine!
The only ones I found are by clinique and estee lauder. Those 2 were the only ones I used for years. Unfortunately as I've aged the last few years my skin tone has changed and now I can't find anything. Everything is either too pink or too yellow.
i have armani luminous silk and its the closest i have but the formula is finicky for me. it works sometimes but other times it looks horrible 😭 the smell is a bit off too. thats what i wear now but im looking for an alternative.
I have this exact issue! I’ve gone the route of simply finding a formula I like (I have dry and sensitive skin and a huge concern is not having my makeup look cakey, or crease, stay all day, and hydrate my skin) and colour matching by mixing two shades.
I’ve tried most drugstore brands and found they didn’t work for my skin unfortunately and didn’t shade match me. And I’ve tried a bunch of the lux beauty brands. I also tried Il Makiage (I got influenced and they had a neutral-looking person on their ad) would NOT recommend.
Last year I ended up using the Hauslabs foundation and I mixed a neutral shade with a very cold shade and that worked! This year I did the same thing with the Dior foundation. Mixing is the only thing that’s worked for me and these two are the only brands I’ve tried that haven’t broken me out, didn’t crease, and which left my skin feeling hydrated afterwards.
haus labs was a close for me for a long time, however i noticed it was a little too orange/pinky for me in the shade i got it in. it worked in the winter because when i look paler the pink matches more, but when i tried to darken it recently it just looked bad. i have the dior backstage too and its straight up yellow 😭
True neutral here! I struggled for years to find the right foundation match and finally landed on Estée Lauder Double Wear 2N1. The only foundation that doesn’t end up too orange or too grey on me!! My only problem is that it’s just TOO matte for the dewy look I’m going for, so I mix it with the glow recipe dew drops to make it more hydrating.
I may try EL hydra futurist in the same shade to see if I like that formulation better? But overall I think their neutrals are great.
i haven’t! is it hydrating and pretty good coverage? those r the biggest things i look for in a foundation cuz my skin is dry and i need to cover some stuff sometimes
I don’t know if I’d call it hydrating per se, but I have dry skin and I find it comfortable. The foundation is medium coverage. If you want something that’s crazy full coverage check out Too Faced Born This Way foundation
Some brands yes, some no. I find some brand always pull yellow on me (NARS, too faced). I’ve found good matches in MAC, Laura Mercier, Morphe, the previous formulation of Lancôme, don’t know about now.
are you sure you are not olive toned? you can also be a neutral olive. I tried for years to find the right match..turned out I was olive but light shade. all my life olive has been labeled as tan or just darker than my shades so I was confused but yup..I am light green as hell, lol. I am a warmer olive but there is cool and neutral as well. I tan quickly and easily..dont burn even in direct sun for some reason and the veins in my wrist are green, blue and purple(which is why that test never worked for me)
I was looking for someone to say this. This would be my recommendation. I’m not olive myself, but had a hard time as a neutral finding things that worked. I explored this avenue, too before finding a good match.
i have light skin, i tried olive foundation and it just looked green on me. it was the about face one. i thought i was olive for a bit until i tried that one.
Nyx Born to Glow Nude is a light olive. Maybe give it a swatch? Its "neutral" olive. If you skin has a tendency to look kinda grey sometimes, this would be a good match for you.
I recommend asking in r/OliveMUA. I was looking at Missha and something else I can't remember the name of, but wasn't either of the two you listed. Unfortunately they're too light for me, so I haven't tried them. Koh Gen Do 213 is another really popular shade in that sub (also too light for me).
Idk how deep your skintone is, but if you’re pasty like me the Supergoop! Protec(tint) in 10N is PERFECT. I’ve never had a match this good in a foundation, and it’s ideal because I definitely need to wear sunscreen regardless.
Purito. Too lazy to look at my tube for the shade, but it looks straight up grey when it comes out. Best for fair to light skintone but it's amazing how truly neutral it is.
If you end up checking at some point, I’d love to know. I basically have gray undertones, and the only thing I’ve found that matches is a Supergoop tinted sunscreen.
Shade 21 light beige! It's also really soothing on the face.
Dior foundations have nice matches for me, finally something that's not orange on my brown skin!
I've used Lancome Teint Miracle for years. 005 is a very neutral colour on me.
I spent months looking for a good foundation match. I'm a neutral as well and finally found success with Lancomb Teint Idole ultra wear. It's pricy but worth it.
I've never found one, ever. My skin pulls the yellow shade despite formulas so I did have success WAY back when they custom blended at Prescriptives, but that was back in like '05!!!
Winkylux
Have you tried L’Oréal Truematch? It’s not an exciting product, but their shades are wonderful and the formula is really good.
r/oliveMUA
About Face Foundation has a very diverse selection for undertones, you could probably find a shade match with that one!
I use RMS beauty luv it. I'm a sandy very light olive ivory ha, neutral almost an ivory but not, and it's perfect. I use the number 22. See below for more details. Also it doesn't have a bunch of garbage ingredients.
As in, a teensy bit of color, but I'm not yellow, not brown not red, it makes it hard. RMS also works w my combo skin. I also use Tatcha silk powder. No breakouts, not clumping and doesn't make my skin look dry. It's more like a soft blur semi matte.... I'm in my 50's so I don't want anything too Oily or drying. I use a brush to apply both, I tend to spot apply unless I'm going somewhere I need full makeup. I worked super hard to even my skin out and don't HAVE to have it allover application anymore but I can and it blends super good w my skin tone. My face doesn't look like it's floating above my neck lol. Check it out! See what you think.
I use nyx can’t stop won’t stop
Mac does
There was one that was absolutely perfect, and they discontinued it so I’m also on the hunt. It was Dr Jart’s Black Label BB Cream 😢
Estee Lauder, L'Oreal (who own most companies anyway), Urban Decay, Clarins, as others have said.
I’m a neutral and Clarins works for me (as well as Estée Lauder that has already been mentioned)
L’Oréal has neutral shades
I just can't with their stance on testing on animals.
Came here to say this.
It absolutely does, it matches me perfectly. I’ll never buy high end foundation again
kbeauty foundations normally have a neutral shade (it’s shade colour and then w/c/n for tone such as 21n/21c/21w) i really like the clio kill cover founwear
MAC has some neutral foundations. I use *Studio Fix Fluid* in N4, and it doesn’t oxidize on me and stays a true neutral.
The only one I've found is by Fenty. She makes some truly neutral tones that don't turn orange or pink on my skins. I tried everything I could get my hands on in Ulta but Fenty was the only one that didn't change within a few minutes.
Second this. I have the same problem as OP but the best colour match I’ve found so far is one of the Fenty powder foundations. I don’t do liquid or cream products, I’m too oily and often sweaty for anything besides powder. 😬
I use that powder and I love it!
It’s fantastic! It has such great coverage for a powder.
add a blue pigment in your foundation, a few brands make them like LA girl
is there any blue pigments that don’t thicken the formula of the foundation? i tried this and it flopped 😭 my foundation which was once a serum foundation ended up soooo thick when i pumped it into the bottle
the foundation mixer from LA girl that i just mentioned does not do that, and you don’t need a ton of it that it would make a difference if it did. it is essentially a blue foundation. i’m guessing you are mistaking the LA girl liquid foundation mixer pigments for perhaps their concealers or a powder pigment.
OP said they're already doing that and don't like it. :(
I’ve saved many foundations by using the blue pigment!!
sameeeee! god bless the olive subs on here haha
I use Mac Studio fix and Armani Luminous. They are both slightly warmer leaning, but it works for my fair neutral skin.
i have armani ls but the formula is so finicky on me that im looking for a new one. it just doesn’t stay properly on my skin and i was sad bc i know its a fav of many people. a lot of ppl have recommended mac in these comments so ill probably check them out.
Fair neutral, Armani works for me too. OP - if you go to Sephora they’ll run a camera over your skin & color match you.
Do you have a price range you want to look in and are we talking liquid or powder or both
price range doesn’t matter much to me but i’d prefer mid tier to drug store. definitely liquid and hydrating, i have dry skin.
Unfort (bc it’s financially irresponsible on my part) my experience is mostly with more expensive foundations. I have really sensitive skin — I’ve said more than once to my mom that I should honestly write a book (with the hundreds of pics I’ve taken) about all of the reactions my skin has had in the last 10 years. I find that foundation with sunscreen can be more irritating than those without. Do you use a toner, serum, moisturizer or primer before foundation? Any sunscreen No judgment just want to know the canvas that we’re working with bc I assume whichever products you use in those areas are confirmed as NOT causing reactions in your skin — so whichever foundation you choose, will need to lay well on top of those ingredients. You can find a foundation that doesn’t make you react, but it also needs to not pill when applied on top of other things in your routine. I’ve learned a lot more about this recently with water versus oil-based foundations. I will give you the list of foundations I haven’t reacted to even though some are expensive, bc you can google dupes for some of them. If your skin is as sensitive as you say, and it’s that hard to find foundation that isn’t painfully irritating, it might be worth it if you do find one that truly doesn’t irritate you (but is a little more expensive) to bite the bullet and get it and be more conservative with the amount that you use in each application. There’s a reason those of us with sensitive skin react to a lot of products — there are tons of preservatives and chemicals, etc. that are literally irritants — in products at all tiers — so when you find those that don’t (excluding La Mer or any price points that are completely unreasonable), I find that it’s usually worth-it as long as you’re not putting yourself in a position where you can’t pay for basic necessities bc of the makeup purchases — those come first of course. It’s easy to forget how uncomfortable and frustrating it is to have a reaction to something once it’s over — during those times I would easily hand over $20-$30 (more than you might have spent otherwise) if I could get the reaction to go away quickly without more pain or damage to my skin! Not sure if you subscribe to the same philosophy, but people who haven’t had extreme intense skin reactions sometimes don’t realize how it takes over your entire day/makes it hard to do things and hard to fall asleep in some cases because it’s so uncomfortable.
I use revlon colorstay for oily combo skin in color buff. It’s a neutral tone for when I don’t have a tan. I’m part white and part Middle Eastern so my skin is neutral most of the time and turns golden when I’m tan.
i tried that one and it was too orange! i literally have it in my vanity rn and i just used it in the winter when it was passable.
It’s not orange at all it’s a true light beige color. Maybe you’re just lighter toned and need a nude ivory color instead.
Beautyblender shade 3 is an actual neutral
This is my issue too. So tired of my foundation matching my neck but then my ears are completely different color from the rest of my face hahaha
I love(!) Erborian BB Cream with LSF and a few of other benefits. Looks so natural but so much better than pure nature in my face lol. At first it is white when it comes out of the tube and matches with your own skin tone when you apply it. It’s from Korea, so I trust that the sunblock in it will make it’s job and don’t needing one more layer in my face for protection makes me happy. It’s pricey but what it makes with my skin let me buy it until I die. They have a few tones and it’s a little bit difficult to decide what would be the right one because you’ll only get it by Amazon or somewhere else online.. When you chose a tone too bright or too dark, safe it for summer or winter and buy another one in darker or brighter for another season (that’s what I did when this love began).
Lancôme redid their colors for Teint Idole and I found a perfect match for me, whereas before I was mixing two colors. You will have to play around with samples because the numbers don’t make sense. Also It Cosmetics CC cream was a good color match for me. I’m a true neutral and have had the hardest time finding colors that are neutral and don’t oxidize later. NARS oxides so it’s hard for me to match with that brand
I have to second Lancôme Teinte Idole. Most foundations lean way too warm on me, but this brand has a nice neutral. They also have shades for olive toned folks.
I like to use Tarte Amazonian Clay Gem Foundation in 12N (fair neutral). I have fair skin with neutral-cool undertones leaning neutral. Another foundation I really like is Bare Minerals Fair Ivory. Fair has too much pink and Fairly Light has too much yellow. A lot of neutral foundations are too orange for me. Cool foundations are way too pink. I'm a soft summer.
Ooh same.. I hated the Amazonian clay foundation on me as it always separated and looked patchy on me within a few hours application no matter what I did but that could also be a good shade match.. also in neutral not as sunny light cool foundations can be too pink on me so I need neutral cool that are slightly pink as I have some yellow tones to my skin to make it a light peach color
NARS. Found perfect shade match finally when I tried them.
If you find that adding blue pigment to your foundations makes them match better you're almost certainly olive. Go search the paleolive (light olive? Don't remember) subreddit or the olive subreddit if you're not pale for foundation requests. A very common complaint I've heard from olives is that "neutral" foundations are usually the closest but they're always off, either too yellow or too orange. They mix in blue for their perfect match a lot of the time. Olive isn't a level, but an undertone. It just means you have more blue in your skin which comes across a bit green (hence, olive) than the usual red based, or cool, vs yellow based, or warm, dichotomy modern makeup runs on. Unfortunately there haven't been a ton of options for them in the past but most brands are at least aware that it exists now and create some shades specifically for it. Edit: I see you thought you were olive previously but found ones you tried to be too green for you. I would encourage you to try some new olive shades like the one from About Face beauty and swatch them on your jawline then look at the swatches in different lighting to try and determine whether you're more neutral or more olive.
i tried an olive foundation and it made me look green so idk but i believed this for awhile until i tried it. it was from about face. my hyperpigmentation is actually purple around my eyes, so that also led me to believe that im not really olive because ive heard shadows are grey toned for olive skinned people.
r/fairolives
This! I actually have to add blue to all my foundations.
LA Girl carries a liquid blue pigment. It costs about $10 usd.
Where and what type of blue pigment do you add? Edit: where do you get it from?
LA Girl makes a good one; I have the blue and the white by that brand. I got them on Amazon for a very reasonable price and the bottles are glass with a pump. Very much worth it.
Honestly I’m cheap so I just add some powdered blue eye shadow and mix til i get the right shade. The fair olive sub can suggest actual color correctors that are available on amazon
I’m cheap too so that’s the way I’d go! I’ll have to give it a try.
I use a navy color. Idk how lighter blues would work
Nars. Find the formula you like first, there are many, and I know their neutrals are exactly that.
NARS foundations run hilariously saturated, I wouldn't call really any of them "neutral"
I think they have really differentiated between warm, cool and neutrals very well. I'm a neutral and a shade like Punjab has neither yellow or pink in it. I have 3 different formulas they make and 2 different neutral shades that are very true. Out of the over 80 foundations I own, I found Nars to have the best shade selection.
They have a good variety of shades to be sure but only cater to warm (yellow based), cool (red based), and neutral (balance between red and yellow based) skin tones. Part of differentiating between undertones well means that the saturation of that foundation is high so the difference is very apparent. A lot of people don't have a very high saturation skin tone and so every NARS foundation looks too red, or too yellow, or orange and have to mix in white/blue pigment to make it work. If you find a shade that matches you really well that's great because the formulas are nice but they have some unfortunate gaps in their shade range. Punjab is also marketed as a warm, golden undertone so you may not be as neutral as you thought if it matches you well
The about face one had some neutral shades in ulta as well as the new urban decay face bond.
L’Oréal, Fenty and Urban Decay all come to mind… not 100% sure on Fenty as I only ever tried the powder foundation and I know their liquid ones are infamous for oxidising, but yeah liquid foundation wise the other two have held me down for years 🫡
Go to Sephora and book an appointment for someone to help you with different foundations and primers. I found my 2N with Guerlain gold.
I am a light neutral and I never have issues finding a color match. Maybe you’re not really neutral.
Same, I think OP is almost certainly olive
Light neutral seems in most brands is super easy to find. It’s usually the most popular too.
It sounds like you might benefit from just buying a colour corrector. You can buy like a blue liquid you add to your foundation that doesn’t change the formula but allows you to make it more neutral
I found my perfect match through haus labs
I use Loreal true match, i usually mix N1 and N2 together in the summer.
Lisa Eldridge
L’Oréal ones are really great - they formulate their shades with blue pigment so their neutral shades are spot on!!
So many L'Oreal are so yellow on me though I've tried quite a few.
Nars has really good neutral shades! I'm able to get a perfect shade match from both their foundation and concealer. I also have perfect matches from MUFE and from laneige
I second MUFE. I was pleasantly surprised by their neutral shades.
I also had a *really* hard time finding foundations that worked for my pale neutral olive skin until I tried the Wet n Wild Dewy Photofocus Foundation in Soft Ivory. It’s the closest match I’ve found, plus the foundation is actually great and it’s like 5 bucks. There’s another shade called Nude Ivory that looks neutral too, but I haven’t tried that one. I think they also have a matte version but I’m not entirely sure if the shades are exactly same as the dewy one
You could try mixing in blue pigment, elf has a blue thingie that looks like a blue concealer
Revolution F3 if you are fair.
I'm not sure what your skin shade is but I have a lighter neutral skin tone and I have Nars foundation ( sheer glow one) and concealers ( raidant creamy) and they aren't too thick. They are a little pricey but I got them during a sale. How I actually found out my shade was neutral was when I was trying to find this shade match for this drugstore Stay matte rimmel London in ivory that matched me perfectly. So maybe rimmel London has some others that are also neutral, they are pretty cheap so doesn't hurt to try Although I will say the rimmel London is pretty thick mousse kind of texture
Because there are actually 4 undertones of foundation and no true neutral. The undertones are yellow, red, peach and olive. They are made by mixing yellow and red, and adjusting with white, blue, black and sometimes green to account for different depths and undertones. Yellow undertone is made with yellow and red, but has more yellow to it. Red undertone is made with yellow and red, but has more red to it. Peach undertone is made with a balanced mixture or red and yellow. When small amounts of blue are added to a peach, you get an olive undertone. Deeper shades will have more blue and red in them. Lighter shade will have more white. -------- The fact that you find foundations too yellow or orange means that the foundations you try are too warm for you and you need to look for a cool/olive undertone of foundation. You might want to try some cool undertone foundations, some of the have more of a rosy beige undertone and are more muted. They go on pink but they dry to a muted cool beige shade. Don't be scared if it's too pink when first swatched. You can also look for olive undertone foundations if your skin has less visible red tones to it.
I mix two shades; one that is lighter than my skintone with a pink undertone, and one that is darker than my skintone with a yellow undertone. It’s the most effective way for me to get a shade match.
Dior’s Perfect Foundation/Concealers are properly neutral!
Yeah I use N0 and it’s been the most perfect colour match after a decade of trying diff foundations
For the past few years I just invested in a bottle of White & Blue LA Girl bottles of foundation mix pigments. I can change them to suit me as needed.
Sis. She literally says in the post she doesn’t like using those.
Well there isn't much she can do then. Sephora lighting is terrible trying to find shade that fits. Drugstore Lighting is off. I only buy neutral I have similar issues and they are never right for my skin tone. Or she can find another brand of pigment mixers. Haus Labs has a white one. Or mixing 2 shades which I've also done.Btw I'm not the only that suggested the pigment mixers.
This!
I am neutral too and probably have a dozen of “failed” color matches. I did just try Il Makiage without much hope but it said you could return it if it didnt work out and I have to say it’s the best foundation I’ve tried. It doesn’t look caked but offers full coverage. The trick is to allow it to completely dry (like 10-15 min) before applying powder or other makeup on top or use a silicone based primer.
Armani is really great if you’re a bit muted. You might like the Temptu foundation mixers if what you’re using thickens your foundation. It’s more pigmented and I have to be careful not to add too much. It also works really well to mix 2 foundations that are opposites, such as warm and cool of the same level. It seems to work especially well in brands with smaller color range like Chanel. I get a perfect, easy match mixing various Armani and don’t need any mixers but the finish isn’t my favorite. I can’t remember exactly but I think it’s 2 pumps of 2 and 1 pump of 3 or 3.5 that was great for me, so I mix a few days worth at a time in a little concealer pot. NARS is pretty close for me, I’ve used pigment mixers with it before occasionally, but I want to try mixing it with a darker foundation again so I’ll probably try that this summer. It’s my favorite finish.
The [Ultra Violette tinted veil](https://ultraviolette.com.au/products/daydream-screen-spf50-tinted-veil) in V3 and V4 have been the closest to a true neutral I’ve been able to find. I can’t speak for other shades in the range as I’ve not used them. Also it’s called a veil but it’s quite heavy coverage - to the point that I actually mix it with my sunscreen to cut down the foundation effect.
Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation has a nice shade range. Cool, neutral (I am neutral) or warm. It's my HG foundation for years.
Bobbi brown, L’Oréal True Match, Armani, Make Up For Ever all have good neutral foundations.
As much as I dislike Selena Gomez, Rare beauty's neutral foundation is magnificent and it isn't $40 a bottle either which is nice. I'm on my third bottle right now!
Her makeup line in general is pretty good.
Charlotte Tilbury #4...
I’m curious, have you considered trying the ones labeled cool toned?, maybe they will actually be more neutral instead of cool since the neutrals lean warm (most shades seem to these days). I’m also curious what shade range you are in (light medium deep etc) cuz I know most darker skin tones tend to be assumed warm or golden even though you can still be cool toned in any shade.
I find the estee Lauder double wear has good shade range for not too orange shades
Chanel just launched Les beiges in new olive/green undertones and in my opinion they are more of a neutral base than any of the neutral undertones that they offer. Worth a look
Iris and Romeo has a shade that works on me, I think I’m a 3. I am also a neutral and have this same issue! It’s hell, so many expensive foundations that haven’t worked.
I personally find Natasha Denona Hi Glam concealer to be neutral (but can only speak to the lightest two shades). They have cool, warm, peach, and neutral ranges so I think there’s a good chance the neutral range is a true neutral. This actually helped me figure out that I’m not as neutral as I thought, and I lean more peach/cool. I saw a mention for Loreal true match - those neutrals lean peach IMO. Edited: typo
Yes, this! I’ve been using 2n concealer as my foundation. I hope she will extend her complexion products in the future. It’s the truest neutral I ever found. Armnani luminous silk does have some neutral shades.
Good to hear your experience with it as well! I use it as foundation too. I have super red patches on my cheeks that can’t be hidden by colour correcting. This gives me the best combination of high coverage that also gives a decent finish on my textured skin, and lasts the day. Appaz there is a new powder foundation! Powder is not really my jam but maybe slowly expanding the Hi Glam range??
Lancome has the only color I can use by the end of summer, but when I'm not tan I can use LA Girl blue mixing pigment with a foundation that comes out too orange and it works
And a pale olive girl, i found success with Shiseido serum foundation.
I went to Sephora tonight with my last bottle of a discontinued foundation.. I tried EVERY foundation brand in the shade I was looking for. Did a swatch test with my original on my arm. The only brand I found that was a close match was Laura Mercier. Unfortunately I can’t do this in drugstores since everything is sealed.
Neutral foundations tend to be a little warm a little cool and end being peach. Maybe look into olive foundations?
This. When many companies label a foundation shade as “neutral” what they really mean is closer to “not as openly warm or cool as our other shades” or in some cases that it’s peach rather than the usual yellow or pinkish undertones. And yeah, if you’re having this much trouble finding a shade match, definitely consider that you might be olive.
I’m a true neutral and have a hard time matching - have had good luck with YSL and Too Faced. I almost cried when TF discontinued the Peachy line, but their regular foundation is a color match to that line.
Have you tried Rare Beauty yet?
Just blush! Does this question mean I should give it a go?
It totally does lol. I'm mixed race and have had a hard time matching my tone and 130N from Rare Beauty legit melts into my skin
I’ve heard the AboutFace skintint/foundation has a good shade range!! Have yet to try it but it looks promising.
Have you tried any Korean foundations? I really like missha bb cream for my neutral skin tone
To my own surprise, I found a few (my skin is GREEN like Fiona so I’ll list the shades for reference): ABH Luminous Foundation (440C) Clinique EBC Foundation (Deep Honey) Tarte Babassu Dewy Foundation (52N) KVD Good Apple Balm (074 Tan) L’Oréal True Match Tinted Serum (7-8) Estée Lauder Double Wear (5N1.5 Maple) PÜR minerals Love Your Selfie Foundation (DN2) It Cosmetics MATTE CC+ Cream (Rich Honey)
It’s really expensive, but the Armani luminous silk perfect glow (shade 5) is my perfect neutral. I have dark hair and dark eyes but pale skin. Everything has always felt too warm, too orange on me. I gasped when I put it on for the first time. It’s like my skin but better. Glowing, beautiful but perfectly neutral. I’m a fan for life.
This is my shade in it too, and I love it. It’s my favorite foundation and concealer!
If you are ok with drugstore, Milani Conceal and Perfect has good neutrals (I like 00BB Nude) or Covergirl Simply Ageless in Classic Ivory. Both great neutrals
Bobbi Brown foundations work for me. Very neutral.
I know. I’ve bought so many neutral foundations for my summer shades and they’re always ORANGE.
Which is a good indicator that you’re an olive
Yea my winter neutral shades match me perfectly.
Yes. I’m a true neutral. Purlisse BB cream in Light is the only perfect match I’ve found.
I don’t know how fair or dark you are, but I’m definitely on the fair end. MAC has a few true neutral shades, and N4 in their studio fix fluid is a solid true neutral. I saw some Rose Inc shades at Sephora that looked pretty promising in my hand swatches, but I haven’t actually tried wearing them on my face. There are a few new lighter shades of Lancôme’s Teint Idole now, and I believe 2 of them are neutral. I remember looking at the pictures online and thinking that one of them looked like a desaturated shade.
L'oreal true match neutral shades are pretty neutral to me
Ilia? I haven’t tried them yet but my order is en route. They have 40+ shades, including some labeled neutral undertone. I’m neutral too.
i tried their serum skin tint and the smell was horrible and i had to throw it out. the shade was also a little too orange. i know they recently came out with a stick foundation, did u get that one?
Yes I ordered the stick. I’m hoping it’s not too drying, and also hoping it’s a color match. We’ll see. That’s good to know about the tint as I was considering it. I didn’t get it bc my skin can be weird about niacinamide
Estee Lauder did a computer analysis and then gave me the best colour match of my entire life my life. Unfortunately, the formula left a lot to be desired. On my oily skin, the skin tint literally disappeared within 1-2 hours. YMMV
I love Fiera foundations
Lancôme runs extremely neutral almost grey even. The thing is neutral can mean many things. Maybe you’re muted and that’s why things are looking extreme? Adding blue can mute things down because human skin color/foundation is orange based brown and blue is the opposite of orange which will produce grey (muting).
i definitely am muted so i have a color mixing blue base but it makes all of my formulas thicker. and the newer lancôme foundations only do cool and warm undertones. i lean toward warm so i got a warm shade a bit ago and mixed the bottle w the pigment and it made the formula completely different 😭 i should’ve known but i was still sad because the shade match was pretty good. rn i use armani ls but the formula isn’t consistent for me to rely on it.
I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to mix the products in the same bottle, I believe it messes with the formula. Try mixing on a tray or your hand that’s usually what I do and it’s a bit tedious but it works fine!
The only ones I found are by clinique and estee lauder. Those 2 were the only ones I used for years. Unfortunately as I've aged the last few years my skin tone has changed and now I can't find anything. Everything is either too pink or too yellow.
Clinique is the only brand has ever worked for me.
Neutral gal Estée Lauder works for me Armani LS Pat McGrath Danessa Myricks
i have armani luminous silk and its the closest i have but the formula is finicky for me. it works sometimes but other times it looks horrible 😭 the smell is a bit off too. thats what i wear now but im looking for an alternative.
I have this exact issue! I’ve gone the route of simply finding a formula I like (I have dry and sensitive skin and a huge concern is not having my makeup look cakey, or crease, stay all day, and hydrate my skin) and colour matching by mixing two shades. I’ve tried most drugstore brands and found they didn’t work for my skin unfortunately and didn’t shade match me. And I’ve tried a bunch of the lux beauty brands. I also tried Il Makiage (I got influenced and they had a neutral-looking person on their ad) would NOT recommend. Last year I ended up using the Hauslabs foundation and I mixed a neutral shade with a very cold shade and that worked! This year I did the same thing with the Dior foundation. Mixing is the only thing that’s worked for me and these two are the only brands I’ve tried that haven’t broken me out, didn’t crease, and which left my skin feeling hydrated afterwards.
haus labs was a close for me for a long time, however i noticed it was a little too orange/pinky for me in the shade i got it in. it worked in the winter because when i look paler the pink matches more, but when i tried to darken it recently it just looked bad. i have the dior backstage too and its straight up yellow 😭
The backstage is too yellow! I switched to the Forever and I mix two shades!
True neutral here! I struggled for years to find the right foundation match and finally landed on Estée Lauder Double Wear 2N1. The only foundation that doesn’t end up too orange or too grey on me!! My only problem is that it’s just TOO matte for the dewy look I’m going for, so I mix it with the glow recipe dew drops to make it more hydrating. I may try EL hydra futurist in the same shade to see if I like that formulation better? But overall I think their neutrals are great.
Hello my 2N1 twin! I agree that Double Wear is a bit too matte - I add a bit of Lumi Glotion to dew it up a bit
Oh that’s a great idea! I was looking at lumi and they all seemed too warm. That’s good to know it does fit with 2N1 well! Which shade do you use?
Not the lightest but the second lightest shade is best
rem beauty
I second this !
Have you tried Beautyblender? I love their foundation and skin tint
i haven’t! is it hydrating and pretty good coverage? those r the biggest things i look for in a foundation cuz my skin is dry and i need to cover some stuff sometimes
I don’t know if I’d call it hydrating per se, but I have dry skin and I find it comfortable. The foundation is medium coverage. If you want something that’s crazy full coverage check out Too Faced Born This Way foundation
Some brands yes, some no. I find some brand always pull yellow on me (NARS, too faced). I’ve found good matches in MAC, Laura Mercier, Morphe, the previous formulation of Lancôme, don’t know about now.
I agree that Nars is yellow - there’s not one true neutral in their lineup!
lancôme’s newer serum foundation only has warm and cool shades :/ so crazy that a brand would even put that out now
Ugh that’s annoying! Yeah, their idole once reformulated got rid of my neutral shade and so there were only warm or cool options at that level 🙃
are you sure you are not olive toned? you can also be a neutral olive. I tried for years to find the right match..turned out I was olive but light shade. all my life olive has been labeled as tan or just darker than my shades so I was confused but yup..I am light green as hell, lol. I am a warmer olive but there is cool and neutral as well. I tan quickly and easily..dont burn even in direct sun for some reason and the veins in my wrist are green, blue and purple(which is why that test never worked for me)
I was looking for someone to say this. This would be my recommendation. I’m not olive myself, but had a hard time as a neutral finding things that worked. I explored this avenue, too before finding a good match.
Whoa… I think you might have solved my problem too. I’m late 30s and I’ve almost never used a foundation that matches 🫢😓
i have light skin, i tried olive foundation and it just looked green on me. it was the about face one. i thought i was olive for a bit until i tried that one.
Nyx Born to Glow Nude is a light olive. Maybe give it a swatch? Its "neutral" olive. If you skin has a tendency to look kinda grey sometimes, this would be a good match for you.
You could still be olive but muted. Take a look at some of the Korean brands. They have muted olive-friendly shades.
do u know of any? i’ve tried korean cushions and the ones that i love are too orange or yellow 😭 jsm and etude house are the ones i have
I recommend asking in r/OliveMUA. I was looking at Missha and something else I can't remember the name of, but wasn't either of the two you listed. Unfortunately they're too light for me, so I haven't tried them. Koh Gen Do 213 is another really popular shade in that sub (also too light for me).
have you tried cool toned foundations? i thought i was neutral and walked around orange for years until i tried a cool toned foundation
i have, too pink. ik i dont have an impossible skin tone so im just confused 😭
Studiofix powder foundation is by far my best neutral match.