Ask An Artist: Foundation Shades

Hi Illamasqua! I wanted to try either the Cream or Powder Foundation and was having a little difficulty in choosing a shade. I am of Asian (filipino) descent and am medium complexioned. Usually when I test foundations from different brands I land right smack dab in the middle of whatever shade range I am looking at. I am yellow based but have a bit of beige undertones in my skin as well. I don't think I have as strong a yellow undertone as do a lot of asian women. Can you please help?


Francesco and Gillian from Selfridges London have helped me out with this query:

"We think she may be 320. This would fall closest to the competitor shade that she mentioned.
230 will be to muddy in tone for her and 215 may be a little to light.

We would also suggest the Matt Primer - Asian skins can tend towards oiliness, so this primer would help to smooth out that out and rebalance the texture of the skin."

Foundation Breakdown

Lure: Bring out the face kept hidden. The face of your bolder half. The faces that dares to take on the night...

I receive a lot of emails from international customers interested in our Foundations and asking if I can help them to pick out an accurate colour. I am of the belief that being able to actually try the product on your own face is the best way to judge if the colour is right, texture is suitable and that you like the finish that the product gives you! I hate buying a foundation and then getting home and seeing that it's all wrong...

For those of you who do like to buy foundation of the internet, I've had a chat with Katie, our Product Development Manager and composed a quicklist that will give you an insight into our foundations:

Rich Liquid Foundation

Texture: Extremely rich and thick, suitable for night-time make-up as it creates a fantastic base for colour application.
Performance: Flawless and opaque. Mixes beautifully with Satin Primer for a dewier look. Dries semi-matt.

Skin types: All
Colours:
100 - purest porcelain white
105 - our lightest 'skin' shade
110-145 - best for pale skins
205-240 - best for medium skins
320-335 - best for dark/ black skins
340-355 - blackest black - brilliant for theatrical use as opposed to a real 'skin' shade


Light Liquid Foundation

Texture: Lightweight and airy, with a very fluid consistency.
Performance: Beautifully easy to apply and very cooling. Dries to a dewy, light to medium finish.
Skin types: All
Colours:
100 - purest porcelain white
105 - our lightest 'skin' shade
110-145 - best for pale skins
205-240 - best for medium skins
320-330 - best for dark/ black skins
340-350 - blackest black - brilliant for theatrical use as opposed to a real 'skin' shade
Performance:
Skin types: All, especially combination to dry.


Cream Foundation

Texture: Cream compact that gives a rich, opaque finish but blends beautifully.
Performance: Has a mirror in the compact, so great for on-the-go touchups! Dries to a semi-matt finish with a medium-full coverage and can be used wet or dry.

Skin types: All, especially drier skin types.
Colours:
100 - purest porcelain white
110 - our lightest 'skin' shade
110-145 - best for pale skins
205-240 - best for medium skins
320-330 - best for dark/ black skins
340-350 - blackest black - brilliant for theatrical use as opposed to a real 'skin' shade


Powder Foundation

Texture: Matt finish creamy feel powder.
Performance: Can be used alone or over any of the foundations. Gives a full, matt finish. Also comes with a mirror for touching up on-the-go. To sheer it out a bit, use with a damp sponge or brush and it still dries matt.
Skin types: Especially good for combination to oily skin types.
Colours:
100 - purest porcelain white
105 - our lightest 'skin' shade
110-145 - best for pale skins
205-240 - best for medium skins
320-330 - best for dark/ black skins
340-355 - blackest black - brilliant for theatrical use as opposed to a real 'skin' shade

Thanks to Lucy, our lovely intern and Crispian, our Customer Services Manager for letting me paint their faces whilst they were trying to work! You can see how thrilled they are....!

I hope this helps! I will do similar posts for our Concealers and Powders - leave me a comment if you would like this, or any other similar info on our products.