I haven’t been purchasing a whole lot of stuff lately, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have anything up my sleeve. In fact, I have a whole bunch of stuff that either I’ve had for long enough that I haven’t got the burning urge to write about it, or I just haven’t gotten around to testing it yet. So I’m going to start up a new feature: Stash Shop. I’ll go through my samples, old favorites and new things that I don’t plan to write full-length posts about, and do little mini-reviews or swatches of them for you.
This time, I’m going to swatch foundation. Now, I’m super not a foundation girl, and the only ones that I’ve ever really tolerated have been the cushion foundations, because they’re so light and easy to wear, which is why these have sat for so long. This isn’t really going to be a review of how well they wear on the face, because I generally don’t wear them – it’s just for your reference for color comparisons. It’s rough finding a foundation that matches your skin right, so hopefully this will be helpful in your search.
The first swatch from the left is Mamonde’s Jelly Pact, which I bought without really reading the description, thinking that “pact” meant cushion compact. It’s actually a powder, but it’s not a hard powder – it’s actually got kind of a jelly consistency while it’s in the compact. The coverage is not particularly heavy. The other four product swatches here are cushion compacts – all of them are in the regular sponge format except for the OHUI cushion, which has a plastic plate with a hole in it that you press instead of a sponge. I actually prefer the sponge format – you can get a more even distribution of product, which makes it easier to apply. The Sulwhasoo, OHUI, and MacQueen are slightly pink; the IOPE and AP are more yellow.
As you can see from these swatches, the Clinique “Fresh Neutral”, which is described as “moderately fair”, is far too dark for me at an NC20-N18. The Clio Kill Cover in “Lingerie” is far too yellow, the Skin79 Hot Pink has a grey tint to it, and the Banila CC Cream is way too light (although it sheers out – I didn’t spend a lot of time working with it for the swatch). The Nature Republic products are both pretty decent matches for me, although I like the CC cream more as it’s more subtle.
Too Faced’s Born This Way foundation is a little too dark and definitely too yellow. The EtudeHouse Play101 sticks in 2 and 3 are both pretty decent matches; 2 is pinker and 3 is yellower, but if you’re neutral toned you can get away with either. The Etude House Precious Mineral line of BB creams comes in three finishes – Perfect Fit, Cotton Fit, and Blooming Fit. I got the samples in a set of three, all listed as W-13, and I find it interesting that they’re all different colors. The Cotton Fit is a matte finish, the Blooming Fit is a dewy finish, and the Perfect Fit has the highest coverage level. The TonyMoly Luminous Goddess Aura BB Cream is a pretty decent match.
The TonyMoly Luminous Glow Aura CC Cream is bright white, although again I didn’t spend a lot of time manipulating the product when I did the swatches. Either way it’s too light for me, really. The DermaDoctor DD cream is too dark and a little grey. Chanel’s Vitalumiere Aqua in #30 Beige is too dark and slightly too orange. The Hanskin Royal Ampoule BB cream is a decentish match, and so is the Original Raw 10 Cushion Foundation in #21; the former is a little pink and the latter is a little yellow. The Mizon Snail Repair BB is almost perfect. Too Faced’s Born This Way in Beige is too dark.
Missha’s Perfect Cover in #13 is too light by far; TonyMoly’s BCDation in #2 Natural Beige is too dark and way too yellow. I was super excited to try out the su:m37 Air Rising BB, and it’s almost the right color but it’s just too grey.
I hope these swatches were helpful for you in your search for matching foundations! Happy shopping.