White foundation mixers are supposed to be the pale person's saviour. Any foundation that is supposed to be a near-white shade of 'porcelain' can too often be several shades darker than a pale person's actual skin tone. Pure white foundation mixers allow us to lighten any foundation shade to our perfect shade.
Or so the theory goes...
As someone with grey/translucent skin, I've always struggled to find a foundation shade that matches my skin tone on the high-street or from high-end brands. Either they're slightly too orange to start with, or they'll swatch on pale and then oxidise to a dry/orange paste. I must have spent hundreds of pounds on these poor foundations and have yet to find a perfect match.
Several years ago, I thought I found a miracle. It was the Barry M Foundation Creme in a pure white shade. I used it to lighten several shades of high-street foundations and it always did so perfectly. Finally, a solution to my problem! Until one day, my tube ran out and after several searches of Barry M makeup sections, I checked online to find that it had been discontinued.
I accepted my fate. I was destined to blend down my neck and hope that my orange face wouldn't be obvious next to my white hands and chest.... But then Body Shop came through with another miracle and my journey with foundation mixers began.
Body Shop - Shade Adjusting Drops - £10.00
When I first got my hands on a bottle of this, I was so excited. It had been years since the high-street had been able to offer me something like this and I was buzzing to try it. I can't remember the first brand of foundation that I mixed it with but I remember that the formula worked well for me. Well enough that I recommended it to all of my friends and left them a glowing review on their website.
It took a few drops to get the desired effect for me which meant the dropper-style bottle design was a bit of a pain - but it blended so well that I put up with it. Since I needed so much of the stuff to actually lighten my foundation to the right shade, I very quickly ran out. I went into the store to find they were out of stock and the same was true online. I signed up for a stock alert and it was WEEKs before they finally had more in which just shows how many of us need to customise our foundations.
When the second bottle arrived, something was different. The formula wasn't blending as well and it left my foundation patchy and oily. I tried a few foundations in case it was the formula in the foundation but it didn't like any of them. I'm not sure if they changed the formula to get the stock out quicker or if my skin just didn't work with it anymore. Either way, I couldn't use it anymore and had to look for alternatives.
5/10 - I was sold a dream and it was taken away.
MAC - Studio Face & Body Foundation in White - £29.50
After the let down of Body Shop, I had to look for an alternative. A friend recommended the MAC Studio Face & Body Foundation in the pure white shade. I was delighted! An actual white foundation from a high-end brand like MAC must be incredible, right? Their reputation is so strong and they're charging almost thirty quid a bottle...
I was so disappointed. Not only was the formula watery even after several good shakes, it also led to the same patchy coverage that I'd seen with the second Body Shop bottle. Again, I tried several foundations in case it was the formula but I couldn't make it work. It didn't even seem to be lightening my foundation at all, even with a huge dollop of the stuff. After a few days of trying it, I stuck the bottle in a drawer and it's been gathering dust there ever since.
1/10 - Daylight robbery.
NYX - Pro Foundation Mixer in White - £8.00
I had all but given up when the new NYX aisles in Boots revealed this beauty. I had been loving the NYX range and thought I'd give this a try.
Sadly, it too left to patchy foundation but with the added bonus of EXTRA oil on my skin. I'm not sure if the formula is just too heavy but I ended up shinier than ever and had to touch-up with powder once an hour. It did lighten my slightly but the coverage was poor for such a heavy feeling formula.
2/10 - Betrayed by NYX
LA Girl - Pro Coverage Foundation in White - £11.33
For a little while, I stopped bothering with foundation mixers. I accepted that my face and body would never match and started cracking jokes about it to people around me just so they would know that I was well aware of it. I tried searching for products here and there but nothing ever came of it.
I had all but given up until my brutally honest sister finally told me that my orange-face-white-neck combination had gone past the point of acceptable.
After going on Amazon to buy Airspun setting powder (review to follow), I noticed this foundation in my recommendations list. It only has a few reviews but they're really strong so I thought I'd give it a try, and I'm SO GLAD that I did.
This stuff is incredible! It blends well, it has excellent coverage and it has a matte finish so I have zero oil slick by the end of the day. I only need one pump to match up my foundation so the bottle has lasted a good few months already.
10/10 - Miracles do happen
I hope that you find this useful! I wish I had more positive reviews but hopefully this can help you learn from my mistakes. Ultimately, you have to find the right formula for you so there's an element of trial and error. Just don't get sucked in to the 'reputation' (read: branding) of some of the high-end names - expensive doesn't always mean 'good'.
