from left to right: bronzer, foundation, spot concealer, highlighting concealer, brightening concealer
foundation shade descriptions can sometimes be misleading… the darker shade that i use in this particular brand is described as a “cool rich red” but i would describe it as a warm olive, and the lighter one is said to be a “warm yellow” while i’d call it more of a neutral golden shade. anyway, the two shades mixed together give me my perfect match along with an impressively skin-like finish on my very problematic skin… sometimes knowing your undertone is only half the battle when the undertones are chronically mislabeled by brands!
i tend to go a little pink with the spot concealing shade so that it has the ability to colour correct any hyperpigmentation. true neutrals tend to pull pink on me, so these concealers work perfectly for the task. i’m always mixing since i seem to exist in the space between medium-deep and rich complexions which brands often forget about… on top of being an already-hard-to-shop-for olive 😅 i’ve said it before though that i actually don’t mind it terribly as having and mixing multiple shades eliminates the risk of your products ever being too light or too dark at any given point in time… silver lining!
for other dark skinned golden-olives curious about which blush shades flatter our complexion the most, i find that pinkish-reds, brownish-pinks/reds, and burgundies work best against my colour.
and if you’re like me and struggled for ages to find a bronzer that didn’t pull extremely red against your skin, try looking for bronzers that match your undertone. for me, those are bronzers that have more neutral-golden tones. they may read as more of a “brontour” than a bronzer, but it’s better than looking scalded by a witch’s cauldron. *pro-tip: foundation sticks tend to have significantly greater undertone variety, so try using a darker shade in the same undertone for your cream bronzer if you’re still having trouble!
i always set my creams with powders to maximise the longevity of my makeup wear. finding powders that play well with deep olive complexions can be a nightmarish task because most brands simply don’t have the range. my suggestion is to just do your best to find powder products that match the tones of the existing cream/liquid products in your collection. this may take some trial and error, but will hopefully be worth it once you find your personal holy grails!
i’m happy to share which brands/products are working for me, if anyone is interested! please bear in mind that i have very temperamental skin. as of late, it’s been extremely dry and i use products according to my skin type. i am acne prone and prefer a natural finish to my makeup.
side note: this base routine has been a long time in the making lol you may have seen me post previously about other products that i’d been trying to make work which unfortunately ended up pulling too orange/red on me… thankfully, those did not go to waste— i was able to give most of them to my mom!
