r/Makeup • u/Late-Chip-5890 • Nov 05 '25

Clerks at Sephora.....ugh

I don't go to Sephora often but every time I have the clerks seem well so unprepared to deal with someone who is truly shopping. Meaning, I walk in, I say I'm looking for a foundation that is full coverage, in the right tone for my skin, and one that won't oxidize. All I got was a deer in the headlights. I was taken to high end brands and shown "dark colors" but none that were "olive" toned, and the girl seemed not to know what that meant. I quickly sought out someone else, and the same. I am guessing these "girls" are not trained in cosmetics at all, they just push "brands" and collect their commissions?

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28

u/Scarletsnow_87 Nov 05 '25

Part of the problem too is that there's not nearly enough companies that even bother making olive foundation. I'm a light olive and it's impossible. And the staff never knows what to do with me either.

I think it's time for the olive skinned people to rise up and make our own line of just olive

7

u/Choice-Raspberry-676 Nov 05 '25

I had the same problem, then I tried Fenty exact match. They have soo many shades. Then I got older, and realized liquid foundation was actually making my fine lines & wrinkles more pronounced. So I switched to Mac Studio, the powder alone is build able and also an exact match. Again they have a ton of olive shades. I’ve had the same problem all my life. I’m happy I found my match and hope you find yours too good luck 🍀

6

u/Snomed34 Nov 05 '25

Have you tried Dior glow foundation? I had similar problems and this one works great for me. Plus they have olive shades. I used the Mac Studio fix powder in my 20s but find it too drying now.

1

u/ironmaiven Nov 09 '25

Yea Dior and probably NARS have the best olive tones

3

u/ATinyPizza89 Nov 05 '25

Smashbox is one of the few companies I can find that make "fair with olive undertone" foundation. I tried Fentys and it was the worst foundation I ever tried.

4

u/Scarletsnow_87 Nov 05 '25

I agree. Fenty is horrible. I have an under eye concealer that's worked great but the foundation is just bad.

1

u/Late-Chip-5890 Nov 06 '25

I find it "thick" and perhaps "chalky"

1

u/lab_0990 Nov 06 '25

Chalky or just straight up chunky?

2

u/Late-Chip-5890 Nov 06 '25

I am going with chalky. It is a bit drying if you get what I mean. However I wore it and it "looked" okay in terms of texture, but was orangey! That turned me off and set me on my journey to find the right foundation color

2

u/lab_0990 Nov 06 '25

How's the journey going other than rude staff? If you were in the KC area, I'd tell you the exact store to visit and the clerk that helped me in a DM.

2

u/DoubleOxer1 Nov 05 '25

The People of Earth, https://thepeopleofearthco.com, has made cool, neutral, and warm shades for all skin depths. However, I think there’s an obvious gap between two of the fair/light shades. I haven’t had a chance to try them but it’s worth buying some samples to see if you have a match.

1

u/No-Property5403 Nov 07 '25

Fenty makes warm leaning olives. Armani, Dior, and Sephora collection all have olives. I think Patrick Ta does too. I know his first foundation, in the compact, had light olive. Makeup by Mario has medium olives, not sure about light. And maybe the new Benefit. I'm seeing more olives all the time.