This review is for the Bareminerals department. My intention is to give an honest review without sounding disparaging. If I do, I sincerely apologize.
Every time I've gotten color-matched at this Bareminerals, it turns into the same story: "She's asian, put her in something yellow-, olive- or golden-based." Never worked, and now I have a drawer filled with Light, Golden Medium, Medium Beige, and Golden Fair.
I've explained (god knows how many times) that although my skin is yellow, it is fair with cool/pink undertones and looks best in cool colors - I would even go in wearing icy grays that complimented my skin to make it easier on them - but they kept slapping on Light or Golden Medium and told me it was a perfect match. When that didn't work and I had to go back to fix it, they switched to the Golden spectrum, which was another massive fail. I explained that I don't have any olive tones, but being asian, they kept slapping that stuff on me and sending me on my way. Finally, they suggested Medium Beige, which was the closest I could get without looking too chalky in the daylight; but even then, it wasn't a great match. So I finally just said, "Screw it," and went back to picking out my own cosmetics like I did before all of these consultants got their hands on me. And you name it, I've had this same problem with Bobbi Brown, Mac, etc. I always walk out of those places looking orange, dirty brown, ruddy, washed out, or cumin-yellow. The only place that did me right was Prescriptives with their custom-made foundation and powders, but they closed. I loved Prescriptives. They were like the Beni-Hanas of cosmetics, mixing up their magic on a slab, with their spatulas and rainbow powders, right in front of you.
Anyway, I finally walked right up to the BM counter and said, "I want the Medium foundation." They scrunched their faces and said, "You're not medium, sweetie. It'll be too pink on you." Exactly. So I said, "Trust me, it'll match." Of course, they had to prove me wrong and sat me in the chair. But once they put it on me and saw it was a perfect match, they couldn't very well admit they were wrong. They kept insisting it wasn't a match and called over other girls to verify this. But I bought it anyway. And here's the important thing, girls: even though this Medium shade looks pink in the jar, it all depends on how it's going to blend with your skin tone, and my fair yellow skin with pink undertones seems to be ok with getting into bed with it. I still haven't found the perfect shade, though, so if any of you pale, cool-toned Asian girls have any suggestions, I welcome it.
For me, a good foundation is one that you can wear ALONE without any radiance powders or blush. If you can wear just your foundation and look healthy, then it's the right color. If you need to apply blush and other colors to give your skin a pop once you've applied foundation, then it isn't the right color. The wrong foundation shade will give you a mask-like appearance, which is why you need the added face colors to keep you from looking anemic. If you have to, purchase two or more colors to customize your shade. It's better to spend the money than walk around looking ridiculous.
Here's the thing with most makeup companies and department store consultants: they really don't get that asian skin doesn't automatically mean "yellow/golden undertones". We run the gamut just like caucasians, Indians, African-Americans, etc. We can have pink, neutral, beige, tan, golden, and olive tones to our skin, too. Sit at my dinner table during the holidays, and you'll see that my bro and I are the only ones with pink tones, while my relatives have yellow, olive, and neutral ones.
Oh, another thing I really don't understand is the lighting at this Bareminerals' counter. When I looked in the mirror (after they'd applied the Golden foundation), it literally looked like I had cumin on my face. When I mentioned it, she said, "Oh, it's this mirror. It has yellow lighting, not a natural one." WHY would a makeup counter use a yellow light?
So, for understanding how skin tones really work, I give them one star. For their return policy and politeness, I give them a five (I've had to return a couple of things, and it was never a problem). But I can't average out my ratings to a three because they really do need more education. Personally, I think painters would make great makeup consultants since they study and understand color spectrums, color tones, and color mixing.
AND JUST A PERSONAL NOTE TO ALL MACY'S CASHIERS: When you're already checking out a customer, don't spend the entire time helping the second cashier's customers instead. Purchasing a sweater literally took 20 minutes because of this (no exaggeration), and there wasn't even a line. I was ready to grab the scan gun out of the lady's hand and check myself out. I was pretty angry when I left. read more
