in the shade No. 9, something began to change. The favorite that once left me with a lit-from-within glow came up flat after my dermatologist prescribed new medicine that left my skin drier than usual. Suddenly I found little patches collecting at the sides of my nose, and my pores seemed to soak up every ounce of product I placed onto them.
I started with the luxury behemoths. Bougie as I am, I wanted to see what Chanel, Dior, and their ilk had to offer. Once the purveyor of my first holy grail foundation, Teint Innocence, a barely there luminous blend that was discontinued back in 2011, I had high hopes for Chanel but found the undertones in their lineup too tangerine for my liking—the ironically named Les Beiges left me looking like an Oompa Loompa even after a lengthy consultation with a makeup artist.
I tried 70 foundations in more than 52 weeks, attempting to find one, or some, that would tackle all my issues. Many I bought myself—thank you VIB Rouge points—others I pulled from the closet, still more I happened upon after the recommendations of friends, family, and YouTube gurus. I began an organization system complete with color coding: pink stickers for the best matches, green for those that just didn’t work, orange . . . well, that’s self-explanatory.
Clearly, it was time to check in with the experts. I enlisted the help of Sir John, L’Oréal’s brand ambassador and Beyoncé’s makeup maestro who advised against seeking out a one-size-fits-all solution. “When going to pick a foundation, I always advise my clients to opt for an ‘everyday shade’ and a ‘summer shade.’ This allows you to always have your proper shade on hand, no matter the season,” he shared via email.