I recently bought The Ordinary Serum Foundation 1.2Y shade, which means it’s part of the light yellow tones in the colour range. My skin does not naturally have yellow undertones. In fact, my skin is usually super white, with a lot of pink and often even quite red. There is a serum foundation by The Ordinary that caters for pink undertones, but here is why these tones are not for me:
I have mild rosacea, making my face look mostly ruddy. Sometimes it’s worse than others and sometimes it clears up and my complexion is porcelain again.
This skin condition makes it really difficult to get matched for foundation. Often I’ll find the sales assistant will match me with quite a dark cool tone, when really I’m usually the lightest shade (or close to it) with neutral or pink undertones.
Previously I’d use a colour correcting primer (my go-to primer was the green one from Barry M) but the rosacea was making me increasingly flaky, and I started to need a bit more in the way of texture correction from my primer, so I had to change.
I switched to a silicone based, clear primer which did nothing for my colour correction, but did smooth out my skin. I immediately found that the super light shades of foundation I owned were doing little to cover up my redness. I never go for full coverage foundation because it really doesn’t suit my skin type, so that wasn’t an option for me either.
The Ordinary Serum Foundation 1.2Y
I bought The Ordinary Serum Foundation 1.2Y because I’d heard it had a thin consistency, offered medium coverage and was buildable. It completely lived up to my expectations.
I went for a light shade with yellow undertones to correct the natural pinkness of my skin and used it with a clear silicone based primer to smooth out my flaky patches and large pores. I applied a small amount at a time, blending as I went. If I apply too much at once its very obviously yellow and goes streaky without blending well.
I think you can see well from the picture that it’s left me with a nice dewy finish, I don’t look particularly pink or overly ruddy, meaning the yellow has counteracted my redness, and my face looks pretty smooth (even though it’s really not).
Buying a different colour foundation to your natural skin tone can be a really effective way to colour correct if other products aren’t working well to do so. For overly pink and red complexions, yellow tones should help neutralise the redness. If your skin is looking a bit sallow and dull, a pinker tone will brighten and lift it slightly.
It’s totally possible to buy a foundation that doesn’t match your skin tone and end up with a better result than one that does!
You might like to read about these rejuvenating wands I tried in my normal skincare routine.
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I haven’t used foundation before but I think I should start and the Ordinary Serum Foundation 1.2Y sounds ideal for a first time user
I think it probably is, especially because it’s cheap! There’s no point spending lots on a product you’re not sure you’ll like!
I love Stila’s Aqua Glow Serum Foundation – it hydrates your skin and has light-reflecting pigments to give a luminous finish!
I don’t tend to use foundation, if I am going for a night out I use bare minerals powder
My sister uses that and it looks lovely on her skin. You’ve go posh taste!
i cant wear foundation, i have really sensitive skin and it just makes my skin blotchy
I love BarePro by BareMinerals! Great foundation!
I use Bare Minerals every day now
I onlu use foundation for special occasions and then use Estee Lauder
I use foundation every day …estee lauder double wear ….but as I have got older its a bit drying on my skin and I need to try another one, this sounds good ?
I use Maybelline super stay which does not seem to irritate my sensitive skin.
TOUCHE ÉCLAT works best for me
I n9rmally use no 7 – with greasy ruddy skin it works really well for me
I have been using matte foundation from the bodyshop and it is my favourite because it is great quality and cruelty free
I am loving what I am hearing about The Ordinary, their skincare sounds wonderful too
I don’t wear make up very often, only tend to use foundation when I’m going out (not very often as a Mum of 2) and just use a Boots No7 that I’ve used for ages. I probably could do with a bit of more modern advice now – there must be lots of better new stuff out there…
Its hard for me to comment on this, as I don’t use foundation, never have
I don’t use foundation, I’ve had roseacre and sebacious cysts so I’m very wary
I like the ordinary skincare range. I am currently using a free sample of Estee Lauder double wear which gives me good coverage
I use foundation sometimes, when I need to
I use Max factor, it is the only one that stays put on my skin
I find L’Oréal Paris True Match Liquid Foundation to work best for me.
My favourite foundation is the baked cream foundation, Balance and Brighten, by Laura Geller. It’s baked by artisans in Italy and starts its life as a cream. It works very well and look natural. Very importantly, it’s not tested on animals.
I use Avon’ s cream to powder foundation in medium beige find it about the best one I’ve had for complete coverage I use honey beige in the summer
I love BarePro by Bare Minerals
I like BareMinerals original powder, can easily control coverage and doesn’t leave my skin feeling “covered”
Clinique redness solution for roseaca! Really helps me keep it under control!
I rarely use foundation only when on a special night out where I dress up and I like a natural look that is easy to apply.
I always have trouble with foundations as I suffer with rosacea too and I often end up blending two colours together as none look quite right on their own!
I only tend to use foundation when I’m going out. I like Max Factor’s colour match one.