Foundation matching can be a pain in the butt. I know this because, despite my unwarranted love for face bases (and purchasing them), I’m still unsure of what shade I am. The unhelpful-helpful thing I’ve been really good at is determining whether or not a shade is a “match” for me. This happens, of course, after I’ve bought the full size.
What led me to this frustrating discovery is when I tried to layer on my Ellana Minerals Loose Powder Foundation in Caramel Latte* to act as a concealer and it ended up looking really wrong–too warm for me, really. I really, really like that product, so I wanted to see if there was a better shade match for me. It’s kind of hard to tell on their website… plus, how do you match your skin tone to a screen cap, right?
Luckily, Ellana Minerals offers a free sample pack. I wanted to try their concealers (though, again, was crippled by the affliction of indecision) and the Sheer Velvet HD powder, but I didn’t want to commit to a full jar just yet. Anyway, the Sample Pack itself is free, but you have to pay for shipping if you don’t want to pick it up at their headquarters, all the way in Makati.
The sample pack has a whopping 22 sample baggies of several of their face/base products. It’s a great way to sample some of the shades before settling on one. I think this is a great option, though I wonder what I can do with the samples that I have no obvious use for.
As of now, I’m still not 100% sure what my shade is. I’ve tried Almond Latte, Toffee Mocha, Cinnamon Latte, Cafe Mocha, and Macchiato. The closest contenders are Cafe Mocha (leaning heavily towards this), Toffee Mocha, and… you guessed it: Caramel Latte. Still. I find it too warm, though, so I think it just might be Cafe Mocha for me.
Another face base, you ask? I want to bring a powder foundation with me for a six-week trip because I’m scared of both liquid and loose powder spillage, so I’m toying with the idea of buying a pressed version of my beloved Ellana Minerals formula.
MAKEUP IS HERD, U GUISE.
* PR Sample.
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Softly Sometimes 
I feel you, foundation matching is such a pain! Especially when it gets to be the beginning or end of summer when my shade keeps changing. One day is matches, the next day it doesn’t. I really want to try out the Ellana Minerals Free Sample Pack, because they look really good and I would have a chance to really see which shade fit me best. Great post! 🙂
Thanks!
You could use the too light/too dark shades for highlighters and contouring powders…better than throwing them away I suppose 🙂
True, I’ll see if they’ll work for that purpose 🙂
If you’re going to base your pressed powder purchase off of the loose powder samples, I say don’t. There’s a huge dissimilarity in shade/ tone.
The pressed toffee and cafe mocha are way more olive/green while macchiato and caramel latte seem yellower.
I’ve heard the same. I heard that you should get a shade darker for the pressed version. Haven’t tried it myself yet though. (PS I am Caramel Latte on the loose powder.)
Hahaha so haaaard :((
Yikes, thanks for the warning! I’m so shitty at foundation matching, but I think it’s also because I go with a “pwede na” shade and regret it later, lol.
Hi! Have you decided on a shade yet? I also have this sample pack and it got me more confused. I refuse to try it again in store because I have had bad experience with SAs that force me into Caramel Latte when it is obviously too light/yellow-y on me. I think we have similar skin tones, so please update when you have settled on a shade (both for loose powder and pressed).
For loose, I think I’ll go with Cafe Mocha. No decision yet re: pressed, since it’s kind of pointless to go by this if the difference in shade between formulas is substantial.