Tropically Sun-kissed or Born Bronzed: Where to find the right shade of foundation

Many of our favourite Western makeup brands (a.o. Chanel, Dior, Estée Lauder, Guerlain, YSL, Clinique and Lancôme) don’t carry the same foundation shades in Asia as they do in Europe or the US. Given the multi-racial melting pot that Singapore is, this calls for brands with a wider range of shades, to cater to all of our beauty needs. From the pale-skinned Scandinavian expat with a sun-kissed shade from an afternoon at Tanjong Beach Club to the to-die-for eternally bronzed cheecks of our Brazilian neighbour; finding the right foundation shade is pivotal yet proves to be a challenge in Singapore. If, like me, you need a slightly darker shade than is commonly offered in South East Asia, make sure you check out below brands and discover my foundation beauty hack at the end of this post.

HAPPILY TROPICALLY SUN-KISSED

Having a medium fair skin and dark hair, I tan pretty easily even though I wear an SPF in my skincare on a daily basis. Settling-in upon arriving in Singapore, I went out of the house a lot to discover this exciting new city and the neighbourhood that was now our home. Although I wasn’t exposed to ridiculous amounts of sun and usually wear a moisturizer with an SPF, my skin already darkened to the same amount as a two week holiday on the beach in the South of France usually does – strong stuff, that South East Asian sun! I actually liked my tan as it made me feel like I just returned from Saint Tropez, all rested and relaxed. The foundations that I brought from back home however, now turned out to be way to pale for my tropical sun-kissed complexion. 

Over the years I’ve tried many different foundations, but pretty much stick to the following foundation principle on my makeup shelf: one light coverage foundation for daytime (favourite: Chanel  Vitalumiere Aqua) and one long-lasting medium to full coverage foundation for nights out (Favourite: Estée Lauder DoubleWear). There’s also enough days that I don’t wear any foundation, or that I just mix a bit of foundation through my face cream for a very natural bare skin effect. Long story short, I needed to hit the stores to find my favourite foundations one shade darker to match my tropical new skin tone. Back at home in Europe I would prefer to go to the standalone brand boutiques or shop-in-shop makeup counters of my favourite brands in large department stores. I love the service you get there, and the way they pack your items in the cutest branded bags (I’m very sensitive to the Dior and Chanel logo’s).

SNOW WHITE BEAUTY STANDARD

However, when I visited some department stores in downtown Singapore, it became clear to me how much of the US and European luxury cosmetic brands adhere to the Asian beauty standard of white skin. Beauty advisors at both Chanel's and Estee Lauder's own beauty boutiques (down in Ion Orchard) told me that the range of their foundation shades didn’t go further up than a moderately pale beige! Upon asking some help in finding my new shade, I was constantly advised a foundation in a paler tone than my own skin by the sales advisors. When explaining that I wanted a foundation in a shade that is similar to my own skin tone, the sales girls looked at me in sheer horror. And even worse; announced that darker shades simply aren't available in Singapore.  

Living in South East Asia, it probably won’t be new to you that there is a clear preference here for a pale, snow white skin. Just as in Western society before the 1920s, before Coco Chanel accidentally got sunburned on her holiday in the French Riviera and set a trend to be tanned, a tan in Asia is still associated with the lower classes because of harsh outdoor work and subsequent sun exposure. The lighter and brighter your skin, the higher your economic and social status, whereas in the West the opposite is true today and a radiant sun-kissed complexion reveals your health and wealth. After all, you can afford to visit destinations such as Capri, Marbella or –nowadays- Thailand and the Maldives.

THE QUEST FOR A WIDER RANGE IN SHADES

I was very happy to find some darker shades at the Chanel and Estee Lauder counters in Takashimaya in the end, however this seemed to be the exception for most brands. I haven't found darker shades of the aforementioned brands at any other brand's own beauty boutique in the malls, or at other department stores for that matter. Being medium tanned, I'm pretty save to find the shade(s) I need, but I realized that for many other women with slightly or intensely darker skin tones, it must be very difficult to find the right shade. 

Singapore is a proud multi-cultural melting pot, in which both native Singaporeans and expats contribute to the interesting mix of different cultures - and thus skin tones. It therefore struck me that in such a multi-racial society the ideals of beauty are still seem to favor fairer skin, or at least cater to the paler tones on the palette. So where can we get the largest range of foundation shades, both for occassionally sunkissed Caucasian skin as well as for the beautiful darker skin tones of our Indian, Middle Eastern, South American and African sisters?

BEAUTY ADVICE

As mentioned above, most well-known Western brands such as Chanel, Dior, Estee Lauder and YSL offer somewhat darker tones at Takashimaya than they do in other stores. However they don't go up to ebony or creamy chocolate colors.After some thorough research I did find quite some brands that offer a large range of foundation shades, including darker ones, in Singapore.

These following brands have the widest shade range, from ebony to ivory, and offer many different shades within this range as well:

• Bobbi Brown: prices between 75-85 SGD. Find stores here.
• Make Up Forever: prices 75 SGD. Find Stores here. 
• MAC: prices between 54-62 SGD. Find Stores here. 
• Sephora - own brand: prices between 29-32 SGD. Find Stores here. 

MAC's new Studio Waterweight SPF 30 Foundation is available in 23 shades.

The following brands have a pretty wide shade range but offer slightly less different shades within this range, at least in Singapore:

• Marc Jacobs: prices between 75-85 SGD. 
• Laura Mercier: prices between 75-78 SGD. 
• Nars: prices between 72-75 SGD.  
• Stila: prices between 53-62 SGD. 
• Revlon: price around 30 SGD. 

These four brands can be found at Sephora, find stores here.

Marc Jacobs Foundation shades go up from light to pretty dark

BEAUTY HACK!

If you can’t find the exact right foundation shade, or if your skintone tends to vary substantially over time -which, as explained above, is the case for me- just buy two different shades of the same foundation. You can either mix two shades that are very alike for just that minor customization for your skin, or mix two shades that are very different because your skin is too; e.g. one that matches your skin when it is lightest and one that matches your skin when it is darkest so that you can create your own shade of foundation to cover the entire spectrum of tones that your skin takes on in between these extremes. This principle works great as well if you can't find a foundation with the right undertone, that is if your skin tone is somewhat in between a beige, rose or yellow undertone (some foundations are categorized into ‘warm’ and ‘cold’ tones instead). If your skin is too beige for a rosy undertone, but too rosy for a beige undertone, just take both and them mix up!

To illustrate, I use  Estée Lauder DoubleWear in shades 2W1 Dawn and 3W2 Cashew. These shades are quite far apart from eachother (yet have the same undertone; 'W' for Warm), but for me they tend to cover the entire range of shades that my skintone can take on. When I’m most pale, I use pure 2W1 Dawn. After a 3 week beach holiday, I use pure 3W2 Cashew for my bronzed complexion. After only a beach weekend away, I know ¼ X and ¾ will perfectly match my sun kissed skin tone. Works with any foundation, and you always have a foundation sur mesure!

Try it! Use your hand as a palette and put a drop of the first foundation on the back of your hand. If you need to (slightly) lighten the darkest foundation (i.e. your skin is in the dark end of your skintone spectrum), you start with this foundation; likewise, if you want to add a hint of colour to your lightest foundation, you start with this one first. This way you avoid mixing up too much product on your hand that you won’t be using, as it is easiest to gradually add some colour especially if you’re not sure about the right mixture for your tone.

Estée Lauder DoubleWear in shades 2W1 Dawn (lighter shade) and 3W2 Cashew (darker shade): with just these two shades I can cover the entire spectrum of shades that my skintone can take on throughout the seasons and sun-exposure. And yes, the difference is big!

Add the desired amount (find your perfect colour ratio by simply mixing up different amounts – do remember what ratio you used though!) of the second foundation, blend it with your index finger, middle finger or both (whatever you find convenient) and apply to the face by using your fingers, a sponge or a foundation brush as you like.

And done you are, with the best matching foundation ever – now, but also next week or month, in whatever part of your skin shade spectrum you find yourself!