Does This White Foundation Work on ALL Skin Tones?

We took the self-adapting formula into the Cosmo Beauty Lab

21 March, 2018
Does This White Foundation Work on ALL Skin Tones?

When I heard about the new foundation out there that's formulated with "chameleon pigments" to perfect all skin colours, I was intrigued.

The Josie Maran Argan Matchmaker Serum Foundation is bright white when it comes out of its bottle, only to change colour when you begin to blend it. However, it's 'universal' proposition is slightly misleading given that it's available in three shade variants; 'fair/light, 'light/medium' and 'medium/dark'. So, naturally, we tested it on three different skin tones.

Medium/Dark on Dominique

The promise is that the foundation adjusts instantly to match your natural skin tone, but that doesn't seem to be the case on black complexions. As you'll see on Dominique the foundation only semi-adapted to her skin tone, and appeared chalky when blended. Fail.

Light/Medium on Bridget

Lucky me – the mid-shade offering seemed to work best with my golden skin tone. Although it still washed me out a bit, it did adapt to my colourings and a colleague commented that my makeup looked lovely. Result! I usually really like Josie Maran cosmetics but I must admit I found this quite hard to blend and it wasn't as moisturising as the name suggests.

Fair/Light on Emily

Emily has a naturally porcelain toned complexion, so we thought the lightest version would suit her, if anyone, but it still managed to bleach out her skin when blended. It didn't look bad, just a bit flat. More matte than she thought, it masked her natural contours meaning she'd want to apply bronzer on top wearing it.

Verdict

The chameleon pigments may, or may not, work for you – so make sure you try before you buy (especially when it costs £35.50)! We quickly realised less is more when using this as it can be hard to blend if you apply more than a single pump, although using the Josie Maran foundation brush may increase your chances of flawless application. The foundation gets great reviews online, so perhaps it takes a few goes to get used to it. I will persist, but Dominique and Emily won't be! 

Credit: Cosmopolitan
Comment