Birchbox September 2013

[invisiblebike]

Originally Posted by usofjessamerica /img/forum/go_quote.gif
There was a crazy line for the IQ thing when I went. (Thursday. 11 am. Sephora is busy... go figure) The associate ended up recommending a different shade than what the IQ thing said for pretty much every person in line. Don't forget that sephora sometimes has weird lighting too.

luckily the sephora i go to is not that far from the exit and there's a huge skylight out the door too. the mua actually gave me a hand mirror to look at it in normal lighting/daylight!

 

[audiophilekate]

Originally Posted by invisiblebike /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Have you guys tried the Pantone Color IQ thingy at Sephora? It's interesting, but not 100% foolproof like I was hoping. The MUA tried the color for MUFE HD foundation ColorIQ recommended, and she wound up going a couple shades lighter because it didn't work out so well.

Finding just the right foundation is tricky even when you're trying it on in store. I can't imagine buying a new foundation online without swatching it first or getting a sample.

The problem with the Color IQ thing (at least for me) is that they don't have many options for cool-toned people with light skin.  I was matched pretty well for undertones, but not shade.  The foundation samples I took home were way too dark for me to actually use.  I had a Sephora employee just look at my face and match me to the foundation that matched my skin the best (4 shades lighter than what I was matched to 

).  If you have darker or warm-toned skin, it's probably pretty good though.  I'm glad I just use BB creams and found one that works with my skin tone.  Foundation really seems like too much of a hassle to me anyhow.

 

[invisiblebike]

I wonder if the machine will be refined in the future. Sounds like it's not working quite right for a lot of people!

 

[audiophilekate]

Originally Posted by invisiblebike /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I wonder if the machine will be refined in the future. Sounds like it's not working quite right for a lot of people!

The list of shades that are available needs to be increased (there are no options for any cool-toned, fair-skinned person below the "3rd lightest shade" option), but that would probably mean that they would need to get more foundations and companies would need to make more cool-toned foundation shades.  But, hey, one of the only ones that came up for me was the Kat Von D foundation and they seem to offer a pretty good variety of color options.  I was actually surprised by how light they go.  If it weren't so opaque, I might go in and try it.  The machine might need some tweaking, but I see the problem as being mostly with the amount of available options.

 

[TXSlainte]

Originally Posted by magicalmom /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Good luck!  I'll be doing this soon to pack away summer stuff and haul out the sweaters!  Yay for fall!

What is this thing you call "fall" and why don't I know what it is? Yesterday it was 102 degrees on my way home from work! 

 

[TXSlainte]

I got my order yesterday. I got the Beauty Protector, which came just in time, as I used the last bit of my sample yesterday morning. I also got the Whish Exfoliating Body whatever, because I love love the smell, and the free shampoo has the same coconutty scent! My Mystery pack had the Klorane dry shampoo I've been lusting after, and a packet of some thing I can't recall. 

It was a welcome package at the end of a no good, very bad, horrible day (it's my first week back at work after summer vacation, and I was so miserable I sat in my car and cried while listening to my meditation app at lunch.) 

Hello, 3 day weekend. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[kawaiisofoxy]

Originally Posted by TXSlainte /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Quote: Originally Posted by magicalmom /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Good luck!  I'll be doing this soon to pack away summer stuff and haul out the sweaters!  Yay for fall!
What is this thing you call "fall" and why don't I know what it is? Yesterday it was 102 degrees on my way home from work! 


Hehe, it'll be awhile here as well, it was 65 on Christmas last year!  And then it always turns miserable halfway through January... *sigh*.

Fall is a state of mind though, and I will wear my boots!  And scarves!  Maybe with a tank top instead of a sweater, but still.  And I hope you get some cool breezes in TX soon!

 

[Holly120]

Hehe, it'll be awhile here as well, it was 65 on Christmas last year!  And then it always turns miserable halfway through January... *sigh*. Fall is a state of mind though, and I will wear my boots!  And scarves!  Maybe with a tank top instead of a sweater, but still.  And I hope you get some cool breezes in TX soon!

I'm in Texas and sometimes I think we have two seasons, summer and winter! Crazily enough though we had snow last Christmas! I've never had that happen in my 30ish /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> years! My mom always laughs at me because if the high is in the 60's I want to wear sweaters because otherwise I'd never get to! /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[Heather Hicks]

Originally Posted by meaganola /img/forum/go_quote.gif

My point was that light cool tones need different colors than light warm tones (and fair only had a warm tone represented). It seems like samples are almost invariably sent out in warm tones, and getting a warm concealer is just as bad as getting a dark one for me. Neither one will work. (I even make supposedly neutral stuff go horribly wrong. I've tested stuff and had the MUA say, "Whoa, I've never seen it turn *that* color before!" It's like a super power.)

Originally Posted by barbyechick /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I'll agree but I meant more that they didn't just do the usual 'warm tones/yellow undertones are medium' 'fair/pink undertones' are light. And at least on my screen they are registering as different undertones. It's a very common classification that has gladly been changing the last couple of years. It's actually only been really recently that I've been able to find warm light colors

I did try to make the point that's its a great start and that it still had many problems, I was just pointing out that they were trying to address the color matching issues so yay.

Originally Posted by CheshireCookie /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I really think the Birchbox Fair to Light is really strange. Molly is the only Fair and she has warm undertones, but then Caroline is next and has rosy undertones, but she's considered Light??? My complexion has rosy undertones similar to Caroline's but I'm definitely Fair. I've tried Light foundations, concealers, BB Creams, etc. and I know for a fact I need the Fairest shade. Something just seems off with their list of girls LOL

I know I'm a tad late to this particular discussion, but I'd love some advice on this area. I always thought I was a cool. But then, I read something which said you should look to your undertone and disregard anything that has happened to your skin since birth. Since I have mild rosacea, I'm guessing that means I need to find a way to take reddish cheeks out of the equation. So after having thought I was cool for years, I am now questioning that.

I have heard of a few different ways to find your undertone. One that was new to me was taking your thumb and pressing hard against your forearm for 10 seconds. You pull your thumb away and look to see if your skin flashes yellow or pink immediately after removing the thumb. It only flashes for probably less than a second, so you have to be quick. This was a suggestion I read on Sephora's discussion board. I've also heard of looking at your veins to see if they are more blue (cool), green (warm), or blue-green (neutral). Then there's the question about whether you look better in silver (cool) or yellow gold (warm).

When I did the Skin IQ (just the one time) I came out with a Y for warm yellow undertones. I was pretty shocked. I did the thumb press trick, and it seemed to flash yellow, but just barely. When I look at my veins, they look blue-green to me. Also, I'm not sure about the silver or gold thing. I think I look better in silver though, if I had to guess. So these 'tricks' give me different answers. As a result, at this point, I am almost wondering if I might be primarily neutral? If so, isn't it harder to find foundation if you have fair but neutral skin?

After the Skin IQ test, I bought Makeup Forever's HD foundation in 117--light, but warm. When I got home to see they offered 115--light, but cool--I ordered it too. My plan was to do swatches of the two side by side to see which looked best and return the other one if I needed to do so. Well, I haven't done so on my face yet because I'm waiting for a non-rainy, non-cloudy day to test the foundation in the sun outside. However, I did swatch yellow beside pink on my arm. I thought the pink looked best. The yellow was sickly looking. Then, it hit me. If they are basically the same lightness but just one is warm and the other cool, why not use 1 drop of each, mix it, and apply them? I thought this would help me see if neutral looked best on me. Sure enough, it did. But since MUF decided in their infinite wisdom that a 116 shade of neutral was not necessary (if it ever did exist at all) I would have to keep both bottles--expensive and a hassle. Again, pink was better than yellow, but once I put on the mix of the two, the pink looked too pink. Am I crazy? Am I reading too much into this?  In other words, could this just be something unique to MUF or does it really suggest I might look best in neutrals? I know I need to try it on my jawbone and go out in daylight. I'm going to do that. But I would like to know how to interpret the results.

Sorry. I guess I did my typical essay length post, but I would love advice from anyone who really knows their stuff in this area. Thanks a million!!!

 

[Heather Hicks]

Originally Posted by audiophilekate /img/forum/go_quote.gif

The list of shades that are available needs to be increased (there are no options for any cool-toned, fair-skinned person below the "3rd lightest shade" option), but that would probably mean that they would need to get more foundations and companies would need to make more cool-toned foundation shades.  But, hey, one of the only ones that came up for me was the Kat Von D foundation and they seem to offer a pretty good variety of color options.  I was actually surprised by how light they go.  If it weren't so opaque, I might go in and try it.  The machine might need some tweaking, but I see the problem as being mostly with the amount of available options.

I will say this for those who do have cool tones and can't find something light enough but can find a good match which is simply too dark. I just found out about something called Manic Panic's Dreamtone in white. Someone said you can mix it with foundation that's too dark to lighten it up. I bought Urban Decay's Naked foundation in 3.5 because .5 would've probably been too light for me. If I determine I'm a cool, I will be able to use Dreamtone to lighten up the UD. And, it is inexpensive, vegan, with good ingredients. Yah!

 

[wadedl]

Originally Posted by Holly120 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I'm in Texas and sometimes I think we have two seasons, summer and winter! Crazily enough though we had snow last Christmas! I've never had that happen in my 30ish

years! My mom always laughs at me because if the high is in the 60's I want to wear sweaters because otherwise I'd never get to!

60 is freezing here in San Diego. Jacket weather. lol

We finally hit the 90's today. First time this summer I think. All you people talking about Fall we just started summer. The main advantage to that is I bought a new swimsuit for $5 today! It said the original price was $172. We went to the beach during the summer with some friends and froze. The kids huddled under a sideways beach umbrella to get out of the wind in June.

 

[barbyechick]

Originally Posted by Heather Hicks /img/forum/go_quote.gif



I know I'm a tad late to this particular discussion, but I'd love some advice on this area. I always thought I was a cool. But then, I read something which said you should look to your undertone and disregard anything that has happened to your skin since birth. Since I have mild rosacea, I'm guessing that means I need to find a way to take reddish cheeks out of the equation. So after having thought I was cool for years, I am now questioning that.

I have heard of a few different ways to find your undertone. One that was new to me was taking your thumb and pressing hard against your forearm for 10 seconds. You pull your thumb away and look to see if your skin flashes yellow or pink immediately after removing the thumb. It only flashes for probably less than a second, so you have to be quick. This was a suggestion I read on Sephora's discussion board. I've also heard of looking at your veins to see if they are more blue (cool), green (warm), or blue-green (neutral). Then there's the question about whether you look better in silver (cool) or yellow gold (warm).

When I did the Skin IQ (just the one time) I came out with a Y for warm yellow undertones. I was pretty shocked. I did the thumb press trick, and it seemed to flash yellow, but just barely. When I look at my veins, they look blue-green to me. Also, I'm not sure about the silver or gold thing. I think I look better in silver though, if I had to guess. So these 'tricks' give me different answers. As a result, at this point, I am almost wondering if I might be primarily neutral? If so, isn't it harder to find foundation if you have fair but neutral skin?

After the Skin IQ test, I bought Makeup Forever's HD foundation in 117--light, but warm. When I got home to see they offered 115--light, but cool--I ordered it too. My plan was to do swatches of the two side by side to see which looked best and return the other one if I needed to do so. Well, I haven't done so on my face yet because I'm waiting for a non-rainy, non-cloudy day to test the foundation in the sun outside. However, I did swatch yellow beside pink on my arm. I thought the pink looked best. The yellow was sickly looking. Then, it hit me. If they are basically the same lightness but just one is warm and the other cool, why not use 1 drop of each, mix it, and apply them? I thought this would help me see if neutral looked best on me. Sure enough, it did. But since MUF decided in their infinite wisdom that a 116 shade of neutral was not necessary (if it ever did exist at all) I would have to keep both bottles--expensive and a hassle. Again, pink was better than yellow, but once I put on the mix of the two, the pink looked too pink. Am I crazy? Am I reading too much into this?  In other words, could this just be something unique to MUF or does it really suggest I might look best in neutrals? I know I need to try it on my jawbone and go out in daylight. I'm going to do that. But I would like to know how to interpret the results.

Sorry. I guess I did my typical essay length post, but I would love advice from anyone who really knows their stuff in this area. Thanks a million!!!

 I bet all of us could fill a whole thread with similar problems, don't worry as far as I can tell this is super common. It may just be brands too - MUFE tends to be on the warmer side but there are certain brands who are really good at hitting different undertones within a certain shade - for example some companies actually have one shade in different undertones (say a 10 in warm, neutral, and cool and then going up to a 20 to a shade darker there are even some that distinguish between warm and olive). Let me know if you find the magic formula cause so far it's just samples, samples, samples and always the kind you can take home and check out for a day - buying a shade on the spot rarely works out lol.

I mean I still haven't found a foundation that is amazing, pretty close but still no, it's always too pink or too orange, one dayyyy!

 

[gypsiemagic]

I was matched as a 4Y05, but the two foundations I wanted to try (tarte full coverage and kat von d tattoo didn't have a corresponding shade, so she matched me in Light Beige and Light 48 respectively and they both looked amazing, turns out those are both matches for 1R06,

Never once has someone told me I have yellow undertones, but I do like when a foundation is neutral, so maybe I like pink undertoned foundations on my yellow skin because it ends up having a neutralizing effect. 

I quite enjoy the fact that they are doing more to help you find matches, because before this it was just little photoshopped swatches, I appreciate the work that went into grouping the foundations by shade, and you can tell they really tried to do close matches, because each color iq has a totally different group of products.

 

[Heather Hicks]

Originally Posted by barbyechick /img/forum/go_quote.gif

 I bet all of us could fill a whole thread with similar problems, don't worry as far as I can tell this is super common. It may just be brands too - MUFE tends to be on the warmer side but there are certain brands who are really good at hitting different undertones within a certain shade - for example some companies actually have one shade in different undertones (say a 10 in warm, neutral, and cool and then going up to a 20 to a shade darker there are even some that distinguish between warm and olive). Let me know if you find the magic formula cause so far it's just samples, samples, samples and always the kind you can take home and check out for a day - buying a shade on the spot rarely works out lol.

I mean I still haven't found a foundation that is amazing, pretty close but still no, it's always too pink or too orange, one dayyyy!

Thank you so much!!! 

 I don't feel as weird now about not being able to tell if I am warm, cool, or neutral. I also won't read so much into all brands based on just MUFE. I am glad I heard about the trick with the Manic Panic Dreamtone though. So if I do find something that looks good on me but for it being too dark, I can try to lighten it up before shipping it back to Sephora or just writing off the money for a drugstore brand.

 

[jennm149]

I was matched as a 4Y05, but the two foundations I wanted to try (tarte full coverage and kat von d tattoo didn't have a corresponding shade, so she matched me in Light Beige and Light 48 respectively and they both looked amazing, turns out those are both matches for 1R06, Never once has someone told me I have yellow undertones, but I do like when a foundation is neutral, so maybe I like pink undertoned foundations on my yellow skin because it ends up having a neutralizing effect.  I quite enjoy the fact that they are doing more to help you find matches, because before this it was just little photoshopped swatches, I appreciate the work that went into grouping the foundations by shade, and you can tell they really tried to do close matches, because each color iq has a totally different group of products.

I think a lot of us do that, including the BB staffers they used as models. If you use the "start with your current foundation" feature on the ColorIQ page to check the products used by the BB "models" -- even within each person they are very different. I was IQ'd 4Y04 (and it IS a good match, to my surprise) but have used a 1R05 BB ceam without an issue. The coverage and texture are probably important -- the heavier the coverage, the more obvious any mismatch will be, I suppose. Anyway, I was just fascinated that no two of the products used by any one of the models had the same ColorIQ match.

 

[invisiblebike]

Originally Posted by jennm149 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I think a lot of us do that, including the BB staffers they used as models. If you use the "start with your current foundation" feature on the ColorIQ page to check the products used by the BB "models" -- even within each person they are very different. I was IQ'd 4Y04 (and it IS a good match, to my surprise) but have used a 1R05 BB ceam without an issue. The coverage and texture are probably important -- the heavier the coverage, the more obvious any mismatch will be, I suppose.

Anyway, I was just fascinated that no two of the products used by any one of the models had the same ColorIQ match.

Interesting.

I actually tried MUFE invisible HD foundation because I had heard things about it, but I didn't realize it was fragranced and just wearing it a few hours made my skin ITCH! It was fine when I took it off, my skin wasn't super red or anything.

 

[Holly120]

I haven't seen the iq match thing but I know it must still be better than the mua at our MAC counter! In a 3 month span (fall into winter) they started with C4. The next time it was NC42! There is nooooooo way! I an probably really around nc25-30.... /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[bluemustang]

I want to get matched at Sephora.. I wonder how accurate it will be. I'm light-medium with cool tones and I get red cheeks. They always choose shades that are too light and I look bizarro.

 

[CheshireCookie]

Originally Posted by TXSlainte /img/forum/go_quote.gif

What is this thing you call "fall" and why don't I know what it is? Yesterday it was 102 degrees on my way home from work! 

Before I even looked at your profile name or saw underneath it what state you were from I read this post and thought: Yep.....she's from Texas. LOL

 

[TheNewMrsRivers]

Originally Posted by CheshireCookie /img/forum/go_quote.gif


Before I even looked at your profile name or saw underneath it what state you were from I read this post and thought: Yep.....she's from Texas. LOL

Haha! Same! All the other girls on campus and I are dreaming of when Texas weather will let us wear sweater and leggings and not look crazy.