Help! I bought the wrong colour foundation

Have you ever bought a shade of foundation, only to discover that it’s completely wrong and doesn’t match your skin tone?

Often lighting in stores will make a colour look like it’s a perfect match, but once out in natural daylight, it’ll look completely different. I’ve already written a separate post on how to match your foundation correctly, but if you’re stuck with a bottle that’s the wrong shade that you bought online, or overseas, and it can’t be returned, don’t throw it away just yet, there are a few tricks to using it.

For foundation that’s slightly too dark, try adding few drops of moisturiser or SPF to lighten it. Another alternative is to get a much lighter sample of a similar foundation and mix the two together, creating a custom blend that matches your skin tone.

For foundation that is too light, try using a tinted face powder over the top, or a very light dusting of bronzer.

Darker foundations can also be used for contouring, instead of buying products specifically designed for that, while lighter ones can be used to highlight.

If the shade is vastly different and you haven’t tried to lighten or darken it in any way, you could try asking friends what shades they use. You might find someone who is willing to purchase it off you. If that’s not an option, then shade adjusting drops will probably be your best bet. Both The Body Shop and Australis have Shade Adjusting Drops that can help adjust the shade for you. There will be a choice between lightening drops or darkening drops, depending on whether you need to lighten or darken the shade. I haven’t personally tried either of these shade adjusting drops, but I have read reviews from other people who say that they do work.