Matchmymakeup.com is a website that uses science, technology, and engineering math to determine foundation shade matches. But does it work? Let’s talk about it.

UPDATE, March 16, 2022: The matchmymakeup website seems to have updated its match terminology. When I used the website today, the only options it listed were ideal and best possible matches. I have a tiny website, but I couldn’t help but wonder if they read my review 🤔. Maybe not, but that would be cool 😄.

UPDATE, October 1, 2022: I no longer know how to feel about this website. Every time I’ve visited over the last several months my matches have been different. It seems that they may be having trouble ironing out the scientific method they are using.

UPDATE, December 28, 2023: Someone from The matchmymakeup website did reach out to me and thanked me for the feedback on their website and asked me for some more information about the trouble I had with my matches. I was pleased that they were so open to my comments and were interested in more feedback to try to improve on what they have in place. I revisit the site often and it looks like they have done more updates to their system and that may have a lot to do with the fact that they have added more products to the database. it does seem to me that they are doing what they can to provide accurate matches. I think the biggest roadblock is that each person’s skin tone is going to alter how a shade looks, so it will still be a matter of trial and error for anyone using the website.

We can all relate to having a hard time finding a foundation match, so I wanted to share this website that I discovered. It is similar to the shade match system that Sephora has on their website. You plug in a shade that you already feel matches, and they tell you what other shades you can try.

The way this website claims to be different from other shade matching tools is because they use science to evaluate the colors and then they are verified by a makeup artist. They list exact, ideal, and best possible matches. To demonstrate my experience I am just showing you an “exact match” result. Since I started wearing the MAC Studio Fix Fluid back in the summer of 2020, I’ve been really happy with the shade match, so I used that as my starting point.

The website gave me the 4W4 Hazel shade in the Estee Lauder Double Wear formula as an exact shade match. I love double wear and have been using shades 5W1 and 5W2 for a long time. I consider 5W1 to be my best match but not spot on and 5W2 always looks orange but works better for me in the summer. Since 5W1 was so close for me, I never imagined that I could get away with anything in the 4 range. I was very skeptical but gave it a shot, and it actually works nicely for me.

The Swatches

I personally wouldn’t call these shades an exact match, but the website did help me find another color match (in Estee Lauder Double Wear) that I never would have tried otherwise. As you can see from the pictures above, when applied all over my face Estee Lauder 4W4 and MAC C8 are pretty similar. MAC Studio Fix Fluid in C8 is darker and I’m not sure it comes across in the picture, but in person, Estee Lauder 4W4 looks more yellow. But when you take a closer look at the swatches, you can see that they do have some differences. How those differences will work out for each person is definitely going to vary.

Estee Lauder Double Wear, $46.00

• Estee Lauder describes the shade 4W4 Hazel as a medium tan with warm golden-olive undertones

MAC Studio Fix Fluid, $36.00

• MAC describes the shade C8 as a deep olive with golden undertones for medium to dark skin

I have tried other results that the website gave me, but in my opinion, they should call all matches ideal or best possible. None of my “exact matches” were exact in my opinion. However, once applied on my face, I could definitely have agreed with them being “ideal matches.” There weren’t any suggestions that didn’t work out at all. Nars Moorea was also listed as an exact match to MAC C8, but I felt it was too dark. On the other hand, Nars Tahoe was listed as an “ideal match” and I really like how that shade looks on me. I consider Tahoe (in the Nars Natural Radiant Longwear formula) to be one of my best shade matches and you can see me wearing it by clicking here. I also want to point out that C8 is deeper than my actual skin tone but because the undertone matches so well it isn’t obvious. So if you are darker than me, you may still be able to use C8.

They also have a quiz style function to help you find a shade if you are starting from scratch. It uses your phone camera and asks you some questions based on what you see. I personally didn’t find this tool helpful, I did not get a correct shade match from using it.

So there you have it. Does it work? Mostly, I think it does. But I would define their match terminology differently.

• Exact match: closest match they could possibly find
• Ideal match: either slightly lighter, slightly darker, slightly cooler, or slightly warmer but should still be workable
• Best possible match: there is no match in this foundation, but you can give this shade a try if you insist on using this formula

Basically, this is a good reference point. At least for me, I found this tool to be incredibly valuable because I tend to always pick shades that are too dark. This website has definitely helped me get into the right depth range when I’m shopping for foundations. If you are struggling to pick out a color in a new foundation, and you already have a shade match that you love, matchmymakeup.com could be worth looking into.

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Do you have trouble picking out foundation shades? If not, what tips or tools do you use to help you get it right?

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