Light and Dark Skin Tones – Becca Foundation Swatches and Review
Light and Dark Skin Tones – Becca Foundation Swatches and ReviewIt’s no secret that the beauty industry is missing the mark when it comes to making colors for darker skin tones. Foundation is so tricky. Believe it or not – even though I’m quite pale, I have trouble finding my shade too – most colors are either too pink or too yellow for me. And some of my really pale friends have trouble finding a shade that they don’t have to add white pigment to. But compared to my dark skinned friends, we have it easy. Many makeup shade ranges don’t go past the medium level – period. And just adding black pigment won’t necessarily work – to get the right shade, you’d need to add the right levels of other colors, like red. So even though it doesn’t affect my makeup choices personally, I’m overjoyed when I see that a makeup brand has a wide range of colors.
A while back, my beauty blogging friend, Brittany from Clumps of Mascara, and I swatched the NYX Total Control Drop Foundation so you can see how the shades look on our skin tones. You guys really loved that review, so I reached out to Brittany to see if she wanted to do it again. I asked her which cruelty free beauty brands had good shade ranges, and she mentioned Becca. A note: Fenty Beauty by Rihanna also has an amazing shade range, but they have not confirmed if they are cruelty free yet – see this post for details (I’ll update it if I get more info). Makeup Forever has a great range but they are definitely not cruelty free.
We decided to swatch the entire line of Becca Foundation so you can see if there’s a potential match for you. First off – a big thank you to Becca for making such an inclusive line! If only every brand could take notice!
Becca Foundation is a MAJORLY full coverage foundation – a little bit goes a long way. If I apply it the way I normally apply my Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage foundation, I will get too much pigment. So I have been using less product, and I can just blend it in with my Beauty Blender sponge. It’s a dimethicone-based foundation, which I love. It sits on top of my big pores and fine lines – instead of sinking in and making them more visible. If you have hyperpigmentation (brown spots), acne scars, melasma, or red spots, give this Becca foundation a try – it covers almost everything!
I like the formula a lot, but unfortunately there’s no exact shade match for me (and when you use a full coverage foundation the match has to be pretty good). To be fair, I haven’t found a shade match with 99% of the foundations out there – even the one I’m currently using isn’t perfect. The closest matches for me would be Shell or Sand, but they are a little bit too yellow/gold for me.
Here are the Becca Foundation swatches of the first five shades (lightest to darkest): Porcelain, Shell, Sand, Cashmere and Buff.
Here are the next five Becca Foundation shades (light to dark): Buttercup, Driftwood (kudos to Becca for changing the name from “Nude” to “Driftwood” since nude can be so many different colors!), Noisette, Olive and Tan.
Want to see the medium to dark swatches? Head on over to Clumps of Mascara to see what Brittany thought of Becca’s Foundation!
Omg I herd this foundation is amazing. ?????????
Thank you! I found this on Brittany’s site and love this. I’m also a super pale girl who has a hard time finding a foundation shade that matches me and I know that I still have an easier time than women of color. I’ve stopped buying any products from companies that only make 5-6 foundation shades that leave too many women out and prefer to support more inclusive brands that look beyond the “light-medium” range.
This type of post is so very helpful! Especially since many stores may not carry the entire range of shades. It’s so frustrating!
Becca Ultimate Coverage Foundation looks nice,.. Thank you for the review
Oh yes, this is one I will have to try. Foundations have become difficult the older I get and I like that this one has full coverage and won’t fill in and amplify my fine lines around my eyes.
The colors and textures are GORGEOUS!
My daughter is using this foundation and really loves it. I need to give it a try!
What a great idea! I really didn’t know that BECCA had a great full coverage foundation. I need to return something to Ulta, so I’ll try swatching a couple. Unless I actually try on the shades, I haven’t a clue. Porcelain looks very pink though I am pink, so it could be a decent match. Thanks for the swatches!
Porcelain may be a little too pale for you Allison – but swatch it and see! It’s definitely on the pinker side – that’s for sure!
That’s awesome Chynna! Thanks for supporting brands that are inclusive and cruelty free! And thanks for stopping by to say hello! 🙂
I used to wear Porcelain in one of their other foundations, but I’m thinking Shell looks good for this one.
I’ve heard good things about this foundation and this post is so helpful. I’ve been looking for a new foundation, actually, and I think I’ll have to try Shell. It looks perfect for me!
I love seeing all the shades together on your blog and on Brittany’s. I think I could wear Shell since Porcelain looks so pink. I didn’t realize it was such a full coverage foundation before.
Thank you both for this post! I believe it’s much harder of women for color to find a good foundation match, but as a pale girl, I also struggle a bit. I think Porcelain would match me well, and the formula sounds really nice!
It’s really hard to find a direct match even in-store. I didn’t know Becca has extensive shade range.
I have yet to find a foundation that matches my light skin but would love to try this one. I am thinking my shade would be the shell.
I would go for the lighter shades, like sand or shell.
I too am really pale, sort of blueish I think, and pink. Everything looks too orange.
I really enjoyed reading your review and think it’s reallu clever to post half of the article to send readers to Brittany’s blog. I’m thinking of starting a blog so I’ll definitely use that strategy. Thanks for the good read. I’m off to finish the post on Brittany’s blog.
Ohhh my!! I need to try this Becca foundation, I have wanted to try a new one for a long time, I’ll go see it!
Thank you so much for posting all of the swatches, Jen! This is very helpful. The formula sounds fantastic!
You had me at full coverage. I’ll probably buy this when I hit Sephora next week (after a successful no-buy) – I think Noisette or Olive should match me!
I’ll have to check out this line.
some nice color here will have to share this site with my friend
I love that it’s full coverage, since I do have adult acne. I do wish they had more color options. I think the buttercup would still be too dark on me.
Thank you for your swatches. I think Olive might be a nice match for me… Tan looks like it may be too dark.