Peaches and Olives

The secret to concealing and correcting hyperpigmentation without entering Ash City lies in colour correction and colour theory. Understanding colour theory is key to picking your shade easily and enjoying looking at foundation swatches like a true make-up junkie. In makeup, undertones matter much more than depth. I'll be sharing some notes on what colors I pick in base products and how I come to know if they're going to work for my skin. I have warm leaning skin (yellow undertones) with some olive (green undertones). So I love foundations that look yellow-green  on swatches- they look the most natural on me. I have hyperpigmentation around my eyes and mouth. If I apply my yellow-green foundation on these areas, they look straight-up grey. That's because these areas have increased cool tones that must first be corrected by the opposite color on the color wheel. Adding the opposite color will result in neutralisation. The opposite color may be needed in excess so that it not...

I've always been fascinated by the idea of achieving a flawless base. The prospect of finding the right formula, the right undertone and the right depth in makeup products enthralls me. My journey to base perfection has been hampered by the lack of clear information and resources on the internet about what might be best for my skin tone, which is what prompted me to start recording my experiences, so that it may serve as a resource for people close to my skin tone who are baffled by which foundation shade to pick. In this journey, I have learned quite a bit about my skin, what terms I should look for when picking products, and a little bit about application technique.  Knowing one's Mac foundation shade can make things much easier. I have never been matched to a Mac shade, but I have built an understanding of what my Mac shade must be over the years, and more details about my skin which I will be writing down here as a reference for readers. I'm not a huge fan of classifyin...

Nykaa's Matte-to-Last Madras Kaapi is a shade I was insanely excited to get my hands on. When I finally got it, I remember applying two or three swipes and feeling underwhelmed - it didn’t look like I was wearing lipstick at all. The written descriptions of the shade had me expecting a grungy brown shade which it definitely wasn’t. It was quite subtle and close to my natural lip color, and since it wasn’t exactly what I expected, I didn’t use it for a year. I tried it again the following year when I wanted a long-wearing lipstick, since all the others I had needed multiple reapplications throughout the day, and that is when I realised how stupid I’d been for not realising what a gem Madras Kaapi was and for letting it lay unused for a year. Its subtlety, the same quality that made me shun it, is what now makes it a versatile all-rounder and my favourite lipstick. Shade The shade is a lovely, proper cool-toned brown nude; there is almost no hint of other colours like reds and pinks....