Shop for MAC 'NC43' Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation. Get free delivery On EVERYTHING. at Overstock - Your Online Beauty Products Shop! Get 5% in rewards with Club O! Choosing a foundation can be really daunting, but it's a key part to our makeup and can make or break a flawless face so it's important to get it right. Many clients ask me about the labelling of MAC foundations as they don't understand what NC and NW means and how to colour match themselves. In colour theory, we're taught that cool.
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Finding the right foundation shade is always a struggle, especially for brown skin girls! Even after fifteen years, I'm still struggling and it usually takes me hours at Sephora. There have been plenty of times where I came home with a foundation shade that was way too light or the colour looked weird on my skin tone. I'm a Mac NC42 going to an NC44 during summer. I've tried all the foundations in the list myself. Here are all my Mac NC42 foundation dupes! From drugstore to high-end.
Before we're moving on to the list, a quick disclaimer. Finding the perfect foundation match will be different for everybody. Nobody's skin tone is exactly the same. When trying out a new foundation, I advise testing the colour in store to be sure. Especially when it comes to expensive high-end foundations.
*Updated July 2020
Mac Cosmetics NC42/ NC44 foundation dupes
L'oreal True Match – #W6.5 / #W7
Maybelline Fit Me – #320 / #330
Estee Lauder Double Wear – #4N1 / #4N2
Milani Conceal & Perfect Foundation – #7 / #08A
Fenty Pro Filt'r Foundation – #300 / #330
Makeup For Ever HD Foundation – #Y415 / #Y405
L.A. Girl HD Pro Coverage Foundation – Tan / Soft honey
L'oreal Infallible – #320 / #330
Go-to foundation
Lately, my go-to foundation is the Milani Conceal & Perfect foundation in shade 7 or 08A. This foundation is super affordable, has a great staying power, a nice consistency and it looks good on my combination skin. I mix this foundation with a little bit of Revlon Photoready Skinlights in Bronze Light during summer to get a better match. A little goes a long way when using this foundation. This combination is perfect for everyday use and it's so affordable. Milani Cosmetics is definitely one of my favourite drugstore brands.
High-end foundations
For special occasions, I'm using my Make Up For Ever HD Foundation in Y415. During winter I mix it with a little strobing cream in Peachlite from Mac or the L.A. Girl Pro Coverage Foundation (check out my review here) in Soft Honey when I'm not that tan. For summer this shade is a great match. I tested it during a hot summer day and I love how it looks on my skin. Even after a few hours and after sweating it still looks beautiful.
Matte foundations
Mac Nc42 Foundation Matches
During summer I sometimes reach more for my matte foundations like the Maybelline Fit Me (great affordable drugstore foundation!) or the Fenty Pro Filt'r foundation. In summer my combination skin gets a little more oily. Therefore I prefer to wear a more matte foundation to prevent my foundation from sweating off my skin immediately. I find the Fenty Pro Filt'r foundation too be a little difficult when it comes to the perfect shade and the foundation is a little too dry for my skin. So I end up mixing it with a tiny bit of strobing cream. The shades do change colour after applying, but the coverage is good.
Dewy foundations
For winter my skin definitely needs a foundation that is more moisturising. I always use a rich moisturiser underneath it, like the Elizabeth Arden Visible Cream. The foundations that I love for winter are the Make Up Forever HD foundation, the L'oreal True Match (less staying power but affordable) or the Mac Cosmetics Fix Fluid. Sublime text mac.
NC42 foundation dupes
To look for other foundation shade dupes, you can check out www.findation.com. This website is a huge help when looking for a comparable shade in another brand. You just fill in the brands and shades you are currently using and you'll get a complete list of other brands that are comparable! Sims 3 mac compatibility.
I hope this Mac Cosmetics NC42 /NC44 foundation dupe list will be helpful when buying the right shade. Any other shades that should be added to the list? Please let me know in the comments below!
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Choosing a foundation can be really daunting, but it's a key part to our makeup and can make or break a flawless face so it's important to get it right. Many clients ask me about the labelling of MAC foundations as they don't understand what NC and NW means and how to colour match themselves.
In colour theory, we're taught that cool undertones are reds, pinks and blues and that warm undertones are yellow, peaches and golds. However, in MAC labelling, the undertones are the opposite.
NC: Neutral Cool – golden beige undertones.
NW: Neutral Warm – red, pink or blue undertones.
N: Neutral – beige undertones.
C: Cool – Yellow, golden or olive undertones
So a person with yellow, peach or golden undertones would be suited well to an NC foundation whereas a person with red, pink or blue undertones would be better suited to an NW foundation. A person with a beige undertone would be perfectly suited to an N foundation.
You might have heard that some ladies use an NC foundation but have been given an NW concealer, this is because the pink undertone of an NW concealer helps to cancel out dark green under eye circles. For blue tinged under eye circles, you could cancel them out with an NC concealer.
My client Nina has warm undertones (reds in MAC terms) with cool under eye circles (yellow). I used MAC Studio Fix in NC20 over her face to even out and correct the redness and NW10 concealer to correct the dark circles
The number that follows each NC, NW, N or C is simply the colour of each foundation. Sharon, from Sharonthemakeupartist.com explains this perfectly:
'…there are some odd numbers peppered along the way in some of the foundations. For example there is an NC27 or an NW18 in Studio Fix Fluid . These colours don't have quite as strong an undertone as those that end in 5 or 0. These odd numbers have more of a neutral undertone. So an NC27 is not as yellow as an NC25 but it is a little bit darker.
Conversely there are also plain C's and plain N's. These have a stronger yellow or pink undertone than their NC/NW counterparts. Very few of the foundations in the range now have these strong undertones, it's mostly the old school formulas like Face and Body, or Studio Fix Powder.'
Mac Nc30 Foundation Comparison Chart
The shade I wear myself is NC15 – this is much more flattering to my skin tone and helps to cancel out any unwanted redness over my cheek area. This is my personal preference too and I find that the NC blends seamlessly into my skin. I find that with the majority of my clients, an NC foundation always looks better and evens the skin tone beautifully.
Mac Nc42 Equivalent
The most important thing is to make sure that your foundation matches with your chest and looks natural. If you are still struggling, don't be afraid to ask a counter makeup artist for advice and a colour match. Makeup is all about having fun so there is no wrong or right way to wear your foundation, as long as you have a good match and avoid the dreaded ‘tideline' around the neck, you're good to go!
© This post is copyright of Rachael Divers 2015.
