MAC make-up query

[orchid11]

Hi,

Just curious as to what the difference is between nc and nw foundation shades. I have been told by the girls at my local counter I'm an nc shade but recently one said I was nw so bit confused! Is it warm and cool shades? The nw one I bought recently seems a bit pink and not sure I like it...love the foundation though!

Many thanks x

 

[MissLease]

W stands for warm and C stands for cool, so if your complexions more pink you would be warm, and if your more yellow then you would be cool.

 

[salj]

W stands for warm and C stands for cool, so if your complexions more pink you would be warm, and if your more yellow then you would be cool.

This. It never made sense to me though how mac do it. I'd have said yellow based was warm! But there you go

Sent from my GT-I9195 using SalonGeek mobile app

 

[glam8babe]

NC - warmer, yellow tones with green undertones (veins)
NW - cooler, pink tones with blue undertones

 

[Andrea85]

It stands for Neutral Warm and Neutral Cool. But, as Salj said, they do it the wrong way around. Mac cool means yellow/olive/golden undertones and warm means red/pink undertones.

 

[noreenoconnor]

agree with everything said above

I have always found the mac foundations a bit too yellow and a bit too pink but as a makeup artist this tends to suit me as i can always mix them together to create a more neutral shade. Then if i do come across a skin tone that is very yellow or pink i'm still prepared for them too

If you always wear that foundation it may make sense to get both a NW and NC shade for yourself and mix to get your perfect match. I know your initial outlay will be double but it will last you for twice as long and you will get a better match.

I find the paler i am the more pink is in my skin, and if i have a tan the more yellow it is. So it is also possible that the undertone of your skin has changed slightly

It's also possible the the lighting in the store is absolutely rubbish (as it is in most stores) and you've just been badly matched lol

Foundation is such a tricky thing to match and your skin colour is constantly changing

 

[Andrea85]

agree with everything said above

I have always found the mac foundations a bit too yellow and a bit too pink but as a makeup artist this tends to suit me as i can always mix them together to create a more neutral shade. Then if i do come across a skin tone that is very yellow or pink i'm still prepared for them too

If you always wear that foundation it may make sense to get both a NW and NC shade for yourself and mix to get your perfect match. I know your initial outlay will be double but it will last you for twice as long and you will get a better match.

I find the paler i am the more pink is in my skin, and if i have a tan the more yellow it is. So it is also possible that the undertone of your skin has changed slightly

It's also possible the the lighting in the store is absolutely rubbish (as it is in most stores) and you've just been badly matched lol

Foundation is such a tricky thing to match and your skin colour is constantly changing

Their Matchmaster foundation is neutral, so just numbered 1.00, 2.00 etc and I find it a lot more wearable on its own as I agree that the others can be either too pink or too yellow. I often wear it as my everyday foundation for work and I have a few in my kit, too. Very natural looking shades.

I agree that in store lighting, especially if you are matched in a department store rather than a stand alone store, can be terrible and means people often come away with the wrong shade.

 

[salj]

also if you're anything like me, I get really hot in those stores! I was matched as an NW years ago but I'm an NC for sure. I think I was just hot that day and looking a bit red! haha

 

[SianyLou]

I'm a make up artist and worked for MAC for 2 years in the beginning of my career.

I can clarify:

NC means normal to cool
Here you will see cooler, yellow, olive and golden colours to the skin
NW means normal to warm
Here you will see a heat to the skin or pinks, rosy cheeks etc.

Andrea85 is right in saying their Matchmaster foundation has no undertone, it finds your own personal undertone by using their translucent pigments technology, you can only tell what the colour will be after 5-10 mins on the skin.

Downside Matchmaster is only really suited to an oiler skin with medium coverage - looks beautiful on deeper skin tones which generally tend to be more oily!

If you can't decide between NC/NW best advice would be to get both and mix - I do generally find people with a slight yellow to the skin might not always be as yellow as how they pigment their colours.

They also now do C which I have found works for a lot of people - this is a more peachy olive colour!

Hope this helps