If you’ve been reading this blog long enough you know that I have spent countless hours of time and money trying to find a perfect foundation shade for my hard to match skin tone (See Makeup Felony: Mismatched Foundation and In search of “The One”). I finally decided that it was best to try one final route: have my foundation custom blended. I searched online and came across GIELLA cosmetics, a makeup company founded in 2001 that custom blends cosmetics for the face, eyes, cheeks, lips, and nails. Everything is blended for you on the spot, so you can take home your brand new cosmetics to use right away. The company doesn’t only custom blend makeup, but also matches discontinued colors. In love with a lipstick shade that is no longer available in stores? Bring it to your nearest GIELLA location and they will recreate it.

The Process

I made an appointment with a GIELLA makeup artist in New York City a few months ago. I told her about my frustration of not being able to find a perfect match, and she explained that one of the problems with most foundations out on the market is that most of them have yellow undertones. Most people have blue undertones. She added some blue coloring into my foundation mix, as well as quartz mineral to aid in reducing the size of my pores. Three color mixes were made and tested across my jaw line. After we both agreed that the perfect match was created, the makeup artist painted it on one side of my face, and the result was amazing! I finally had a foundation that matched, felt lightweight, and gave just the right amount of coverage.

Next, we moved on to concealer. In order to make the concealer, the color base had to be melted. Once it was liquefied, my unique color formula was added and mixed. It was tested on me to make sure it perfectly matched, and then the liquid was poured into a small GIELLA container to harden into a creamy consistency.

The Result

I was very happy with my results, but when I used the foundation the next day, it no longer looked great on my skin. The color pigments separated, and no matter how much I mixed the foundation on the back of my hand, I couldn’t get the foundation to blend into one solid color. I emailed the makeup artist, who sweetly invited me to return for a do-over at no cost. At the dimly lit makeup counter, the newly mixed foundation looked perfect; but, once again, when I got home, it didn’t match. I  didn’t bother to send another e-mail, so the search for the perfect foundation continues….