NYC Skin Matching Foundation: New On Counter

Other brands have beaten it to the skin matching foundation punch - Revlon has Beyond Natural and No7 and L'Oreal Paris has rolled them out too - but has anyone done it as cheaply as NYC?

NYC Skin Matching Foundation comes in at a very acceptable €4.97 of your hard earned and claims to be able to adapt seamlessly to "your unique skin tone and texture, giving you a natural, flawless, radiant complexion."

In five shades, this sounds more like a base girls with normal-to-dry and possibly a little bit combination will get on with, rather than those of you with oily skin concerns.  My reasoning for that is that the brand say it's "enriched with moisturizers, minerals and vitamins A, C and E which will blend, perfectly, nourishing and hydrating your skin all day long."

While we haven't tried this yet, we can't yet say what it's like; whether it lives up to the claim, or who it's for. But as an aside, here's how I work out what foundation's aimed at which skintype.

Most brands will avoid being 100% explicit with skintype specifics when it comes to foundation, I've found - after all they want you to buy the products - so you need to do some edu-ma-cated guesswork. Here's some quick (and not infallible!) rules of thumb I use to help identify what's for what amongst the billions of press releases I get sent:

• If it says oil-free: it's for a more combo to sebum-prone skintype
• If it has a long-wear claim: it's generally designed for oilier skins so that it will stay put: dry skin often cracks and flakes with long-wear formulations, in my experience
• If it has anti-shine or matte finish claims; it's for those of you with oily T-zones or who suffer with shine, i.e. your skin tends towards oiliness
• If it has a lot of silicone - ditto above
• If it claims to be purifying or blemish-fighting, again, it's for spotty, oily, problem skin
• If it says it's dewy or glowy, go for it if you have normal-to-dry. This is a red light for oily gals, so avoid
• If it boasts about extra moisturisers or water complexes, chances are your normal-to-dry skin will like it
• If it says it's enriched with serum, antioxidants, essential oils or anything you'd normally associate with a skincare, then it's good for those with dry or ageing skin

Psst: NYC is a pharmacy brand, to find a stockist near you text NYC to 51500.