Last week I told you all about getting a Custom Blend lipgloss at the Prescriptives counter in Brown Thomas. Well, that's not all they'll tailor for you - in fact you can have foundation, concealer and tinted moisturiser made especially for your skin tone and type, too.
Lots of you were agog and wanted to know more about the foundation service, so here, a couple of days late, is my verdict.
If you've ever struggled with getting your base shade right - and lets face it, that's most of us - then I would totally advise you to consider Prescriptives. Coverage, shade, finish and specific needs, like oil control, can all be accommodated.
You will need to make an appointment, yes, and one commenter asked, "will they do it then and there?", to which the answer is also yes. You'll be given a stool to sit on - and do note, this will take place on the beauty floor, so if you're shy, this isn't for you. The process begins with colourprinting of the skin, using special diagnostic pens containing what appears to be concealer in stick-form, which help the consultant decide a few things about your skin - the base shade and whether you have a cool or warm tone, for example.
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You're asked what sort of coverage you'd like - I plumped for medium, with a semi-matte finish. I also asked for extra moisturiser and a luminizing finish. None of this was a problem - it was all mixed carefully by hand, and adjusted to get a precise match. It's fascinating to watch blue pigment being squirted into the mixing bottle, and see the ivory foundation that comes out - but that's the beauty of the service. If you'd a sallow undertone, they'd use yellow pigments, but my celtic skin has a very definite blue cast to it. This means the service is also excellent for darker skintones, who aren't that well accommodated by most beauty brands.
All the specifics are recorded on an index card, and filed away. That's your personal prescription, and is kept for you when you need to top up. You can phone for a refill the next time if time is tight, and then head in-store to pay and pick it up. Your foundation will also come with a small travel size, which is really handy for carting around in your day-to-day makeup bag.
At €70, I know it seems steep. But I finally have a foundation that's my colour. No matter how many brands I tried, I've never ever been able to match my skin tone precisely - I'd get close, sure, but I was always conscious that I'd have to be careful about application so that there were no tide marks.
Not any more. My personal, bespoke Custom Blend is just so me.
