Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation | Finding the Right Shade
I'm sure you're all aware that Rihanna came out with a makeup line - Fenty Beauty - and folks are losing their minds over the 40 shades of the Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation. As you saw in my First Impressions video, I bought shades 410 and 390 and ended up wearing shade 410. Since the shades dry down a little darker than they appear at first, over the course of the day, I thought that 410 was too dark. So then I became obsessive and went on a mission to find the perfect shade.After studying the images on the Fenty Beauty website like my life depended on it, I decided that shades 370 and 360 looked like good matches. On Sephora's website, there are swatches, but I think they're washed out and look much lighter than they really are. Luckily on Fenty Beauty, there's actually a model wearing each foundation shade so it's much easier to see what shade the foundation really is.So, once I had all my children the foundations that I thought would work, I decided to swatch them directly on my face to see what matched the best.Based on the face swatches, the second one from the bottom - 370 (warm) - seems to most closely match because it nearly disappears into my skin.I didn't stop with face swatches, though. I also wore each shade out in the real world to see how the foundation looked on my whole face. Here's how the different shades looked:
wearing Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation in shade 360:
Even though shade 360 looked a little too light on the face swatches, I really like how this one looks because of the neutral/olive undertones. Lots of foundations get either very orange or very red once they get to the darker shades, so it was nice to see that Fenty Beauty has a foundation with a neutral undertone. It's not the best match of the 4 shades that I have, but I'm going to keep this one to mix in with other foundations that are a little too warm. Normally I wouldn't keep multiple shades of the same foundation, but I LOVE how this one wears. It looks like skin and is super long-lasting.Full makeup details:
- Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation in 360
- Fenty Beauty Match Stix Matte Skinstick in Caramel (to conceal) set wth Make Up For Ever HD Powder
- Fenty Beauty Match Stix Matte Skinstick in Truffle (to contour)
- Fenty Beauty Match Stix Shimmer Skinstick in Rum (to highlight + on the eyes)
- Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter in Ginger Binge / Moscow Mule (Ginger Binge used as blush)
- Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer
- L'Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Waterproof Mascara
wearing Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation in shade 370:
Like I said above, I think shade 370 is the best match for me. It has a nice golden undertone and matches my neck (don't underestimate how important this is lol). I'll be keeping this one too.Full makeup details:
- Glossier Priming Moisturizer + Algenist Drop & Glow Luminizing Drops in Champagne (this is my go-to lately, as seen in this 5 Minute Makeup Tutorial)
- Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation in 370
- Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Instant Retouch Primer (under eyes only because I was trying to see if it helped keep the concealer from creasing. It somewhat helped.)
- Fenty Beauty Match Stix Matte Skinstick in Caramel (to conceal) set wth Make Up For Ever HD Powder
- Fenty Beauty Match Stix Matte Skinstick in Truffle (to contour)
- Fenty Beauty Match Stix Shimmer Skinstick in Rum (to highlight + on the eyes)
- Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter in Ginger Binge / Moscow Mule (Ginger Binge used as blush)
- Glossier Wowder in Deep/Dark (to set rest of my face)
- Urban Decay Vice Lipstick in Uptight
- L'Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Waterproof Mascara
wearing Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation in shade 390:
This one is way too orange! I wore this one day to church and when I went to the bathroom after service, I looked in the mirror and wanted to put a paper bag over my head. I looked like a damn oompa loompa. I couldn't believe how orange I looked, and cursed the lighting in my bathroom for tricking me into going outside looking so crazy.Full makeup details:
- Fenty Beauty Pro Filter Soft Matte Longwear Foundation in shade 390
- Fenty Beauty Match Stix Matte Skinstick in Latte (to conceal)
- Fenty Beauty Match Stix Matte Skinstick in Espresso (to contour) (from the Match Stix Trio in Deep 400)
- Fenty Beauty Match Stix Shimmer Skinstick in Rum (to highlight)
- Urban Decay Vice Lipstick in Heat
- Glossier Boy Brow in Clear
- L'Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Waterproof Mascara
wearing Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation in shade 410:
This is the foundation that I wore in the Fenty Beauty first impressions video, and even though it's a little too dark, 410 (cool) has the right undertones. I think this color is close to how I look when I've spent time in the sun, so it doesn't look bad but it's just a little too dark.Full makeup details (also in this post):
- Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation in shade 410.
- Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter in Ginger Binge / Moscow Mule
- Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer
- Fenty Beauty Match Stix Matte Skinstick in Espresso (to contour) (from the Match Stix Trio in Deep 400)
- Match Stix Shimmer Skinstick in Sinamon (from the Match Stix Trio in Deep 400)
- Match Stix Matte Skinstick in Latte
Here's a picture of me wearing the shades side by side, so you can compare the shades better:I also have swatches on my inner arm just as an additional reference :-)I hope this post is helpful! Bottom line is that I wouldn't have gone through the time and expense of testing out four shades of foundation if the formula weren't amazing. It's very natural and so long-lasting. Since the foundation dries down slightly darker than when you first apply it, I highly suggest getting a few samples from Sephora to test out before buying a shade.Once you get the right shade, you're good. If you have oily skin, this will be your BFF since it has a "soft matte" finish. If you have more normal skin (like me), make sure you use a nice moisturizer, facial oil, or moisturizing primer underneath to make sure your skin doesn't feel dry by the end of the day. If you have dry skin, you may want to skip this unless you're willing to spend extra time moisturizing and prepping your skin so that the foundation won't feel too dry.