Have you ever found yourself catching a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and thinking “hmmm I look a bit orange today”? I HAVE. Due to sheer laziness I have recently bought a couple of foundations that are not *quite* the right shade. I admit it, I can’t always be bothered to take a sample pot to Boots and test a foundation in natural light before just buying it. Ain’t nobody got time for that!
Given the money hoover (aka our wedding) is sucking the last breaths out of my bank balance, re-buying the foundations was just not an option. So, imagine my delight when I discovered The Body Shop’s Shade Adjusting Drops. Cue angels singing, a single beam of light shining on my head and doves fluttering from the very pages of my Google search. I had to have some.
The Body Shop makes two different kind of foundation shade adjustors: Lightening and Darkening drops. As you can imagine, the lightening drops make your foundation lighter and the darkening drops make them darker. Ahem.
How Do They Work?
It’s super easy. You pump your usual amount of foundation out onto your hand and grab the shade adjusting drops. The lid has a pipette attached, making it easy to dispense how much you need. It seems to me that one drop changes your foundation by about a half to a whole shade.
It might take you a little bit of playing with to work out exactly how much you need, but I use one large drop on my Bourjois foundation. I mix it all together on the back of my hand with my fingers and then apply with my fingers. For a better finish, I blend out with a brush.
One tip from me, I always shake the shade adjusting drops bottle before applying because the consistency is quite thick and a quick shake loosens it up just the right amount.
Lightening
The tone of the original foundation shade I bought is far too warm for me – I have cool skin with pink undertones and this foundation seems more suited for yellow undertones. Whilst the lightening drops don’t seem to affect the undertone of the foundation colour, they lighten it up enough for me to use the foundation normally.
I have quite oily skin and was worried that the adjusting drops would change the consistency of my foundation, but they didn’t. They work just as well with my Estee Lauder Double Wear as they do with my cheaper Bourjois go to. As a side note, I have been finding my Bourjois foundation has been making my skin oilier, even when I use powder over the top. So that might soon get retired!
Darkening
I wanted to lighten my foundation because I bought the wrong one, but given it’s now officially summer, you might want to darken your usual foundation to adapt it to your tanned skin. No one wants a pale face when the rest of their body is beautifully bronzed!
I haven’t tried the darkening drops because I am a pale English rose (ginger) and so I don’t tan. In fact, I go straight from white to lobster.
How to Buy
For just 10 of your English pounds, you can buy a bottle of whichever shade adjustor you need. Incredible value when you consider that you only use a drop at a time. Just think how long it would take to get through each bottle!
I did find the lightening drops difficult to get hold of in the UK – your best bet is to order them from the Body Shop website. I ended up buying mine in Australia because I wanted to pounce while there were loads in front of me!
I would highly recommend these if you’re having trouble finding the right foundation shade for you. Think of it as blending your own personalised colour!
Have you tried the Body Shop shade adjusting drops? What did you think?
♥ JH
This is a great review…I especially love your pretty pics! The only reason I have put off buying this and the darkening drops is because, as you said, they don’t change the undertone and most of the foundations that I have need warming up rather than lightening or darkening. xxx
Sal | UmmBaby Beauty
Really interested in buying these as i can never find a suitable foundation, one of my main concerns like you was it altering the consistency of the actual foundation but it’s good to hear that it doesn’t as i also use Estee Lauder! Great post!
Jess xo / http://www.jessicaann.co.uk
Yeah I was really worried the consistency would change but it doesn’t at all. Definitely try it – much cheaper than the Cover FX drops as well!
? JH
Ah this is such a great idea! I always have a foundation in the summer when my skin is darker that then doesn’t get used for 9 months, definitely picking this up 🙂
the Butter