About These New Neutrogena Deeper Foundation Shades…

Neutrogena known to many of us for their extensive skincare line (and if you’ve ever dealt with uneven skin tone, I’m sure at some point you’ve tried or at least heard of their Visibly Even line) but when it comes to makeup, most of us know them for having a VERY small line of foundations, none of which compare to the vast shade range of brands like Cover FX, Make Up Forever, BECCA, etc. But it’s understandable *sometimes* that some brands may not have the vast shade range as others based on whatever reasons (marketing, demographics, research & development, etc.)

I’ve talked about being even more conscious about brands I support as there are some that almost never include women of color in their marketing—down to their social media accounts. And that’s including brands that DO have foundation shades for women of color. I’m not going out of my way to support a brand and influence sales if they can’t be bothered to include women who look like me in their marketing and social. But as I mentioned in my post, it’s not all cut and dry for me. I don’t automatically rule out supporting a brand just because they don’t offer deeper foundation shades and I’m also not all open arms with a brand just because they do. SO MUCH goes into how I feel about a brand overall that it’s not easy for me to have a quick and dirty list of brands I like and brands I don’t like.

That said, though I am a bit disappointed in the new shade extensions (that there are so few of the new shades, not the shades themselves), it hasn’t affected my overall perception of Neutrogena which for years has been favorable. Neutrogena Creative Consultant Kerry Washington and her makeup artist Carola Gonzalez helped to develop the four new shades (three in the Nourishing Long Wear). I’m sure a lot went into the creation of these shades including marketing and demographics, etc, etc. that many of us won’t get because we’re not all owners of large beauty companies (hey, even I get people who don’t run a blog telling me how I should run my own), but I’m still like “meh” on these shades. On one hand I’m happy that there are more shades in the “deeper” spectrum—on the other hand I’m like “wait. dassit?”

I asked the brand’s PR if they were working on including even more shades and was told it’s part of the brand’s long term vision to have shades that work across all ethnicities. There’s no timing available yet on this.

…All of that said, let’s get into the shades and foundations…

(all foundations were sent to me by the brand’s PR for review consideration)

I also have to say these photograph darker in pictures than they appear in person—even the ones I photographed though I tried my best to edit it so it looks more like it does in person. Neutrogena invited me to a recent launch event for the shade extensions to meet Kerry Washington and her makeup artist (I had a bunch of appointments scheduled that day so I missed it and her *cries dramatically*) but Felicia was there and snapped pictures that we posted on our Face Flawless Skin Instagram (here and here). I swore the shades were deeper until I got them and saw them in person.

Neutrogena SkinClearing Oil-Free Makeup

Official description:

Neutrogena SkinClearing® oil-free makeup is the first and only liquid foundation formulated with MicroClear® technology to not only treat blemishes, but to also help prevent emerging breakouts. MicroClear® technology boosts the power of salicylic acid by breaking through oil and unclogging pores for fast acne relief.

Its shine-free, natural coverage lets skin breathe and won’t clog pores.

Now available in 14 beautifully matched shades designed to work across all ethnicities & skin tones. In fact, in a consumer test 100% of women found their perfect match.

I really like that there’s an option for those with blemish-prone skin. I’m currently in a little adult acne phase and products with a lower dosage of salicylic acid (this foundation contains 0.5%) definitely interest me (aside from spot treatments—that I prefer 10% but we can get into that in a future adult acne post I’m working on).

Chestnut was the closest shade match for me though it wasn’t a good match. Because the undertones were off for me and the shade was a bit too light, it came off a bit grey-ish on me. As it wore on it looked a little less bad, but still not a great match.

The formula is long-lasting, covered my dark spots without me needing extra concealer, and had it been a better shade match, I’d be all on it for when I want a more natural finish with light to medium coverage.

(these are my own shade descriptions)
Shade 85 Honey: tan with yellow undertones
Shade 105 Caramel: (I don’t have this shade)
Cocoa 115: light brown with neutral undertones
Chestnut 135: chocolate brown with pinky undertones

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Liquid Makeup SPF 20:

Official description:

Neutrogena Healthy Skin® liquid makeup takes over where your skin care leaves off. Silky-light coverage glides on for a perfectly natural look, while the exclusive blend plus Broad Spectrum SPF 20 work together to visibly improve skin’s luminosity, tone, and texture.

Now available in 14 beautifully matched shades designed to work across all ethnicities & skin tones. In fact, in a consumer test 100% of women found their perfect match.

Chestnut was the closest to my shade, but again it wasn’t the best match—the undertones were off for me and the shade was a little too light. I liked the coverage (light to medium) as it was enough to even out skin and cover my dark spots while still allowing my skin to look like skin.

(these are my own shade descriptions)
Shade 85 Honey: tan with yellow undertones
Shade 105 Caramel: dark tan with pinky undertones
Cocoa 115: light brown with neutral undertones
Chestnut 135: chocolate brown with pinky undertones

Neutrogena Nourishing Long Wear Makeup SPF 20:

Official description:

New Neutrogena® Nourishing Long Wear Makeup gives you smooth, even, long-lasting coverage as it works to actually improve skin’s natural tone. The 12 hour long wear makeup instantly erases the look of skin imperfections as it provides natural-looking coverage. It has a Tone Correcting Complex—an exclusive blend of nourishing antioxidants, soy, Vitamins A, C, E, and light diffusing powders—and is clinically proven to provide skin tone and texture improvements in 4 short weeks. Beautiful day one, with even more beautiful results to follow.

The Chestnut shade in this range matched my skin better in this formula as it oxidized after a few hours, but it still wasn’t a great match. The coverage on this is fuller than the other two formulas but you still get a finish that allows your skin to shine through (well not oil shine—you know what I mean…lol). I could use this and even out my skin tone including dark spots without needing to use concealer for extra coverage. I’d love this foundation as well had it been a better match for my skin.

Jackie Aina did a video review on this and it looks amazing on her (I’m not trying to play myself and have photos of me with a very wrong foundation shade floating around on the internet…lol)—check it out here.

(these are my own shade descriptions)
Shade 85 Honey: tan with yellow undertones
Cocoa 115: this looks slightly darker than the Cocoa in the SkinClearing foundation but they may be because of water content–happens often with different foundation formulas in the same brand
Chestnut 135: chocolate brown with pinky undertones

For reference, Kerry Washington’s shade is Cocoa.

NOTE: There are brands that don’t have a much for my skintone even though they make lots of foundation shades for women of color. But my criticism of these new Neutrogena deeper shades isn’t that they don’t match ME, it’s a very scarce range.

Bottom line: These are AWESOME foundations. They can even compete with similar formulas found at department stores that are greater in price. I’m happy for the shade extensions, but we need more shades. Neutrogena isn’t the type of brand to have a 25+ shade range—even their original foundation range was pretty edited—but I would love at least two more shades in the deeper spectrum (one in between Cocoa and Chestnut and one deeper than Chestnut). I’d imagine there could be room for more shades and undertone options for those with very fair skin who also get left out often with foundation.

But obviously if the new Neutrogena deeper foundation shades are a good match for you, and the formulas and coverage speak to your soul, have at it!

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What do you think of the new Neutrogena deeper foundation shades? What are your thoughts on brands who traditionally had a very small shade range now offering shades for women of color?