Have you ever found yourself staring at the foundation displays at your local ulta or sephora - wondering which of the hundreds of shade selection is your perfect match - noting like getting shades lighter - leading to the dreaded ghostly face or shades darker - which is terrible on so many levels. All kinds of not good, so when I heard about the Sephora + Pantone color IQ - I was very interested. 

This is not a new thing - Its been around for 2 (maybe even 3 years), I finally got around to trying it out a several months ago and found it to be great. So, if you are struggling to find your perfect shade match - this is worth a trip to your local sephora, you dont have to purchase anything to get this service.

How it works. You go in, the amazing staff at sephora press the metal pad to you forehead, cheek and neck. A minute or two later, the machine populates a selection of foundations that match your shade. If you want o take it a step further - you can filter the results by finish, skin type etc until you get to your perfect match. You can also get your match results sent to your email so its handy for when you need it.

Does it really work ? Absolutely ! I have picked up teo foundations based on the recommedations of the color IQ and both are perfect matches.

Ok, so you only use drugstore foundation, so how does this really help you ? Knowing the variety of foundation that match your skin tone - you can use charts like this one here or here to figure out which drugstore foundation will work for you.

Tips for when you decide to try this out. I have had the shade IQ done twice and I have to say I got a the perfect shade match when I went in barefaced. If you have foundation on, don't fret - they can clean off the spot before placing the color IQ  pad on your skin.