Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in 010 Light Porcelain

Drugstore Foundation for Fair Skin | Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in 010 Light Porcelain

Foundation for Pale Skin | Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in Light Porcelain

review of Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation for pale skin with pink undertones

selection of foundations for pale skin

I’ve been intending to write a review of Rimmel’s Match Perfection Foundation for ages now, and I’ve mentioned it so many times in the meantime, I was starting to wonder if I even needed to bother. For those of you just joining me on my never-ending quest for foundation for pale skin with pink undertones, however, this foundation was actually supposed to be strictly an emergency purchase.

Before buying this, I’d experimented with Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation and NARS Sheer Matte Foundation, both of which I’d pretty much hated. My fallback bottle of MAC Studio Fix NW10 has almost run dry (I kept hold of the last dregs for comparison purposes, but there’s not enough left to actually use), and I couldn’t really justify yet another expensive mistake, so in desperation, I ordered a bottle of Rimmel Match Perfection, which had been recommended by a couple of readers.

THE COLOUR…

This foundation comes in 10 different colours: I, naturally, went for the palest shade available, which is 010 Light Porcelain. (One of the benefits of having pale skin is that you rarely have to wonder which shade of foundation to buy: it’s almost always going to be the very lightest one!) In the bottle, and on my hand, it actually looked darker than I was expecting, but once on my face, I found it to be an almost perfect match – and I hardly ever get to say that! This has definite pinkish undertones, which is a Godsend for me: I tend to find that most foundations made for pale skin concentrate on the yellow undertones, which just make me look ghostly. This is a much closer match to my natural skin colour, and probably the best drugstore match I’ve found. Yay!

Here are some swatches:

Rimmel Mtch Perfection Foundation in Light Porcelain

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation Swatch - Light Porcelain

I think these photos make both the foundation and my hand look darker than in real life, but I’m too freaked out by that extreme close-up of my hand to look into that too closely, so here’s a comparison with some of the usual suspects from my foundation stash:

Foundation for Pale Skin - comparison swatches

From L-R: MAC Studio Fix in NW10, Illamasqua Skin Base in 02, NARS Sheer Matte in Siberia, Rimmel Match Perfection in 010 Light Porcelain. Let’s all just take a moment to bid a fond farewell to my old friend, MAC Studio Fix, which retired from active duty after these photos were taken. Gone, but not forgotten…

As you can hopefully see, this is darker than the Illamasqua, and pinker than the NARS foundation. (In fact, it’s pinker than all of them, which is a good thing for me, but obviously not so much for those of you with yellow undertones…) I’m not sure how well the photo picks this up, but I’d say it’s a little lighter than the MAC, making it just about perfect for me.

THE COVERAGE…

When I’d first heard about this, I’d been reluctant to try it, purely because it offers medium coverage, as opposed to the full, matte coverage I prefer. Well, it’s definitely not as thick or as matte as the other foundations on this page, and the consistency is also a bit runny, which is really my only criticism of it. While my preference is for full coverage, however, I haven’t found this lighter base to be too much of an issue, and actually think it’s more flattering on my skin – it’s a little more natural, and doesn’t settle into the cracks like some foundations can. Yes, Illamasqua, I’m lookin’ at YOU…

As it has a non-matte finish, I do need to use powder with this on my oily t-zone, but overall I’ve been surprised by how much I like it. It creates a lovely, smooth finish, and is really easy to apply and blend. Somewhat unusually for me, I’ve actually found it applies best with my fingers, but it applies easily with a brush, too, and has pretty good staying power. In fact, having bought it with the intentions of using it as an emergency stopgap, until I got round to buying something “better”, it’s become my everyday foundation, and I’ll definitely be re-purchasing it when it runs out. I’ll still keep testing other brands, of course – I don’t think I’ll ever give up on the idea that there might be something EVEN BETTER out there – but I suspect this is a product I’ll always want to keep in my makeup bag. Not bad for a £7 foundation, huh?

Oh, and one final point in its favour: it’s SPF 18. Now that’s REALLY a Godsend for us pale-skinned peeps.

THE CLOSE-UP…

OK, “close-up” is the wrong word(s) here, because I’m honestly not that brave, but here’s a photo of my giant face, to show you what it looks like on:

pale skin and red hairYou’re welcome.

Related: The Best Foundation for Pale Skin | Tips for people with fair skin

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COMMENTS
  • Interesting to read this… I’m also a red head with pale skin and I’m currently loving Boots No7 foundation in Calico, which was colour-matched to my skin with their zappy gizmo. Like you, I prefer full coverage with a matt finish, so I use their Stay Perfect all over my face and then dab on the Beautifully Matte on shine-prone areas and to cover any blemishes. The Matte on its own all over my face felt just a bit too ‘claggy’ and heavy, hence using the two together. It wears really well during the day and is SPF 15.

    September 27, 2014
  • I bought this foundation months ago and I think I wore it once, then ran back to the safety of BB creams. Might give this another go seeing as my skin has turned into a raging monster lately, giving me more spots and scars than I had in my teen years. I swear – since I stopped smoking, everything seems to have gone down hill.

    Your hair is <3!

    Corinne x

    September 27, 2014
    • Rachel

      REPLY

      I use it daily because of my acne. I will say it doesn’t cover all of it, some get hidden quite well, some need a vast amount of concealer. However I have found it doesn’t exacerbate the problem and the coverage is ok for me as I don’t like feeling I have a lot of make up on my skin.

      September 30, 2014
    • Beccie

      REPLY

      Hello 🙂 I use this foundation every day and love it but I do find it a bit heavy for me and I really want to try a bb cream but every one I search looks far too dark for me! Any recommendations??

      August 13, 2016
      • Beccie

        REPLY

        Swatch* not search

        August 13, 2016
  • Finding a foundation to suit fair skin with cool undertones is such a pain, I have resorted to purchasing the MAC Face and Body White foundation to lighten any foundation I buy. I am currently using NARS Sheer Glow in Mont Blanc light 2, it isn’t a light as Siberia but definable has the cool undertones, so when mixed with the light base it works 🙂

    http://beccahillblogs.blogspot.com.au/

    September 27, 2014
  • I love the Match Perfection foundation its one of my all time favourites x

    September 27, 2014
  • Interesting. My go to is always a Revlon foundation in Ivory. Oh the problems of pale girls.

    September 27, 2014
  • I have brown hair and a very pale, pink undertoned skin and have to fight with counter staff to get the right foundation. Yellow foundations make me look really odd, whilst pink ones make me look healthy. I bought the new Estée Lauder one today and it isn’t really full coverage it does look good although I nearly walked away as the woman didn’t want me to try on the right shade, she was insisting I needed one about 4 shades darker and very defiantly yellow. There are some advantages to being 45 as I can now stand up for myself and tell them very politely that I know my skin and what it needs!

    September 27, 2014
  • Yes! I love this foundation, I am pale and pink too and it’s just perfect, but I also second the suggestion above about Revlon, that’s what I used before Rimmel brought out this paler shade 🙂
    Love your blog! (And your hair)
    x

    September 27, 2014
  • Hollie

    REPLY

    This has been my go to for months! At the time it was only foundation Rimmel offered in 010 light porcelain but they now offer it in all their foundations. The undertone of this shade in Wake Me Up is more yellow though. I’ve got to try the Lasting Finish and Lasting Finish Nude in this shade now! Rimmel really have hit the nail on the head for pale highstreet foundations.

    September 27, 2014
  • These reviews are useful for me as someone who also buys the palest shade in a range – but deliberately goes for the yellow ones as the pink look hilariously awful on me! But I have to have a matte finish as my whole face is oily, so that really narrows my options 🙁

    September 28, 2014
  • Pink undertones also don’t work on me, they make my freckles look ashy, which just doesn’t work. Looks lovely on you though… I have literally never found a liquid foundation which works perfectly for me, there is always a degree of compromise somewhere.

    September 30, 2014
  • I have to search for this in my city. I really want to try it, from what I’m reading here, and I’ll be needing a new foundation soon!

    October 1, 2014
  • CHER

    REPLY

    If you like pale full coverage foundation you should try the Seventeen Stay Time foundation, it is amaaazing! only about £6, and it lasts all day. Another one I have been loving is the Lamcome teint idole ultra 24 hour foundation in 005, it is more expensive but has a lovely full coverage finish and last all day. I have been mixing the two together and I actually think I have discovered the perfect foundation, it covers all my freckles, lasts all day at work and is actually pale enough. Give them a try n see what you think!

    October 21, 2014
  • I love the foundation match perfection, I love it so much, It really improves the way it looks likes on my skin.

    June 20, 2015
  • I really like the rimmel match perfection ! It smells so nice and applies so nice on my skin. Definitelly one of my faves!

    August 10, 2015
  • Ah, the search for foundation for pale skin! Story of my life 🙁 I may not be Scottish like you, but I am part Russian and I seem to have inherited all the Russian genes of the family! I have pale rosy skin and most ivory foundations are too yellow for me. My favourites are Estee Lauder Pale Almond, MAC Studio Tech NC15 and L’Oreal True Match in C2 (Natural Ivory).

    P.S. This is my third comment so far today. I must be really enjoying reading your blog! 😀 Well done!

    October 26, 2015
  • Tamiraq

    REPLY

    most of my foundations that match my paleness have pink undertone, the only one that is very light and is yellow is siberia, and nars foundations aren’t great for me but it is matching my undertone … compromises ;_;

    November 12, 2015
  • Pamela

    REPLY

    Thank you for your time and insight. I am also pale, never tan and have been on a lifetime search for the perfect foundation (which I have yet to find 🙂 ~anyway, I have gone from super pricey to less, so I’m happy to try the Rimmell!

    August 9, 2017
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