BEGINNERS GUIDE FOR M.A.C. SKIN SHADES

Hello Everyone!

Hope you all are doing good! As you people know that I am a makeup junkie. Back in my college days, I was very fond of M.A.C. products. When I started doing makeup, I used to save every penny from my pocket money to buy M.A.C. products because they were costly and I wasn't earning anything by my own. My first purchase from M.A.C. were 2 lipsticks. First being Ruby woo and second being Girl about town. They both are the best seller shades of the M.A.C.

But the real struggle comes in when I wanted to buy a foundation for myself and I was having no idea about my shade. Trust me, it wasn't an easy task for me and I wanted a perfect shade for myself (and who wouldn't want if they are spending around INR 2500 for a foundation).

I wasn't having any knowledge about the shades. What are NW or NC? (I was totally clueless) I had tons of questions going in my mind about NC and NW. I hadn't bought the foundation that day. Rather than buying I had done all the research about NW and NC and reached to a conclusion with some answers. I am not a M.A.C. expert infact I am a M.A.C. beginner myself but I am a Makeup research addict so, I did a whole lot of research on M.A.C. skin shades before buying my first foundation and it will be useful for you people who are just beginners and have no knowledge about the shades.

What are NC and NW basically?

NC stands for Neutral Cool

NW stands for Neutral Warm

These are shading system of M.A.C. for all the foundations and concealers.

Should I go for NW if i have warm undertone (yellow / Golden beige skin) and NC if I have cool undertone (pinkish beige skin)?

No, It is actually opposite. If you have Pinkish beige skin, you should go for NW to neutralise them and NC is meant for warm undertone (yellow/ golden beige skin) to neutralise them.

How do I know if I am a M.A.C. NC or NW?

The easiest way to check that is to check the veins of your forearms if they appear greenish you are likely to have warm undertone and you would need a NC shade. If they appear blueish you are likely to have a cool skin and you would need a NW shade. If you are not able to judge which tone you are having just go to the M.A.C. MUA and ask about their opinion.

If I am using NC in a Foundation, I will go for NC in a concealer also?

It is not necessary. It totally depends upon the darkness of your dark circles and dark spots. 

Example:- If you have reddish dark circles then even having NC in foundation you would have to choose NW in concealer to neutralise the look. A lot of people get confused because they blindly purchase the same shade of concealer as of foundation and then feel like it is not working for them.

Is NC - 30 equal to NW - 30?

No, NC- 30 is very different from NW-30. The colours that form the base of every foundation differ and cannot strictly be compared though you may find approximate match.

and  yes never ever swatch the foundation on your forearm to select the shade for your face. Your face's skin tone is very different from your forearm's skin tone. Better try the foundation on your entire face (take the help of MUA) to know the exact shade .

I hope I am able to help you with your M.A.C. shade guide.

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