With Make-Up Counters Still All Wrapped Up, Here’s How You Can Test For Your Foundation Shade Safely At Sephora  

The Charlotte Tilbury counter at Sephora at Ion Orchard all wrapped up in plastic — see only, no touch.

Sure, you can look at a lippie and try to imagine what the colour would look like on your skin, but it just isn't the same. And while beauty brands have come up with many creative and high-tech ways to test what make-up would look like on your face, such the Sephora Virtual Artist, which superimposes lipstick and eyeshadow colours on your face, there's nothing like swatching the actual make-up on your skin.

Pretty close to the real deal: Sephora Ion Orchard's in-store foundation matching service.

But since that's not possible, Sephora Singapore has come up with a safe and pretty near the real deal alternative to finding your foundation shade. First, a Beauty Advisor will pick three foundation shades that are suitable for your skin tone, then embark on a lengthy, super-safe process of disinfecting and swatching the three shades on a transparent testing sheet. She would wear gloves, disinfect the plastic sheet and the openings of the foundation testers, carefully swatch the colour on the sheet with sanitised new plastic spatulas, then hand you the plastic sheet to hold against your hand or face. You're not allowed to dab the foundation on yourself, even if it's taken from the clean plastic sheet. It's all about hygiene, people. At the end of it, she would advise you on your best shade, taking into account your preferences, and you walk away happy having 'tried' on the foundation, in the safest and most sanitised of ways.

Test the shades against your own skin — no, you can't swatch it on your skin, but hey, this way is less messy too, right?

You can also hold up the swatches against your face, without removing your mask, of course, and have the Beauty Advisor take a look and advise you on your perfect shade.

Wonder if they do the same for lipsticks? But guess your foundation colour would be the most personal and thus deserving of such care. And if you still prefer doing it all from the comfort and safety of home, there's always Sephora's in-app Find Your Shade feature. There's also the new Text & Collect feature at Sephora Ion Orchard, where you can text your order and just pick up your purchases, sans queue or browsing.

Until Phase 3, everyone!

More info at Sephora.sg.