

Pop onto their website, take three pictures of your face, answer a few questions about your personal preferences and they’ll come up with a code that’s completely unique to you. They’ve developed technology that creates your perfect formula – one that’s the ideal coverage, texture, finish and shade that matches your skin tone. They want to help you find your *exact* match. The people behind Dcypher don’t think that any of the shades on the beauty shelves are good enough. If for any reason your quiz match isn’t accurate, however (it claims to be 96% accurate, so someone has to fall into that 4%), you have 60 days to return your foundation for an exchange or refund, or 30 if you skipped the quiz.

Marie Claire’s Senior Beauty Editor Katie took the test and was amazed by how perfect the formulation and shade was. It asks you 20 questions – everything from what jewellery you wear to what your skin worries are – and at the end it emails you their recommendation. The Il Makiage Power Match foundation quiz is remarkably accurate.

For example, if you know your which shade you use in Estée Lauder Double-Wear, £35 and Nars Sheer Glow Foundation, £35, then it will recommend which shade of bareMinerals Original Foundation, £29, you should go for. į is a website that compares hundreds of different shades from all of your favourite brands to help you find the best colour for you. The best thing to do when buying a new foundation is to pop into store and test the shades out, but as our life shifts to be more and more digital, there are several smart and techy ways that you can now buy your base online. Then come summer, when it’s warmer and your skin tone has also got a little deeper, have a darker shade with a more lightweight texture on standby. A richer formula in a lighter shade would probably suit you better in winter. Our skin changes throughout the year, as do our individual priorities, so consider buying two base products to keep in your kit. We also recommend looking beyond just the one foundation.
