MAC NC/NW Foundations - Are They Cool Or Warm?

There's a lot of confusion around the undertones of MAC's NC and NW foundations. I put them to the test!

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Thank you for watching and happy styling!

Sarah

[Rebecca-zjwq]

The pneumonic i was given was NC is for not cool, and NW is for not warm.

[shelleyschultz]

My colour analysis confirmed I’m a cool winter, yet every retail salesperson matches me with a warm foundation and I get exactly the same result as you demonstrated. Thank you for showing me I’m not crazy 😊

[sj]

MAC was formed in late 1980’s and was wildly popular by the mid 90’s. MAC used the coding C = Yellow, N = Neutral W = Pink. This was instead of foundation names which was the industry standard. Yes, it is “opposite” but it’s hard to judge them for that 30 years later. They were also the first to have a huge color range. People who could never find a color match finally had one. Because of this, long time customers know their shade and do not want it changed.

[Kween.Eileen]

I'm so glad i found this video! I was trying to find my shade online for Mac's studio fix powder foundation, but the shade names and descriptions/pictures had me so befuddled! Thank you! 💜

[Lojo]

This was a great demonstration. The NC definitely looked yellow and the NW looked perfectly blended.

[georgiaclapham]

Sarah, I love your videos! I have often thought about this very thing. I use MAC NW20 and it is a perfect match for my skin, which is very like yours. (I have an Irish background) I have natural ash blonde hair, blue eyes with some grey and cool green and have always gravitated towards cooler colors and black, which I think suit me very well. Years ago, living in Japan, I had my "colors done". The consultant typed me as a Spring and gave me a swatch that included yellows, peaches, golds, and tans, all of which I thought washed me out. I decided to use my own eyes and that has worked for me. I really appreciate your advice, it makes so much sense!

[bluemoon]

You did a very good job of explaining a very complicated spin that Mac have on their makeup ...really enjoyed it .

[reenacolborne]

Thank you So very much.
I m now so sure of what I can settle for
Yellow undertone
Bless you🤗👍💐
NC 20. Bless you🤗💗

[judithhartley]

Thank you so much for this. Your face echoed my struggle with foundation. I never get it right. Always end up yellow or ginger even when I ask the assistant. They always say my face needs warming up when I look like you!

[kitty_s]

Thanks for the vid! Very useful to see the NC & NW foundations against the gold vs silver background. I formerly used a more neutral tone face powder (I don't use foundation). The lightness/ darkness was right, but it looked too pink on me. Since learning about color analysis (and discovering that I'm an autumn), I switched to a warm tone face powder (Maybelline) and it looks more harmonious. Cheers! (btw the cool/ mint green top looks great on you - you're so pretty!) 👍🏼💐🥂

[musicalmeg]

This was so helpful! Thank you! It seems like a lot of foundations do not go by cool vs warm as we know them.

[Dwynfal]

I love the way you swatched these against gold and silver Sarah.
I'm definitely going to do the same on future purchases, especially with lipstick! I'm currently looking for a good red but I'm struggling and mistakes can be so expensive!
I wish I had a friend with a similar skin tone but a warm undertone (I'm cool) so we could swap our "mistakes" 😂

[mariacorretge]

Yes! I also find the warm/rosy thing confusing. Also golden undertone is definitely warm. I honestly think they made a mistake.

[FJ-noir]

Hi Sarah that blue your wearing really suits you. I have done colour analysis on myself and know I'm a Spring warm. Would you say chocolate brown could still be in the spring colour pallette??

[Spikypotato.]

Woow😳😳 why on earth do they do this….👀 Great video as always! What are tour best colourmatches for foundation?

[LadyBug]

This video has been very helpful as I was just about to buy Mac foundation.

[serendipity]

I was first color matched at a MAC counter in Atlanta in the 90s and to this day it’s still the best matching foundation I’ve ever had. What I thought was wonderful was I could go to a different MAC counter in a different city ( I used to travel a lot for work) and almost every time they knew my match by looking at me. There formulas have changed so much I haven’t had a foundation I like there in years but no other counter or numerous times at Sephora, has matched me as well or even well since.

[modgirl]

Your descriptions help me so much~~~ that the wrong undertone feels like it’s sitting on your face, or a mask. I’ve always had problems getting the right foundation match. A make up artist told me that my undertone is almost olive. But then put too dark of “neutral warm” colors on me. Another told me “peaches & cream”. Yellowish concealers is usually what I’d use

[gandrea]

Maybe I need to try MAC. I am a Winter with cool undertones, however I carry a strong yellow/golden surface tone when I have a tan (which is more than half of the year). Cool makeups sit on top of my skin and are too pink or they make me look gray. Perhaps MAC works well with those of us who are "olive", because yellow and blue make green?

[darlamerrill]

Some expert told me, match your overtones with whatever your surface color is and use your other colors warm or cool for the rest of face. So, i have yellow or golden looking surface tones but cool undertones like olive skin. I use maybe a gold toned foundation or beige and i dont worry so much about getting every thing perfect. When im dont it looks pretty cool, haha😅.